Sir Elton John claims his new record is ''the most exciting'' he has made in a ''long, long time.''

The 'Rocket Man' singer has gone Back to Basics with 'The Diving Board', recording it with just piano, bass and drums backing his voice at the suggestion of producer T Bone Burnett.

He told Rolling Stone magazine: ''It was T Bone's idea to get back with piano, bass and drums. He said, 'Let's start with that.'''

Although he was unsure about whether he wanted to go back into the studio so soon after his last album, 2010's 'The Union' with Leon Russell - as soon as he was there, Elton worked prolifically, writing twelve songs in two days and recording them in another four.

He added: ''I was due to go back into the studio, but I didn't know whether I wanted to go back in so quickly.

''But I said, 'I'll go into the studio and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't matter. [And it turned out the] quickest record I've ever made.

''As I said with 'The Union', I had to go back to go forward, and it's the same with this record.''

Elton was backed on the record by Raphael Saadiq on bass, Jay Bellerose - who played on 'The Union' - on drums and guitarist Doyle Bramhall on two tracks.