Released on 29 August 1989, "Sleeping With The Past" was Elton John's 22nd., studio album and one of his most succesful in certain countries such a Denmark and of course his native home soil, the album spawned four singles "Healing Hands", "Sacrifice", "Bar At The End On The Street" & "Whispers", the single "Sacrifice" became a chart-topper in the UK it was his first solo No. 1, this propelled the album to platinum status in the UK and gold in the United States.
The style for the songs lies on 1960's R6B, according to John and Bernie Taupin, with a renewed energy and creativity, the duo sought to create a cohesive album with a consistent theme, inspired in huge part by the success of Billy Joel's 1983 "An Innocent Man", so, Taupin would listen to '60s soul
songs and use those songs from the past to inspire new lyrics for their
album.
John would then use Taupin's lyrics as a guide to write a
soul-influenced song based on the original source of inspiration.
In the end, both parts eventually sit down and decide what we want to make, and
make a cohesive album with a collection of songs that sound like they
all fit together. So, the duo came up with the idea of going back and
listening to the songs that inspired us when we first started writing
songs, the time when R&B records were really great, So, Elton John started
dragging out all these old records and listening to them to get a feel,
and eventually decided to basically make a white-soul album for the late ‘80s.
Months after the album's completion, John attributed its creative
success to the certainty that some unpleasant chapters in his life,
such as his battle with The Sun tabloid,
were drawing to a close. In 1989 he said: "This is the first album I've
made where I didn't have any pressures hanging over me...When I started
it, I knew my personal life was going to be sorted out". "I was sober when I recorded Sleeping with the Past
- just". but that changed soon after: "I went off the rails when I did
the tour afterwards". During the tour's first week, he collapsed
onstage.
During John's 1989 American tour he realized that MCA records was giving little support to his brand new album. Eventually he canceled tour shows and interviews. In New Haven, Connecticut,
on October 18, 1989, he rushed through his performance rarely talking
to the audience. Midway through his concert, he announced he would not
perform material from the new album because MCA was not promoting it. In addition to "Sacrifice", "Healing Hands" and "Club at the End
of the Street", which were singles in both the UK and US, the songs
"Whispers" and "Blue Avenue" were released as singles in parts of Continental Europe. "Whispers" reached No. 11 in France, whilst "Blue Avenue" managed to reach the Top 75 in the Netherlands.
Three other songs were recorded during the sessions: "Dancing In
The End Zone" and "Love Is A Cannibal," both with Davey Johnstone as a
co-writer, were released as B-sides to two of the album’s singles. "Love
Is Worth Waiting For" had been demo during the Reg Strikes Back
sessions the year before and was further worked on at Puk but has never
been released. This song, however, was performed live at an Athletes and
Entertainers for Kids event in Los Angeles in July 1988, making one of
only two Elton John/Bernie Taupin songs to be performed live but never
officially issued. "Love Is a Cannibal" was featured in the 1989 film Ghostbusters II.
The album received mixed reviews, eventually peaked at No. 6 on UK charts, but a year later due the re-released of "Sacrifice" and "Healing Hands" in June 1990, that propelled the labum to rise to the No. 1 position, this eventually helped the album to became Elton's highest-selling studio album in the UK and spawned his first solo No. 1 hit in his home
Sleeping With The Past Track List:
1. Durban Deep
2. Healing Hands
3. Whispers
4. Club At The End Of The Street
5. Sleeping With The Past
6. Stone's Throw From Hurtin'
7. I Never Knew Her Name
8. Amazes Me
9. Blue Avenue
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