Elton John announced he will release his first solo album in seven years.
The Diving Board is set for release on Sept. 24 though Capitol Records. His last solo release was 2006’s The Captain and the Kid Music-News reports.
According to Ultimate Classic Rock John premiered sections from the album at a listening party in February and is offering listeners an instant download of “Home Again” when they pre-order the album through iTunes.
In a press release label CEO Steve Barnet said, “’The Diving Board’ is simply a masterpiece. It is rare for an artist of Elton’s stature . . . to re-evaluate his artistic ambition, to push himself and dig so deeply to create one of the strongest albums of his stored career. Ye, Elton has done exactly that.”
Versions of the album include standard CD, Deluxe, Super-Deluxe, and 180-gram vinyl formats. Deluxe versions come with extra content such as bonus tracks, a DVD, and live sessions.
“I had to ask myself, ‘What kind of music do I really want to make?’, and I relized that I had to go back to go forward again,” John said. “I needed to strip away to excesses and get back to the core of what I do as an artist. That’s what ‘The Diving Board’ represents.”
John adds he is excited about all of the aspects of the album, which include T Bone’s production, Bernie’s lyrics and the songs they created. John said the album is “the album I’ve been waiting to make for decades.”
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