Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida is a 1999 concept album that contains songs from, but predates the main production of, the 2000 musical Aida.

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	23 March 1999
Recorded	1998–99
Genre	Pop, theatrical
Length	65:16
Label	Rocket
Producer	Phil Ramone (executive)
Elton John chronology
The Big Picture (1997) Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida (1999) The Muse (1999)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

With music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, the album features Elton John performing the songs along with pop stars Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Sting, Lenny Kravitz, Shania Twain, Boyz II Men, Spice Girls, James Taylor, LeAnn Rimes, Kelly Price, Lulu, Angelique Kidjo, and Dru Hill. Additionally, two tracks, "A Step Too Far" and "Elaborate Lives", feature the voices of Aida cast-members-to-be Heather Headley and Sherie Rene Scott. The album was certified gold in April 1999 by the RIAA.

"Written in the Stars" was released as a single, reaching No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The single was certified gold in April 1999 by the RIAA. "The Messenger" makes its only appearance here, as it would be cut from the Broadway production and consequently left off the cast album.

This record is sometimes known as the "Concept Album" for Aida, both because it came before the production and to distinguish it from the 2000 release of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida: Original Broadway Cast Recording, a conventional original cast recording of the Broadway production.

Track listing

1. "Another Pyramid" – Sting
2. "Written in the Stars" – Elton John/LeAnn Rimes
3. "Easy as Life" – Tina Turner featuring Angelique Kidjo
4. "My Strongest Suit" – Spice Girls
5. "I Know the Truth" – Elton John/Janet Jackson
6. "Not Me" – Boyz II Men
7. "Amneris' Letter" – Shania Twain
8. "A Step Too Far" – Elton John/Heather Headley/Sherie Scott
9. "Like Father Like Son" – Lenny Kravitz
10. "Elaborate Lives" – Heather Headley
11. "How I Know You" – James Taylor
12. "The Messenger" – Elton John/Lulu
13. "The Gods Love Nubia" – Kelly Price
14. "Enchantment Passing Through" – Dru Hill
15. "Orchestral Finale" – Elton John

Personnel

• Abe Appleman – violin
• Baby Dave – keyboards
• Guy Babylon – keyboards, producer
• Toby Baker – bass
• Julien Barber – viola
• Diane Barere – cello
• Elena Barere – violin
• Jarod Barnes – percussion, drums
• David Barry – guitar
• Mark Berrow – violin
• Virgil Blackwell – clarinet, bass clarinet
• Jeff Bova – piano
• Boyz II Men – producer, performer
• John Bradbury – violin
• Avril Brown – violin
• Ed Calle – flute, saxophone
• Bob Carlisle – horn
• Clifford Carter – keyboards
• John Clark – horn
• Angela Clemmons-Patrick – background vocals
• Clem Clempson – guitar
• Tony Concepcion – trumpet
• Luis Conte – percussion
• David Daniels – cello
• Michael Davis – trombone
• Jae Deal – producer, bass, keyboards, arranger
• Jill Dell'Abate – tambourine, producer
• Dru Hill – producer, performer
• Sly Dunbar – drums, producer
• Jan Fairchild – engineer
• Larry Farrell – trombone
• David Finck – bass
• Barry Finclair – violin
• Simon Fischer – violin
• Helen Foli – violin
• Chevelle Franklyn – background vocals
• Roger Frisch – violin
• Julian Gallagher – guitar, programming
• Roger Garland – violin
• Wilfred Gibson – violin
• Diva Gray – background vocals
• Juliet Haffner – viola
• Heather Headley – vocals
• Carl Herrgesell – piano, harmonium
• Rebecca Hirsch – violin
• Christopher Hooker – oboe
• Nick Ingman – string arrangements
• Jean Ingraham – violin
• Janet Jackson – vocals
• Elton John – background vocals, musical director
• Jimmy Johnson – bass
• Tony Kadleck – trumpet
• Karen Kamon – background vocals
• Doug Katsaros – piano
• Zev Katz – bass, electric bass
• Jeff Kievet – trumpet
• Lauren Kinhan – background vocals
• Merilee Klemp – oboe
• Boguslaw Kostecki – violin
• Lenny Kravitz – acoustic guitar, bass, arranger, drums, electric guitar, background vocals, producer, timpani, horn arrangements, wurlitzer
• Russ Kunkel – percussion, producer
• Peter Lale – viola
• Carol Landon – viola
• Ann Leathers – violin
• Jeanne LeBlanc – cello
• Diane Lesser – horn, oboe
• Richard Locker – cello
• Martin Loveday – cello
• Lulu – performer
• Robert Lyn – keyboards
• Charles Mangold – background vocals
• Peter Mann – background vocals
• Rob Mathes – guitar, arranger, conductor, keyboards, string arrangements
• Scott Meeder – percussion
• Edgar Meyer – acoustic bass
• Kenny Mims – guitar
• Perry Montague-Mason – violin
• Anderson Moore – piano
• Rob Mounsey – conductor
• Jan Mullen – violin
• Caryl Paisner – cello
• Paul Peabody – violin
• Shawn Pelton – drums
• Julia Persitz – violin
• Anthony Pleeth – cello
• Sue Pray – viola
• Kelly Price – performer, vocal arrangement
• Jim Pugh – trombone
• LeAnn Rimes – performer
• Matt Rowe – keyboards, programming, producer
• Philippe Saisse – Fender Rhodes
• Frank Schaefer – cello
• Sherie René Scott – performer
• Mary Scully – bass
• Laura Sewell – cello
• Robbie Shakespeare – bass, producer
• Jackie Shave – violin
• Mark Orrin Shuman – cello
• Daryl Simmons – keyboards, producer, drum programming
• Pamela Sklar – flute
• Bob Smissen – viola
• Andy Snitzer – tenor sax
• Liz Sobieski – violin
• Spice Girls – performer
• Stokley – drums
• Byron Stripling – trumpet
• Marti Sweet – violin
• David Taylor – bass trombone
• James Taylor – guitar, vocals
• Vance Taylor – piano
• Dana Teboe – trombone
• Donna Tecco – violin
• Daria Tedeschi – violin
• Sabina Thatcher – viola
• David Tofani – flute, alto flute
• Darryl Tookes – background vocals
• Tina Turner – performer
• Shania Twain – performer
• Carol Webb – violin
• Ellen Westerman – cello
• Kate Wilkinson – viola
• James "D-Train" Williams – background vocals
• Lloyd "Gitsy" Willis – guitar
• Judy Witmer – viola
• Gavyn Wright – violin
• Craig Young – bass

Additional personnel

• Rob Albano – assistant engineer
• Glenn Barratt – mixing
• Joe Bates – assistant engineer
• Lee Blaske – string arrangements
• Paul Bogaev – producer
• Andy Bradfield – mixing
• Mark Browne – assistant Engineer
• Adrian Bushby – engineer
• Ralph Cacciurri – assistant engineer
• Steve "Barney" Cahse – engineer
• Barney Chase – engineer
• Peter Collins – producer
• Jake Davies – programming
• Mike Dy – assistant engineer
• Frank Filipetti – producer, engineer, mixing
• Dave Fisher – assistant engineer
• Jan Folkson – programming
• Jon Gals – mixing
• Jason Groucott – mixing assistant
• Michael Hanna – arranger
• Delroy "Dr. Marshall" Harrison – engineer
• Jean Hébrail – arranger, producer, engineer
• Steve Hodge – engineer, mixing
• John Holbrook – engineer, mixing
• Jimmy Jam – arranger, multi instruments, producer
• Pete Karem – assistant engineer
• Thom "TK" Kidd – engineer
• Angélique Kidjo – arranger
• Matt Knobel – engineer
• Nathaniel Kunkel – producer, engineer, mixing
• Robert John "Mutt" Lange – producer
• Pete Lewis – engineer
• Terry Lewis – arranger, multi instruments, producer
• Patrick Lindsay – mixing
• Kevin Lively – assistant engineer
• Lord-Alge – mixing
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Mike Malak – engineer
• Terry Manning – engineer
• Steve Mazur – mixing assistant
• Garfield McDonald – engineer
• Chris Montan – producer
• Nathan Morris – arranger
• Wanya Morris – arranger
• Rob Murphy – assistant engineer
• Jake Ninan – assistant engineer
• Richard Pandiscio – artwork, art Direction
• Todd Parker – assistant engineer
• Dave Pensado – mixing
• Greg Pinto – assistant engineer
• Phil Ramone – producer, executive producer
• Chris Ribando – assistant engineer
• Tim Rice – lyricist, liner notes
• Alexander Richbourg – drum programming
• Olle Romo – engineer
• Sisqó – arranger
• Ivy Skoff – producer
• Xavier Smith – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
• Richard Stannard – producer
• Shawn Stockman – arranger
• Pat Thrall – programming, digital editing, electronic editor
• Fred Vaughn – choir arrangement
• Stephanie Vonarx – assistant engineer
• Paul Waller – programming
• Ron Warshow – assistant engineer
• James "Big Jim" Wright – arranger

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[2]	9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[3]	26
French Albums (SNEP)[4]	24
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5]	23
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[6]	12
Scottish Albums (OCC)[7]	44
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[8]	13
UK Albums (OCC)[9]	29

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[10]	Gold	25,000^*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[11]	Gold	25,000^*
United States (RIAA)[12]	Gold	500,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine (23 March 1999). "Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida" - Elton John,Tim Rice | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
2. "Austriancharts.at – Elton John – Aida" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
3. "Ultratop.be – Elton John – Aida" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
4. "Lescharts.com – Elton John – Aida". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – Aida" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
6. "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – Aida". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
7. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
8. "Swisscharts.com – Elton John – Aida". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
9. "Elton John | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
10. "Austrian album certifications – Elton John – Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida" (in German). IFPI Austria.
11. "Norwegian album certifications – Elton John – Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
12. "American album certifications – Elton John – Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.