When I got into pop music as a kid in the late 80s, Elton John was all over the radio. And his stuff was part the good stuff which I wanted to listen to more often than they played it so I started buying CDs.
Yet, quite like the Stones actually, he does not play much of his music from "my era" in concert. Even though he has released so many great songs during that time he could easily fill a setlist with them ... Town Of Plenty, Whitewash County, Lies, If the River Can Bend, Birds, They Call Her the Cat, Emily, Heavy Traffic, Answer in the Sky, A Little Peace, Made in England, You Gotta Love Someone (produced by the Stones' good friend Don Was), Man, Porch Swing in Tupelo, The North, Healing Hands, Blue Avenue, etc.

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Naturalust
Elton had a period in 1970 through 1972 where he put out ALOT of great music. His antennae were up and he was superb at catching the mood of the day for me. What an amazing songwriter. Since Madman Across the Water is hitting this thread pretty hard I will post my quick backyard cover version of it. Instrumentation is a bit different, only mandolin and guitar, it was too hard to get the piano into the backyard. Probably messed up the lyrics/arrangement a bit too since I was playing from memory and it has been a while. In any case, I love this song. peace.

The instrumentation is really quite nice. Have you had a go at "John Barleycorn"?

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tatters

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Naturalust
Elton had a period in 1970 through 1972 where he put out ALOT of great music. His antennae were up and he was superb at catching the mood of the day for me. What an amazing songwriter. Since Madman Across the Water is hitting this thread pretty hard I will post my quick backyard cover version of it. Instrumentation is a bit different, only mandolin and guitar, it was too hard to get the piano into the backyard. Probably messed up the lyrics/arrangement a bit too since I was playing from memory and it has been a while. In any case, I love this song. peace.

The instrumentation is really quite nice. Have you had a go at "John Barleycorn"?

Much thx tatters, I know the Traffic tune well but have never recorded it. I have promised myself to learn the piano solo in "Empty Pages" on mandolin someday soon, what I'll do with it is anyone's guess, I just love it so much. I do play an acoustic version of Low Spark live occasionally. peace.

Like most, I like the output until Blue Moves (especially Rock Of The Westies). Occasional good songs over the years (Nikita, Kiss The Bride, Little Jeannie, Guess That's Why...,etc.), but some duds too (I'm Still Standing, That's What Friends Are For, etc.).

My basic disinterest after BM had nothing to do with his "coming out", but with the declining quality of the music.

Oh yeah, I like his "Pinball Wizard" better than The Who's too - and definitely more than Rod's disaster of a version.

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billwebster
When I got into pop music as a kid in the late 80s, Elton John was all over the radio. And his stuff was part the good stuff which I wanted to listen to more often than they played it so I started buying CDs.
Yet, quite like the Stones actually, he does not play much of his music from "my era" in concert. Even though he has released so many great songs during that time he could easily fill a setlist with them ... Town Of Plenty, Whitewash County, Lies, If the River Can Bend, Birds, They Call Her the Cat, Emily, Heavy Traffic, Answer in the Sky, A Little Peace, Made in England, You Gotta Love Someone (produced by the Stones' good friend Don Was), Man, Porch Swing in Tupelo, The North, Healing Hands, Blue Avenue, etc.

No disrespect but...take a listen to EJ, TC, Madman up thru Blue Moves....not so much the stuff that's
been played to death on the radio but the rest of it.

I think of pre & post Blue Moves as 2 different Eltons.....sort of like the Jackson 5 Michael Jackson
and the solo Michael Jackson. Almost hard to believe they are the same artists.

I think he followed too many trends in the 80s and 90s....and lost his 70s fanbase.
He still has the ability to do something great but hasn't.
His voice & style changed in the 80s and again after throat surgery.....but I still
think he has the voice to do stuff similar to his self-titled, TUmbleweed & Madman....thematic storytelling.

I hate it when he (or others) use his "coming out" as the reason his sales dropped. His music in the
last 3 decades does not compare to his 70s output....that's why the sales dropped. His concert setlist
is 80% '70s....he should realize this.


IORR............but I like it!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-02 22:55 by sweet neo con.

well if he came out, why couldn't he go back in?

IMHO, one of his best...

What's amazing now is that his coming out came as such a surprise in 1976. But it was a surprise to many, myself included. Looking at, for instance, the photo of him on the back cover of "Here And There", it now seems hilarious that it never occurred to me, or to millions of other fans, that this was a gay man. We all just thought he was really into clothes! And in fact, that was the way he himself used to explain the way he looked. He used to say something about how his parents were very strict and always made him wear very boring clothes, and that now as an adult he was sort of making up for lost time by "acting out" and over compensating by dressing as outrageously as possible. He was just being "weird and wonderful" to quote "Bennie And The Jets". The fact that his coming out coincided with his career going off the cliff was exactly that, a coincidence. He had a remarkable run. It lasted about as long as anyone else's remarkable run, and he was far more prolific than just about anyone else who had an equally remarkable run. No one cranked out albums like Elton in the 70s. Think about it. He released four albums in 1971. In '73, he released "Don't Shoot Me" and "Yellow Brick Road", which was a double album masterpiece. In '75, "Captain Fantastic" and "Rock Of The Westies" were released within five months of each other! This was at a time when Pink Floyd were taking two and a half years between DSOTM and WYWH. Even the Stones were starting to take longer and longer between records then. About a year and a half, on average. If anything, Elton may have spread himself too thin. If he'd taken more time, released fewer albums, those albums would have been even stronger!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-03 01:53 by tatters.

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Naturalust

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stones78
He rocks and rolls and without the need for guitars.

Yes but they sure fit in tastefully from time to time. Listen to the guitar track on Ammoreena , kinda buried but very good. And the mandolin sure iced the cake on some of his best stuff. I think he actually mused quite heavily off guitar players and mandolin players chording and approach and took over the space with his busy but soulful piano playing. That Davey Johnstone was and is a fantastic player and contributed much to Elton's early recorded material and his live shows for much longer. peace.

Yes, sure, there are wonderful guitar parts on Elton's albums, I love that slide on Rocket Man and that mandolin on Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters is great too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-03 03:37 by stones78.

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tatters
What's amazing now is that his coming out came as such a surprise in 1976. But it was a surprise to many, myself included. Looking at, for instance, the photo of him on the back cover of "Here And There", it now seems hilarious that it never occurred to me, or to millions of other fans, that this was a gay man. We all just thought he was really into clothes! And in fact, that was the way he himself used to explain the way he looked. He used to say something about how his parents were very strict and always made him wear very boring clothes, and that now as an adult he was sort of making up for lost time by "acting out" and over compensating by dressing as outrageously as possible. He was just being "weird and wonderful" to quote "Bennie And The Jets". The fact that his coming out coincided with his career going off the cliff was exactly that, a coincidence. He had a remarkable run. It lasted about as long as anyone else's remarkable run, and he was far more prolific than just about anyone else who had an equally remarkable run. No one cranked out albums like Elton in the 70s. Think about it. He released four albums in 1971. In '73, he released "Don't Shoot Me" and "Yellow Brick Road", which was a double album masterpiece. In '75, "Captain Fantastic" and "Rock Of The Westies" were released within five months of each other! This was at a time when Pink Floyd were taking two and a half years between DSOTM and WYWH. Even the Stones were starting to take longer and longer between records then. About a year and a half, on average. If anything, Elton may have spread himself too thin. If he'd taken more time, released fewer albums, those albums would have been even stronger!

exactly right. coincidence. or maybe his coming out affected him more than the fans that respected his '70s work.
he gives off an "i don't care" attitude but you never know.

it's funny that you mention the HERE & THERE photo....I thought the exact same thing earlier today when
i was flipping thru his CDs...and i looked at that photo. Still hoping for one more great album from him
that reminds me of the old days.


IORR............but I like it!

Nov. 28, 1974. Silent, super 8 footage. John Lennon walks onstage at 3:40. It was long believed that no film of this event existed. It was posted only just recently on youtube.

Crazy! That is a piece of history. Lennon's last live performance. Him and Elton were great buddies and Elton is Sean's godfather. Cool.

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Jah Paul
IMHO, one of his best...

Jah Paul. I and I . peace.

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tatters
Nov. 28, 1974. Silent, super 8 footage. John Lennon walks onstage at 3:40. It was long believed that no film of this event existed. It was posted only just recently on youtube.

Wow, tatters, never seen that super 8 footage, thanks! I'm a huge Elton fan, mostly the early stuff of course. It's the first music I loved and bought as a kid (first lp-Caribou, age 11) and that run of albums is still mind-boggling for it's sheer number of hooks. So many great "deep cuts".

Watching the Making of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road dvd I was surprised to learn that Elton left all the backing vocals and instrumentation in the hands of the band so I don't think we can ever underestimate the importance of Nigel, Dee and Davey. I also really like the second group that debuted at Wembley '75 with the full performance of Captain Fantastic (though they didn't play on the album). There are a couple of good live sets from that Fall'75 West of the Rockies tour that culminated with the Dodgers Stadium shows. If you're interested check Dime for both Seattle dates-epic 3 hour shows with an intermission and a number of not-so-obvious choices in the set (Dixie Lily, anyone? Empty Sky? Dan Dare?).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-04 20:37 by andrewm.

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andrewm
[ Elton left all the backing vocals and instrumentation in the hands of the band so I don't think we can ever underestimate the importance of Nigel, Dee and Davey.

well said andrew! They really did Sir Elton right in those days. I hope they have done well by him too, now that it is 2011 and Elton is a king.

Damn this iorr, I just spent the whole day watching Elton John videos on youtube. A day lost in nostalgic music, The best was everything from the 1972 live clips with the purple flashy shirt anf the dark small wire rimmed glasses. His soul was close to the camera and the band is fantastic beyond compare. Sir indeed. peace.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-05 05:03 by Naturalust.

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StonesTod
well if he came out, why couldn't he go back in?

Well, it certainly is all about the in and out.......peace.

I'm so relieved that Yoko Ono seems to aprove this version





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NICOS
I'm so relieved that Yoko Ono seems to aprove this version

wow NICOS, I love this clip, Yoko is looking actually quite beautiful here but what a bump on a log. She is obviously too cool to actually enjoy this song like the folks around here. What a yoke around poor John's neck she must have been. I dislike her more the more I see and learn about her. No disrespect to their union of Love and none to Mr. Lennon. peace.

This appearance of Lennon with John was described in that PBS American Masters documentary Lennon In NYC. John worked with Lennon in the studio (on that song, I believe). Lennon sloughed off John's invitation to appear on stage with him by saying words to the effect "Yes, if this song becomes a #1." Much to Lennon's surprise it did and Lennon made good on the promise. John described the audience's response to Lennon as enormous. It gave Lennon a huge emotional boost. Yoko was there and met with Lennon back stage. She saw a happy, productive and sober Lennon, realized she was in love with him and that night they got back together. Lennon's "lost weekend" in California was over.

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Naturalust

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NICOS
I'm so relieved that Yoko Ono seems to aprove this version

wow NICOS, I love this clip, Yoko is looking actually quite beautiful here but what a bump on a log. She is obviously too cool to actually enjoy this song like the folks around here. What a yoke around poor John's neck she must have been. I dislike her more the more I see and learn about her. No disrespect to their union of Love and none to Mr. Lennon. peace.

Are you guys crazy? This is from a television MOVIE about John Lennon. These are ACTORS!

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tatters

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Naturalust

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NICOS
I'm so relieved that Yoko Ono seems to aprove this version

wow NICOS, I love this clip, Yoko is looking actually quite beautiful here but what a bump on a log. She is obviously too cool to actually enjoy this song like the folks around here. What a yoke around poor John's neck she must have been. I dislike her more the more I see and learn about her. No disrespect to their union of Love and none to Mr. Lennon. peace.

Are you guys crazy? This is from a television MOVIE about John Lennon. These are ACTORS!

Thanks for spoiling the party tatters if it's so still love it and forget what you just said

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-05 22:26 by NICOS.

I'll say this for EJ- I saw hime about 4-5 years ago at MSG - got tix from his FC.
Did not know seat till day of show- Seats were 8 rows from stage in front of piano and about 150 less than RS. EJ put on a great show; played entire Capt Fantastic album plus all the hits. His voice has changed but still sounds great. Musicianship was impeccable. Compared to the ABB ahows EJs shows were far better in content and qualtiy and a better value. PLUS he does have an extraordinary catalogue of classic songs. The guy is a great great performer and songwriter. Period.I am not "stone bashing" just reporting opinion

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NICOS

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tatters

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Naturalust

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NICOS
I'm so relieved that Yoko Ono seems to aprove this version

wow NICOS, I love this clip, Yoko is looking actually quite beautiful here but what a bump on a log. She is obviously too cool to actually enjoy this song like the folks around here. What a yoke around poor John's neck she must have been. I dislike her more the more I see and learn about her. No disrespect to their union of Love and none to Mr. Lennon. peace.

Are you guys crazy? This is from a television MOVIE about John Lennon. These are ACTORS!

Thanks for spoiling the party tatters if it's so still love it and forget what you just said

Damn good actors I'd say, but I haven't had television in my life for many years so I guess I'm easily fooled. No worries plenty to check out on this awesome thread . Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters...wow ...the mandolin alone is worth a second view, in fact I'm going to loop it for a while ..mmmmm. NICOS, can I get you a cold drink? peace.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-06 07:55 by Naturalust.

Elton John had a great band member like Davey Johnstone,
Nigel Olsson, Ray Cooper(saw him in 1974) and Dee Murrray.

I think, on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,
Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock'N Roll) - Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting are in great order
as if Back In The USSR is switching to Brown Sugar.

It should be known Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was also the album that Elton had intended to record in Jamaica because, as he put it, The Rolling Stones recorded their Goat's Head Soup album there. But the original vision wasn't realized partly because of the studio's technical problems, and some people were striking and picketing it (the studio was also a record plant).

The Jamaican sessions only produced one song, in the form of a dreaded version of "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" which according to Elton, sounded as though "it had been recorded on the worst transistor radio." When Elton and Bernie Taupin then decided to go back to France and the Chateau, where he'd recorded the Honky Chateau and Don't Shoot Me... then they had their near-death experience.

~Ben



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-04-28 06:39 by BrianJones1969.

I just listened to all of my Elton John at the beginning of this month, so I don't really want to talk about him NOW, but I really was obsessed with him then 4 months ago. I mean, what else can you say? The 70s were a phenomenal time for him. He couldn't lose. It was hit after hit after hit after hit album. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is one of the great double albums of all time. 11-17-70 is one of the greatest live albums of all time. He's done it all.

He dropped off after Captain Fantastic kind of, but he's had some resurgences since then. Its cool that he's still out there so much every single year. And Tatters, my dad has always said the exact same thing about Elton's coming out. "You look at now and you think, WELL OBVIOUSLY, but back then I was in SHOCK!"

Elton rules.

I love Elton's golden period, which for me includes and ends with Blue Moves. For me, that record had *less* filler on it than Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, which has duds like "Roy Rogers," "Social Disease," "Jamaica Jerk Off" and the appalling "Dirty Little Girl," which is more than a little rapey and gross. Both albums have some filler (they're doubles! of course they do) but overall I prefer the peaks on Blue Moves to anything from his previous two albums except "Someone Saved My Life Tonight." "Tonight," "One Horse Town," "Chameleon," "Cage The Songbird," "Between 17 & 20," "The Wide-Eyed And Laughing," "Someone's Final Song" and "Idol" are all masterpieces with some of his best arrangements, both vocally and instrumentally, and the (unique for an Elton album) three instrumentals are also fantastic. For me his run of great albums begins with Empty Sky and ends with Blue Moves; of the records he's made since, only Two Low For Zero from 1983 remotely comes close to touching previous heights.

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sweet neo con

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keefriffhard4life
i though THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID from a few years ago was a great album

there's a few good ones on there...and Songs From the West Coast.........but only barely "good".

Being such a big fan, I often try to listen to his newer stuff...hoping for a glimmer of
his past greatness but it's just not there (for me). Starting to wonder if I should
give more credit to the late great Producer Gus Dudgeon. Maybe he was the
one with the Midas touch.

Don't--he also produced Elton's two worst-ever albums, 1985's Ice On Fire (which has the lone good song "Nikita" and that's absolutely it) and (ugghhh!!!) 1986's coked-out-of-his-mind (we're talking Queen's Hot Space-level bad here) Leather Jackets. It wasn't Gus, though his production on Elton's 70's records might just be my favorite ever; it was the material.