Next month, Elton John and UMC/EMI will release the career-spanning Jewel Box box set filled with rarities and previously-unreleased material from the early years of his career. While Sir Elton has already shared one of his never-before-heard recordings to go with the overall announcement last month with “Sing Me No Sad Songs”, the famous rock pianist has now shared another previously-unreleased song, “Regimental Sgt. Zippo”, a psychedelic, semi-Beatles knockoff which was supposed to act as the title track for John’s 1968 debut but never saw the light of day.
The song opens with John’s extra layered vocal harmonies welcoming the listener into an experience very fitting of the late 1960s. The first verse is characterized by a slightly militarized drum cadence, but John’s tenor vocal lines keep the song’s energy feeling light and moving forward into the chorus. The song definitely fits into the themes of dreamy psychedelia which was taking over commercial rock music at the time.
A statement shared with the song’s release reads,
The title track of an unreleased debut album, this track captures Elton and Bernie in full 60s psychedelic mode. Recorded and produced at the DJM studios, the same building that housed the Beatles’ publishing company, Northern Songs, the song is an affectionate nod to Sgt Pepper and the era. Within six years of this May 1968 recording Elton John would be a superstar the size of the Beatles, and close friends with John Lennon, something that would have been hard to predict at the time Regimental Sgt. Zippo was recorded.
Listen to “Regimental Sgt. Zippo” via the song’s animated video below.
Elton John – “Regimental Sgt. Zippo”
[Video: Elton John]
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