Goodbye Yellow Brick Road [Remastered] - Elton John > Reviews > From The Sublime To The Ridiculous

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	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Some truly great tracks
Disadvantages:	Its nearly 30 years old

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If anyone were to judge Elton John on his presence on the music scene for the last 5 years would wonder how he came to be regarded so highly. His drama queen style has made him a parody of himself though few can argue what a positive force he has been for gay recognition and indeed for AIDS charities.

There was however once a time, I kid you not, when he was known for the quality, originality and strength of his music. The album ‘ Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ is an example of Elton John at his best. The sad thing is that you are then saying his best was almost 30 years ago.

First though let’s get ‘Candle In The Wind’ out of the way. The original track is fine but the Princess Diana rework must now be considered a huge mistake. (It was rumoured there was going to be a Mother Teresa version called ‘Sandals In The Bin’).
The Diana version compromised the integrity of the original version and made it a ‘one-size-fits-all’ tribute song, just alter the words to suit the latest tragedy. Ok I’ve got that off my chest and let’s continue with the better stuff.

The album starts with the classic John track ‘Funeral for A Friend’ slipping straight into ‘Love Lies Bleeding’. Love lies bleeding is pure Elton John, a track that shouts out to be listened to. For those who have been fortunate, as I have, to see him live this type of song is his strength. The pseudo live ‘ Bennie and the Jets’ is his homage to his own live music playing with his band and the fame and attention that receives. When his lyricist Bernie Taupin and he combine on songs like this there is a subtle depth to what they write.

The title track is another superb song full of musical invention and clever lyrics. When one considers the paucity of current music and the fact that none of these tracks had any major chart success is as baffling as it is crazy. As with many albums this has an eclectic mix of up-tempo rock like ‘Saturday Nights Alright For Fighting’ to gentle ballads like ‘The Ballad of Danny Bailey’. What runs through all the tracks is quality and the highest achievable production standard.

What I do find sad is that Elton John no longer feels the need to produce albums of this quality or perhaps he just can’t. Elton John now seems distracted by the ephemera of fame, by the need to be a personality. Many fans would just prefer he sat in front of the piano and produced music as good as that on this album.