[At times, the album has a vaguely familiar feel, because it seems as if Peter Gabriel and Sting walked down this path in the late '80s -- Gabriel with] So, ... Nothing Like The Sun.

My friends are Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, and we're singing about mortality, getting older. It's an interesting time.

I realize that nothing's as it seems.

[Sting also agreed quickly to participate in the album, and was the first one to complete his track.] No matter how busy you are, when Elton asked me to do something, I said, 'Drop everything, I'll do it for my friend,' ... Because I respect him and love him greatly.

I feel this music has nurtured me as I've been immersing myself in it. I've felt supported by it.

I see songs not as a commodity used up when the album goes off the charts, which is often the case with pop songs. I see them as a body of work. Life should be breathed into them.