I love when great artists cover other great artists’ songs, especially when the cover version turns a pop tune into a beltress’s torch ballad. Today I present you Sara Bareilles’ piano/vocal rendition of Elton John’s 1973 hit “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” Elton John wrote the two-sided album, which features the title song, after having seven Top 40 singles in the previous two years; he was enjoying one of the peaks of his career. John describes the composition period for “Brick Road” as that golden period “before the drugs set in.” The title is inspired by that infamous road in The Wizard of Oz which promises fantasy and prosperity, but leads Dorothy further and further away from home and loved ones. Critics also say that John’s brick road is a metaphor for materialism and all the things that comes with fame. Now, I give you Sara Bareilles singing John.
Elton John / Sara Bareilles: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
author: Miles Mykkanen
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An alumnus of NYFOS’s Emerging Artist program, Miles Mykkanen is gaining recognition on the world’s concert and operatic stages for his “focused, full-voiced tenor” (The New York Times). Fred Cohn of Opera News wrote of his performance in Eugene Onegin, “Mykkanen was a knockout as Lensky. The lyric intensity of his singing made each moment count, and the duel-scene aria was a stretch of sheer vocal gold.” Hear Miles this summer as Jontek in Halka at the Bard Music Festival, and next season in NYFOS’s opening night concert Take Care of This House.
Absolutely love, love, love this version of Goodbye YBR!
As an Elton tribute myself, I really appreciate this lovely, heartfelt version.
Sarah Bereilles is a wonderful performer, and does such a great job on this… despite being a little pitchy on the first high note – but isn’t that what makes Live performances unique?
I’d love to hear her take on something like Planes, or maybe what she would do with a Lady Gaga song.