B-side "Whipping Boy" Recorded September 1987 Length 3:40 | Released September, 1988 Genre Rock | |
Label Geffen (US)
Rocket (UK) | ||
"Town of Plenty" is a song by Elton John from the album Reg Strikes Back, and was released in 1988. The song was the first album track to be heard after Elton's throat surgery. Pete Townshend of The Who plays acoustic guitar on the track, while Davey Johnstone plays electric. Among the backing vocalists contributing to the track are Elton's former bandmates Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray. This would be the final album of Elton's that Murray would contribute to, for he would succumb to a stroke in 1992.
The single release of "Town of Plenty" was the second to be issued from Reg Strikes Back in the United Kingdom, where it barely charted; it reached number 74 (one place above the lowest chart position available in 1988), and was gone by the next week. The single was not released in the USA. The B-side to the single was "Whipping Boy", from the album Too Low for Zero, which was released five years earlier. A CD single of the release was also issued; this contained the two aforementioned tracks, as well as "Saint" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues", also from Too Low for Zero.
A limited edition 7-inch single was also issued, which included four postcards, each depicting Elton in a particular stage costume. This coincided with Elton's Sotheby's auction, in which the costumes pictured were sold.