Elton John / Leon Russell - The Union download free

With the release of The Union it seems that T. Bone Burnett is trying to be Rick Rubin by rekindling careers of older musicians. On October 19,2010 the United States (it comes out next week for the UK) was given another attempt at the rekindling, though I don't think that Elton John's popularity ever diminished but his albums didn't pack the punch of records like, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Captain Fantastic" or "Madman Across the Water". This all changed when T. Bone got Elton to play with Leon, a brilliant musician/singer in his own write. These two piano giants produced an album full of tunes either man would have recorded early in their careers. All the tracks are stripped down with the piano at the center, which is obvious, and they contain a definite early rock'n roll, bluesy and jazz feel. Some of the tracks that stand out are "Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes", "Monkey Suit" and "Gone to Shiloh", a lament to the US Civil War with Neil Young adding his voice to a song that sounds like a deleted track from "Harvest" or "After the Gold Rush". A solid outing that will spend quite a lot of time in my playlist