Two Rooms

Like its corresponding album, Two Rooms isn't so much a tribute as a sales pitch. It's meant to promote the idea that the songs of Elton John and his chief lyricist, Bernie Taupin, should be treated as standards, much like the Lennon-McCartney catalog. In what amounts to a display of public groveling, Taupin mutters at one point, ''It's sad people haven't recorded more of our songs.'' So, in between clips of the duo reminiscing about their history and how they wrote some of their hits, a slew of superstar pals (Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Sting, etc.) are shown singing both their praises and their songs. Of course, there's no reason the best John-Taupin songs shouldn't be remade; many of them are as well crafted as the best Brill Building hits. But the cover versions included here — Tina Turner's Vegas-ization of ''The Bitch Is Back,'' Collins' oversung ''Burn Down the Mission,'' and Sinead O'Connor's zombie-like ''Sacrifice'' among them — add nothing to the originals except hype. C

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