Tumbleweed Connection
11-17-70
Madman Across The Water
Honky Château
Uni: yellow label with lime, blue and purple swirls and black lettering.
All singles from these albums are the same.
EXAMPLE
Friends
Paramount: white or off-white with black lettering.
EXAMPLE
Singles are Uni same as the first listing.
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player
MCA: black label with white lettering.
"Crocodile Rock" same as album.
"Daniel" black label rainbow with silver lettering.
EXAMPLE
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Caribou
Empty Sky
MCA: black label rainbow with silver lettering.
All singles from these albums are the same.
EXAMPLE
Greatest Hits
MCA: cutout of Elton from the cover blue background white lettering. (see the ALBUMS section)
Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
MCA: Captain Fantasctic logo cartoon of Elton on the "piano horse" white lettering. (see the ALBUMS section)
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" same as album. (see the SINGLES section)
Rock Of The Westies
MCA: light blue background cursive lettering Elton's picture in a circle on side 1, side 2 same with the band members pics in circles. (see the ALBUMS section)
Singles are black label rainbow with silver lettering.
Here And There
MCA: side 1 white label rainbow with black lettering, side 2 black label rainbow with silver lettering. (see the ALBUMS section)
Blue Moves
The Rocket Record Company/MCA: top 1/4 black with partial rainbow and "bullet train" logo, lower 3/4 pale blue with light blue lettering.
Singles are the same.
EXAMPLE (including DGBMH)
Elton John's Greatest Hits Volume II
MCA: tan "speckled" label with light burnt sienna lettering. (see ALBUMS section)
A Single Man
Victim Of Love
MCA: tan with burnt sienna ring and burnt sienna lettering.
Singles are the same.
EXAMPLE
21 At 33
MCA: mimics cover (see ALBUMS section)
"Little Jeannie" same. (see SINGLES section)
"(Sartorial Eloquence) Don't You Wanna Play This Gam No More?" blue label rainbow black lettering.
EXAMPLE
The Fox
Jump Up!
Too Low For Zero
Breaking Hearts
Geffen: off-white with horizontal pinstripes with black lettering.
All single sre the same
Ice On Fire
Leather Jackets
Elton John's Greatest Hits Volume III 1979-1987
Geffen: Black with silver lettering.
All singles are the same.
EXAMPLE
Live In Australia With The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Reg Strikes Back
Sleeping With The Past
MCA: blue label rainbow with black lettering.
All singles are the same.
(L.P. production stops at Sleeping With The Past in the U.S. and Canada.)
Singles not covered above:
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamons:
"Ego"
MCA: black label rainbow with silver lettering.
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
The Rocket Record Company/MCA: green with the "Thomas the tank engine" logo.
Singles off of The One and Duets
MCA: blue label rainbow with black lettering.
After 1993 are unknown to me.
Promothional Copy (promo) singles:
Uni: same as the standard releases but will have a star on the left side.
MCA: white label black lettering with a star on the left side says "Promotional Copy Not For Sale" on the right..
Geffen: coloring corresponds with the listing above, but will say "Promotional Copy" to the right.
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" label will either be Yellow or Purple, star on the left side and say "Promotional Copy Not For Sale" on the right.
All promos vary, some have A and B side songs, some have the same song on both sides in stereo, some will have same song on both sides but A will be stereo, B will be mono.
Reissues
Elton John to Honky Château
If not on Uni, is a reissue.
Possible years of reissues
1973-1977: MCA black background rainbow with silver lettering ("Ego" was the only single issued with this color scheme in 1978)
1978-1980: MCA tan with burnt sienna ring
1981-1993: MCA blue label rainbow with black lettering
Geffen: if it was ORIGINALLY released from 1981-1984, and you find it with a black label silver lettering, then it's a reissue.