Elton John - Regimental Sgt. Zippo
Elton John
Regimental Sgt. Zippo
Release Date: June 12, 2021 (Recorded November 1967)
Label: Mercury
Review by Jared Stossel
To date, Elton John has released thirty-one studio albums. Thirty-one albums of completely original material. Very few artists make it to ten albums. But Sir Elton has been showcasing his prodigious songwriting capabilities since his Empty Sky debut in June of 1969. The release of Empty Sky was the world’s first introduction to the English rocker, but in another timeline, Regimental Sgt. Zippo would have been his debut. The twelve-track album was released for the first time back in June 2021, a Record Store Day exclusive with only 7,000 copies pressed on vinyl. Eventually, a wider release came about earlier this year, but up until this past July, I was unaware that there was a “lost” Elton John album.
The recording sessions for Regimental Sgt. Zippo were held between November 1967 and May 1968, and the songs evoke a sense of the time. The Beatles were on the verge of calling it quits while simultaneously being the largest act in the world (bigger than Jesus) and the “British invasion” of the United States was beginning to slow. There is a trippy, 60s rock sound that is persistent throughout Regimental shimmering throughout the sonic atmosphere and around John’s piano keys. It’s hard to not think of the aforementioned Brit-rockers’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, perhaps The Beatles’ greatest record, when deciphering the tracks on Regimental Sgt. Zippo. Years later, John’s longtime collaborator even noted that the album was a “tip of the hat” to the psychedelic Beatles entry.
Tracks like “When I Was Tealby Abbey”, “A Dandelion Dies In The Wind”, “Tartan Coloured Lady”, and the title track all conjure up consciousness-expanding imagery, and it’s a delightful listen all of these years later. However, I often wonder what would have happened if this was the world’s first introduction to Sir Elton John. The forty-minute entry feels very much like it was playing off of what was popular at the time, rather than showcasing the piano sensibilities and high-energy showmanship that made John a household name when Empty Sky (and his self-titled sophomore entry) were released. I feel like John and Taupin made the correct choice to shelve this record in favor of Empty Sky; while the songs on Regimental Sgt. Zippo are good, I don’t think these tracks would have stood out in quite the same way as his later entries.
Whatever forces that were out there in the universe decided that we would have to wait another year to meet Elton John. Ever since 1969, he’s led one of the most extensive and incredible careers of any musician and songwriter. The release of Regimental Sgt. Zippo not only provides longtime fans with a look into what the beginnings of John’s career would have been like in a different world, but these songs act as a portal, a time machine back into what dominated the rock and pop landscape in the 1960s. It’s an enchanting journey, and a nice reminder that while your plan may not be what you intended it to be, everything happens for a reason.
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