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