Ad

Elton JohnThe Diving Board

Genre:Rock, Blues, Pop
Style:Ballad
Year:

Tracklist

Oceans Away
Oscar Wilde Gets Out
A Town Called Jubilee
The Ballad Of Blind Tom
Dream # 1
My Quicksand
Can't Stay Alone Tonight
Voyeur
Home Again
Take This Dirty Water
Dream # 2
The New Fever Waltz
Mexican Vacation (Kids In The Candlelight)
Dream # 3
The Diving Board

Credits (34)

Notes

The Diving Board is the 31st studio album by Elton John. It is his 30th solo album and the second of his studio releases since 1979's Victim of Love without any of his regular band members. The album debuted at number three on the UK Album Chart behind Indie Rock band The Arctic Monkeys at number one and Swedish dance music producer Avicii at number two.

The album's premiere single "Home Again" was released on 24 June 2013, the same day the album became available for pre-order. On 28 August 2013, a video for "Mexican Vacation (Kids in the Candlelight)" was released on YouTube, which acted as the album's second single.

The album was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and produced in Los Angeles by The Union producer T-Bone Burnett. Burnett suggested that John return to the piano, bass and drums format of his very early years and the result, John says, is "the most exciting solo record I've done in a long, long time." The Diving Board was written in two days.

The album's release date was pushed back: though the record was originally planned for release in the fall of 2012, it was revealed on Taupin's website that it would instead be released in February 2013 for promotional reasons. It was pushed back again and released in September 2013.

It was revealed on 28 September 2012 in Rolling Stone magazine that John was unsatisfied with some songs on the album and that he had started to write more new songs for the album. He believed that many of the songs had a theme and that he wanted to write more songs after sitting on the project for so long.

During a concert at the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia on 10 November 2012, Elton revealed that The Diving Board's release will be pushed back further, to May 2013. The delay in release is because John will be recording more material for the album with Burnett in January 2013.

On 8 January 2013 it was revealed by Taupin's website that the title of the album had been changed from The Diving Board to Voyeur.

An article on Billboard published on 23 February 2013 revealed that the release date had once again been pushed back, this time until September 2013; the title of the album is now The Diving Board again. The article also revealed the revised track list, which includes four new songs mixed in with the original material. A song originally stated for release on the album entitled "5th Avenue" (6:18) had been dropped from the album. John called the revised album "The most piano-oriented album of my career" and said "It's my most adult album". In total the album's release has been pushed back four times.

The album's premiere single "Home Again" was released on 24 June 2013, the same day the album became available for pre-order.

Different manufactures.

Versions

Filter by
    29 versions
    Image, In Your Collection, Wantlist, or Inventory
    Version DetailsData Quality
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album
    Mercury – 3743912, Mercury – 00602537439126Europe2013Europe2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album
    Mercury – 3742534Europe2013Europe2013
    Recently Edited
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-16, VinylThe Diving Board
    2×LP, Album, Stereo, Gatefold
    Mercury – 00602537439157, Capitol Records – 3743915USA, Canada & Europe2013USA, Canada & Europe2013
    Recently Edited
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-24, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album
    Capitol Records – B001866802, Mercury – B001866802US2013US2013
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-24, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Deluxe Edition
    Capitol Records – B001887302US2013US2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album
    Mercury – 3743912Australia2013Australia2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-16, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Deluxe Edition
    Mercury – 3743914, Mercury – 00602537439140Europe2013Europe2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album
    Mercury – 4605026713604, Universal Music Russia – 4605026713604Russia2013Russia2013
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-24, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album; DVD, DVD-Video; All Media, Best Buy Exclusive Edition
    Capitol Records – B001867100US2013US2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album
    Mercury – 3744867South East Asia2013South East Asia2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-13, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album
    Mercury – 3743912New Zealand2013New Zealand2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-00, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Deluxe Edition, Gatefold MiniLP
    Mercury – 602537448678Europe2013Europe2013
    Recently Edited
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, VinylThe Diving Board
    2×LP, Album; CD, Album; DVD, DVD-Video, PAL; Box Set, Limited Edition, Numbered
    Mercury – 374391-7Europe2013Europe2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-00, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album
    Mercury – 0060253743912 172South Africa2013South Africa2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album; DVD, DVD-Video; All Media, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Unofficial Release, Digipak
    Mercury (2) – 33177-2, Mercury (2) – 4607147914892Russia2013Russia2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Stereo
    Capitol Records – B001916002US2013US2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Deluxe Edition
    Mercury – 3744867, Mercury – 00602537448678Europe2013Europe2013
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album; DVD, DVD-Video, NTSC; All Media, Deluxe Edition
    Capitol Records – B001867200, Mercury – B001867200US2013US2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-24, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album
    Capitol Records – B001866802Canada2013Canada2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-18, CDThe Diving Board
    2×CD, Album, SHM-CD
    Capitol Records – UICR-1109/10, Mercury – UICR-1109/10Japan2013Japan2013
    Recently Edited
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-17, CDThe Diving Board
    2×CD, Album, Deluxe Edition, Stereo, Target Edition
    Capitol Records – B001867002, Mercury – B001867002US2013US2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-17, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Paper Sleeve
    Capitol Records – B001867302, Mercury – B001867302US2013US2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Deluxe Edition
    Mercury – 602537448678Brazil2013Brazil2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Unofficial Release
    Mercury (2) – 3744867Russia2013Russia2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-24, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Deluxe Edition
    Capitol Records – B001887302Canada2013Canada2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013-09-16, FileThe Diving Board
    15×File, MP3, Album, 320 kbs
    Mercury – 3743915Europe2013Europe2013
    Recently Edited
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2013, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Promo
    Mercury – 3755845Argentina2013Argentina2013
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2019-12-24, CDThe Diving Board
    CD, Album, Reissue, Digipack
    Mercury – noneItaly2019Italy2019
    New Submission
    Cover of The Diving Board, 2023-08-04, VinylThe Diving Board
    2×LP, Album, Reissue
    Mercury – 5516085Worldwide2023Worldwide2023
    Recently Edited

    Recommendations

    Reviews

    • bytorsnowdog's avatar
      bytorsnowdog
      Really nice clean pressing , sounds fantastic have been waiting a long time for this repress
      • That-Retro-Person's avatar
        This album was so expensive for a time, and is one of Elton’s most underrated albums everyone brushes past. Sounds sublime, fantastic pressing.
        • Le_Noir_Faineant's avatar
          True brilliant in my collection. He never disappoints on special editions :)
          • nickle15's avatar
            nickle15
            Edited 7 years ago
            When they speak of "The Diving Board" many reviewers talk of the stripped down arrangements and some mention John's return to his roots. I can't really speak to either of those topics, though the piano work really shines on this record and there are times the rest of the instruments seem unnecessary. What I can say is that I believe this album to cover the widest variety of sound that I've heard from Elton John. The music feels like it has a purpose and checks all the boxes, with emotional ballads and grooving numbers. A few instrumental pieces interspersed throughout really add to the cohesiveness. It's very much the feeling a person gets when listening to a well-constructed concept album. No song really stands on its own. What I mean is that you could pick a song and really latch onto it, but I believe the reward is in listening to the entire body of work and allowing the songs to paint their own colors on a sonic canvas. After the last note fades you can look at the art as a whole and admire the sum of the parts. There is much to like about this record and I heartily recommend it to anyone who will listen.

            Master Release

            Edit Master Release
            New Submission

            For sale on Discogs

            Sell a copy

            Statistics

            • Avg Rating:4.17 / 5
            • Ratings:222
            Ad
            Ad
            Ad