Originally released in November 2017 as a three-disc deluxe edition, Elton John’s Diamonds compilation gathers 51(!) key tracks from across the iconic British singer/songwriter’s legendary career. The collection spans nearly five decades of music and more than 20 studio albums worked on by a variety of different producers, including industry legends like Gus Dudgeon and Chris Thomas. To celebrate Elton’s 75th birthday in March 2022, nearly the entire set (48 out of 51 tracks) became available to stream in Dolby Atmos–remixed in the immersive format by award-winning producer/engineer Greg Penny.
Greg Penny’s history with Elton John goes all the way back to 1973, when he attended the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road recording sessions in France as a teenager. Penny began working directly with John two decades later, when he produced the first track on the Duets record: a cover of Womack & Womack’s “Teardrops,” reimagined as a duet with k.d. lang. He then went on to produce the entirety of 1995’s Made in England, collaborating with longtime John stalwarts like lyricist Bernie Taupin and arranger Paul Buckmaster.
During the early-2000s, Penny was charged with creating brand-new 5.1 surround sound remixes of several of John’s classic ‘70s-era albums. The 2004 Super Audio CD editions of Elton John (1970), Tumbleweed Connection (1970), Madman Across The Water (1971), Honky Chateau (1972), Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), and Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975) each contained a new 5.1 mix from Penny alongside the remastered original stereo mix. For his work on Honky Chateau, Penny received a nomination for the ‘Best Surround Sound Album’ Grammy Award in 2006.

Editor’s Note: Greg Penny’s 5.1 surround sound mixes of six classic Elton John records released between 1970 and 1975 were issued on Super Audio CD in 2004. Only 11 out of the 48 songs on the new Diamonds Atmos Blu-Ray were previously made available in 5.1, making this a must-have release even for completists who own all of the hybrid SACDs.
With the rise of immersive streaming, Penny has once again been tasked with remixing the Elton John catalog–this time in Dolby Atmos. His Atmos mix of “Rocket Man”–created way back in 2013, as one of the earliest forays into immersive music mixing–was one of the very first spatial audio singles to be released to the public when Tidal launched support for Atmos music in the Spring of 2020.
Though the Diamonds Atmos mixes were met with excitement and critical acclaim upon their digital release nearly three years ago, many fans lamented the lack of an ownable high-resolution immersive edition of Diamonds–either via Blu-Ray disc or digital download. In December 2024, SuperDeluxeEdition.com answered these calls with a limited-run Blu-Ray containing all 48 songs in Dolby TrueHD/Atmos. Diamonds is the 31st(!) entry in SDE’s ongoing ‘Surround Series’ of exclusive audio-only Blu-Rays with spatial audio mixes.
As those who’ve heard the 5.1 SACDs can attest, Greg Penny’s approach to mixing music in surround sound is very much in line with other fan-favorite mixers like Elliot Scheiner, Steven Wilson, and Bob Clearmountain. His immersive mixes put the listener in the middle of the performance, with key instrumentation mixed loudly and proudly to the rear speakers. Though it might seem impossible to improve upon the existing 5.1 mixes of some of these classic songs, Penny’s new Atmos mixes still manage to uncover newfound detail and clarity.
In a 2003 interview, Penny expounded on his surround mixing philosophy:
"I use the center monitor, and here was my mindset with Elton: the die-hard fans would love to be able to hear this guy’s vocals without anything else in the mix, so when you listen to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road [in 5.1] the lead vocal is in a phantom centre position, and it is also discrete in the centre monitor. It is then joined by doubled lead vocals that are in the centre monitor but not in the phantom, and then accompanied occasionally by Elton doing his own harmonies. But the background vocals are generally kept out of the centre monitor.
This guy happens to play piano, so the piano is physically near him, it’s not in the left surround speaker. Then drums always sound good up front, bass sits in a bowl that’s front and rear, and heavily subbed. Then the guitars, by virtue of the piano taking up a lot of the front field, the guitars, mandolins, banjos, tons of electric guitars, have lots of room to breathe in the rear speakers."
The iconic piano intro to “Your Song” gently extends from the front stage out to the side surrounds, with acoustic guitar percolating from the right rear speaker (just as in the 2004 5.1 mix). Elton John’s vocals are seemingly woven into all seven ground-level speakers, but appear completely isolated in the center channel. A second acoustic guitar pops up in the side left speaker, as Paul Buckmaster’s strings soar from the rear surrounds up into the height array.
“Tiny Dancer” places B.J. Cole’s pedal steel in side right (elevated slightly into the height array) and Caleb Quaye’s electric guitar in side left, with John’s piano and Roger Pope’s drums wrapping around the listener. Buckmaster’s strings again float between the rear surrounds and rear heights, while the backing vocals during the chorus appear primarily from above.
“Rocket Man” explodes into full immersion during the chorus, with acoustic rhythm guitars drifting beside the listener and backing vocals bursting from the rear while the slide guitar moves around the height array. The 2004 5.1 mix had already afforded more prominence to the acoustics and harmonies, but this version pushes them even higher–to the point where the backing vocals in the rears actually seemed slightly too loud, at least on my system. That said, David Hentschel’s ARP synthesizer during the second verse appears exclusively in the rear heights to very cool effect
“‘Rocket Man’ is a record that’s been played millions of times, one that is part of the social fabric. The ebb and flow of that track was always special to me.The way it starts small and it grows and gets bigger. Then it gets small again, then it gets big. Then there is so much space around it. It feels like you are moving through space as he is telling the story he is telling. Those were important elements to me. The first time I mixed it in 5.1, I regarded a lot of that ebb and flow. There was a whole re-imagining of that with Atmos, so we could utilize the height channels.”
Greg Penny, January 2024
“Honky Cat” kicks off in a similar fashion to the prior 5.1 mix–with Davey Johnstone’s banjo over your right shoulder and the electric piano following from rear left–but then the horn section blasts from the height array! Whereas all the horn parts were mixed in stereo across the rear channels in 5.1, in this Atmos version it sounds like the players are floating on a cloud above you. The trumpet seems most prominent in the front heights, while the saxophones and trombone favor the rear heights.
“Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” spreads the crunchy guitars and backing vocals across the side and rear surround speakers, with the heights remaining ambient save for a synth sweep just before the chorus. The harmony vocals in “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” hover between the rear surrounds and rear heights, while guitars appear from behind and Nigel Olsson’s drum kit surrounds the listener.
Much like in “Rocket Man,” the acoustic rhythm guitars and harmony vocals sound massive and more prominent throughout “Candle In The Wind.” The harmony vocals in “Bennie and the Jets” seem mostly rooted in the rear height speakers, with the fake crowd noise filling up the entire listening space. Towards the end, the keyboards wildly swirl around the listener.

“Someone Saved My Life Tonight” puts the listener on Olsson’s drum throne, with the distinctive ride cymbal hook placed primarily in the right rear speaker and toms crashing all around the room. The cascading backing vocals from Olsson, Johnstone, and bassist Dee Murray are arrayed across the back wall, along with keyboards and percussion. At around the five-minute mark, an ARP synthesizer appears exclusively from the front height speakers.
Though they were originally released as non-album singles, both “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” were mixed to 5.1 by Penny in 2004 and appeared as bonus tracks on the Captain Fantastic SACD edition. The new Atmos mix of the former pushes Gene Page’s orchestration out to the back of the room, with flute suspended between the rear right surround and rear right height speaker. Rhythm guitars take the side surrounds, while the strings expand up into the height array.
For the latter track, Elton’s piano stays upfront while the leslie guitar appears isolated in the center channel. The mellotron flute appears mostly isolated in the rear heights, as backing vocals from an uncredited John Lennon blast from the rear surrounds during the chorus. Davey Johnstone’s electric rhythm guitars again appear isolated in the side speakers.

As many longtime immersive music enthusiasts are no doubt aware, Penny revealed back in the mid-2000s that he had completed 5.1 remixes of four more titles from John’s back catalog–1973’s Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player, 1974’s Caribou, 1975’s Rock of the Westies, and the 1976 double LP Blue Moves–thus completing the classic 1970-76 run. Sadly, hybrid SACDs of these four albums never materialized and the surround sound mixes remain unreleased to this day.
With that information in mind, perhaps the most exciting aspect of this Diamonds Atmos release is the opportunity to finally hear immersive mixes of hit songs from those missing four ‘70s albums that were meant to be released on 5.1 SACD two decades ago. The compilation contains two tracks from Don’t Shoot Me (“Crocodile Rock” and “Daniel”), one from Caribou (“The Bitch Is Back”), one from Rock of the Westies (“Island Girl”), and two from Blue Moves (“Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” and the associated non-album single “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”).
“Crocodile Rock” starts out somewhat front-heavy, with both the piano and Farfisa organ mixed mostly to the front channels. Once Elton John’s vocal becomes double-tracked during the chorus, Davey Johnson’s electric rhythm guitars rip through the side surrounds and synthesizers appear from directly behind. During the ‘la la la’ post-chorus section, a previously-buried guitar part appears isolated in the center channel.
Editor’s Note: In the 2013 interview linked above, Greg Penny mentions that 1976’s Blue Moves ranks among his favorite Elton John records–and that his 5.1 remix of the double LP, completed years earlier, was among the most impressive of all the surround editions. Said 5.1 mix sadly remains unreleased to the public, but the Diamonds compilations does contain Penny’s stunning new Dolby Atmos mix of “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.”
Acoustic guitars appear exclusively in the side speakers throughout “Daniel,” playing nicely off the Rhodes piano and mellotron flute upfront. I was hoping the higher-register harmony during the chorus (‘Daniel my brother…’) would appear from behind, but it’s mixed upfront beneath the lead vocal. However, at around the two-minute mark, the height speakers suddenly spring to life with Davey Johnstone’s banjo and Ken Scott’s ARP synthesizer.
Electric guitars rip through the sides and rears for “The Bitch Is Back,” with the horn section pushed completely behind the listener and backing vocals elevated partially into the height array. “Island Girl” makes full use of the 7.1.4 environment, placing Kiki Dee’s backing vocals exclusively in the height speakers. Acoustic guitars percolate from the side surrounds, while the marimba and percussion take up residence in the rear.
“Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” is glorious in Atmos, with the orchestration blossoming around the listener while Elton’s vocal and piano stay focused towards the front stage. The ‘so sad’ backing vocals are mixed primarily to the rear height speakers. “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” places both Elton’s and Kiki Dee’s vocals in the center channel, though the harmonies during the chorus (“nobody knows it…”) float above the listener.

Though perhaps not as fondly remembered as the legendary 1970-76 run, some of my favorite Atmos mixes on Diamonds actually hail from the post-76 period of Elton’s career. For example, the instrumental “Song For Guy” is an unexpected highlight: the electric percussion that drives the track is completely isolated in the center speaker, while synthesizers swirl all around and above the listener. Despite its dated production, “I’m Still Standing” is a lot of fun in surround as well–the ‘yeah yeah yeah’ backing vocals are mixed completely behind the listener, just as you’d hope.
Guitars upfront alternate with keys from behind for “Nikita,” as Elton John’s voice emerges from the center speaker with striking clarity. Backing vocals float out to the back of the room, sitting between the rear surrounds and rear heights. During the keyboard solo at around 3:30, synthesizers slowly move clockwise around the height array.
The multiple layers of keyboards throughout “Sacrifice” are spread out between the front and back channels, with tom-tom strikes landing beside the listener. Starting in the second verse, a synthesizer part bounces between the side surrounds. Acoustic guitars from the sides compliment the piano upfront in “I Want Love,” as backing vocals later emerge from the rears and ambience fills up the top speakers.
Editor's Note: While speaking to Dolby's David Gould at NAMM in January 2020 (linked above), Greg Penny revealed that in addition to the Diamonds compilation he'd also completed Atmos remixes of the entire Madman Across The Water and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road studio albums–and was at the time working on Captain Fantastic. Yellow Brick Road appeared on streaming services in September 2023, but the other two titles remain elusive.
The Diamonds compilation is presented mostly in chronological order from 1970 to 2016, but the ‘bonus’ disc in the original 2017 3CD release contains an eclectic mix of songs from different eras–including the 1973 recut version of “Skyline Pigeon” (first recorded for John’s 1969 debut LP Empty Sky) and his cover of The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” done for the 1975 Tommy soundtrack. 16 out of the 17 songs on the bonus disc (all except “Victim of Love”) have been mixed to Dolby Atmos.
The side speakers spring to life with acoustic guitars for the aforementioned “Pinball Wizard,” while electric guitars explode from upfront and Elton’s piano interestingly appears isolated in the center speaker. Percussion emanates from behind throughout “Part-Time Love,” with the chorused guitar residing in the side surrounds and Paul Buckmaster’s orchestration pushed up into the rear heights. Strings occupy the rear for “Believe,” as acoustic guitars fill up the sides and piano stays upfront with the drum kit.
It’s difficult to view the Diamonds Blu-Ray as anything other than a home run both for fans of Elton John’s music and immersive audio. The value is unprecedented (nearly 50 tracks on a single disc!), and Greg Penny continues to distinguish himself as one of the very best spatial audio remixers. I’ll be watching to see if the success of this release leads to other Elton John titles being reissued on Blu-Ray–after all, Penny’s Dolby Atmos mixes of the complete Elton John, Honky Chateau, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Too Low For Zero (1983) albums have been available to stream since 2023.
Read more about the Diamonds Blu-Ray Audio here!
