Elton John General Discussion And Random Thoughts Thread

I don't know why Elton hates Part Time Love as it is easily one of his better singles from that period. I remember him really slating the UK charts when Ego bombed. Around this time punk was about to explode and artists like Elton were getting worried, he has said this many times.
I like lots of Elton records but to be honest the last thing I really liked was the single I Want Love. His voice is just so different now and I don't like it, I liked his younger higher voice. I will be very surprised if he ever releases another big selling album.

 

Yes, I suppose Thom Bell is an EP. It there six or seven songs on it? I didn't actually hear the full EP until about 5 years ago when I stumbled across it on Amazon. AYRFR does outstay it's welcome, rather, and Shine On Through could've used a little pruning too!

 

Didn't see George at Commonwealth games, but know he's lost a lot of weight. He's says it's due to his improved diet, but the last time he was this scrawny as when he was on heroin in the 80s!

 

6 trks I think (Nice n Slow, Shine On Through, Mama Can't Buy You Love, Are You Ready For Love, Three Way Love Affair, Country Love Song).

 

Just hope he's not back on it, or on his way out!

 

He's on tour with Culture Club at present and they're recording a new album. Hopefully all this isn't pushing him over the brink!

Did you ever read his 1995 biog, Take It Like A Man, BYW? Really good and extremely funny!

 

Love "Across The River Thames" (which moronically got left off The Captain & The Kid) which touches on those times:

"Snarling they just came along.. and cut us to the quick, called us a bunch of dinosaurs and gave us a load of stick.. told us the times where changing and we were wondering when.. but I'm still here and the fog still rolled across the river Thames.."

I Want Love was on the one hand a strange choice for 1st single but on the other a kind of solid catchy mid tempo ballad.. quite Lennon-esque in a way.. so maybe a natural choice.. people seemed to like it. This Train Don't Stop and Original Sin are the real gems on the album for me, though there's a lot of great stuff on it (Look Ma No Hands, Dark Diamond, Boy in the Red Shoes, American Triangle, Birds, Wasteland).. probably his last truly great album.

 

Hope not!

I haven't but I will! He has a super acerbic wit that one.. and him and Elt have had their run in's over the years.. silly old queens!

 

If I recall, Elton gets a few knocks in the book! As does George Michael! Great book with stories of his affair with Jon and his spats with Marilyn. The latter being very funny. His early life and rise to stardom with CC is interesting as well. Beautifully written.

 

I think captain and the Kid trumps it. I'll go all out and call it his finest album since Captain Fantastic. I was astounded by how good it was.

 

It is very good, excellent in places.. certainly the highlights (Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way, And The House Fell Down, Tinderbox, I Must Have Lost It On The Wind, Blues Never Fade Away, the title track..) are about as good as just about anything he'd done in the decades preceding it.

just maybe if Tinderbox had been the lead single rather than The Bridge it might have had legs.. doubtful though.. and why Across The River Thames was left off, I'll never know, everyone I've played it to absolutely loves it...

..sadder than anything, the albums' relative commercial failure when he felt he'd given it all he'd got was what prompted Elton to go into a major sulk and not release any new music for about 4 years..

he was furious at the lack of record company support and direction over TC&TK and rightly so, they really had no idea..

he promptly fired his manager.. brooded a long while and licked his wounds.. and then settled on a new Lo-fi direction with some misguided back to basics angle stupidly ditching his long time stalwarts of Davey, Nigel and co in the studio and used a band that sounded like they were half asleep.

 

But apart from that everything was fine!

 

I do like TCATK and agree that The Bridge wasn't the most immediate lead single. It's more of a deep cut. The whole album is strong and flows nicely as well. The good thing about Elton's 2000 plus albums is that they've all been received well critically. I don't think I've seen many bad reviews of any of them. The sad thing, however, is that none of them have sold well! So, Elton finally has the support of the press but no one's buying his records!

 

I don't think Elton has ever made any diabolically bad records, but to single out PTL seems odd. It's not his greatest work, but is a perfectly decent pop song. I've no idea why he hates it so much.

 

Original Sin is an absolutely beautiful song. Ruined by the only bad production decision on the album which is the electronic drum pads on it. Why?!

 

Thank you gentlemen! I think I will try 21 at 33 next. On amazon uk I can buy the Mercury or the 2003 remaster. Any advise?

 

Lo-everything

 

You're welcome

You might as well get the original 80's CD, the remasters got bugger all else on it!

 

Say Hel-Lo Hel-Lo..!

 

True.. no idea where they were going with that.. especially as everything else about that track production-wise has a very 'classic 70's singer songwriter' type feel to it.. gorgeous song, I agree. Almost like Sacrifice only classier..! I remember it was the first thing he'd done since Blue Eyes that I played to my Dad that he actually liked!

Another "why?" moment with that song was the hideous dance remixes of Original Sin. Ugh!

Oh and one other stylistic production thing I didn't care for on SFTWC was American Triangle.. a year or so before the album came out he played it live solo and I just thought 'wow what a song!'.. but on the album it lost that edge and became a bit ploddy.

 

Diabolically bad.. let's see..!

Johnny B.Cr@p..?
Chunder in the Night?
Just about anything/everything off Victim of Drugs?

Arseache All Over The World?
Angeline?
Don't Trust That Womble?
Nose Candy By The Pound?
Tell Me What The Papers Say?
Recover Your Arsoul?
I can't steer my heart clear of you?
Love's Got A Lot To Answer For?
Solar Prestige?
Stinker?
Passengers?
L'il Frigerator?

He fares better than most with such long careers but there's gotta be about 20-30 (2-3 albums worth) outright clunkers!

 

I actually like some of these! The only one that's a bit of a trudge is I Can't Steer My **** Clear Of You. I accept the others aren't gems, but I can smile my way through most of them if I'm feeling charitable!

Recover Your Soul and Wig's Got A Lot To Answer for I genuinely like! You're so hard on The Big Picture! Johnny B Drudge is clunksville for sure. I would love to know what/if he was thinking with this album...

 

There's not much between the 21's. I suppose the remaster has the sleevenotes. I don't think there's a lot of difference sound wise...

 

I doubt there was much thought behind VOL.. a lot of substance abuse!

 

I think Elton must have heard Donna Summer's Bad Girl album and thought 'I want some of that'..

Then came the substance abuse when they hit the studio!