Gnomeo and Juliet

Personnel: Davey Johnston, Nigel Olsson, Ray Cooper , Bob Birch .
Audio Mixer: Shawn Murphy.
Recording information: Abbey Road Studios, London.
The soundtrack for Touchstone Pictures' 2011 CGI animated film Gnomeo and Juliet (Shakespeare, garden gnomes, forbidden love, etc.) was built primarily around the back catalog of Sir Elton John, with four slots allotted to composer James Newton Howard's likeable orchestral score, a lighthearted, discotheque-ready rendition of "Crocodile Rock" by Nelly Furtado and a requisite, closing calypso number ("The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room"). John and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin offered up two new compositions, the lovely and stoic "Love Builds a Garden" and the spirited, Beatlesque "Hello, Hello" (the latter appears in the film as a duet with Lady Gaga, while the soundtrack version features only John), with the remainder of the playlist relying on Elton radio staples like "Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Tiny Dancer," "Benny and the Jets," "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)," and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with Kiki Dee. ~ James Christopher Monger