No. 468: Elton John

Band: Elton John
Album: Elton John
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Elton John's first American album (his actual debut wouldn't be released until 1975) is his most subdued and pretty. The opening track is one of Elton John's greatest songs, if not his best.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: There are a ton of mediocre midtempo rock songs on the album.
Best song: "Your Song." Of course.
Worst song: "No Shoestrings on Louise" isn't great.
Is it awesome?: It's uneven.

I've mentioned that I don't like love songs and I tend to stand by that. Of course, there are great loves songs and those are the ones I adore. The opening song from "Elton John," "Your Song," is one of those songs.

What makes "Your Song" one of pop music's the greatest love songs?

There are love songs that end up on big lists that don't really work. "Wonderful Tonight," as we learned, was written in sarcasm. "You are so Beautiful" isn't good, it's patronizing. "Brown Eyed Girl" is just mediocre. "Nothing Compares 2 U" is mentioned in several lits I've seen and, uh, that song's about a breakup.

I guess my own predeliction is to songs that speak to a visceral, unmeasurable feeling about love. I like songs that contain some level of humility. "I Will," a McCartney-penned Beatles track, is a favorite of mine because it speaks to the undying love a man has for his lady. It's been bruised and dinged, but it remains and the song's protaginist will "wait a lonely lifetime" for her.

Similarly, George Harrison's "Something" is not a song that proclaims a woman's beauty or any particular quantifiable quality. It's just... something. It's in the way she moves and the way she is. That, to me, is beautiful and romantic.

But, of course, lyrics aren't the only part of a great love song. "I Will" is lilting and a little quick, lead by an acoustic guitar. "Something" has a gorgeous lead guitar line and features Harrison's soft vocal.

"Your Song" is similar in its beauty. Elton John's tenor is pleasant and pretty, while the large orchestral arrangement lifts his voice. Bernie Taupin's lyrics are gorgeous in their confessional style, as Elton John croons the final verse wherein he can't describe his lady's eyes. The chorus' humility -- both in lyric and voice -- is striking in its simplicity.

It is the pair's greatest composition.

No. 463: Tumbleweed Connection

Band: Elton John
Album: Tumbleweed Connection
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Elton John's third album has Bernie Taupin writing about the American West, though John remains a piano singer/songwriter. Some of his earlier lush arrangements are perfected on "Tumbleweed Connection," as evidenced by "Come Down in Time."
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: The album isn't perfectly conventional, so it's not accessible. Most Elton John records have a hit or two, this one has none.
Best song: "Country Comfort" is the closest to C&W, with its slide guitar. "My Father's Gun" is epic-sounding.
Worst song: "Where to now St. Peter" isn't very good.
Is it awesome?: Not really. It's fine.

Elton John is someone I can't really imagine as an actual cowboy, but his album of cowboy songs is actually pretty good. Large and lyrical, the songs often trend over five minutes.

The songs go out there in a way Taupin and John would explore later on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." The harder rock of "Son of Your Father" foreshadows "Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting" and the large sound of "Come Down in Time" is the type of thing they would explore on multiple occasions later.

The album is certainly spotty. "Love Song" is a guitar/vocals track that doesn't fit anywhere near an Elton John record. And overall, it's a record of piano songs masquerading as cowboy songs. An ambitious record, certainly, but not executed really well.

No. 357: Honky Château

Band: Elton John
Album: Honky Château
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Elton John's fifth album was recorded in Paris and featured absolutely no strings (the first of his albums to do so since his debut). It's a more rock and roll situation, with more honky tonk (hence the title) styled songs.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: The album's songwriting isn't as tempered as songs on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."
Best song: "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be a Long, Long Time)" is a fantastic song. "I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself" is awesome.
Worst song: "Amy" isn't great, especially considering what we now know about Elton John's personal life.
Is it awesome?: Sure.

I'm not sure how to fully address this properly and I don't know if this is the right album to address it with. It's something I've tried to address before. It's the sincerity v. irony debate, one that I have in my head much more often than I probably should.

Torquil Campbell of Stars addressed it, vis a vis the current state of indie rock:

God bless Animal Collective, but they really have, in their own strange way, made indie rock a much more conservative place than it should be. If you can create intellectual distance from your work, then critics will feel clever for getting it and give you good marks; if you create music that fucked-up 13-year-old girls might enjoy, then critics will feel like you're trying too hard and not give you good marks.

Why does this debate matter? Well, for one, I forget that people actually read this blog, so when I fully mock an artist, I don't expect someone to take me to task on it. (Just to clarify again, I absolutely got several things wrong in that review.)

It's easy to love stuff that's largely unassailable. My favorite three bands (as shown in the sidebar) are Tortoise, Mogwai and Pink Floyd. Basically, two mostly instrumental bands (one of which openly admits that its song titles mean nothing) and a classic rock stalwart that mostly deals in obtuse themes and space-rock. I've not met many people who can talk shit on any of those bands without using the words "weird" (in the case of Floyd) or "boring" (in the case of Tortoise and Mogwai).

I'm writing about this later in the week, but I've gone through this before. Smashing Pumpkins fans tore me a new one via e-mail when I talked ill of their favorite band. This week, of course, I had a similar situation with a single reader. I should've remembered that situation, but assumed two stupid things:

1. I assumed that no one was reading my site. Even looking at my site traffic stats, I get fewer than 70 visitors per day. Admittedly, that's higher than it should be, but it's still not huge. Still, the site is on a Google property, so it'll be high on searches.


2. I never thought that Billy Joel had a fervent fan base.

The last point is probably condescending, but I say it not in a condescending way. I simply say it as though I really don't know a ton of Billy Joel fans. I hate Billy Joel -- I think that's clear -- and some of my statements the commentor took as fact (the "theater person" analogy is mostly that he makes melodramatic music, not the literal "hey, I think he was an actor in high school"). Nevertheless, I should've either skirted the album review (as I did on the Eagles piece) or done more research.

But the bigger issue is this: I often take down overly sincere music because sincerity just doesn't do it for me a lot of the time. I'm not as mean about it as I was earlier in the week probably because I know more fans of the music I don't like (the Cure, Springsteen, etc.). I have tons of friends who love the Boss, so I don't open fire on him the same way I do with, say, Billy Joel.

Nevertheless, I imagine part of it goes back to the type of music I enjoy. Mogwai is in full irony mode 23 hours a day. Floyd's music is more cerebral and overarching. Any insult people hurl at my favorite bands? I've heard them and thought the same thing in my head.

So, I guess I just forget that sincerity exists in a seat-of-the-pants situation. The music I enjoy is more cerebral. (How's that for pomposity?)

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With all that said, I love "Honky Château." While it's not "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," it's got a raucous little record with a ton of cool songs. "Honky Cat" is patently silly and "Rocket Man" is classic Elton John: A little off-the-wall, a lot melodic and generally awesome.

Also, it's a surprising down-to-Earth album. Despite the honky tonk stuff, the balladry of "I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself" is a cool little song, written in the voice of a teenager. "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" is Bernie Taupin's look at New York's aura. "Hercules" is a nice little love song.

Overall, it's some of the great piano rock and roll.

No. 158: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

Band: Elton John
Album: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: A concept album wherein Elton John and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin are described as Western movie heroes in the title track. The concept of this album is mostly the timeline of the duo's rise to the top of pop music. It's the last Taupin/John collaboration of value.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: As far as concept albums go, it ain't Sgt. Pepper, it ain't Tommy... hell, it isn't even "The Soft Bulletin." Overall, it's not a fantastic record.
Best song: Without a doubt, "Someone Saved My Life Tonight."
Worst song: "Better Off Dead" isn't great, but it's short.
Is it awesome?: It's not terrible, but it's not awesome. It's just good. All the songs are pleasant enough.

There is something incredibly masturbatory about writing a whole album about yourself and how you became a rock star. Certainly, most fans probably want to know about their idols, but it's more often self-aggrandizing ("Studio 60") than it is award-winning ("Seinfeld," season four).

And so goes "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy." It has nothing in the way of hits, save for "Someone Saved My Life Tonight." It's not particularly experimental, musically.

Still, everyone seems to love it. As I've recounted, I'm a pretty small-time Elton John fan; "Yellow Brick Road" and "Greatest Hits" is about enough for me. I imagine there's some sort of nostalgia for the Taupin/John days. "(Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket" is a pleasant song. The fantastic album finale, "We All Fall in Love Sometimes" is also great. Still, "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is amazing. The back story is pretty amazing and John's extensive use of the bass notes on the piano really fill the song well.

It's not great. It's good and it pales in comparison to other concept albums.

(Also, our good friend Wikipedia has a fantastic writeup of the album. It's incredibly detailed.)

No. 135: Greatest Hits

Band: Elton John
Album: Greatest Hits
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Well, it's a greatest hits compilation that has sold 10 million copies. To say that Elton John isn't important would be foolish.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: It's a greatest hits compilation for a guy who has three other records on the list. It doesn't make tons of sense.
Best song: Well, they're all hits and all are pretty great.
Worst song: The only song I don't really like is "Border Song." It's got a nice message, but I'm lukewarm on it nonetheless. "Daniel" isn't perfect.
Is it awesome?: I guess. I mean, it's a greatest hits comp from one of the best-selling artists of all time. What did you expect? Crap?

There isn't a ton to say here about this compilation. Elton John has sold tons and tons of records and his hits are fantastic. This compilation reflects that.

As to not bore you, let's go listy...

1. "Your Song" is one of my favorite love songs. It's simple and strikingly beautiful. Like George Harrison's "Something," Bernie Taupin (Elton John's lyricist) captured the undefinable characteristics that come from "love" in the sweetest sense.


2. I don't love "Daniel", largely because Elton John's piano work isn't hugely impressive. Taupin's lyrics are a little overly sentimental, but that's nitpicking. it's a song about Vietnam, which is pretty impressive for a British singer to do. It's still a good song, just not great.


3. "Honky Cat" is a ridiculous song that mocks and embraces a genre foreign to most of us. It sounds like Vaudeville, basically.


4. I've written about "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" a bit and it remains my favorite song of his.


5. My qualm with "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" is that Elton John -- all glasses, platforms and wigs -- could kick anyone's ass. I guess he's not a small man, so anything is possible. Still, if you don't think about the logistics of Elton John getting into a fight, it's a really fun song.


6. I have a friend (hello, Jake!) who claims "Rocket Man" is simply a rip off of David Bowie's "Spade Oddity," a claim which I dispute. It's a pretty simple pop ballad, but it's wonderful.


7. I've also written about "Bennie and the Jets". It's a great deal of fun.


8. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" suffers from the same problems as "Daniel," only in a much more superficial context. It's sentimental but in a love song way and a slow ballad way.


9. I enjoy the inclusiveness of "Border Song" in the final verse. John -- who wrote the verse himself -- croons "Holy Moses, let us live in peace/let us strive to find a way to make all hatred cease/there's a man over there. What's his colour I don't care/he's my brother let us live in peace." That's a nice message to just an OK song.


10. The record ends with good old "Crocodile Rock." It will always remain a patently ridiculous song in my mind for one reason and only for this one reason: Elton John's appearance on "The Muppet Show." Hell, forget linking to it... Let's embed that fucker:
    
    
    
    How great is that?

So, that's Elton John's "Greatest Hits." It's got some great tracks.

No. 91: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Band: Elton John
Album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Containing four of his best songs, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is Elton John's opus. John ferries between genres, even hitting reggae in "Jamaica Jerk-Off" (no, it doesn't work). His facetiousness comes through in "This Song Has No Title" and his sincerity is on display with "Candle In The Wind."
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Say it with me... Double albums are packed with filler. One disc of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" would be plenty, but 2/3 of the second disc stinks.
Best song: The title track is among his best work. The 11 minute opus "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" is fantastic.
Worst song: "Social Disease" stinks.
Is it awesome?: Actually, it might be if it was only one disc.

Reginald Dwight is the father of modern piano rock like no one else. In the place of guitar-based rock, Elton John took from Little Richard in order to achieve a fuller rock sound. The piano normally doesn't work with rock music; Elton John, in the '70s, showed that it could.

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Before it came out, Elton John compared "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" to the White Album. I don't know if he was trying to be obnoxious, but it certainly came off that way. The only things that this album and "The Beatles" have in common is that they're both doubles.

Still,"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is a nice contrast to anything Billy Joel has ever done. The two artists are always lumped together and I'd disagree. Elton John makes rock and roll records. Admittedly, they're not hard, but they're rock and roll. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" lacks the musical showtuney-ness of every Billy Joel record, basically. Yes, Elton John is a tremendous showman (the glasses, the shows, the wigs, etc.), but his music is pretty straightforward.

And when it's not, it's still much better than anything Joel has ever done. "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" is a Meat Loaf-ish epic duel number is mostly tied in the second half's rock-ness.

Of course, the most famous two songs on the albums are slow piano numbers. "Candle In The Wind" is a lyrical mess, being that it's a tribute to Marilyn Monroe (which is nice, but who cares?). Still, if you don't listen to the lyrics, you'll enjoy the song. The title track, on the other hand, is probably the best song on the album. A ballad about a young artist's disenchantment with the so-called "Emerald City" of his dreams. It's an achingly sad piece, but it's wonderful and probably the best vocal performance that Elton John ever put to tape.

And, of course, there's the satire that is "Bennie And The Jets." Openly mocking glam rock (and on some level, himself), Bernie Taupin and Elton John piped in audience whoops and hollers to simulate the ridiculous of rock concerts at the time.