Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Elton John recruits Eddie Vedder for his lockdown sessions.
Elton John really loves to collaborate: his new album The Lockdown Sessions features him joining forces with some of the biggest musicians around, from Dua Lipa to Stevie Wonder. With “E-Ticket,” his new track with none other than Eddie Vedder, John goes back to basics.
It’s an undeniably fun, classic piano jam from the prolific pair, and Vedder’s presence makes it all the more riveting. Their husky voices sync and blend so well that at times, it’s hard to tell who is who — but it’s Vedder’s guitar work and status as a rock icon that gives the song an irresistible edge.
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John has always been a massive influence on modern rock and roll, pioneering so many genre offshoots over a 50-year career. So when you hear him really rock out, especially with his dizzying trademark piano fills, you can’t help but smile.
It’s worth noting that many of the songs on The Lockdown Sessions feature newer pop artists that frequently push boundaries in the landscape of modern music, from Lil Nas X to Miley Cyrus — and yet, it’s his collaboration with Vedder that feels so fitting, natural, and classic.
And with its slightly humorous chorus — which, along with the song’s title, may or may not be a reference to the special admission ticket used at Disneyland pre-1982 — “E-Ticket” is the sound of two artists embracing their legend status while simultaneously throwing their egos out the door: “You gotta figure it’s an E-Ticket ride/ Yeah, why else stand in line?”
— Paolo Ragusa
