Revamp & Restoration
On the decision to release two separate albums encompassing different genres, Bernie Taupin told Rolling Stone:From day one we borrowed from everything that's good about American music – whether it's blues, country, gospel, pop, pure rock – everything got thrown in the mix.As songwriters, Bernie [Taupin] and myself are thrilled when singers we admire and respect as much as those on Revamp and Restoration choose to add their own unique twist in the process."Reviews of the two albums generally favoured the country reinterpretations of the John/Taupin catalogue, with significantly greater critical praise going to Taupin's Restoration volume than to John's Revamp.Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called Revamp "slickly produced" and "dull", though giving praise to tracks cut by Alessia Cara, Miley Cyrus, Q-Tip & Demi Lovato, and Queens of the Stone Age."[8] Chris Willman of Variety, while praising individual tracks by Coldplay and Sam Smith, opined that "the list of predictably commercial names that fills out Revamp sits at the intersection of tasteful and cash-grabby" and that "this feels like an album designed more to move tickets for his farewell tour."[27][28] Christopher Jackson, Gayle King and Neil Patrick Harris provided recitations of Taupin's lyrics accompanied by Valerie Simpson and Jon Batiste.