I am going to contribute something a bit unexpected around here… Inspired by Ian’s entertaining Bowie discography overview in summer 2015, I’d like to present my opinion piece on Elton John’s discography
Some time ago somewhere I read someone stating that of the seven bands or musicians having sold more than 250 million records, Elton John is the only one not to receive as much respect as the other six (The Beatles, Elvis, M. Jackson, Madonna, Led Zep, Pink Floyd) among music critics and music lovers. I think that’s kind of true, considering I’ve been following Mr. Dwight’s aka Mr. John’s body of work consistently and rather closely for almost all my life (which, however, began in 1978, after his creative peak, by the way).
Sure, Elton John put out some stuff which is pretty mediocre — but he’s been around as a recording artist for 50 years and I’d like to pay tribute to him with this little overview to his 70th birthday this month. I’ll try to keep the comments short, since he put out so many albums.
(1) Empty Sky (1969) ***
Notes: An old friend who’d never listen to Elton John received this LP once from another friend – and was surprised he actually liked it. It was not was he’d expected. An ambitious, but uneven mix of influences of the late sixties, from progressive rock to chamber music to psychedelic Sgt. Pepper, with a few nice leftfield pop songs.
Standout tracks: Empty Sky (8½ minutes), Skyline Pigeon (harpsichord version).
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(2) [untitled album] or Elton John (August 1970) ****½
First album produced by Gus Dudgeon, with string orchestra arranged and conducted by Paul Buckmaster. Probably his most personal album, rather melancholic and intimate. Some rocking blues, some orchestra pop, some gospel songs.
Standout tracks: Border Song, The Greatest Discovery, I need you to turn to, Your Song.
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(3) Tumbleweed Connection (Oct 1970) *****
I actually bought this album maybe five times, in various editions on LP and CD. A thoroughly beautiful and emotionally intense concept album about the American West, with lots of songs being quite unconventional. It’s actually not what you’d consider as „pop album“ , but rather a cinematic collection of country and western and bluesy folk songs referencing the civil war, among other things. One of the best albums of the 1970s, for sure.
Standout tracks: Amoreena (NB: the fantastic opening song of Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon), Come down in Time, Son of your Father, My Father’s Gun.
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(4) Friends (Soundtrack Album, Feb 1971) **½
Haven’t heard it in decades. A soundtrack album to a film no-one knows. Paul Buckmaster wrote some instrumental sections, but a couple of Elton’s rock songs are pretty good.
Standout tracks: Can I put you on, Honey Roll.
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(5) 17-11-70 (March 1971) ****
I always enjoyed this rough-sounding live album, recorded on November 17th, 1970, for a New York radio station, a lot; always hoped for Elton John to release another similar intimate acoustic album again. This 52 minute, hard-rocking set (one track was left off of the original LP version) presents Elton’s very spirited core trio of piano, bass (Dee Murray, his bass player until he died in 1992) and drums (Nigel Olsson, after he left Uriah Heep, has been part of Elton’s band from 1970 until today). This absolutely great selection of songs includes no hits, but fine covers versions of My Baby left me, Get back and Honky Tonk Women.
Standout tracks: Amoreena, Take me to the Pilot, Honky Tonk Women.
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(6) Madman Across the Water (Nov 1971) ****½
A rather dark, but somewhat cinematic storytelling album, an adequate follow-up to Tumbleweed, strangely enough never received recognition, though there’s not a single mediocre song on the elegiac album, which relies heavily on Buckmaster’s string arrangements and epic character stories such as Levon (a beautiful song covered by, yes, Jon Bon Jovi twenty years later). Tiny Dancer (featuring BJ Cole’s steel guitar) of course became a late hit because of Cameron Crowe’s film Almost Famous. Interesting guest musicians include Rick Wakeman, Herbie Flowers and a choir.
Standout tracks: Madman Across the Water (featuring Rick Wakeman), Indian Sunset, Levon, Razor Face.
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(7) Honky Château (May 1972) *****
Finally, Elton’s first „real“ pop album. All killers, no fillers. Soul, blues and rock songs, fantastic piano playing, a tight rock’n’roll band, probably the album responsible for Elton John’s reputation as a great songwriter and rise to big stardom. And yes, there’s Rocket Man – just listen to it disregarding you’ve heard it a million times on mainstream radio. There’s lot of fun on the album, too, just check out Honky Cat (with the cool brass band), Hercules (with Nigel Olsson on „Rhino whistle“) or I think I’m going to kill myself. And there’s Ray Cooper on percussion and congas, Jean-Luc Ponty on electric violin and David Hentschel on A.R.P. synthesizer. Thoroughly fantastic.
Standout tracks (I always loved the rock numbers): Honky Cat, Susie (Dramas), Amy, Hercules.
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(8) Don’t shoot my I’m only the Piano Player (Jan 1973) ****
The only reason this is not thoroughly fantastic is probably Honky Château. Even more pop music than in 1972, slightly more eclectic, incorporating influences from all across the past 20 years, including Merle Haggard, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, the Marx Brothers and Speedy Gonzales. All songs are very good to great, but the album is maybe less than the sum of its parts. And, well, here you’ll find Crocodile Rock and Daniel, if you don’t know where to look for them. ;-) (PS: Daniel is not a gay anthem. It’s about a Vietnam veteran.)
Standout tracks: I’m gonna be a Teenage Idol (a tribute to Elton’s friend Marc Bolan, with a brass band), Have Mercy on the Criminal (orchestral blues-rock), Midnight Creeper (another strong brass arrangement, this time with a much darker song), Crocodi— ah forget it…
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(9) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Oct 1973) ****½
People usually say it’s his best album. So what do you expect me to say…? It’s not. However, considering Elton John has become mainstream radio fodder since then, it’s surprising that there are nasty lyrics about a Dirty Little Girl and how All the Girls love Alice, as well as a funny reggae about a Jamaica Jerk-Off or the tongue-in-cheek Social Disease on here, all of which would have required a „parental advisory“ sticker a few years later. Speaking of which, Guns N’Roses paid tribute to the beautiful I’ve seen that Movie too in their huge 1991 hit You could be mine, the „title song“ to Terminator 2.
It’s probably the first openly gay album in mainstream music; with Alice and Bennie and the Jets, which is a self-portrait homage to glam rock and has since been referred to and sampled many times in (American) Black Music, most recently on A Tribe Called Quest’s standout 2016 album We got it from here… Thank you for your Service, where the rappers collaborated with Elton using samples of the song and added new lines. Personally, I think the side 3 of this double album is the best crafted suite of perfect songs in Elton John’s discography: Sweet Painted Lady – The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-34) – Dirty Little Girl – All the Girls Love Alice, a universe of its own.
Other standout tracks, besides the previously mentioned ones: Social Disease, Love Lies Bleeding, This Song has no Title.
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(10) Caribou (June 1974) ***½
…is basically a light afterword to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Notable for the nasty live favorite The Bitch is back, inspired (and covered) by Tina Turner, a few absurd and nonsensical songs like Solar Prestige a Gammon and Dixie Lily (mock-country), as well as the seven-and-a-half minute solo piano (with some synth in the last part) epic Ticking about a young school shooter (Elton performed the song on several solo tours, e.g. in Germany after the Erfurt school massacre for that reason).
Standout tracks: You’re so static (an absurd tango), Ticking, I’ve seen the Saucers.
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(11) Greatest Hits (Nov 1974) *****
It’s what it claims it is: A greatest hits collection of the first five years. NB: Candle in the Wind was not on the original LP version.
Standout tracks: Crocodile Rock.
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