Tag Archives: Bernie Taupin

Rocketman- An Elton John curation, pt. 5

This series was started over 10 years ago.  The Desert Island mix was done first, and that one was just my personal Elton faves, sort of avoiding most of the big hits.   I then made another mix that ended up being about half country and half gospel, so I obviously thought I could make two separate mixes out of it.  Fast forward to 2019, and I heard the RocketMan movie was coming out soon.  I went back to these mixes and made a few more.  This mix immediately came to mind- Nondescript Elton is not a putdown, just a category- a selection of the ‘other’ songs that perhaps weren’t as well loved as the classics, but represent discipline, hard work, excellent production, and the Taupin-John magic.  Right away I wanted to place Shoulder Holster next to You’re So Static, and Mellow next to Pinky. His less well-known songs are so finely crafted, with a workman like attitude, that they surpass the best songs of many other artists.  The point of these mixes is how good ALL of his material between Empty Sky and Blue Moves is.

Nondescript Elton 1969-1976

  1. Pinball Wizard Released as a promotional only single in the U.S. in 1975, Elton’s version of this song is from Ken Russell’s film version of Tommy.  The scene is many people’s favorite from the film- those boots! The song features the piano instead of guitar for the main riff, and features outstanding contributions from the Elton John Band Mach I- Dee Murray’s confident bass playing rivals John Entwistle.  The arrangement cleverly interpolates “I Can’t Explain” in various spots- see if you can spot where!  Elton’s second best cover song, after “Lucy in The Sky.”
  2. Sails Caleb Quaye shines here on electric guitar, treated with wah-wah and heavy reverb.  This is one of the strongest tracks from Empty Sky, released in England in 1969.
  3. I Think I’m Gonna Kill Myself  Humorously maudlin, a sprightly, tongue in cheek ode to suicide, this track again features outstanding bass playing by Dee Murray, and tap dancing by “Legs” Larry Smith.  From Honky Chateau, 1972.
  4. Elderberry Wine  A low profile wonder, this was the B side to “Daniel.”  After Caribou, this was the second Elton John album that I owned.  In those days department stores had a record section, and I distinctly remember asking my dad to buy me various Elton John albums whenever we’d wander in.  I asked for GYBR once, but my dad took it out of my hands and put it back in the rack.  But I was successful with this one- Don’t Shoot Me, 1973.
  5. Honey Roll  Funky honky-tonk piano and excellent drumming by Nigel Olsson help this low profile track succeed.  The drums are recorded so clearly, showcasing Nigel’s laconic, backbeat oriented style- it seemed he would leave as many spaces between beats as possible, and never fall out of the pocket.  In this one it feels like the drums are in the room with us.  From the Friends soundtrack, 1971.
  6. Grimsby Opinions differ as to the origin of this song- evidently Elton asked Bernie to write about this sleepy fishing village on the Lincolnshire coast of England because Randy Newman had immortalized Cleveland in his song Burn On.  Recorded with the full band, Elton also performed this solo on the Old Grey Whistle Test- dig that video up to see the essence of the riff.  From Caribou, 1974.
  7. Island Girl/Grow Some Funk of Your Own Both songs in this one-two punch from Rock of the Westies were released as singles from the album, with Island Girl reaching #1 in the U.S.  As great as it is, Island Girl is probably Elton’s weakest single- but this proves the point of this mix- other artists would kill to have a song of this caliber be one of their weakest.  Grow Some Funk of Your Own is built around a great riff, co-written by Davey Johnstone, that the Elton John Band Mach II would jam out on in their concerts.  Since the space between these songs is so short on the album but hard to recreate with mp3’s, for my cd mix I used a vinyl rip.
  8. (Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket  Built around a heavy guitar riff, this is one of Elton’s hardest rocking tracks, even if it gets buried amidst all the great songs from the Captain Fantastic album.  Based on their desire to sell songs in order to eat, it is one of the more dense and oblique parts of this autobiographical album.  1975.
  9. One Horse Town Again built around great guitar riffs, at times embellished by the nimble string arrangement, which also closely follows the vocal melody in places.  Blue Moves also has many songs with American themes- One Horse Town is ironically about the deep south, even though it ends up sounding almost space age thanks to the slick production, James Newton Howard’s synthesizer parts and Paul Buckmaster’s string arrangement.  1976.
  10. Western Ford Gateway  This relatively unknown song from Elton’s very first album also features great guitar by Caleb Quaye, doubletracked for the main riff.  From Empty Sky, 1969.
  11. Stinker One of Elton’s only straight blues, with a minor blues change similar to “Pretzel Logic” by Steely Dan.  From Caribou, 1974.
  12. Mellow  Another low profile gem, this is a surprisingly steamy love song, extolling the virtues of rolling in bed with a lover, knocking over empty beer bottles.  Features a nearly unrecognizable violin solo by Jean Luc-Ponty, recorded through a Leslie speaker, as well as stately bass from Dee Murray.  From Honky Chateau, 1972.
  13. Pinky  This track fits neatly after Mellow, with a similar theme.  Comparing his lover’s perfection to the Fourth of July, it’s just one example of the overtly American themes on Caribou, 1974.
  14. Valhalla  This gentle tune about Viking heaven fits in with other mystical songs from the 60’s.  From Empty Sky, 1969.
  15. Shoulder Holster  Again featuring an American setting, this time a mid-western girl, Dolly Somers, who takes off after her unfaithful lover with a pistol ‘between her breast’ in a shoulder holster.  The hard hitting arrangement is punctuated by a great horn section by the Brecker Brothers, and a fine saxophone solo by David Sanborn.  Elton could write great music for the least interesting of Bernie’s lyrics, and still end up with a song that other artists would be happy to release.  Spoiler alert- Dolly follows her unfaithful husband across the country, finds him with his new girl, takes her gun out but decides not to use it, and tosses it into a ditch.  A rare double tracked Elton-only vocal, with the overdubbed second vocal taking the lower harmony line and the chorus vocal featuring a heavenly reverb, this song does not feature a guitar player.  Blue Moves, 1976.
  16. You’re So Static  This time taking place in New York City, here’s another of Bernie’s American themes from Caribou, about a prostitute who steals his watch.  With Davey’s guitar fed through a Leslie speaker and a wah-wah pedal, this lesser known track features the Tower of Power horn section in an arrangement that would sound at home on an Amy Winehouse track.  1974.
  17. High Flying Bird  Hidden as the last track on Don’t Shoot Me, hearing this one out of that context gives it new life.  Nondescript Elton, indeed.  1973.

This is the 5th post in this Elton series, and there are 5 left, but I will get to those later on.

Nondescript Elton from the Blue Moves LP.

Rocketman- an Elton John curation, pt. 4

This Elton mix features epics (and mini-epics.)  Even prog rock fans can see the beauty in Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, and there are several more extended and complex pieces here, which, when separated from the albums they were featured on, shine even more brilliantly.  Some of them have a dark, almost scary overtone- another deep, prominent color in Elton’s palette; almost always accompanied by edgy, complex orchestral arrangements.  I really recommend listening to the songs in this order- that’s the whole point of this exercise.  You can ALWAYS go back to the original albums, and after listening in this order, you’ll go back with open ears.

For those of you just joining this series, don’t miss the other installments!

Lowbrow Opera 1969-1976

  1. Funeral for A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding This extended piece is among his most well-known and loved.  The Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album remains his best-selling, and what an opener! Millions of us sat entranced staring at the amazing album cover as kids, being blown away by the visions this medley conjures.  Futuristic synthesizer and eerie sound effects, multiple monster guitar parts by Davey Johnstone, awesome claves by Ray Cooper? – all leading into one of Elton’s hardest rocking songs, lending this epic monstrosity perennial appeal.
  2. Medley: Yell Help, Wednesday Night, Ugly In 1975 Elton did the unthinkable- he fired Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray and formed a new Elton John band.  The first release was a laid back, groove laden album, Rock of the Westies, which indeed shows off this new band to spectacular effect.  The new members were old friends Caleb Quaye and Roger Pope, who had played on earlier EJ albums, as well as James Newton Howard.  This is another medley, albeit less bombastic than Funeral>Bleeding- more fun and lighter in subject matter- the first section is obscure lyrically, but it seems to be the punchline, presented before the joke. (In other words, this medley only becomes decipherable after repeated listenings.)  The third section is about a funky, UGLY prostitute the narrator falls for in the French Quarter, and features some of Elton’s wildest rocknroll vocals.  It also features Labelle on wild backing vocals in the coda.
  3. Tonight Blue Moves was the second album by the new band, but the songwriting, arrangements and production were much more well-crafted than Rock of the Westies.  By 1976 Elton’s reign was ending- punk had arrived and music was trending away from the type of pop of which he had been the almost untouchable, indisputable king since 1972.  Blue Moves was the culmination of this reign, and even though it ONLY reached #3 on the U.S. Billboard album chart, a relative failure for Elton that other artists only dream of, it  was almost universally panned at the time as overly slick and weepy.  It took me years to fully enjoy the album, since by 1976 KISS had taken over for me and my friends, and Elton was suddenly passé.  But I have since realized that this is perhaps his most perfectly realized album- Elton considers it his favorite.  Tonight is a ballad with an extended orchestral arrangement that certainly belongs in this list of epics.
  4. First Episode at Hienton An underappreciated mini opera from the Elton John album, 1970.  The story is about first love- a girl becoming a woman.   The location Hienton remains mysterious, but this song seems invulnerable to time and place- it exists strongly in the mind of the listener.
  5. Candle in The Wind I love the juxtaposition of this popular and well known epic song among some of the lesser-known pieces.  A true classic from GYBR, 1973, in loving tribute to Marilyn Monroe.
  6. Tower of Babel A mini epic, again shining on its own released from the original running order.  It refers to the seedy underbelly of… Hollywood, and the movie business?  London, and the music business?  New York, with every drug imaginable readily available?  

It’s party time for the guys in the Tower of Babel, Sodom meet Gomorrah, Cain meet Abel

Have a ball, y’all  See the leches crawl, with the call girls under the table…

Shades of Marilyn…  From Captain Fantastic, 1975.

  • Hard Luck Story This had been previously recorded by Kiki Dee, who it was originally written for. The writing credit goes to Ann Orson/Carte Blanche- a pseudonym Elton came up with for songs he wrote the music and lyrics to (An ‘orse an’ cart / carte blanche.)  The fade up at the beginning of the song is similar to the one used on Social Disease, as well as the next song.  From Rock of the Westies, 1975.
  • Crazy Water Another well produced, well arranged track with a slight fade up, this song is one of several that must have seemed incredibly boring at the time- perhaps because they so clearly represent that the writers and have grown into early middle age.  Again, as time has passed this one now seems comfortably well adjusted.  What a band- listen to how James Newton Howard’s clavinet locks the rhythm section together!  Super imaginative and complex backing vocals too.  Blue Moves, 1976.
  • I Need You to Turn To An operatic love song, with harpsichord and prominent string arrangement, from the Elton John album, 1970. It occurs to me that this album was made in obscurity and later became very well known, whereas Blue Moves was released under the intense scrutiny of Elton’s fame, and yet they generally share the same mature subject matter- appreciated in the first album, excoriated in the latter.
  • I’ve Seen That Movie Too This cinematic, atmospheric song can also stand mightily on its own, taken out of the context of the original album.  It perfectly evokes a smoky, darkened movie theatre; a lonely, spurned lover in the audience being painfully reminded of lost love by the story of some low budget ‘B film.’  GYBR, 1973.
  • The Greatest Discovery This is about a new baby brother joining a family, seemingly from another child’s point of view.  Several songs from this album seem wise beyond their years- this one again features harp, cello and a lovely string arrangement, as well as Elton’s piano and a drummer.  From Elton John, 1970.
  • Madman Across the Water The song embodies, perhaps most fully and concisely of any of these, Elton’s propensity to write EPIC songs. From the album of the same name, 1971.
  • Gulliver/Hay Chewed The final track from Elton’s first album, Empty Sky, released in England in 1969, which wasn’t released until 1975 in the U.S.  Many of us always consider ‘Elton John’ to be his first album- one reason I kept going back and refining these mixes was that I needed to incorporate more songs from Empty Sky- I have definitely listened to it WAY less than his others.  This track starts with an ominous, epic ballad, then gives way to a jazz influenced jam, which is followed by snippets of each song from the album.  
  • Out of the Blue  When Blue Moves was released, one of the things the negative reviews mentioned was that there were several instrumentals done ‘to the exclusion of sense.’  But this tune is a showcase for the band, both collectively and individually as soloists. Elton’s piano solo has overtones of atonal jazz, with some Latin sounds as well, leading into well-arranged stops, and back to the head.  A section of it was used as the closing title music for Top Gear, a British TV music program.  Oddly, credit for the music goes to Elton and Bernie.  Blue Moves, 1976.
The CD booklet page for Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.

Rocketman- an Elton John curation, pt. 2

Putting this list together was super insightful- Elton has written and recorded many songs that could be loosely classified as country.  If not the music itself, then the subject matter and instrumentation- but you’d be surprised how often he reaches into his bag of tricks to write, arrange and sing as if he was born in Kentucky.  

This goes double for Bernie, the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Bernie was born on a farm, and spent his youth in the countryside of Lincolnshire.  He must have seen a few western movies as a kid, and they seem to have made a lasting impression.  In the film Rocketman, their first meeting ended with them singing “The Streets of Laredo” in a café with the other customers looking on.  Country roots indeed.

Elton Country 1970-1976

1.   Ballad of A Well Known Gun The Band’s influence is huge on this track, especially the guitar playing.  Listen at 2:54 for some the best Robbie Robertson licks this side of… Robbie Robertson.  (The guitar in question was played by Caleb Quaye, and the drums are by Roger Pope, both of whom would later return for a stint in the Elton John Band mach II.) The subject matter brings us back to the wild west- a gunslinger on the run.  Tumbleweed Connection, 1970.

2.   Jackrabbit  B side of Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting, from the GYBR sessions, 1973.  Elton could write music in seemingly ANY style- here’s some bluegrass boogie with Davey Johnstone on mandolin.

3.   Dixie Lily Taken out of context, this innocuous song about a steamboat heading down the Mississippi suddenly stands out.  A hidden country gem from Caribou, 1974.

4.   Country Comfort  How does he do this?  He had only been in America briefly at this point, and usually on tour, playing show after show and flying back to England.  How does he write a genuine country song to die for?  Rod Stewart did an excellent cover of this song.  Tumbleweed Connection, 1970.

5.   Holiday Inn The pitfalls of an English touring musician in the States.  Davey Johnstone had initially been hired because of his acoustic abilities, he’s featured here on mandolin.  Madman Across the Water, 1971.

6.   Between Seventeen and Twenty  At first listen, in the context of the album it was originally on, this doesn’t sound like country, but in this setting it fits perfectly.  More mandolin by Davey Johnstone, and a twangy electric solo from Caleb Quaye- an underappreciated song from Blue Moves, 1976.  

7.   Texan Love Song Prescient subject matter in 2021- good ole boys from Texas, mourning the long haired hippy liberals stealing their girlfriends, and disrespecting their president.  

      “The minds of our daughters are poisoned by you, With your communistic politics and those Negro blues…”  

       Yes, more mandolin from Davey.  From Don’t Shoot Me, 1973.

8.   Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy  Bernie and Elton letting their roots show- an autobiographical tour de force.  Again, amazingly authentic, and again, Davey on mandolin.  From the album of the same name, 1975.

9.   Slave This was one of the easiest and most satisfying Elton mixes to work on.  He certainly isn’t renowned for the facility with which he and Bernie wrote and Elton performed with such hillbilly songs, but they are EVERYWHERE on his albums.  Davey on banjo this time. From Honky Chateau, 1972.

10. Cage The Songbird  Another sneaky country song from Blue Moves, this time as a tribute to Edith Piaf. David Crosby and Graham Nash on vocals.

11. Roy Rogers  I rest my case.  Elton on a rare double tracked harmony vocal.  Dolly Parton could easily do a convincing cover!  GYBR, 1973.

12. Social Disease  More banjo from Davey Johnstone, not to mention precise tambourine by Ray Cooper. 

13. No Shoestrings on Louise This seems to be about a madam at a whorehouse.  Someone has suggested on Wikipedia that this was intended as an homage to the Rolling Stones, and if so it succeeds.  From the Elton John album, 1970.

14. Rotten Peaches  Written from the point of view of an inmate at a “U.S. state prison.” Country gospel from Madman Across the Water, 1971.  Exquisite bass by Dee Murray.

15. Son of Your Father Misunderstanding and murder on an East Virginia farm.  Chromatic harp gives this a honkytonk feel.  Tumbleweed Connection, 1970.

16. Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future) Along with Rocket Man and I’ve Seen the Saucers, here’s yet another Taupin-John song about a space traveler.  Country funk from Rock of the Westies, 1975.

17. The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-1934) This one isn’t country music, but it’s definitely country in theme.  

      “We’re running short of heroes, back up here in the hills, without Danny Bailey we’re gonna have to break up our stills.  So mark his grave well, cos Kentucky loved him, born and raised proper, I guess life just bugged him.”  

       Enthusiastic strings arranged by Del Newman.  GYBR, 1973.

18. Planes  Even Elton’s extra songs are better than many artist’s A sides.  Unreleased bonus track, mandolin by guess who, from Rock of The Westies, 1975.

19. House of Cards  The B side of Someone Saved My Life Tonight, 1975.

Elton and Bernie on the cover of Tumbleweed Connection, a snapshot from their collective country consciousness.