Elton John - Elton John > Reviews > Phenomenon

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Average
Value for Money

Advantages:	Some great songs
Disadvantages:	Some naff songs

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

There was a time when Elton John was a pretty essential artist in the rock and roll scene. Born in 1948, the same year as David Bowie, the two of them were up and coming talents at the end of the 1960's and exploded onto the scene in the early part of the new decade. Bowie's emergence came with Space Oddity, while Elton had to wait a little bit longer for the over sentimental Your Song. However, that's where the similarity ended, with Bowie the epitome of cool and street cred while Elton was just a short sighted, balding, fat piano player with a penchant for odd clothes.

Elton may have been a figure of fun for most of his career, but he was undoubtedly a key figure in the period between 1970 and 1976 before lapsing into a morass and losing his way after the highly Americanised Blue Moves in the latter year.

Elton John was born as Reginald Kenneth Dwight and made his way as a composing talent in the Tin Pan Alley scene where he eventually found and teamed up with lyricist Bernie Taupin, kicking off a wonderful partnership which was to enjoy phenomenal success over the following six or seven years.

1969 brought the debut album, a lack lustre and disappointing affair called Empty Sky - Empty Sky - Val-Hala - Western Ford Gateway - Hymn 2000 - Lady What's Tomorrow - Sails - The Scaffold - Skyline Pigeon - Gulliver/Hay Chewed/Reprise. There were a couple of good tracks but really nothing to write home about.

However, a year later, the extraordinary Elton John album, with its dark and shadowy cover, and expansive and string soaked romantic songs, was a great advance, winning an audience for the Taupin-John axis. It was a maudlin collection, reeking of self pity and unrequited love, but showed that the lyrics of Taupin and the soulful compositions of Elton could strike a chord with audiences everywhere, and his live performances were starting to mark him out as a man to watch - Your Song - I Need You To Turn To - Take Me To The Pilot - No Shoestrings On Louise - First Episode At Hienton - Sixty Years On - Border Song - The Greatest Discovery - The Cage - The King Must Die. The album shifted huge numbers and established Elton as a major new star, although he had yet to establish an identity beyond the songs.

The Dick James Music label to whom Taupin and John had signed were holding the duo to a taxing two album a year deal and so it was a relatively short period of time before the heavily influenced American sounds of Tumbleweed Connection was released - Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun - Come Down In Time - Country Comfort - Son Of Your Father - My Father's Gun - Where To Now St. Peter? - Love Song - Amoreena - Talking Old Soldiers - Burn Down The Mission. This was a much stronger album than the previous ones with Elton finding a more assertive and individual voice for himself, even though the popularity of the man in the States was starting to show a little too much. Nevertheless, the sound was popular and saw the album figure strongly in the charts. There were some excellent songs on it, and a few which became major crowd pleasers.

The next album, 1971's Madman Across The Water was a quieter and more reflective album, much like the Elton John set, and contained some fine songs - Tiny Dancer - Levon - Razor Face - Madman Across The Water - Indian Sunset - Holiday Inn - Rotten Peaches - All The Nasties - Goodbye. Many of the previous American themes and influences still permeated the album, but by now John and Taupin were forging their own identities and sound, and were building a massive following, although the singles were not massive hits. Elton was a credible albums artist, but had yet to sustain a major chart presence.

That all changed, however, with 1972's Honky Chateau album, which saw Elton churn out a whole ream of smash hit singles which soared effortlessly up the charts - Honky Cat - Mellow - I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself - Susie (Dramas) - Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time) - Salvation - Slave - Amy - Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters - Hercules. In retrospect, Elton could have released pretty much anything off the album and seen them become hits, so strong and instant were the songs. Honky Cat and Rocket Man were the songs actually released as singles and made Elton a regular Top 5 artist with popular appearances on Top of the Pops. His up front piano playing and the wonderful backing of his regular band Dee Murray (bass), Davey Johnstone (guitar) and Nigel Olsson (drums) generated a strong and addictive sound and the compositions of Taupin and John certainly struck a chord again and again, particularly with the single buying public.

The next album, Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player, was not as assured as Honky Chateau, but it was another well crafted collection of pop songs, permeated with a solid rock sound and powerful vocals. It broke no new ground and was essentially a case of marking time, but it was successful enough - Daniel - Teacher I Need You - Elderberry Wine - Blues For Baby And Me - Midnight Creeper - Have Mercy On The Criminal - I'm Going To Be A Teenage Idol - Texan Love Song - Crocodile Rock - High Flying Bird.

With 1973's double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Taupin and John finally delivered the set they had threatened to make, and the set literally dripped with high points and massive hit singles - it was a uniformly strong collection which showcased the duo's outstanding pop rock talents for all to see. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was one of the earliest albums I ever bought and still one of my favourites. It's easy to overlook with its deceptively simple sound, but remains a bona fide classic - Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding - Candle In The Wind - Bennie And The Jets - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - This Song Has No Title - Grey Seal - Jamaica Jerk-Off - I've Seen That Movie Too - Sweet Painted Lady - The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-34) - Dirty Little Girl - All The Girls Love Alice - Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'N Roll) - Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Roy Rogers - Social Disease - Harmony

Unfortunately, the muse had been temporarily milked and 1974's Caribou album was a shoddy and shallow work, best forgotten - The Bitch Is Back - Pinky - Grimsby - Dixie Lily - Solar Prestige A Gammon - You're So Static - I've Seen The Saucers - Stinker - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - Ticking. The standard number of singles were lifted off the album, but did not have the sure footed magic touch that had been so evident in 1973.

In 1975, Elton and Bernie decided to release an autobiographical set called Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, which was another extraordinary triumph, not as readily accessible as some of the earlier stuff, but packed out with strong rock songs. After this, Elton opted for another band and a different sound, but had lost his place at rock's high table - Rock of the Westies and Blue Moves were shallow imitations of earlier work and things thereafter went from bad to worse. It's unfortunate, but one should remember the good times and the work which Elton John left behind him.