Reg Strikes Back

Reg Strikes Back is the twenty-first studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John. Released in 1988, it was his self-proclaimed comeback album, and his own way of fighting back against bad press.[1] The "Reg" in Reg Strikes Back refers to John's birth name, Reginald Kenneth Dwight.

Reg Strikes Back
Studio album by
Elton John
Released24 June 1988
Recorded1987–88
StudioAIR, London
GenrePop, rock
Length42:06 (Original)
64:06 (1998 Reissue)
LabelMCA (Original Release)
Rocket / Mercury (Reissue)
ProducerChris Thomas
Elton John chronology
Elton John's Greatest Hits Vol. 3
(1987)		 Reg Strikes Back
(1988)		 The Complete Thom Bell Sessions
(1989)
Singles from Reg Strikes Back
  1. "I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That"
    Released: June 1988
  2. "Town of Plenty"
    Released: September 1988
  3. "A Word in Spanish"
    Released: 1988
  4. "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)"
    Released: 1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune(mixed)[2]
Los Angeles Times[3]
The New York Times(not favourable)[4]
Rolling Stone[5]

In the US the album was certified gold in August 1988 by the RIAA.

Background

This was the last album that bassist Dee Murray (albeit without bass) appeared on prior to his death in 1992. Additionally, Nigel Olsson, the longtime drummer for John's band, appears (without drums) on backing vocals. The tracks "I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That" and "A Word in Spanish" peaked at No. 2 and No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. John brought back record producer Chris Thomas for the album. This is the first studio album to be recorded and released after John's throat surgery the previous year. The album cover featured costumes from John's collection that he decided to put up for auction.

Tour

After taking over a year off (to recover from throat surgery, address personal issues and record Reg Strikes Back in London), John returned to the stage with a new rhythm section. He wanted more of an R&B sound to his material, so drummer Jonathan Moffett and bassist Romeo Williams, along with backing singers Marlena Jeter, Natalie Jackson and Alex Brown, were added to the band. Guitarist Davey Johnstone, now also in the role of music director, had assembled the new band, a task that he continues to do.[6]

The band’s first show was at an AIDS benefit at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, where they played a 14-song set that featured the never-released John/Taupin composition, "Love Is Worth Waiting For". The US tour then began on 9 September at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida and concluded on 22 October at New York’s Madison Square Garden.[6]

After recording the follow-up album Sleeping With The Past in Denmark, the band (now with backing vocalist Mortonette Jenkins instead of Alex Brown) resumed their tour on 20 March 1989 at La Halle Tony Garnier in Lyon, France and played across Eastern Europe and the UK, concluding on 10 June 1989 at the RDS Arena in Dublin.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Town of Plenty"3:40
2."A Word in Spanish"4:39
3."Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)"4:12
4."I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That"4:35
5."Japanese Hands"4:40
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Goodbye Marlon Brando"3:30
2."The Camera Never Lies"4:36
3."Heavy Traffic" (John, Taupin, Davey Johnstone)3:30
4."Poor Cow"3:50
5."Since God Invented Girls"4:54
Total length:42:06
  • Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–10 on CD reissues.
Bonus tracks (1998 PolyGram International reissue)
No.TitleLength
11."Rope Around a Fool"3:48
12."I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That (Shep Pettibone Mix)"7:16
13."I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That (Just Elton and His Piano Mix)"4:37
14."Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two) (The Renaissance Mix)"6:19
Total length:64:06

B-sides
Song Format
"Rope Around a Fool"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That 12"/CD (UK) / 7" (US/UK)
"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That (Shep Pettibone Mix)"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That 12"/CD (US/UK)
"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That (The Pub Dub)"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That 12"/CD (US)
"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That (Just Elton and His Piano Mix)"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That 12"/CD (US)
"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That (Just for Radio Mix)"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That 12" (US)
"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two) (The Renaissance Mix)"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two) 12" (US)
"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two) (The Da Vinci Version)"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two) 12" (US)
"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two) (Self Portrait Instrumental)"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two) 12" (US)

'Rope Around a Fool' was recorded during these sessions, as was an unused track, 'Love Is Worth Waiting For', which Elton would perform at an AIDS benefit show in Los Angeles during the summer of 1988, but has yet to see official release on any format.

Personnel

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

Production
  • Producer – Chris Thomas
  • Recorded and Engineered by Bill Price, Michael Mason and Paul Wertheimer.
  • Assistant Engineer – Karl Lever
  • Recorded at AIR Studios (London, England), Westside Studios (London, England), Circle Seven Recording and The Record Plant (Los Angeles, CA).
  • Mixed at AIR Studios (London)
  • Mastered by Tim Young at CBS, London.
  • All songs published by Happenstance Ltd.
  • Art Direction – David Costa
  • Photography – Gered Mankowitz
  • Wardrobe – Bob Stacey
1998 Reissue
  • Producer and remastering supervision – Mike Gill
  • Remixing and additional production on tracks 12, 13 & 14 – Shep Pettibone
  • Additional remixing on tracks 12 & 13 by Steve Peck
  • Remixing on track 14 by Daniel Abraham
  • Editing on tracks 12 & 13 – Junior Vasquez
  • Remastered by Gus Dudgeon, Mike Gill and Peter Mew.

Charts

Certifications

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Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[21] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[22] 2× Platinum 200,000^
France (SNEP)[23] Gold 100,000*
Italy
sales 1988-1989 		— 500,000[24]
Spain — 25,000[25]
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Reg Strikes Back". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  2. Heim, Chris (12 August 1988). "Elton John Is Back With Fan-pleasing 'Reg Strikes Back'". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  3. Grein, Paul (3 July 1988). "Elton: Second Wind". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  4. Holden, Stephen (17 July 1988). "RECORDINGS; Three Veteran Rock-and-Rollers Spin New Disks". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  5. Harold Goldberg (6 October 1988). "Reg Strikes Back | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  6. "The Band". Elton John.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "austriancharts.at Elton John – Reg Strikes Back" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  9. Library and Archives Canada. Archived 29 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 29 January 2012
  11. "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  12. "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1989" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  13. "charts.nz Elton John – Reg Strikes Back" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  14. "norwegiancharts.com Elton John – Reg Strikes Back" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  15. "swedishcharts.com Elton John – Reg Strikes Back" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  16. "Elton John – Reg Strikes Back – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  17. "The Official Charts Company – Elton John – Reg Strikes Back" (PHP). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  18. "allmusic ((( Reg Strikes Back > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  19. "Album Search: Elton John – Reg Strikes Back" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  20. "Les Albums (CD) de 1989 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  21. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia’s Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 147.
  22. "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Reg Strikes Back". Music Canada.
  23. "French album certifications – John E. – Reg Strikes Back" (in French). InfoDisc. Select JOHN E. and click OK. 
  24. Caroli, Daniele (9 December 1989). "Italy > Talent Challenges" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 101 (49): I-8. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 25 July 2020 – via World Radio History.
  25. "Elton John - Spain" (PDF). Music & Media. 30 January 1988. p. 45. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  26. "British album certifications – Elton John – Reg Strikes Back". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Reg Strikes Back in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  27. "American album certifications – Elton John – Reg Strikes Back". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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