It's taken a few detours along the way -- including a surprise release delay that prompted the addition of some new songs -- but Elton John's new album, 'The Diving Board,' is finally coming out on Sept. 24.

John, who premiered selections from the T Bone Burnett-produced LP at a listening party in February, is already offering listeners the chance to hear the first single, 'Home Again,' via instant download when they pre-order 'The Diving Board' through iTunes. The record is being released in a variety of configurations, including Standard, Deluxe, Super-Deluxe and 180-gram vinyl formats; fans who pony up for the deluxe versions will be treated to an assortment of extra content, including bonus tracks, a DVD, and live sessions.

The album represents a label shift for John, who's making his debut for the Capitol Music Group. Label CEO Steve Barnett expressed his admiration for his new signing in a press release, saying, "'The Diving Board' is simply a masterpiece. It is rare for an artist of Elton's stature -- one who has experienced decades of success and has sold literally hundreds of millions of records -- to re-evaluate his artistic ambitions, to push himself and dig so deeply to create one of the strongest albums of his storied career. Yet, Elton has done exactly that. All of us at the company are incredibly proud to be presenting 'The Diving Board' to the public, and we couldn't be more thrilled that Capitol Records is now home to Elton John."

For Burnett, the album represented an opportunity to revisit John's early trio recordings, which made a marked impression on Burnett as a young music fan. "I saw Elton at the Troubadour in 1970, in a legendary week of shows. Those shows never left me. A three-piece band -- piano, bass, and drums, like one enormous instrument -- just killing it. So we started from there. I wanted to be able to superimpose this recording over my memory of the sound and the wild intelligence of those shows. From that perspective, forty years down the road, 'The Diving Board' is an album of music by a master at the peak of his artistic powers."

"I had to ask myself, 'What kind of music do I really want to make?', and I realized that I had to go back to go forward again," added John. "I needed to strip away the excesses and get back to the core of what I do as an artist. That's what 'The Diving Board' represents. I'm incredibly excited about every aspect of this album: The performances, T Bone's production, Bernie's lyrics and the songs we've created. 'The Diving Board' is the album I've been waiting to make for decades."

Elton John 'The Diving Board' Track Listing
'Oceans Away'
'Oscar Wilde Gets Out'
'A Town Called Jubilee'
'The Ballad of Blind Tom'
'Dream #1'
'My Quicksand'
'Can’t Stay Alone Tonight'
'Voyeur'
'Home Again'
'Take This Dirty Water'
'Dream #2'
'The New Fever Waltz'
'Mexican Vacation (Kids In The Candlelight)'
'Dream #3'
'The Diving Board'

'Candlelit Bedroom' (Deluxe & Super-Deluxe Versions)
'Home Again (live from Capitol Studios)' (Deluxe & Super-Deluxe Versions)
'Mexican Vacation (Kids In The Candlelight)' (live from Capitol Studios) (Deluxe & Super-Deluxe Versions)
'The New Fever Waltz' (live from Capitol Studios) (Deluxe & Super-Deluxe Versions)

More From 1073 Popcrush