''Regimental Sgt. Zippo'' is the thirty-first studio album by English musician

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

. Originally recorded in 1967 and 1968, it remained unreleased until

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

of June 2021, when the mono version was issued on vinyl. In early July 2022, the album saw a broader release in stereo vinyl and stereo/mono CD.

Background

''Regimental Sgt. Zippo'' was recorded between November 1967 and May 1968. For the sessions, John worked with musicians who were either his or his manager Steve Brown's associates, including guitarist

Caleb Quaye Caleb Quaye (born 9 October 1948), is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured with ...

and drummer Roger Pope (both members of the band

Hookfoot Hookfoot was a British rock band, active from 1969 to 1974. The band was formed by Caleb Quaye (guitars, piano and vocals) and three fellow DJM Records session musicians, Ian Duck (vocals, guitars and harmonica), Roger Pope (drums) and David G ...

at the time), and bassist Tony Murray (from

the Troggs The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English garage rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all o ...

). The project was eventually shelved in favour of what would become John's debut album, ''

Empty Sky ''Empty Sky'' is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John, released on 6 June 1969. It was not issued in the United States until January 1975 (on MCA), with different cover art, well after John's fame had been established ...

'' (1969). According to John's collaborator

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

, the album's trippy sound was "a tip of the hat to '' Sgt. Pepper''. It certainly proved that we were hanging on the coattails of things that were currently popular – things like '

A Whiter Shade of Pale "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, i ...

' were in vogue at that particular point in time. I think, in a way, I was literally trying to be part of a gang."

Plastic Penny Plastic Penny were a British 1960s pop band, formed in November 1967 before splitting up in August 1969. The group had one hit single early in 1968: the song "Everything I Am". Most of the members went on to greater fame with other bands or in s ...

—which featured drummer

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...

, who would become a full-fledged member of John's band in the 1970s—covered "Turn to Me" in 1969.

Release

''Regimental Sgt. Zippo'' was eventually released, 53 years after its inception, on 12 June 2021 for

, as a mono vinyl-only release limited to 7,000 copies. It was released on compact disc on 8 July 2022, featuring both mono and stereo mixes of the complete album, along with a stereo vinyl version

Track listing

All songs are written by

and

, except where noted. Side one #"When I Was Tealby Abbey" – 2:35 #"And the Clock Goes Round" – 3:06 #"Sitting Doing Nothing" (John,

) – 2:30 #"Turn to Me" – 3:16 #"Angel Tree" – 2:04 #"Regimental Sgt. Zippo" – 4:44 Side two #"A Dandelion Dies in the Wind" – 3:14 #"You'll Be Sorry to See Me Go" (John, Quaye) – 2:34 #"Nina" – 3:50 #"Tartan Coloured Lady" – 4:09 #"Hourglass" – 2:44 #"Watching the Planes Go By" – 4:07

Personnel

Credits adapted from Elton John's website and album liner notes. Musicians *

(as Reg Dwight) – piano, electric piano, organ, harpsichord, lead and backing vocals *

– acoustic and electric guitars, flute, percussion, backing vocals *

Dee Murray Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Biography Murray was born in Gillingham ...

– bass, backing vocals *

Dave Hynes David E. Hynes (born April 17, 1951) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 22 games in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins in 1973–75 as well as 22 games in the World Hockey Association for the New England ...

– drums, backing vocals *Paul Fenoulhet Orchestra Technical *Caleb Quaye – producer *Dave Larkham – original Elton John illustration *Darren Evans – sleeve design *Frank Owen – engineer *John Barrett – mixing *Sean Magee – mastering *Zack Laurence – orchestral arranger

Charts

References

External links

* {{Elton John 2021 albums Elton John albums Psychedelic rock albums by English artists Mercury Records albums