Elton John(1977-present)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by manco, Aug 19, 2019.

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  1. manco

    manco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    I thought I'd keep discussion of anything post 1976 here.

    Let's start with this:



    Seems like Bernie is covering up for his mate here who can't stop snorting coke every 4 minutes and it's a real wonder by 1982 that he's STILL STANDING.
     
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  2. Dansk

    Dansk rational romantic mystic cynical idealist

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I love Too Low For Zero, I think it's one of his best albums, and I enjoy Sleeping With the Past for mostly sentimental reasons, but pretty much everything else he's done since the 70s has been forgettable at best, and outright bad at worst, with just a handful of memorable songs. (Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Believe, I Want Love being the ones that immediately come to mind.)
     
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  3. idleracer

    idleracer Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    :kilroy: Quite simply, he was no longer an album artist, but a singles artist. Although the volume of his output continued to be rivaled only by Neil Young, Van Morrison and Frank Zappa, I don't think anybody has much to say about any of his deep cuts or B-sides from 1977 onward.
     
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  4. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    The Fox and Made in England are both solid, under-appreciated, albums--just as a start of the argument against your assertion.
     
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  5. tug_of_war

    tug_of_war Unable to tolerate bass solos

    Remove that robot song from Jump Up and there you go: a lost classic.
     
  6. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I love most of Elton’s 80s albums. It was where I came in. Jump Up! is one of the best, but you’re right about I Am Your Robot... My heart always sinks a little when it comes on.:D Considering Elton always had great extra material for B-sides and even songs that never got a proper release, it’s amazing that Robot made the album. It doesn’t even fit.

    Jump Up! is very strong and gave Elton his biggest UK hit in years with Blue Eyes. Though sadly Empty Garden flopped here.
     
  7. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Songs From The West Coast was really good, I thought.
     
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  8. Rigsby

    Rigsby Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Yeah the idea that since 77 Elton has delivered nothing more than a few good singles is normally one that turns up from people who haven’t actually bothered to listen to any of the albums.

    The era starts with A Single Man which is a solid if low key effort and the run from 21 at 33 to Breaking Hearts is a really solid one with every album has enough deep cuts to more than justify their existence. From there it’s a mixed bag at times but albums like Made in England, SongsFrom The West Coast and Peachtree Road are incredibly solid. I’ll also argue, and I have done before on here, that The Captain and The Kid is the equal of that early 70s run.
     
  9. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    For me, his output since 1976 has been a mix of great stuff and crap. He did a lot of great stuff during the 80s and 90s that I love too. It ain't no "Crocodile Rock", "Border Song", or "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", but it's good stuff. I could do without all the duets he's done with various people, though.

    I really like the song "I Want Love" but the compression squashed all the life out of it.:realmad:

    Again, the mastering compression ruined it. I can't even listen to it!
     
  10. Denim Chicken

    Denim Chicken Dayman, fighter of the Nightman

    Location:
    Bakersfield, CA
    Thank you! I’ve always thought that Jump Up is such a great album and I prefer it to Too Low For Zero. Actually same view with Breaking Hearts.
    The Fox, 21 at 33 and A Single Man all are real solid albums.
    Made In England is awesome and I also like a lot of The One.
    Ok now for something controversial: I really dig Ice On Fire (with what I consider a lost classic: Shoot Down The Moon)
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2019
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  11. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Or as he seemed to sing the title at times here, "I'm Ftill Ftanding" - almost like Old English, don'tcha think?
     
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  12. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    Really don't like most of his output from this period, but there are some notable exceptions, despite his voice being ruined. The Union, for one.
     
  13. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    I suppose it was a good thing, then, that he didn't duet with John Denver? I shudder to think what he would have performed at Denver's memorial service - a rewrite of "Rocket Man" about as bad as his redo of "Candle in the Wind" after Princess Di's death?

    One of his duets, I.I.N.M., was French - with France Gall. As some would say about that, "The gall."
     
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  14. egebamyasi

    egebamyasi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Worcester, MA
    I love his so-called classic period but I can't believe how many hits he's had since. I heard Mama Can't Buy You Love on the radio the other night and didn't even know it was him.
     
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  15. Record Rotator

    Record Rotator A vintage/retro-loving sentimental fool

    "Can You Feel The Love Tonight"?
     
  16. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    Mama Can’t But You Love is a great song. It’s from the Thom Bell Sessions EP which has a handful of strong songs. Shame he spoiled Are You Ready For Love by stretching it out to 8 minutes though!
     
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  17. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I like Ice On Fire. It’s not his best work, but it has some great songs tucked in there.

    Then again, I also like The Big Picture, which is hated by Elton fans the world over, so don’t go on my judgement!
     
  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    I thought A Single Man was a good, if not enirely great album. Song For Guy is a classic.
    21 at 33 is very good, and again Sartorial Eloquence is a fantastic song.
    The Fox is a very good album. Nobody Wins, Chloe are both great songs.
    Jump Up .... I love side two, but side one is a little irksome. Empty Garden is my favourite Elton track.
    Too Low For Zero I thought was a great album. It was slightly less coherent than his "classic period" but some great songs, even if they leaned very pop.
    Breaking Hearts was the end of the line for me. Passengers made me truly nauseous
     
  19. PTgraphics

    PTgraphics Senior Member

    I don’t listen to to many of thee albums all the way through but he has a lot of very good to great songs in this time period. The titles I play the most all the way through are “The One” and “Made In England”. I’ll throw in “Live In Australia” also but I still wish there was a reissue with the full concert and not just the 2nd part with the orchestra. I know more of the songs are on laser disc or dvd but I have never seen or heard those. I know a few of the songs that didn’t make it on the cd release are extras on a cd single.
     
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  20. TimM

    TimM Senior Member

    Very uneven after the classic period, but there are a lot of very good songs sprinkled throughout. If you are going to make me listen to complete albums I would pick Too Low For Zero or Made In England. I made a 14 song playlist I really like from the Songs From the West Coast, Peachtree Road, Captain And the Kid trilogy.
     
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  21. cquiller1

    cquiller1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta
    "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" is one of Elton's best '80s songs IMO. It didn't do that well in America either. I think it peaked in the Top 30 in 1982.
     
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  22. manco

    manco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    I started listening to A Single Man, not too shabby. Obviously a different feel right off the bat not having Bernie's lyrics, but Gary Osborne is no slouch.
     
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  23. manco

    manco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
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  24. benny

    benny Senior Member

    Location:
    South Florida
    I think the best thing he did post 77 is Empty Garden.
     
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  25. manco

    manco Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
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