Elton John and old idol rock re-'Union'

Nothing brings out the best in somebody like the will to ­impress his idol.

Ask Elton John. As a young hopeful, the pianist worshiped Leon Russell, a fellow czar of the 88s whose career preceded his. The criminally underrecognized Russell turns up on virtually every important pop recording from the early '60s to the mid-'70s, from Phil Spector's grandest hits to the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" to the Stones' "Let It Bleed." He led Joe Cocker's brilliantly ragtag "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" and stole the show at George Harrison's "Bangladesh" concert.

As a solo star, Russell wrote and sang standards like "A Song for You," "Superstar" and "This Masquerade" -- all warbled in every airport lounge and bowling alley to this day. Russell continues to tour avidly, but he hasn't had a high-profile platform in far too long.

That's where Elton comes in. The pair played together on a brief tour in 1970, then lost touch. Four decades later, Elton tracked down his old hero to entice him into making a tandem CD. The result proves moving for more qualities than just its backstory.

The Elton/Leon tte--tte doesn't attempt to revive either star's days of spit and vigor. There's no hot piano-on-piano action here. Instead, "The Union" captures the men as they are now: older, wiser and full of grace. Ballads -- good ones -- dominate, showing their mutual honed craft. "If It Wasn't for Bad," the kickoff track, is classic Leon -- wry and rooted in American soul. It's the sole song he wrote alone, due to medical problems just before the recording, so it's no surprise that Elton/Bernie Taupin compositions dominate, or that Elton seems to take more lead vocals.

Unfortunately, at this point Elton isn't as emotive a singer as his elder. Still, he and Taupin worked hard to make their songs sound like something Russell would've written way back when.

Cuts like "Gone to Shiloh" or "Jimmie Rodgers' Dream" might have turned up on ­­mid-period Russell albums. Other pieces have the feel of Elton's most country-leaning album, "Tumbleweed Connection."

The lyrics make sweet use of the stars' ages. A song like "There's No Tomorrow" takes on a more literal meaning in their hands, since they may be starting to run low on them.

It's far from the stars' athletic prime. But there's a twilight sweetness to this release, forming a likable gesture of gratitude from one piano man to one who paved the way.

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