Blue Moves

John's previous album Rock of the Westies (1975) was his first since 1970's Elton John to not include any contributions from longtime Elton John Band members Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson on bass and drums respectively, as they had been fired after the recording of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975). Both of these albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, the first two albums in history to do so, with the latter containing the US number four hit "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and the former spawning the number one single "Island Girl". In June 1976, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", a duet with Kiki Dee, was released as a standalone single and also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

After embarking on the Rock of the Westies Tour and Louder Than Concorde Tour in 1975 and 1976, respectively, John decided to take an indefinite break from touring. In an October 1976 interview with Rolling Stone, John expressed his desire to focus on other projects for the time being, saying he felt it would be "silly" to keep his band members under a contract for an additional year while not being sure what his plans for future performing would be. While Davey Johnstone, Ray Cooper, and James Newton Howard continued to collaborate with John following the release of Blue Moves, the album marked the last time John worked with Caleb Quaye and drummer Roger Pope. In the same interview John came out publicly as bisexual, stating "There's nothing wrong with going to bed with somebody of your own sex. I think everybody's bisexual to a certain degree"; he would later come out as gay in 1992.

"Cage the Songbird" was a tribute to legendary French singer Edith Piaf, and a year or so later was covered by Kiki Dee on an unreleased Rocket album Cage the Songbird, which finally was issued in 2008. ("Songbird" originated as part of the Rock of the Westies sessions, but was not completed during them, probably because the song's acoustic, delicate sound did not fit with the more rock 'n' roll approach of the rest of the songs that made the Westies final track list.) The Beach Boys turned down "Chameleon" (which was written two years prior to the album's release), but Bruce Johnston, a former Beach Boy, performed backing vocals on John's version, along with former Beach Boys touring member Toni Tennille. John also performed the song at Wembley Stadium in 1975, where he also performed the Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy album in its entirety. An excerpt from "Out of the Blue" was used for the closing titles on Top Gear until the end of that Top Gear format (in 2001). This is one of two John albums on which Davey Johnstone does not provide backing vocals; 1997's The Big Picture is the other.

The basic tracks for Blue Moves were recorded at Eastern Sound in Toronto, Ontario. Additional overdubs were done at EMI Studios in Abbey Road, London; Brother Studios in Santa Monica, California; and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California. The album was mixed at Marquee Studios in London.

John has played several songs from Blue Moves live: "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word", "Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance!)", "One Horse Town", "Tonight", "Idol" and "Crazy Water" have been played during various concert appearances through the years.

In the summer of 2011, George Michael embarked on what would be his final tour, the orchestral Symphonica Tour of Europe, the UK, and Australia. From the 19 September concert at Budapest Sports Arena, Michael performed "Idol" in place of "It Doesn't Really Matter" on the setlist. At a special gig in the Royal Albert Hall raising money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Michael introduced the song, saying: "This next song was written by someone I hope has made it in here already, Elton. It's a song he wrote in the late 70s and it's about an ageing pop star. Funny that." As Michael cast his gaze around the audience, John waved from the stalls, where he sat beside his civil partner David Furnish and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter. Having already recorded his own version of "Tonight" for the Two Rooms album in 1991, Michael's vocals at that concert ended up on 2014's Symphonica.

Blue Moves has received mixed reviews since its release. A contemporary review for Rolling Stone said the album "contains nowhere near enough good songs to justify the extended length" and that the interludes and instrumentals were done "to the exclusion of sense". Village Voice critic Robert Christgau described it as "impossibly weepy" and "excessive". Lindsay Planer of Allmusic later said the album showed the "inevitable fatigue" of John's "immense creativity" that had helped create the previous albums of his career.

All tracks written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted.

Note: Initial CD versions of the album maintain the same running order, but omit various combinations of the following tracks: "Cage the Songbird", "Shoulder Holster", "The Wide-Eyed and Laughing" and "Where's the Shoorah?". It has since been remastered and re-released as a 2-CD set retaining the original LP track listing.

Track numbering refers to the 2-CD and digital releases of the album.

Musicians

• Elton John, acoustic piano (1-5, 7-10, 13-16, 18), vocals (2-9, 12-16, 18), vocalese (11), harmonium (14), harpsichord (17)
• Curt Becher, backing vocals (4, 10, 11, 13), BGV arrangements (11, 13)
• Harry Bluestone, strings leader (18)
• Michael Brecker, saxophone (5, 8, 16)
• Randy Brecker, trumpet (5, 8, 16)
• Paul Buckmaster, string arrangements and conductor (3, 7, 15), brass arrangements (7)
• Cindy Bullens, backing vocals (4, 7, 11)
• Clark Burroughs, backing vocals (13)
• Joe Chemay, backing vocals (11, 13)
• Rev. James Cleveland, choir director (5, 14, 18)
• Ray Cooper, glockenspiel (1, 17), marimba (1, 17), gong (3), tambourine (3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 15), vibraphone (3, 4, 9, 10), bells (3), shaker (4, 6, 11), triangle (6), finger cymbals (6), congas (7, 10, 11, 15, 18), rototom (12)
• The Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church and the Southern California Community Choir, choirs (5, 14, 18)
• David Crosby, backing vocals (6)
• Daryl Dragon, BGV arrangements (7)
• The Martyn Ford Orchestra, strings (3, 7, 15), brass (7)
• Carl Fortina, accordion (8)
• Ron Hicklin, backing vocals (4, 7)
• Michael Hurwitz, cello (3)
• Bruce Johnston, backing vocals (4, 7, 10, 11, 13), BGV arrangements (4, 11, 13)
• Davey Johnstone, mandolin (2, 11, 17), electric guitar (3, 7, 10, 15), slide guitar (5, 18), acoustic guitar (6), dulcimer (6), sitar (12)
• Jon Joyce, backing vocals (4, 7, 11)
• The London Symphony Orchestra, strings (2, 9)
• Gene Morford, backing vocals (4, 7)
• Graham Nash, backing vocals (6)
• James Newton Howard, synthesizers (1, 3, 6, 10, 12, 13, 17, 18), Fender Rhodes (3, 9, 13, 17), Hammond organ (5, 11, 15), mellotron (6), clavinet (7)
• The Gene Page Strings, strings (18)
• Kenny Passarelli, bass guitar (1, 3-5, 7-11, 14-18)
• Roger Pope, drums (1, 3-5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15-18)
• Caleb Quaye, acoustic guitar (1, 4, 6, 12, 17), electric guitar (3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 15, 18), guitar solo (3, 10, 15), 12-string guitar (12)
• Barry Rogers, trombone (5, 8, 16)
• David Sanborn, saxophone (5, 8, 16)
• Richard Studt, strings leader (3, 7, 12, 15), brass leader (7)
• Toni Tennille, backing vocals (4, 7, 10, 13)

Production

• Producer and liner notes, Gus Dudgeon
• Engineers, Arun Chakraverty, Gus Dudgeon, Mark Howlett, John Kurlander, Earle Mankey and John Stewart
• Remixing, Gus Dudgeon and Phil Dunne
• Cutting engineer, Arun Chakraverty
• Art direction and coordination, David Costa
• Photography, David Nutter
• Painting, Patrick Procktor