The One is the twenty-third studio album by British musician Elton John, released on 22 June 1992. It was recorded at Studio Guillaume Tell in Paris, produced by Chris Thomas and managed by John Reid. The album was dedicated to Vance Buck, and its cover artwork was designed by Gianni Versace.
The One spent three consecutive weeks at No. 2 without reaching No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, being kept off the top spot by the Lionel Richie compilation Back to Front. It was John's biggest-selling album in the US since 1976, and was certified 2× platinum in that country by the RIAA. It is also John's only studio album to reach number one in Germany.
Background
Olle Romö collaborated with Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin on one song, "Runaway Train", in which Eric Clapton sang a duet with John. Pink Floyd's David Gilmour also made an appearance, playing guitar on "Understanding Women". The Elton John Band's long-standing drummer Nigel Olsson and female backing vocalist Kiki Dee (who had duetted with John on his hit single "Don't Go Breaking My Heart") and longtime guitarist Davey Johnstone provided backing vocals on a few songs.
The One was John's first album project since his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addictions and bulimia in 1990. On the album, he returned to playing an acoustic piano (a Yamaha Disklavier) in place of the Roland RD-1000 digital piano that had featured heavily on the previous albums Reg Strikes Back (1988) and Sleeping with the Past (1989), although he did use the RD-1000 again during his The One Tour supporting the album (as documented on Live in Barcelona) and on his later album Duets (1993).
Track listing
All songs composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except "Runaway Train", co-written by Olle Romö.
Personnel
Musicians
- Elton John – vocals, acoustic piano (1–3, 5–8, 11), organ (4, 5), electric piano (9, 10)
- Mark Taylor – keyboards (1–3, 6, 7)
- Guy Babylon – keyboards (2–5, 7–11), programming (2–5, 7–11)
- Adam Seymour – guitar (1, 2, 6, 7)
- Davey Johnstone – guitar (2–5, 7–9), backing vocals (7, 9)
- Eric Clapton – guitar (4), vocals (4)
- David Gilmour – guitar (10)
- Pino Palladino – bass (1–8, 10)
- Olle Romo – drums (1–10), percussion (1–10), drum programming (1–10)
- Beckie Bell – backing vocals (4)
- Carole Fredericks – backing vocals (4)
- Joniece Jamison – backing vocals (4)
- Kiki Dee – backing vocals (7, 9, 10)
- Nigel Olsson – backing vocals (7, 9)
Production
- Produced by Chris Thomas
- Recorded and engineered by David Nicholas
- Assistant engineers – Alex Firla and Andy Strange
- Assistant engineer on "Runaway Train" – Andy Bradfield
- Tracks 1–3, 5–9 and 11 recorded at Studio Guillaume Tell (Paris, France)
- "Runaway Train" recorded at Studio Guillaume Tell and The Town House (London, England)
- "Understanding Women" recorded at Air Studios (London)
- Mixed at Air Studios
- Cutting at The Hit Factory London.
- Album coordination – Steve Brown
- Studio coordination – Adrian Collee and Sam Stell
- Technician to Eric Clapton – Lee Dixon
- Technician to Mark Taylor – Vince Barker
- Photography – Patrick Dermarchelier
- Cover design concept – Gianni Versace
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Weekly chart performance for The One
! scope="col"| Chart (1992)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
| align="center"| 3
|-
|-
!scope="row"|European Albums (Music & Media)
| align="center"| 1
|-
!scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)
| align="center"| 1
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)
| align="center"| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (Spanish Albums Chart)
| align="center"| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Year-end chart performance for The One
! scope="col"| Chart (1992)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|Argentina Foreign Albums (CAPIF)
| align="center"|12
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)
| align="center"| 27
|-
!scope="row"|Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria Top 40)
| align="center"| 9
|-
!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)
| align="center"| 18
|-
!scope="row" |Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
| align="center"| 11
|-
!scope="row" |UK Albums Chart (OCC)
| align="center"| 52
|-
!scope="row" "|US Billboard 200
| align="center"| 59
|}