“Elton John had to pause his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour due to the unfolding COVID pandemic in March 2020. His retirement plans may have been thwarted, but John took the opportunity to keep working. The result? An expansive collection of duets called The Lockdown Sessions, featuring artists like Dua Lipa, Stevie Wonder, Brandi Carlile, Eddie Vedder, Charlie Puth, and Stevie Nicks.” – Spin Magazine
“Elton John’s latest album of collaborations with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Nicki Minaj is by nature disjointed but fun. Since his last studio album in 2013, Elton John has fashioned himself into an enthusiastic patron of contemporary pop via his Apple Music radio show, and rather than finish anything with Bernie Taupin, he’s decided instead to parlay his passion for new music into a collaborations album. Surely this is the only place where you’ll find Lil Nas X and Rina Sawayama alongside Eddie Vedder and the two Stevies, Wonder and Nicks. The Lockdown Sessions is a many-tentacled mix that positions John as bejewelled curator, a guest on his own album – or more of a “session player”, as he puts it – looking back wistfully at his career. The disco-gospel duet with Wonder, Finish Line, and Your Song-ish Stolen Car with Nicks evoke past glories, while Chosen Family with Sawayama pulls off Gaga levels of queer anthemia.” – The Guardian
“As with most socially-distanced hangouts and Zoom calls, much of Elton John’s latest album has a tentative, at times sort of awkward, feel.” – Rolling Stone Magazine