Sleeping with the Past

Background

With renewed creativity after 1988's Reg Strikes Back, Elton John and Bernie Taupin sought to create a cohesive album that had maintained a consistent theme. They decided to pay tribute to the R&B sound of the 1960s and '70s that inspired them as youths. Taupin would listen to '60s soul songs and use those songs from the past to inspire new lyrics for their album. He would then write down which artists or songs influenced him. John would then use Taupin's guide to write a soul song that sometimes ventured away from the original source of inspiration. Many of the songs have a somewhat clear influence while others contain a mixture of various soul influences.

In addition to "Sacrifice" and "Healing Hands", 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 #11 in France, whilst "Blue Avenue" managed to reach the Top 75 in the Netherlands.

Like Reg Strikes Back the previous year, of note is the lowering of John's vocal register. While he does hit higher, falsetto notes on songs such as "Stones Throw from Hurtin'" and "Blue Avenue", after this album he would write in keys more suited to his new vocal range, and trips to the upper register would become few and far between.

Wynonna Judd recorded a contemporary country music cover version of "Stones Throw from Hurtin'" which was featured in the 1992 film Leap of Faith starring Steve Martin.

Sinéad O'Connor recorded a cover version of "Sacrifice" for the 1991 Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin tribute album.

This was John's first album since Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy with John and Taupin writing every song on the album without additional writing credits from others.

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. (Published By Big Pig Music Ltd.)

1. "Durban Deep" – 5:29
2. "Healing Hands" – 4:31
3. "Whispers" – 5:28
4. "Club at the End of the Street" – 4:52
5. "Sleeping with the Past" – 4:54

6. "Stones Throw from Hurtin'" – 4:45
7. "Sacrifice" – 5:06
8. "I Never Knew Her Name" – 3:29
9. "Amazes Me" – 4:37
10. "Blue Avenue" – 4:33

Bonus tracks (1999 Polygram International reissue)

11. "Dancing in the End Zone" – 3:55
12. "Love Is a Cannibal" – 3:53

The version of "Durban Deep" on the 1998 remaster features a different vocal mix and is slightly extended from the original album version (the fade out lasts about ten seconds longer).

Reception

Sleeping with the Past received lukewarm reviews when the album was released in 1989. However, longtime fans of Elton John loved the album and deem it to be one of his best from the 1980s, often vying with 1983's Too Low for Zero as John's strongest album of the decade. After peaking at #6 in October 1989 on the UK Albums Chart, the re-release of "Sacrifice" as a double A-side with "Healing Hands" in June 1990, and that single's rise to the #1 spot, Sleeping with the Past was propelled back up the #1 position on the UK Albums Chart shortly afterwards.

Despite the critical judgment of the album, it became his highest-selling studio album in the UK, being certified 3× Platinum and spawned his first solo #1 hit in his home country.

Personnel

Credits