Since Elton John’s albums have been gracing the music
scene since 1969, there is little wonder to the fact that a boxset consisting
of five of his early albums (Elton John,
Tumbleweed Connection, Madman across the Water, Honky Chateau, and Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player)
is being released. It may be argued that some of his best music came from these
albums, and fans of Elton’s early work will be in high spirits at this release.
I myself was excited by the prospect of listening to all of the tracks in the Classic Album Selection, and am now in
the happy position of being able to relate my thoughts. Are you sitting
comfortably? Then we’ll begin.
The first of the five albums is Elton John, which opens with Elton’s first UK hit, and
coincidentally one of my favourite songs of all time, Your Song. Covered recently by Ellie Goulding and also featuring in
the film Moulin Rouge, the timeless
popularity of this song is clear. A sweet, truly lovely melody with terrific
lyrics, this makes the perfect opening to the boxset. It is followed by a song
that I have to say completely surprised me due to being quite dissimilar to
tracks often heard by Elton John. I Need
You to Turn To added what I like to call the ‘Greensleeves Effect’: giving a
touch of the medieval while still maintaining credibility and not becoming
ridiculous. I have to say it was a welcome surprise, and I loved it. The B-side
to the single Your Song comes next: Take Me to the Pilot. I got a very
distinct feel of early Scissor Sisters from it once it got going, proving the
influence that Elton John has over modern pop. It is an experimental track, but
it works and is enjoyably upbeat.
Following the first three stand-out tracks, there are a
few that seem to be in the shadows. While being great lyrically, I was not as
drawn to them, and felt they faded into the background somewhat in comparison
to some of the real gems on offer. Thrown amongst this mix is a track called Border Song that I feel brings the album
back to life, injecting some of the brilliant piano melody that Elton is so famed
for. While not incredibly energetic, it is a pick up from the preceding songs,
and I very much liked it. A couple of tracks further on in the album and The Cage can be found. This song truly
shines with effortless cool. It is lively and fast-paced, with a bizarre yet
interesting interlude halfway through that makes a fun change. Definitely a
highlight of the album, it’s a pity this is a relatively short song!
The next two songs are both interesting. They are not my favourites, but I took pleasure in hearing the different sounds that Elton John, along with co-writer Bernie Taupin, were able to create. The album ends on a high with a track called Rock n Roll Madonna: an infectiously catchy tune with an upbeat feel. After some of the slower tracks midway through Elton John, I felt that I needed to hear something like this to end the album, so I was definitely not disappointed!
Similarly to Elton
John, Tumbleweed Connection
begins to feel in the middle that it is slowing down a little. When I got to
this point as a listener, I needed a surprise. While Where to Now St. Peter and Love
Song are both good tunes, they don’t quite have the sense of ‘oomph’ that I
was listening out for. Amoreena, however,
starts to pick it back up again with a refreshingly brighter beginning and a
brilliant piano part. The next few tracks are lively enough but they are still
unsurprising. While great to listen to on their own, listening as an album I
got a little bogged down by the similarities in them. The last track, Madman across the Water (later to feature
as a slightly different version in the album of the same name), left me
unfortunately underwhelmed, because it was a very quiet end to what had started
as a truly brilliant album. Tumbleweed
Connection is much better when listened to a couple of tracks at a time.
Madman across the
Water has another much loved song as its opening track – Tiny Dancer. One of Elton John’s classic
tunes, this is a song that picks up the pace from the previous album, is highly
entertaining, and incredibly memorable. It is great to hear this right at the
start as it sets an optimistic and positive mood for songs to come. The next
song, Levon, needs a minute or so to
get going: give it a chance though because once it does, it really is fantastic
once it gets ‘into it’. The slightly different version of Madman across the Water – the title track – that I mentioned
earlier is not much more satisfying than the original version. It is quite
catchy, but remains too slow and unchanging. In a way, it feels like there is
something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I know that I want
more from it!
The rest of this surprisingly short album is pleasing but only a couple of tracks stand out as highlights. Indian Sunset is very strange but its major strong point is its difference to what has already been heard. It is atmospheric, starting with an odd plain vocal and later becoming more rhythmic and catchy. Holiday Inn is by far my favourite song on the album as it really keeps a good pace and makes a bit of foot-tapping completely irresistible. The album is ended by a short, quite sweet track – Goodbye – that sounds sad yet hopeful, and does capture the sound of some of the quieter tracks on the album.
Honky Chateau is
a completely different kettle of fish from the records so far: it has been
given some of the best critical acclaim of any of Elton John’s albums, and no
wonder! It’s the big surprise I had been waiting for while listening to the
boxset as a whole. I loved it, and was surprised by and interested in it in a
way I had not been with the previous three albums. The opening song, Honky Cat, is a bluesy but up-tempo
track that is a highly enjoyable listen and makes a wonderful change from some
of the earlier songs that, while good, had started to become too similar. The
ironically titled I Think I’m Going to
Kill Myself is wonderfully lively and seems to convey a flippant opinion of
circumstances. This is demonstrated in the bright, catchy melody and humour
that are the essence of the song.
Susie (Dramas) is
another upbeat melody, bringing back some of the really fun piano rocking that
makes Elton John so great. This is followed by Rocket Man, a well-known song that has the foot-tapping quality
similar to Holiday Inn from Madman across the Water; it has a real punch
to it that I feel some of the slower songs lack. The melody and lyrics are
memorable, and I think it being placed in the middle of the album is perfect,
as it keeps the pace going well. Next up come two tracks that, while mellow and
easy listening, still have the power to keep enthrallment. Salvation and Slave are
both steady yet entertaining, and successfully manage to keep away from the
phrase ‘album track’. Slave has an
alternate version that is simply superb: a very fast-paced, energetic track with
an incredibly fun and catchy piano part. This version can be found at the end
of the album and is not one to be missed!
Before the album reaches its end with Slave (Alternate Version), however, there
lie two tracks within that are sparkling gems in the Honky Chateau selection. Amy provides
a brilliant rock ‘n’ roll sound that is so appealing and likeable that it is
hard not to love it instantly. In fact, it takes the foot-tapping effect to a
new level and just makes you want to dance (even without a few drinks in you
first!). Hercules is the second of
the late favourites, starting promisingly and moving into a country rock ‘n’
roll style that works perfectly. How wonderful that these two tracks, along
with the alternate version of Slave
are left until very late on in the album, so that energy levels remain high and
the album ends by giving that hated-but-loved-at-the-same-time feeling of
wanting more! This album is my favourite in the boxset, standing out from the
crowd as one of Elton John’s finest creations.
Elton John takes the rock ‘n’ roll feel of Honky Chateau forward with Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player,
with the latter sounding a little less raw and a little more polished. Both qualities have their plus points,
and Don’t Shoot Me I’m the Piano Player does
come quite a close second to Honky Chateau
in my opinion. The first song of the
album, Daniel, is another of his very
well-known, timeless classics. It starts the album off well, easing the
listener in while being catchy, and effortlessly keeping interest. The next two
tracks keep an upbeat and steady feel, with Teacher
I Need You having the old fashioned but somehow ageless feel that Daniel has, and Elderberry Wine showing off a more rocky voice and one of the great
piano parts that Elton is renowned for.
Move a little further ahead and there is a real treat in
store with Midnight Creeper. One of my
favourite songs in the boxset, this has such an infectious beat and had me
clicking my fingers, bobbing my head and really wanting to dance. It is a
refreshing change and seems to have lots of different genres seamlessly
combined. I could hear glam rock thrown into a mix with blues and pop, and it
works so incredibly well on this track that it stands out for all the right
reasons. It is unfortunately followed up by a song that I could not quite get
my head around. Have Mercy on the
Criminals was altogether too weird and hard to follow: a slight blip that I
am likely to skip past next time, on what is generally a great album.
The blip in Don’t
Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player is, however, just that. A blip. For the
rest of the album, every track has its standalone merits. Once again I
encountered a slight feeling of needing something to pick me up towards the
end, but I still enjoyed what I heard very much. Crocodile Rock is a very well-loved song of Elton John’s, featuring
on multiple film and television soundtracks, and it isn’t hard to see why. It
has a great rocky piano part and keeps spirits high, and I could listen to it
over and over again. It is lively and full of punch, keeping this album from
having too many slower, similar songs.
Screw You (Young
Man’s Blues) and Jack Rabbit keep
the album going and are the last tracks in the boxset to really stand out for
me. They keep a positive feel going for just long enough that the calmer end to
the album isn’t boring. They both have quite up-tempo melodies and have that
good old foot-tapping effect that I love so much. They are songs to listen out
for and are definitely worth taking the time to hear. The album ends with calmer,
unsurprising songs, but this is not, in this case, unsatisfactory. Skyline Pigeon [Piano Version] has a
finality to it that works brilliantly for the end of the album, and indeed the
end of the boxset. It has an air of hope but is a definite ending, giving a
feeling similar to that of the end of a happy film: I knew it was the end and I
was satisfied by how it was done.
All in all, the Classic
Album Selection (1970-1973) Boxset from Elton John is definitely worth a
listen, particularly to those who don’t have a huge knowledge of his earlier
music. While some tracks are too strange or do not seem to go far enough, most
are entertaining and enjoyable, with some placing amongst my favourite songs of
all time. Hits like Your Song, Tiny
Dancer, Rocket Man and Daniel will
always be cherished classics, and some songs that were new to me, like Amy, Midnight
Creeper, The Cage and Son of Your Father should be. That is,
of course, if they aren’t already.
Classic Album Selection (1970-1973) Boxset by Elton John is out on 16th July
2012 via Universal Music.
EW
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