Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin is a tribute album consisting of interpretations of sixteen songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, released on 14 October 1991 by Mercury Records in the UK and on 22 October by Polydor Records in the US. The title refers to a song on John's album 21 at 33, "Two Rooms at the End of the World", and to the duo's unusual collaborative style; it is also the title of a 1991 film of the same title documenting their collaboration.
Critical reception
The album gained an uneven reception, though some performances were singled out for praise, including Sinéad O'Connor's interpretation of "Sacrifice", Kate Bush's reggae-inflected version of "Rocket Man", and Tina Turner's version of "The Bitch Is Back", which was nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards.
Singles
Two singles were released from the album: Oleta Adams' version of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" peaked at number 33 on the UK singles chart and Kate Bush's "Rocket Man" peaked at number 12 in the UK and number two in Australia. The B-side of Bush's single was her version of "Candle in the Wind". The CD single added an instrumental version of the same song. Wilson Phillips' cover of "Daniel", while not released as a single, peaked at number seven in the US Adult Contemporary chart due to strong radio airplay.
Companion film
Two versions of a documentary, also titled Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin, exist. The first was released internationally on VHS video with a running time of ninety minutes. The other aired on ABC television in 1992 as a one-hour special and featured a slightly different edit and contents. The television version was hosted by Sylvester Stallone. Stallone does not appear on the VHS version. Bruce Hornsby, George Michael, Hall & Oates and Oleta Adams appear in the television version but not the VHS version.