The subtitle to
Rocketman
is "Music from the Motion Picture," which is a clear signal that this is indeed a soundtrack to an
Elton John
biopic, not an
hits collection. While
isn't absent from
Rocketman: Music from the Motion Picture
-- he comes in at the close, singing on a triumphantly dramatic reworking of "I'm Still Standing" and taking the lead on the brand-new "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again," a nice evocation of his chipper imperial era -- he cedes the stage to
Taron Egerton
, who plays the young
Elton
both on screen and on record. As far as the soundtrack goes,
Egerton
is an admirable
stand-in, possessing a vocal timbre that's reminiscent of
John
that enables him to evade imitation, which is a bit more than can be said about the lion's share of the arrangements of
oldies. By and large, these versions are meant to stir memories of the hits you know by heart, but they're shaped to fit the contours of the film, so they can feel slightly off even when they're hitting their marks precisely. While this can make for a bit of an uncanny valley experience for listeners who've memorized the original recordings, these new versions deliver a snazzy, cinematic punch that distinguishes
from
's own work. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine