UMG

Anniversary Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Expanded Edition, High Quality
Released in May 1972, Honky Chateau was the album that made Elton John a superstar, and ushered in a new era for him. Named after the residential studios outside Paris where the album was recorded, Honky Chateau bought a new level of simplicity and directness to Elton’s music that had previously only been seen in glimpses. Shorn of the complexities and ornate orchestrations of his recent work, Honky Chateau seemed freewheeling and intimate. It was helped by Rocket Man, the record which became another of Elton’s signature songs. These special editions contain the original album, and on both vinyl and CD editions a newly created selection of outtakes from the sessions, produced from the original tapes by Matt Still, which highlight the warmth and humour of the sessions.

On CD only there are eight tracks from the album that were recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in 1972, all receiving their live debut, just a few days back in the UK after recording. Assembled with the customary care by Elton’s catalogue team, the album comes as a gatefold with an eight-page booklet with rare photos, memorabilia and an essay by cocurator and music writer Daryl Easlea, featuring interviews from those who were there. Honky Chateau has been mastered at Lurssen in California, and the vinyl cut at Abbey Road.

Gatefold Sleeve, Download Code
Metallica has confirmed the title and release date of its forthcoming 12th studio album: 72 Seasons will be available April 14, 2023 via the band’s own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with Hetfield & Ulrich, and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track 72 Seasons is Metallica’s first full length collection of new material since 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct. The album will be released in formats including 2LP 140g black vinyl and limited edition variants, CD and digital.

72 Seasons is heralded by first single “Lux ?terna,” a short, sharp blast that distills 40 years of Metallica into three and a half minutes. “Lux ?terna” is available now to stream and download, and as an instant grat track with all pre-orders of 72 Seasons.

Speaking on the concept of the album title, James Hetfield said: “72 seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves. The concept that we were told ‘who we are’ by our parents. A possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are. I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today. Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”