"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" by The Killers is audio perfection. Sam Smith sings "Daniel" beautifully. Very strong album. Highly recommend.

Some months ago, Elton John's career was celebrated with the "Diamonds" compilation that is available in three different versions (1 CD, 2 CDs, or 3 CDs), but that is still not enough. In the early 90s, there was a release called "Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin", and now more than a quarter century later comes a sequel of sorts, with once again some of today's most celebrated artists covering some of Elton John's biggest hits and deep classic album cuts.

"Revamp: The Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin" (13 tracks; 57 min.) opens with the only song where Elton John himself appears, a heavily revamped "Bennie And The Jets", featuring P!nk and Logic. Next comes one of the highlights of this collection, the Coldplay version of "We All Fall In Love Sometime". Doesn't it sound like Chris Martin was born to sing this song? I also like Ed Sheeran's take on "Candle In The Wind". However, Mumford & Sons misfire badly on "Someone Saved My Life Tonight", which just doesn't work. Mary J. Blige's heavy make-over of "Sorry Seem To Be The Hardest Word" takes a few listenings before you can get into it. The Killers play it close to the vest with "Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters". Then comes the other must-have tune on here, a heartbreaking version of "Daniel" by Sam Smith, just gorgeous. Apologies to Miley Cyrus fans, but her take on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" doesn't come anywhere to the original or the George Michael version. Lady Gaga fares better with her interpretation of "Your Song". The collection closes with a faithful rendering of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". (Please note that there is only minimal overlap in songs covered previously in the "Two Rooms" compilation.) But wait! there is yet more! Released on the same day as "Revamp" there is yet another all-star cover/tribute album called "Restoration: The Songs Of Elton John And Bernie Taupin", where some of the biggest names in country music interpret yet more songs (no overlap in songs whatsoever between Revamp and Restoration).

"Revamp" is a pleasant compilation of Elton John/Bernie Taupin songs, but (in my book anyway), not really essential for Elton John fans. Coldplay and Sam Smith are THE stand-outs on here. But bottom line is this: when you listen to these classic songs, why mess with a good thing? In that sense, I'd say keep the original versions from Elton John himself close by. And speaking of 'best of' compilations, if you truly want to very best of Elton John, check out the 1990 4 CD box set "To Be Continued", a true diamond showcasing Elton John in his peaks years (and still available here on Amazon).