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With over 30 years of recording experience and 39 albums under his belt, Elton John attempts to capture the best of the best on his latest live recording One Night Only.  Although his attempt was valiant and the disc does feature 17 of his most significant songs, a double disc collection would have been better.  Perhaps a boxed set would have made a more suitable collection of Elton John's greatest hits live.

Nonetheless, the disc culls material from his October 2000 performance at Madison Square Garden in front of a sold out crowd.  The album opens with "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" followed by "Philadelphia Freedom."  From there is a duet with Kiki Dee for their hit "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

Duets highlight the project, including "Your Song," which features assistance from Ronan Keating, "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" with Anastacia, and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues," with Mary J. Blige.  The best combination is John with Bryan Adams for a rousing version of "Sad Songs Say So Much."

John's piano playing skills are particularly stellar on slower tunes like "Daniel," "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" and "Candle in the Wind."  "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is also recorded with renewed vigor, although it is lacking George Michael for a duet partner, which was by far a better version when released in the early 90s as a single.

Although not an exhaustive collection, John makes no mistakes on "One Night Only" while covering all three decade of his career.  It will be interesting to see if John will release a sequel to the disc in the coming months or wait several more albums before releasing another live project.

Andy Argyakis 1/7/2001