Elton John - Young Man's Blues (1974)

I bought quite a few singles by Elton John back in the 70's, and I don't recall any of them having a b-side that wasn't already available on an album, so was quite surprised to discover that he wasn't as mean with his songs as I'd always suspected. Some of those early singles did have exclusive songs on the flip, and most of them are not just throwaway filler either. In fact, one of the first of these was on the b-side of his breakthrough single 'Your Song', although it took a further three years before he did it again, this time treating us to two tracks on the b-side of 'Rocket Man'. 'Grey Seal' was originally recorded in 1970 as the b-side to 'Rock 'n' Roll Madonna', before it was revisited three years later to be included on the 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' album, with the differences in the recordings being quite significant, and the flip to the single release of the title track of that album had to be renamed 'Young Man's Blues' for the US market, in order to spare their delicate ears. I've added a couple of demos from 1970 of unreleased songs which should really have made it to a record, as well as a solo demo of 'Let Me Be Your Car', which he gifted to Rod Stewart for his 1974 'Smiler' album, and which Elton never officially recorded himself. A little bit of trivia for you - the fake applause on 'Rock 'n' Roll Madonna' was taken from a Jimi Hendrix concert, although the real question has to be - why?

Track listing

01 The Old Man's Shoes (b-side of 'Your Song' 1970)
02 Sisters Of The Cross (previously unreleased demo 1970) 
03 Bad Side Of The Moon (previously unreleased 1970)
04 Rock 'n' Roll Madonna (single 1970)
05 Grey Seal (original recording as b-side of 'Rock 'n' Roll Madonna')
06 Rock Me When He's Gone (previously unreleased 1971)
07 Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again) (b-side of 'Rocket Man' 1973)
08 Jack Rabbit (b-side of 'Rocket Man' 1973)
09 Let Me Be Your Car (previously unreleased demo 1973)
10 One Day (At A Time) (b-side of 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' 1974)
11 Screw You (Young Man's Blues) (b-side of 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' 1973)