Peachtree Road is the twenty-seventh studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 9 November 2004. The album was named after Peachtree Road, the northern part of Peachtree Street in Atlanta, where one of John's four homes is located. This is the only album during his long career on which John has sole credit as producer, although on some previous projects he was listed as a co-producer, with Clive Franks (on A Single Man, 21 at 33 and parts of The Fox), or Greg Penny (on Duets and Made in England). It was recorded in January 2004. Despite its generally positive reviews, Peachtree Road was one of John's lowest-selling contemporary efforts, reaching No. 17 on the US Billboard 200 upon its release, yet only managing No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart, making it one of his rare albums to miss the top ten in his homeland. In the US, it was certified gold in December 2004 by the RIAA. It debuted at No. 12 in Denmark in November 2004, its highest chart placing in that country and peaked at No. 11 in Switzerland.

Background

In addition to Nigel Olsson playing drums on all tracks, once again a permanent member of John's touring and recording Elton John Band, the album features renowned gospel vocalist Adam McKnight, as well as members of Chicago Walter Parazaider, James Pankow and Lee Loughnane contributing horns and brass arrangements. Guy Babylon was credited with playing Hammond organ and Rhodes piano instead of keyboards, which was the case on earlier albums. John Jorgenson, a member of John's band from 1995 to 2000, plays pedal steel guitar on "Turn the Lights Out When You Leave". The album was dedicated to the memory of Gus and Sheila Dudgeon, John's original producer and his wife, who were killed in a car accident in 2002. It was re-released in July 2005 with three bonus tracks from Billy Elliot the Musical, as well as a DVD featuring nine tracks from the album performed live in Atlanta. The song "Electricity" from the musical was also released as a single in June 2005. It rose to No. 4 on the UK singles chart. Some editions of the album included as a bonus two videos for the two first singles ("Answer in the Sky" and "All That I'm Allowed"). Songs from the album debuted at The Tabernacle in Atlanta in early November. John also performed at the November 2005 Country Music Association Awards, televised live from Madison Square Garden, duetting with Dolly Parton on "Turn the Lights Out When You Leave" and a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine".

Album cover

The album art on the front cover is a photograph from a railroad crossing near the Atlanta suburb of Douglasville, taken by London photographer Sam Taylor-Wood. Taken in by the American South and given complete artistic freedom, she shot thousands of photos during her week-long trip. The trip included other towns like Unadilla and Forsyth in Georgia. While she also visited Peachtree Road in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, she thought it was too busy for the album's more mellow nature. She picked several photos to present to him, and John made the final selection. Other photos from the shoot appear on the back of the album cover and in the included CD and SACD booklet.

Singles

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Musicians

Orchestra (tracks 1–5, 7–12) Choir vocals

Production

Charts

Certifications