Longevity has a way of obscuring greatness, and while no 70s actuary would’ve bet a dime on John to make it through the century, let alone the decade, no 70s music fan would have placed him anywhere but atop the pop heap. This double LP is overstuffed, but its highlights—”Candle in the Wind,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”—remain standards more than 30 years later thanks to Bernie Taupin’s sharpest lyrics, John’s propulsive keyboard skills and vocals that leap into falsetto without losing any of their power.