The Union (Elton John and Leon Russell album)

For the documentary film about the album, see The Union (2011 film). For other albums, see The Union (disambiguation) § Music.

The Union is a collaboration studio album by singer-songwriters Elton John and Leon Russell, released on 19 October 2010 in the US and on 25 October in the UK. This is John's second collaboration album, after 1993's Duets. This is the first studio release by John since 1979's Victim of Love without any of his regular Elton John Band members. It is also his highest charting studio album on the Billboard 200 since 1976's Blue Moves, debuting at No. 3, as well as Russell's highest charting studio album since 1972's Carney. The Union was No. 3 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010.^[1]

The Union
Studio album by Elton John and Leon Russell
Released	19 October 2010
Recorded	20 November 2009 – March 2010
Studio	The Village (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Rhythm and blues rock country rock blues rock
Length	63:12 (standard album) 66:28 (iTunes deluxe LP) 71:22 (deluxe CD and vinyl)
Label	Decca (US) Mercury (UK)
Producer	T Bone Burnett
Elton John chronology
Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits (2007) The Union (2010) Gnomeo & Juliet (Original Soundtrack) (2011)
Leon Russell chronology
A Mighty Flood (2008) The Union (2010) Life Journey (2014)

The album features appearances by Booker T. Jones (on Hammond B-3), Neil Young (vocals), Robert Randolph (pedal steel), and Brian Wilson (vocal harmonies). This album was dedicated to Guy Babylon, John's keyboard player who died a year before its release.^[2] "If It Wasn't for Bad" was nominated for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and "Hey Ahab" became a staple in John's concert tours.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	76/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Clash	[5]
Consequence of Sound	[6]
Contactmusic.com	[7]
Daily Mirror	[8]
Financial Times	[9]
The Guardian	[10]
The Independent	[11]
Los Angeles Times	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Uncut

The Union received mostly positive reviews with critics praising it as some of the pair's best work to date. It reached No. 3 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010.^[14]

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Nominations for The Union

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2011	"If It Wasn't for Bad"	Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals[15]	Nominated

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"If It Wasn't for Bad"	Leon Russell	3:43
2.	"Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes"	Elton John, Bernie Taupin	3:23
3.	"Hey Ahab"	John, Taupin	5:39
4.	"Gone to Shiloh" (featuring Neil Young)	John, Taupin	4:50
5.	"Hearts Have Turned to Stone" (moved to twelfth track on some CD copies)	Russell	3:47
6.	"Jimmie Rodgers' Dream"	John, Taupin, T Bone Burnett	3:42
7.	"There's No Tomorrow"	John, Russell, Burnett, James Timothy Shaw	3:45
8.	"Monkey Suit"	John, Taupin	4:46
9.	"The Best Part of the Day"	John, Taupin	4:45
10.	"A Dream Come True"	John, Russell	5:07
11.	"I Should Have Sent Roses"	Russell, Taupin	5:21
12.	"When Love Is Dying"	John, Taupin	4:51
13.	"My Kind of Hell" (bonus track on iTunes digital deluxe LP, deluxe CD and vinyl only)	John, Taupin	3:16
14.	"Mandalay Again" (bonus track on deluxe CD and vinyl only)	John, Taupin	4:54
15.	"Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody)"	John, Taupin	4:58
16.	"In the Hands of Angels"	Russell	4:43

Personnel

• Elton John: vocals (1–15), piano (2–4, 6–15)
• Leon Russell: piano, vocals; backing vocals arrangement (1, 5, 7, 10, 16)
• Jim Keltner: drums & percussion (1–9, 11–15)
• Jay Bellerose: drums & percussion (1–15)
• Mike Piersante: tambourine (3, 8), percussion (11)
• Debra Dobkin: beaded gourd (6)
• Mike Ford: percussion (11)
• Dennis Crouch: acoustic bass (1–4, 6–10, 12–15)
• Don Was: bass guitar (5, 11)
• Davey Faragher: bass guitar (5)
• Drew Lambert: electric bass (16)
• Marc Ribot: guitar (1–4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13–15), acoustic guitar (8)
• T Bone Burnett: electric guitar (3, 6, 12)
• Doyle Bramhall II: guitar (5, 11)
• Robert Randolph: pedal steel (7)
• Russ Pahl: pedal steel (6)
• Booker T. Jones: Hammond B-3 organ (1, 5, 9, 11)
• Keefus Ciancia: keyboards (1–15)
• Marty Grebb: keyboards (7, 16)
• Jason Wormer: dulcimer (4), percussion (11)
• Darrell Leonard: trumpet (1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13), bass trumpet (1, 11, 13), horn arrangements & conductor (1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13)
• Ira Nepus: trombone (1, 4, 11)
• Maurice Spears: trombone (1, 4, 11)
• George Bohanon: trombone (1, 4, 11), baritone (1, 4, 11)
• William Roper: tuba (1, 4, 11)
• Thomas Peterson: saxophone (5, 8, 11, 13)
• Joseph Sublett: saxophone (5, 8, 11, 13)
• Jim Thompson: saxophone (5, 8, 11, 13)
• Bill Maxwell: backing vocals conductor (1–3, 5–10, 12–16), backing vocals arrangement (2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 12–15)
• Brian Wilson: backing vocals & backing vocals arrangement on "When Love Is Dying"
• Neil Young: vocals on "Gone to Shiloh"
• Rose Stone: backing vocals (1, 3, 8, 10, 12, 16), tambourine (10)
• Tanya Balam: backing vocals (3, 8, 16)
• Bill Cantos: backing vocals (2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 12–16)
• Judith Hill: backing vocals (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16)
• Kellyie Huff: backing vocals (3, 8, 16)
• Perry Morgan: backing vocals (3, 8, 16)
• Lou Pardini: backing vocals (2, 6, 9, 12, 15)
• Jason Scheff: backing vocals (2, 6, 9, 12, 15)
• Tiffany Smith: backing vocals (3, 8, 16
• Alfie Silas-Durio: backing vocals (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12–16)
• Tata Vega: backing vocals (1–3, 5–10, 12–16)
• Jean Witherspoon: backing vocals (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16)

Technical personnel

• Produced by T Bone Burnett
• Executive Producers: Elton John and Johnny Barbis.
• Production Coordination: Adrian Collee, Jon Howard and Ivy Skoff.
• Recorded by Mike Piersante and Jason Wormer.
• Assistant Engineers: Ben McAmis, Kyle Ford, Mark Lambert, Brett Lind, Chris Owens, Kory Aaron and Vanessa Parr.
• Recorded at Quad Studios (Nashville) and The Village Recorder (Los Angeles).
• Mixed by Mike Piersante at The Village Recorder.
• Edited by Jason Wormer
• Mastered by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering (Los Angeles, CA).
• Guitar Technician: Paul Ackling
• Transcription by John Eidsvoog and Julie Eidsvoog.
• Design: Peacock
• Photography: Frank W. Ockenfels 3, Joseph Guay, Annie Leibovitz and Steve Todoroff.

Charts

Chart performance for The Union

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16]	28
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17]	28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18]	66
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19]	91
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[20]	7
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[21]	15
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22]	60
French Albums (SNEP)[23]	51
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24]	23
Greek Albums (IFPI)[25]	62
Irish Albums (IRMA)[26]	52
Italian Albums (FIMI)[27]	28
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28]	24
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[29]	5
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30]	12
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[31]	30
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[32]	24
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33]	27
UK Albums (OCC)[34]	12
US Billboard 200[35]	3

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for The Union

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[36]	Gold	40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[37]	Silver	60,000^
United States	—	329,000[38]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.