Just watched the Interview above. What a great interview. He made some truly astounding comments, just really insightful and almost.. wise.
"Its not a job, It's a privilege". Some other musicians could learn something insightful from that.
Just watched the Interview above. What a great interview. He made some truly astounding comments, just really insightful and almost.. wise.
"Its not a job, It's a privilege". Some other musicians could learn something insightful from that.
I got nothin' :
...avoiding any implication that I have ever entertained a cognizant thought.
live samples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwbCFGbAtFc
https://youtu.be/AEE5OZXJioE
https://soundcloud.com/yodelgoat/yod...om-a-live-show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUe3YhCjy6g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VOCJokzL_s
Hey, I'm glad someone enjoyed it! I found it fascinating the whole way through. So interesting to hear him say Empty Sky is one of the best rock tracks he ever did.Originally Posted by Yodelgoat
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Listening to Tumbleweed Connection right now. Hats off to Gus for a long string of stellar productions and Buckmaster for those beautiful orchestrations.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
No idea why anyone would want that deluxe box of GYBR. Listened to some of it and , no thanks.
Blue Avenue was a great track. Don’t know why it wasn’t a hit
^I think projects like that also date terribly. Some of the names chosen to cover his songs are already heading towards 'who?' status.
I must admit I probably wouldn't have bothered going beyond Blue Moves or so had I not found the albums after that cheaply second hand (seldom more than £2) over many years, but I'm very glad I did.
I think Breaking Hearts is a particularly underrated album. 'Burning Buildings' is a classic Elton song which seems completely unknown outside of fans.
One thing I'd say for even the dud 80s albums like Ice On Fire and Leather Jackets, compared to the dirgey The Diving Board, they are at least varied. The latter is generally seen as his weakest album of original material and I wouldn't disagree ('Angeline' might be the worst thing he ever did!), but I still like three or four songs on it. Something like The Diving Board mostly is one slow ballad after another. I seem to recall The Big Picture is another one like that...slooooow ballads.
I've discovered several more of them on Amazon marketplace for dirt cheap ($0.89, $1.29, etc.) so I've ordered up even more. I think I'll be completing my EJ collection in the coming weeks, although I don't think I'll ever need the Lion King stuff or Victim Of Love. But in addition to the other latter-day titles I found last week, I now have Peachtree Road, Wonderful Crazy Night, The One and The Big Picture all on their way to me (and from nearby sellers to boot). I've loved the 1969-1976 period for many years, as well as some of the 80s stuff, and I know these titles will likely not live up to those classics but I'm happy to finally be checking them all out anyway. If some of them are duds, well, they didn't cost me much.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
That's what makes Elton special. His deep tracks, the ones that never got any exposure, are some of his most rewarding tracks. Like you mentioned, There are a bunch of songs to like on even his weakest albums. And his strong albums are pretty much without filler. I always felt that I could make 4 or 5 set lists that didn't overlap at all and be happy to see that concert.
While The Diving Board is a bit slow, his piano playing is very enjoyable. Even more front and center than usual. The bonus tracks should have been on the proper album, but then again if the bonus tracks were weak, why would anyone buy it? TDB was originally wrapped up and Elton went on tour and when he came back he added and reworked some of the tracks. That's something that I don't ever remember him doing before. He always records very quickly and then puts it out the door.
The Big Picture is the album that lately Bernie and Elton have been saying it's their least favorite. Bernie wasn't happy with most of his lyrics and Elton was critical of the production. He was also very critical of Universal for not promoting it and even said so from the stage at a concert in the Nassau Coliseum. I like the album but it could have used some more upbeat material. They made a decision after that album, to write more for themselves. And Elton either produced or coproduced a couple of the albums himself. The 2000 renaissance of EJ has largely removed the echoey sound of some of his 90's albums (saying goodbye to producer Chris Thomas) and they have a more natural sound.
Last edited by Tangram; 02-18-2018 at 09:01 AM.
Since your getting the latter day Elton, don't forget to check out The Road To Eldorado. I ignored it for about 15 years because I thought it would be like The Lion King which only has the 2 songs that everyone knows and maybe one other of his. TRTE plays like a typical EJ album with a nod to the movie in a couple of tracks. The music has more variety and input from the other players. There are only 3 songs that are not his and they are at the end of the album. I would recommend it. YMMV.
I'll keep an eye out for it, thanks!
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
^Did you like ...West Coast and The Captain And The Kid?
RE; The One. I always thought this one really suffered from the production- all those digital keyboard sounds and the programming makes for a pretty dead sounding album to me- but a good batch of songs again.
Made In England was the best I've heard from him in the 90s. I really dislike the title track though, which was a single. (The Lennon-esque 'Believe' was another single and is far better.)
"Reg Strikes Back" is like that too. All digital keyboard and a very dated production, but a lot of the songs on that one have grown on me over the years, and are pretty good.
^That one had the big US hit 'I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That' as well...one of the last big hits he had which wasn't a ballad. Haven't heard it in years but I remember getting it for £1 in a second hand store alongside a pile of other later Elton albums. I like it, a pretty varied batch of songs.
Ice On Fire (got it in the same batch) is a difficult one. 'Nikita' is magnificent but so far ahead of everything else on it. There's some really 'light' stuff on the second half in particular. 'Wrap Her Up', 'Candy By The Pound', 'Satellite', they'd blow away in a mild wind. 'Tell Me What The Papers Say' is a classic example of bad 80s production/arrangements robbing music of bite. Given his tribulations with the UK tabloid press (specifically The Sun) at the time, you'd expect something with more edge.
Songs From the West Coast is regarded by many as the best of EJ in the 2000's. It's a very strong album. I can't disagree. The Captain and The Kid is also quite good. My only small complaint is since Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy was Elton's and Bernie Taupin's struggles early in their careers, CATK should have rocked a bit more as it was taking over during their 70's climb to the top. Anyway, it doesn't stop it from being a good listen.
Basically, does 2000's EJ compare favorably to 1970's EJ. No, but there is not a bad album in the 2000's bunch and some are almost as good. Its really like apples and oranges as 70's Elton could rock with the best of them when he wanted and write in any style he wanted. He was young and at the top of his game with the backing to do whatever he wanted. Now he and Bernie are elder man, and if EJ came out with a song like Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting or All the Girls Love Alice, it would be ridiculous. He still knows his way around a ballad. At times I wish his band, especially drummer Nigel Olsson and the percussionist John Mahon would stretch out a little bit on occasion. Throw a rocking instrumental in, or extend a song a bit. Like the ending of Claw Hammer, which is my fav song off of his last album Wonderful Crazy Night.
Elton usually used the production of the time pre 2000, so the 80's and 90's music is stamped with its production for better or worse.
I would probably go with the maligned Big Picture, but I agree with you about the singles.
Last edited by Tangram; 02-18-2018 at 02:42 PM.
Playing Reg Strikes Back...I always enjoy it and wonder why I don't play it more often. The songs are really good- 'Poor Cow', 'Japanese Hands' etc. I think it's less frothy than his mid 80s albums, but as noted, the only drawback is the decision to use digital piano and questionable synth sounds. I always thought Elton was at his best on acoustic piano.
One further thought...'Goodbye Marlon Brando' is almost like John/Taupin's equivalent of 'We Didn't Start The Fire'...
Last edited by JJ88; 02-19-2018 at 06:56 AM.
For those who don't know.. Elton John auditioned for Gentle Giant and didn't get the position.
Elton also auditioned for King Crimson with the same result.
The very first time I saw Elton was on this tour. I could be remembering wrong, but I don't think he played an acoustic piano the whole night. I know he played a small digital keyboard for most, if not all of the show. This was the tour when he got rid of his outrageous stage costumes and glasses, and went back to a basic stage presentation. This was also during his hair transplant period and he wore a kind of fedora like hat through the whole show. I never thought about "Goodbye Marlon Brando" being like "We Didn't Start The Fire", but now that you mention it, they are quite similar. "Poor Cow" is another great one on the album.
This might have been from the period where Elton was shilling for Roland, and playing their digital pianos on stage.
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
Just noticed this question. Yes I did! Especially Songs From The West Coast. But both albums had several magic moments of recapturing the classic sound (aside from Elton's lower vocal range, which is of course to be expected). I really liked Original Sin and Birds in particular. I also recently gave Reg Strikes Back and Breaking Hearts the first spins I've given them in many years and to be honest, they are both better than my memory was telling me they were.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Further goings-on: I enjoyed Peachtree Road quite a bit, and thought The Diving Board had its moments, but Wonderful Crazy Night was just okay. It sure has been great to grab all of these releases so cheaply, and I'm happy to have them for future spins! As far as I know, the only one I need to still pick up is The Union.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Peachtree Road has some good songs but it feels like it was two different projects bolted together (although I don't think that was the case!). Its sales disappointed after ...West Coast, and that downward trend in sales pretty much continued.
Do you think Wonderful Crazy Night will prove to the be the final EJ studio album? I'd like to see if he has one more in him still. I agree with you that there is some really strong material on a few of those post-90s albums. I feel rather silly for ignoring them over the years... I guess with so many of his albums in my collection already, I always had lots to satisfy any cravings when they arose.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
I think The Union is a really strong album. Well worth picking up for sure.
He's where most of the older rock acts are now- basically appealing only to die-hards. The days of multi-million sellers are over for all these guys. I guess it's hard to be motivated when you know what the result will be.
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