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14. 21 at 33 (1980) Album Review
12 Plays25 days ago
Dominic & Anthony continue to sit in two rooms, searching for the best Elton John studio album; as they review Elton's fourteenth effort, can 21 at 33 top the Elton v Elton charts, or will they be saying "take me back" to the 1970s?
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Welcome to Elton v Elton: The Album Battle! This is the podcast where two pals (Anthony & Dominic) & Elton fans rage over which of Elton's albums we think is the best. We'll be keeping score as we go, as we delve into each of Elton's solo studio albums, discussing the tracks individually, the musicians involved, the album art, random trivia, cover versions & anything else in between!
We'd love to hear from you with your ratings, opinions and any other insights into Elton's work you have. Drop us an email via eltonveltonpod@gmail.com
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Thanks go to everyone involved in bringing Elton's work to the bigger stage, James Cook (http://www.jamescookcomedian.com/) & Paul Savage (https://www.instagram.com/savagecomics_/) who inspired the format of this show and Zapsplat.com for the SFX. Research for the show was done using songfacts.com, , eltonchords.com, https://www.eltonography.com/ and Elton’s autobiography 'Me'.
You can find Dominic on https://www.facebook.com/dominicberry/ and on his poetry website https://dominicberry.net/
You can find Anthony on two other podcasts: Enough of the Falafel (featuring the Vegan Week & Vegan Talk shows) and The Brambling Along Podcast
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Until next time it’s goodbye from Captain Dom-tastic & the Brown Dirt Ant-boy!
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Transcript
Introduction to Elton vs Elton Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
It's 23rd of May, 1980. Bernie Taupin is back. Whoop whoop! Oh gee, Elton John. Well you say whoop whoop, but otherwise any good. We're going to find out, aren't we? We're going to find out. There are several tracks by Bernie and several tracks by other folks on Elton's latest album. it's 39 at 40 no it isn't it's 56 at 80 no it isn't it's 21 at 33 i'm dominic and i'm anthony they're all multiples of three dominic that's how you remember it 11 times three uh are listening to the very rambling and very eclectic elton versus elton the album battle podcast
00:01:02
Speaker
Welcome everyone.
Inspiration and Format of the Podcast
00:01:03
Speaker
Episode 14. Goodness me, how did we get here? Episode 14 of the Elton vs Elton Album Battle Podcasts. This is the podcast where two pals, Anthony and Dominic, who love the music of Elton John, rage over which of his albums we love the best and which we love the least best. So obviously big props to everyone involved in getting Elton's music out to the masses. And big props to James Cook and Paul Savage, who gave us the idea for this podcast with their own podcast where they rank the Men's Football World Cup. So you can check that out if you give a little Google of their name. If you want to hear previous episodes, we've got 13 others because we're doing all of these album reviews chronologically. So they're all out there.
00:01:50
Speaker
And we've got a trailer podcast as well. There's about 10 minutes long, just saying a bit about me, Dominic, why we're doing this and what we love about Elton. So that's all out there too. Yes, it is.
Trivia Teaser Reveal from Previous Episode
00:02:06
Speaker
I was just reading the lyrics to Chasing the Crown and not listening to what you were saying. Let's get back focusing, Dominic. Where are we? Where are we? Before we go any further, let's give you the answer to the trivia teaser of our last episode.
00:02:21
Speaker
We said that you could argue we've missed out a studio album in making episode 13 about Victim of Love. We did speak of recordings made around that time. So which, could it be argued, should be episode 13? Anthony? Well, the Tom Bell Sessions was an album that was released in between a Single Man, 1978, and Victim of Love towards the end of 1979. It only had three tracks. Mama Can't Buy You Love, Three Way Love Affair, and Are You Ready for Love? But, you know, they weren't singles. they So they were a collection of music. They're technically an album, only three long, admittedly.
00:03:05
Speaker
This was re-released as a six-track album in 1989, the complete Tom Bell session. So as well as those three tracks, which were tracks four, five, and six, and there was also Nice and Slow, Country Love Song, and Shine On Through.
Global and Personal Context of Elton John in 1980
00:03:24
Speaker
It's a decent collection of music. And as we said in the last episode, Are You Ready for Love, when it was re-released in the early noughties, It was top of the UK chart. So it's well- In its remixed form. In its remixed form. yeah Yeah, absolutely. So if you're a fan of Elton music, definitely recommend listening to the complete Tom Bell sessions, but we're not doing an episode on it. And sorry if that disappoints anyone. You can email in with your complete review for it and perhaps we'll we'll read it out. ah Do a little bonus episode for you. Who knows? But yeah, that was the answer to the last teaser trivia question. That was at the end of the Victim of Love episode that we did. That was released at 12th of October, 1979. It did not chart well. Number 41 in the UK, number 35 in the US, s and most importantly, of course, it was number 13 out of 13 episodes for albums that Dominic and I have reviewed. But will it stay at the bottom of the league?
00:04:24
Speaker
We will just have to find out.
00:04:32
Speaker
Dominic, we're into the eighty s now. What's going on in the world? 1980, new decade. On April 13th, the US announced its boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics.
00:04:43
Speaker
April 18th, Zimbabwe becomes independent from the UK. A few weeks after this album's release, June 1st, CNN becomes the world's first 24-hour news channel. When this album was released, the UK number one was Johnny Logan's What's Another Year, whilst in the US, the number one was Blondie with Call Me! Blondie, another group who are very, very good at disco when the mood takes them.
00:05:13
Speaker
And importantly, global event-wise, this is the first Elton album that has been released whilst Dominic Berry is on the planet. Oh, aye. In his full human form. um So, yeah, that's the global context. In terms of Elton's life, I mean...
00:05:32
Speaker
if you know Obviously, stuff was happening in his life at the time, but compared to other episodes where we focused on you know pivotal years in his life, from the research I've done, from his autobiography and other online sources and things like that.
00:05:47
Speaker
it it seems like 1980 was a ah year where he's focusing on touring, getting himself out there still, although, you know, Victim of Love, his last album wasn't particularly well received. Like he's still maintaining quite a high presence in terms of, you know, TV interviews.
00:06:04
Speaker
things like that. And he is changing record labels as well at the time. though I mentioned in the last episode, he got really cross with the folk who refused to release Song for Guy as a single. um And so he has changed his record label in the US s at at this time as well. So few things like that going on. Let's start talking about this album specifically.
00:06:32
Speaker
Compared to our last album, Dominic, Victim of Love, where Elton seems to basically have just shown up, been given a microphone and told, sing over the top of this. This looks more like a familiar lineup in terms of an Elton album and and and and certain names are are coming back, not just Bernie Taupin on lyrics.
00:06:51
Speaker
yeah elton is playing piano which is a welcome return as well as his vocals we've still got steve lucather apologies if i'm saying his name incorrectly the fella from toto who was on victim of love he's back on loads the songs here on electric guitar Also back are Dee Murray and Nigel Olsen on bass and drums, respectively. We've got a load of people on backing vocals, one of whom being Peter Noon from Herman's Hermits. They're...
00:07:28
Speaker
Mighty good song, mighty good song. We've got a pretty full brass section, trumpets, trombones and saxophones. Yeah, we've got other guitarists, Richie Zito, Steve Ruffer on guitar.
00:07:45
Speaker
Yeah, and James Newton Howard, he's back as well on keyboards and acoustic piano. Yeah, we're going we're going to mention James Newton Howard on one of the tracks in particular, but i'll I'll save that for when the time comes. So in terms of the context of this album and sort of other little tidbits about it, it was primarily recorded in Nice in France, August 1979 at Super Bear Studios, not the only out an album album.
00:08:16
Speaker
that is to be recorded in that venue. There were technical problems during the session in in Nice. In Elton, the biography written by David Buckley, there is a ah citation of, um remembered by Clive Franks, that the co-producer, who recalls an incident where a mixing console ignited on fire Those were the days, Dominic, when you were recording something and it would set on fire. In the previous episode of Elton vs Elton Album Battle, Dominic was lamenting the name. In fact, he's already had a dig. He's already had a dig in this episode at the name 21 33. It's very clever.
00:08:55
Speaker
This was his 20... Very clever!
Making of '21 at 33' Album
00:08:58
Speaker
Very clever! It what I think when you don't know what it means, you might be thinking, oh, it's the energy of a 21-year-old at the age of 33. But oh, no, no, no. This was his 21st album. not Not just solo studio album. Like, there's been live albums. There's been greatest hits albums by by this point.
00:09:19
Speaker
So, yeah, his 21st album release at the age of 33. It was considered... to be a double album. At one point, there was enough material that they were thinking, oh, could we make a double album of this?
00:09:32
Speaker
But Clive Franks, um who was co-producing the album, said, now, do you know what? Some of this is not of sufficient quality. Let's just do a single album. If only Clive Franks was about when they were making blue moves, and that might have been a better piece of work. In terms of how well it charted, we got the highest charting in New Zealand, where it reached number three, number six in Norway, number seven in Australia.
Chart Performance of '21 at 33'
00:10:00
Speaker
In the UK, it was number 12 and the US s number 13. And as opposed to Victim of Love, the last album, Elton did do a lot of promotional work.
00:10:11
Speaker
to um market this album. He embarked on a tour of North America and Oceania, including a free concert in Central Park in New York. It is since being released, 21 at 33, has been certified gold. by the RIAA for US sales in excess of half a million copies. So are either quite a lot of people like it, Dominic, or quite a lot of people just bought it. did you Did you have any sentiments towards this album before listening to it for for this podcast?
Personal Histories with Elton John's Music
00:10:45
Speaker
Okay, I'm going to give a really long answer to that question. Bear with me. So as a family, we have the 1989 album Sleeping With The Past. I know that really very well.
00:11:01
Speaker
And led to the very best of Elton John. And from that point on, I got lots of 90s albums as they came out. The One, Duets, Made in England, Lion King soundtrack, 90s album. might I know really well Elton John's 90s albums. In recording this podcast with you,
00:11:25
Speaker
I was aware that there was a smattering of 1970s albums like Caribou that I'd never heard before. Rock of the West is never heard before. And the former was less for me, the latter I adored. And then I looked, Anthony, at the long stretch of albums from Single Man, which again, as a family, we had all the way up to the 90s stuff, you know, and then 1989, Sleeping With The Past. I thought,
00:11:54
Speaker
oh, I don't want to be saying every single time. I don't know it. I don't know it every single time. So I chose to get too low for zero because that's so popular. And I thought, well, let's give that bit. And I got the Fox because I know the Fox, which is the next one coming up. I know how much you have spoken about the Fox and there's a a fondness for the Fox. So I love The Fox.
00:12:20
Speaker
And to finally answer your question, no, I've got no connection to this record. But having bought and loved The Fox, next episode we'll talk about The Fox and oh, I'll have so much praise for it. And I had really high hopes for this record, despite hating the title so very much. and um do i like it as much as the fox well you'll find out when we get to that but um yeah what a long wait no one could have said no i've got no connection to this record in a more elongated way than i did just then what about you anthony well well dominic i too was really hopeful for this album because i knew that victim of love Did not have a good reputation. And having listened to it, I thought, oh, goodness, I don't really like this very much. I hope 21 at 33 can deliver.
00:13:19
Speaker
I had forgotten that I owned this album from about the age 17. And never listened to it. The reason being... I owned this on vinyl. I found it in a charity shop.
00:13:32
Speaker
I saw it was an Elton John album. I thought, oh, I'll buy that. It's got a nice bit of album art. We'll talk about that in a moment. Oh my God, it's an awful album It's awful. Yeah, it's colourful. It says Elton John on it. So, you know, that ticked the box for me as a teenager collecting Elton John's music. I didn't have a record player. It was the days before streaming and I couldn't find it in the shops on cassette or CD.
00:13:54
Speaker
So I didn't have the means to listen to it, but I had it up on my wall for for many years. um So actually, yeah, the first time I've listened to it has been... in the last few weeks so in a sense no prior sentiments in another sense i've been hopeful for it and um yeah it's i know the track names because they've been on my wall for however many years as a teenager yeah so we've spoken at length about the tribute record made two rooms with all the different singers kate bush and Sinead O'Connor and so many folks and we had that when I was a kid and I was annoyed as a 90s Elton John fan that there was so few latter-day Elton John there's Sacrifice sung by Sinead O'Connor and that's it I think the next most recent song is George Michael singing Tonight from Blue Moves. I think, I might be wrong there, but I'm pretty sure it's predominantly like earlier stuff. There's like a good selection from Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across the Water. And I thought, why hasn't it got the title song? I found out that there was a song called Two Rooms at the End of the World, and I really wanted to
00:15:13
Speaker
own this record so i did look for this on cassette or cd because i really again the days before streaming i really what i thought two rooms is a significant enough song to make the title of this tribute album which in my opinion is amazing why isn't anyone singing it why isn't anyone singing it now i've finally heard it do i like the song well we'll get to that in a bit So let's start talking specifics.
Critique of Album Artwork
00:15:45
Speaker
We always start off with the album art. Now, I didn't really live through the 80s in any kind of conscious way in that I was born at the end of 1986, so I don't really have memories of the 80s. I really like this album art because to me... It's it's really evocative of the 80s. You've got big, bold colours. You've got some poker chips stacked up. You've got a couple of artificial mannequins hands holding ah a deck. I think, again, I think they're being quite clever there. I think one of the hands has got a two and an ace, and the other hand has got a three and a three. Oh God, you're so thinking it's clever, these numbers. Do you know what, Dominic? I'd rather they do that than have a scraggy picture of Elton like they do on the cover of Honky Chateau or Victim of Love or Rock of the Westies where it's just a picture of him. like at least they put some effort in or mad even madman across the water i mean i do quite like the album for that but it's literally it's just someone's got the crayons out and written madman across the water by elton john that's all there is at least they've staged this and given it a few moments th thought no so i think madman across the water i think it looks a bit like denim I think that it's quite a cool record. I've said before, Mad Man Across the Water, it's too dark for me. It's too intense for me. But I think the denim, there's a suggestion of edge to that that makes sense. The image correlates with that. I prefer...
00:17:18
Speaker
Honky Chateau's artwork to this artwork. I definitely prefer Rock of the West. is I said at the time, I think Elton looks fit on the Rock of the West. is So good on him. It's a rock album and he looks like a rock star. And I mean, yeah,
00:17:34
Speaker
Is it as creative as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road or Captain Fantastic's artwork? No. But this, there's nothing here that says Elton John to me. There's nothing. And I think that's a criticism of the whole album. I think it's a bitty album with lots of bits and pieces that don't fit together. And I think this album artwork is lacking in identity. I think that the title is lacking in identity. You have given huge praise to the live album, which again, I'm going to have to look it up. I'm looking at now 171170. Maybe I'm just like dyspraxic. Maybe that's the numbers one, isn't it? That you're you're dyslexic with numbers. Maybe it's that But I mean, right i've um I looked that up.
00:18:23
Speaker
I'm now back looking at your lovely face, Anthony. I couldn't repeat the name of that live album. I've forgotten what it is already. And I wonder, I know I've not yet listened to that live album, but I know you love it.
00:18:35
Speaker
I wonder if some people were put off of it because of the name. I wonder if some people were put off of this because the name. I did assume for a bit that that maybe this wasn't a proper album. You know, it kind of almost sounds like a rarities or something. It's just, yeah, I think that the name and the artwork and the selection of lyricists all are just lacking in something coherent. It's just a bit of everything. Yeah, and actually, to be fair, yeah i I have given it as much defence as I want to give, but if I want to and go on the offensive and and be critical, like if the whole scheme of naming it 21 at 33 is the fact that you've released 21 albums at the age of 33, let's look at the last two. Victim of Love, Applix. absolute tosh. And the one before that, the Tom Bell sessions has three tracks on it. So I think really like we're we're drawing attention to the fact that some of these albums have been notching up the quantity and not the quality. Yeah. And do you know what? Right. Adele.
00:19:44
Speaker
I love The fact that Adele has got albums that are just her age. think that's really good. And similarly, if this album wasn't called 21 at 33, if it was just called 33, and I thought that lyrically this was an exploration of turning 30. What is life? You know, you're not middle aged, but you're not a kid. What is it being in your... That would be really interesting. And I used to think when Adele, you know, albums like 19, I used to think, I really hope she does an album called 45. I would love to listen to Adele make an album called 45 in this sexist
00:20:24
Speaker
misogynistic industry where, you know, older to women like Joni Mitchell or Kiki D aren't valued. I mean, what an amazing, don't start saying how amazing Kiki D is. Everybody knows, Dominic, everybody knows you love Kiki D, especially her latter work.
00:20:40
Speaker
But yet, if it was just called 33 and the lyrics reflected that, yeah but now it's the 21 bit that confuses it and also just it's not even accurate it's like it's it's just what's being counted as an album what isn't no get in the sea get in the sea yeah well let's start talking about the track
00:21:22
Speaker
We start off with Chasing the Crown.
Discussion on 'Chasing the Crown'
00:21:26
Speaker
Goodness me, what energetic start. It reminded me a little bit of the start of Rock of the Westies where we've got like a i've written that yeah yeah really strong defined start. It's not the same sound as Rock of the Westies, but it it really captures your attention, and then the lyrics come in and Elton's singing, I built a wall in China, I sank an ocean liner, I've wrecked homes, I've burned thrones, chasing the crown, goodness me, what a start.
00:21:55
Speaker
Dominic, do you feel that the yeah ah the the ah tempo and the feel and the excitement of the first 30 seconds continues for the rest of the track or not? No, i don't. i I just kept listening to this song really... you know, this album has really got its fans. Loads of people really love it. I don't love this album as much as The Fox. And Chasing the Crown...
00:22:23
Speaker
I've said about Victim of Love and Blue Moves that, in my opinion, most of the songs are ah worse for being on that album. I wonder if it's the case with this one, too. And I thought, OK, so what is Chasing the Crown about?
00:22:38
Speaker
It's got this brilliant start. The guitar at the beginning is phenomenal. I was blown away by the harder rock of Rock of the Westies. This sounds promising. This is such a leap from the disco of Victim of Love. Wow, wow, wow.
00:22:55
Speaker
But then, don't know. don't really know what the words are about. I'm glad to hear that because like i just assume when I don't understand words that I'm just being thick but so to to to hear that somebody who's who's ah very living is predicated on understanding and using words um and they're they're saying they don't quite get it either that but but ive done better yeah I don't quite get the lyrics of Tower of Babel from my uh much praised Captain Fantastic and yet I like them I
00:23:30
Speaker
kept thinking, so I don't think this song sounds the best on the same album as Take Me Back or you know Never Gonna Fall In Love or Dear God. I don't think that's any... I thought, how would I feel if this was on Captain Fantastic? If I was told, right, this is autobiographical, this is part of the journey, this is how they feel, would i like it more? And if Chasing the Crown was on Captain Fantastic...
00:24:00
Speaker
I would say it was the worst song on Captain Fantastic. I think that it's repetitive. I think that the tune isn't the best. I think that, you know, similar to Victim of Love, I think that it's not got the best melody. I think the production's great. I am interested in the lyrics, but they seem...
00:24:21
Speaker
a bit cynical, you know, a bit like, later on, we're going to have Bernie Taupin being quite celebratory of their partnership in the song Two Rooms at the End of the World. And yet, the only other Bernie... contribution if you were new to elton john this was your first elton john we've got white lady which is pretty miserable and this one that's pretty miserable and two rooms it's like oh listen to all our great songs
00:24:53
Speaker
Well, we've only got two of them and they're both miserable, you know. So, yeah, I'm not mad keen and I really want to like this song. People are the online saying that they love it. I really want to. I just feel there's something in this song that's not clicking with me.
00:25:10
Speaker
I really want to like it. So we spoke about in our second episode about the song Border Song, whereby the first two verse choruses...
00:25:22
Speaker
are being quite negative, uh, divisive. And then there's the third first chorus. that Elton himself has written the lyrics for that completely flip the meaning of the whole song and make it euphoric, uplifting and ah let's not be so divisive. Let's, you know, we're brothers, even if, you know, we have different colored skin or or what have you. I feel like if there was just a little verse or a little stanza somewhere in this that brought a culmination or a drawing together,
00:25:53
Speaker
of the sentiment because you know there's a lot of metaphor going on in the in the lyrics we can't take it literally you know i've built a wall in china i sank an ocean line i've wrecked homes i've burned i spread plague in the streets yeah why'd you do that you were really arse of it for being born bad well now he's spreading plague Well, yes, it iss it's quite clearly caricature, isn't it? but it's And I wondered, well, is it, you know, is this God? Is this God talking about that? But then why is God chasing the crown? That makes no sense. God's already got the crown. So ah ah either we're both being a bit thick or it just needs something else that draws it together. I think if it has that, then it's a completely different song because it's got the really strong musical accompaniment. It's got complex, thoughtful lyrics and that make sense. Whereas it just, I think it's a bit too oblique really.
00:26:48
Speaker
Is it about rock stars being awful? Is it about that? Is it about ego? Is it about, that's why I said, could it go on Captain Fantastic? Because it kind of feels like maybe it's about the music industry. Maybe it's like, you know, because they're not against saying, oh gosh, this ah world in which we live is full of awful stuff. But maybe, maybe again, that's, maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe it's not about anything. but but This is the same pen that wrote Take Me to the Pilot. So maybe it's that neck of the woods. Well, I mean, I like the thought that it's it's disparaging about rock stars and things like that, because actually one of the last lyrics that Bernie wrote for Elton before they had a break. Ego! Ego, where he was completely slagging him off. Then we've got a a song later on in in this album ah where he's talking about his drug use. um so i i do like the thought of him just yeah just being completely acerbic and just being like look at all these terrible things about you by the way mate delighted to be working together again thanks for the thanks for the check that i received this morning in the post let's let's move on to the next track because we've we've got nine to talk about on this episode
00:28:04
Speaker
Little
Debate on 'Little Genie' - Elevator Music or Melodic?
00:28:05
Speaker
Genie. Dominic, this is Lyft music. I'm sorry. i i really cannot stand this track. I think it's really poor. I i think it it it needs...
00:28:17
Speaker
No words. it It sounds like it's being played in a lift, like the the keyboard playing. but I don't know why Elton said to James Newton Howard, do you know what, mate? This needs a really technical keyboard player. I'm not up to the job.
00:28:33
Speaker
James, you take the reins for this one. other than the fact that Elton himself doesn't like the song. I i think it's really dross. and And the lyrics, I mean, Elton talks about Gary Osborne really favourably in his autobiography. he talks about what a lovely man he is and him and his wife, you know, they looked after Elton one Christmas day when he was left heartbroken.
00:28:54
Speaker
It sounds like a really lovely man. But so often his lyrics, I just think to myself, if you've made your name as Elton John, as someone who can put to music fantastic lyrics,
00:29:05
Speaker
Is Gary Osborne really the best lyricist you could find? As you know, that the the follow-up to Bernie, ah I just think they're they're really basic and disappointing and and something that a 12-year-old would write, you know, on an off day. Well, as somebody who works with 12-year-olds writing, I'm a big fan of 12-year-old lyricism. I'm a big fan. I've said this on previous shows.
00:29:31
Speaker
Amoraz, the English lyric to Kiki D's debut hit. ah War of the Worlds, Forever Autumn. Beautiful words from Gary Osborne. Gary Osborne has got it in him ah to be great. i prefer Little Genie.
00:29:49
Speaker
to anything that was on a single man. Really? Yeah, really. And I'm speaking as a convert to Little Genie because I used to hate this song. I used to find it saccharine and sweet ah ah to to sickly degrees.
00:30:08
Speaker
And it's really grown on me. It's really, really grown on me. I think it's 100 times better than Blue Eyes. 100. hundred times, a thousand times better than Blue Eyes. I really like the horn section on it. I do really like the melody. I'm so yearning for melody after the the more rhythmic, focused Victim of Love. And the not great tune for Chasing the Crown. It's not the best tune. I really like the middle eight. I think that the song Chloe...
00:30:45
Speaker
that will feature on The Fox, also by Gary Osborne. I think Chloe is a better song than Little Jeannie. A hundred percent. Yeah. and And I think part of that is the choice of instrumentation with it. You know, what I can't blame...
00:31:01
Speaker
Gary Osborne for the fact that Elton has chosen to have all these, you know, smooth keyboard instruments playing on. I mean, it says something when, when you look at the cover versions for little genie, they're all like bloody pan pipes. Yeah. It's all instrumental stuff that you'd have playing in a garden centre in the late 90s. Like, it's all that. And that's not Gary Osborne's fault. And I think, like, Chloe sounds more... It's it's got more substance to it. andnna And I think the lyrics are much better for Chloe. But anyway, we're going to talk about that in the next episode. But I i just i just think, Little Genie, i I'd be really embarrassed if... if if someone said oh elton john like can you can you play me one of his tracks and and you just said oh yeah i'll just press random on uh on spotify and this came up first i'd just be really embarrassed to say like oh yeah this is the musician i really like it just feels really basic and predictable and but it does it doesn't have the pizzazz of i don't know like
00:32:05
Speaker
Like songs like Part-Time Love or Crocodile Rock or things like that, where where it's it's kind of like, oh, well, Elton's doing pop really well.
00:32:16
Speaker
I just feel like it's a really sugary, lame attempt at pop. to to be honest. It is really sugary. am not saying this is great poetry. I think the one word, acrobat, does a lot of heavy lifting because that's like in the first line of the chorus. And I think that's interesting. I...
00:32:40
Speaker
Yeah, I think that Victim of Love, I really tried to judge songs like Street Boogie against other disco songs rather than against other Elton. And again, I'm trying to be consistent in my scoring. It's getting more and more difficult, 14 shows in, to like scroll back. but What did I give this you know fourth track off of Madman Across the Water? what you know It's really hard to be consistent.
00:33:08
Speaker
But... I think judging this against other early eighties, sacrament, you know, Spandau ballet, true. You know, I think it's that end of town. I think it's a different genre to part-time love. It's a different genre to, to and have mercy on the criminal. And yeah, I'd much rather listen to have mercy on the criminal, but as a,
00:33:31
Speaker
example of elton going to this i'm gonna say again i think it's a good tune and i'm not against how it's produced i'm not against it you know yeah i'm gonna say one final thing in in criticism of it and then we'll talk about how well it did in the charts because it is well received and and so lots of people clearly like it i think if you take tracks that we've talked about in previous episodes like susie like amy like tiny dancer You can picture those people, even even disparaging lyrics that Bernie's written, whether it's social disease, whether it's all the young girls love Alice, all of those things, you can picture the person. And I think Little Genie, it's all over the place. I can't picture this person because he's he's saying, i want you to be my acrobat. ah You were always someone's fool.
00:34:19
Speaker
But then he's like, you've grown beyond your years. You still retain the fears of youth. You're burning it up so fast. that I can't picture this person. i ah It feels like he he's just pressed a sort of random descriptor generator and just things have popped out. i Like, can you picture someone when you hear the lyric, Dominic?
00:34:37
Speaker
Well, I can't picture someone in Tower of Babel, but, you know, that's not... No, but the point of Tower of Babel isn't... imagine Imagine this person, you know, Susie and Amy and Tiny Dancer and Little Genie. that the Surely the whole point of the song is for you to imagine someone, and it fails. If my boyfriend had written...
00:34:59
Speaker
oh, little Dommy, you've got so much love, little Dommy. I'd be like, oh, cheers. Thank you. And that's lovely. And you can keep that between yourselves and not inflict it on the rest of the world. That's That's fine. Anyway, we should talk about what the rest of the world thinks because I've definitely had my say. it reached number three on the billboard hot 100 in the u.s so it became elton's biggest u.s hit since don't go breaking my heart in 1976 and his highest charting solo hit since island girl well less said about that the better i gave that one a high score too yeah
00:35:39
Speaker
Yeah. Interestingly as well, in the US, it was Elton's highest charting single co-written with Gary Osborne, but in the UK, it only reached number 33. Shall we move on to sartorial elegance? While we're talking about the US and the UK and the difference.
Analysis of 'Sartorial Eloquence'
00:35:58
Speaker
Sartorial elegance was not released as sartorial elegance. It was released as, don't you want to play this game no more? Which in his autobiography, Elton says some promoter somewhere said, no, US audiences won't understand the phrase sartorial elegance. I don't understand the phrase. And I think that it's the, it's the word equivalent of the numbers 21 and 33. I, i
00:36:24
Speaker
I don't think the lyrics are great to this one. And similar to Little Genie, I don't like this as much as Little Genie. But, I mean, I will repeat, I hated Little Genie. I hated it i in the past. And i I was angry at its inclusion on Greatest Hits albums when, like, brilliant songs that I adored wasn't on there. I...
00:36:47
Speaker
Used to hate this. I don't think the music video helps as well. if you If you watch it on YouTube, it's a terrible video. And I think the words are pretty average. But it's grown on me, not to the same degree as Little Genie. It just makes scoring this so difficult. And why I listen to Chasing the Crown so many times, thinking, well, would this grow on me? Would this grow on me? Because, yeah, this one has a little bit...
00:37:14
Speaker
I don't think it's single worthy. I don't think it is. No, it it it's so close, I think, to achieving what, say, Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatter's does. And, in in and you know, ah a slow song that's describing a situation or a person... It's using flowery vocabulary. and it's It's almost quite lamenting in its tone, but it just it just falls a little short in terms of what it's trying to describe. And yeah, that phrase sartorial eloquence probably doesn't help because most people, when they hear it, are going to go sorry, you're going to need to elaborate a little bit more of what that actually means. But I think let's remove the lyrics.
00:37:59
Speaker
I think Elton does a really lovely job of of musically putting something together and and the way it flows and there's there's little refrains in there as well or sort of false conclusions of a phrase not describing it particularly well but it it sounds like a verse is coming to an end and it's not quite resolved but then he does resolve it and I think musically it's got a lot going for it, but yeah, Tom Robinson's lyrics don't, don't quite work. And I will, well, I think we both will praise Tom Robinson. If not this episode, then certainly in the next episode for, so for some of his words on, um, on the Fox. Yeah. And he's solo work. So, um,
00:38:40
Speaker
I mean, there's worse to come from Tom Robinson on this record. There's worse to come. And yeah, Tom Robinson is an amazing, amazing character. And I'm surprised by his contribution to this particular album because I think it's really middling, really middling.
00:39:01
Speaker
And Tom Robinson is not a middling artist. No, the track was released on both sides at the Atlantic, ah missing out on the top 40 in the UK, coming in at number 39 in the US, which, as I say, it was issued under the title, Don't You Want to Play This Game No More, which is is the refrain that is sung in the chorus. Let's move on to track four. We've already referenced it.
00:39:28
Speaker
Two Rooms at the End of the World.
Comparison of 'Two Rooms at the End of the World'
00:39:31
Speaker
It um feels, Dominic, like it's trying to do something that that Bernie and Elton did so well in Captain Fantastic, sort of, you know, referring to themselves. And somehow it doesn't doesn't quite do it for me. I'd be really interested to hear what what you're saying. i ah that I wonder whether it's the fact that they haven't necessarily worked together for for quite a few years, and then it's coming in straight away with... yeah, we're brilliant. Don't write us off. Blah, blah, blah. yeah what but but But actually, for me, Captain Fantastic works so well because it's quite humble in its tone and its its content. and Despite the fact that Elton is a megastar at the time that Captain Fantastic comes out, whereas here we've had five years of fair to middling Elton content and then Bernie's like, I'm back. Don't write us off. We're still brilliant. rara ra And it's like, hmm.
00:40:26
Speaker
Yeah, from what I can hear, don't agree. I don't think it's earned. I mean, I am quite up for that. like I'm a huge fan of The Captain and The Kid. I can't wait for us to review that. I own that record. I've had it forever. and you know The mid-2000s follow-up to Captain Fantastic. Brilliant. Love it. and There's a little bit more patting on the back in that one, but i'm I'm well up for it. I think that it's odd to include two rooms at the end of the world on a record in which Bernie Taupin is minimally featured. And as I said earlier, I think I said it on this show rather than just in our pre-show banter. that like Chasing the Crown and White Lady, White Powder so negative, so gloomy.
00:41:14
Speaker
So here's what I like about the song. i think that the guitar is great, really chunky. I think that it's a a good tune. i think it's the best tune out of the three Bernie Taupin ah words, you know. ah I'm less keen on the women doing the chorus. That's a bit victim of love for me. And I kind of think that that makes it a little bit a little bit cheesy, a little bit less authentic. It feels a bit show busy, kind of like, you know, the the way the women...
00:41:46
Speaker
come in i'd rather it be a bit more i'd like to hear a rock of the west's version of two rooms at the end of the world but and i think it's a little long as well i don't think it deserves to be over five minutes long but uh if we're if we're thinking about it relative to captain fantastic in terms of what captain fantastic does so well um amongst many things like it's sequencing is really carefully thought out it's really odd maybe i'm just picking a nit here that's ah you know really basic but like wouldn't you put this as your first bernie song on the album rather than the second one and the fourth track do you know i mean if if this opened the album you know, through a mutual agreement, that aching feeling to look one up other, look up one another one more time. Like, wouldn't that be the, hey, I'm back, everyone?
00:42:41
Speaker
Why is that? I think, I think that if this was the opening track, it would be misleading. I think this could be a really good B-side. I do. I really like, i think it's a great tune. I don't think it's strong enough to be a single,
00:42:58
Speaker
i don't think it should have been on the two rooms tribute album which as a kid i was like why isn't this so always the title song why isn't it on there well it's not on there because it's not good enough but it is it is great i mean if i'd written a song as good as this i'd be over the moon because it is a great song and it's um in my opinion the best of the three bernie ones But yeah, I think leave it off the album. I think that it doesn't. But then that's my complaint that 21 at 33 is just a bitty album of odds and ends.
00:43:30
Speaker
Whereas The Fox, I think, is really coherent. And Dominic, who's always reading stuff in, to words that isn't there like you know in ugly off of uh rock of the west is and you know countless songs i've been like well i think think the fox really sequences well together as a conceptual piece and maybe that's accidental but i really all the different lyric writers it really hangs together in a way that really gels for me in the way that this record
00:44:06
Speaker
I like the concept of this song musically, as you say, it's really good. I mean, the, the horn section is, is a bit on the nose and a bit cheesy, but that's, that's fine. You know, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but for me that the lyrics are too, they're preachy, you know, they're saying, don't judge us by this, blah, blah, blah. We've done this. We're really great. And I just think the first verse is not like that. Actually, the first verse is saying, wow, we're, uh, We're back together then. But then it's, yeah, it's a bit too much promise and not enough delivery, I think, especially within the context of album. I feel really laid into it. I'm going to be scoring this song eight out of ten. I really like it. I think it's a really strong tune. And I'm all right with them patting themselves on the back a little bit. I just think it...
00:44:53
Speaker
Like I listened to Street Boogie from Victim of Love separate to just be like, just listen to the song. That's what I did with this one, because I think that after those three previous songs, it sounds weaker in this context. Yeah, yeah. Well, for my money, I much prefer the next track.
00:45:13
Speaker
where Bernie's saying, take a look at yourself, you big cokehead. Come on, set up. yeah, it's, and it reminds me of, I think I'm going to kill myself from Honky Chateau, where you've got really jaunty piano.
'White Lady White Powder' - Jaunty Music vs Critical Lyrics
00:45:29
Speaker
Like, that the the opening of this track is is just a really jaunty, clinky, clinky, clinky, clink. piano um and then yeah you start listening to the actual lyrics that Elton's singing in a really jolly way this considering the fact that the the song is clearly pointing a big fat index finger it at him and his own ah ah social life and and and habits um that Bernie's clearly not being very approving of um and you're like oh oh okay yes this is very clearly talking about drug use And um yeah, I mean, all credit for to to Bernie for writing it down and all credit to Elton for singing it and it it being put out. like do Do you have any strong feelings on this one, Dominic? it' said I'm really glad that I went second because what you've just said has really made me understand why I'm less into this song. And it's the comparison too. i think I'm going to kill myself off of Anki Chateau, which again,
00:46:29
Speaker
is just subjectively less for me. I think that that combination of the kind of quite jaunty with the horrific doesn't quite sit with me. I do love his vocals on it. I and think he sings it really well. like think it's a bit long. Yeah, and again, just like, we're going to be going on to Dear God in a couple of minutes' time. It's like how many sharp turns... and this record do. and And I mean, you know, i'm Never Gonna Fall In Love Again, the kind of middle-aged meander that we've got in just a couple of songs' time. It's, um yeah, I ah don't love it.
00:47:12
Speaker
I don't love it. I don't hate it. I don't love it. I can see why someone would love this and I can see why someone would love, I think I'm going to kill myself. But it's, um yeah, it doesn't quite land for me. Yeah. I mean, we've, we've spoken about songs. previously that that they really, they really captured the the essence of ah a concept or a feeling or an experience or something. And it's not the kind of song that we could listen to over and over again, because the the subject matter is, is, you know, is quite acute or quite difficult. And I i wouldn't say i I feel that about this. I wouldn't say I kind of listen to it and think, oh goodness, that's, that's too harrowing for me to, to listen to. i think, I think musically it's really good.
00:47:57
Speaker
i Yeah, I do. i do i do. Yeah. Yeah. I think knowing the context of how out of control... Elton was at this time in his life and the fact that he's that he's singing this and and producing this sit sits a bit funny with me not not in a not in a judgmental way kind of like oh he shouldn't be doing that or or anything like that but in a kind of oh goodness that's that's quite the contrast ah that yeah I yeah I feel for him in in in ah in a sense there um having had having not had experience of these things myself. So I you know i ah really don't know what I'm talking about. But yeah, certainly certainly an interesting one, certainly an eyebrow raiser.
'Dear God' and Its Theological Themes
00:48:40
Speaker
Next track, goodness me, Dear God. we've We've had questions before. where out at We've had tracks before where Elton has been questioning where God is, what he's up to, why he's not doing things.
00:48:57
Speaker
Is this in a similar vein, would you say, Dominic? I do quite like the words of this. I do quite like the tune. I like the doo-doo-doos of it. i think this is going to sound like...
00:49:11
Speaker
critique but think this could be a carpenter's song you know i love the carpenters i love them i mean it's very contrasting from what we've just had i probably like white lady and dear god equally i just think that they don't sound the best next to each other in my opinion even though you could i guess argue that there is perhaps a lyrical narrative journey from going from one state to sort of, you know, philosophising upon, you know, existence and meaning. And yeah, I like it. I don't love it, but I do. I really like it. I really like it. You know, good on, you know, good on Gary Osborne for for writing something that's a bit different.
00:49:58
Speaker
Yeah, So it's good that you've pointed out that it's Gary Osborne who's written the lyrics to this, because I'm going to compare this to a Bernie Taupin lyric. If there's a God in heaven, what's he waiting for? From Blue Moves.
00:50:12
Speaker
Do you think it's fair of me, Dominic, to say that actually Elton's already released If There's a God in Heaven four years previous? And to me, this doesn't do anything...
00:50:24
Speaker
extra on that and music. I think this is the first album where I say that about a lot of moments. And I think that, you know, we're in a new decade and I know you could argue, well, what does that matter? A few months. It's hardly like, you know, ah everything about the seventies ceases to exist and, you know, shoulder pads are in, perms are happening because it's the eighties all of a sudden. But I just feel that there's an opportunity for a reinvention and that doesn't happen and yeah yeah i do think that there's a lot of the record that feels like treading old ground but less successfully so yeah i think that you know it's blue moves isn't it that's the other god out yeah it is um
00:51:12
Speaker
I'm not the biggest fan of Blue Moves, but yeah, I would prefer that song. Oh no, would I? I don't know. the so What's interesting is that one, it's it's it's a similar tempo to the song, but actually the organ that's backing up if there's a God in heaven... and does have some quicker moving parts to it. Whereas Dear God is a very, very slow song. And I've been a fan of slower Elton songs in the past. So something like Talking Old Soldiers from Tumbleweed Connection. beautiful. Beautiful.
00:51:43
Speaker
But here's what I think you have to do with a slow song. You have to really grab people's attention with what you're saying. It has to be something new, something original, something, stop everyone and listen. This is worth paying attention to. And Dear God is just doing what Bernie did four years before, but less effectively, actually. I think if you put them next to one another, I i do think that that dear God is the weaker lyrically.
00:52:11
Speaker
And so, yeah, I think jazz it up, make it a bit quicker, play it, play it differently or something like that. But I don't really know what this one's bringing to the table. Unfortunately, but it's, it's not a poor concept. I just think it's already been done four years before slightly better. So There we are. that's ah um It was released as a single, failed to break any major charts. It reached number 82 on the Australian singles charts, originally intended to be released with only the one B-side, Tactics, and but the actual release came out as a double disc set, with the other disc being Steal Away Child and Love So Cold, none of which I've ever heard of, but there you are.
00:52:56
Speaker
That might be a yeah a bleak pub quiz question one day for you. Track seven, Dominic.
Critique of 'Never Gonna Fall in Love Again'
00:53:04
Speaker
Never going to fall in love again. Dominic told me before we started recording that there was one track on this album that he's never reached the end of. I'm going to play my joker card now and say it's this one.
00:53:16
Speaker
Am I right? Oh, I did say that to Anthony. And this is ah a first. that that In reviewing this album, there is a song on this album that I subjectively...
00:53:28
Speaker
hate so much i've just kept turning it off just been like that's enough that's enough and that song is not this ah not this one i think this is all right i think it's not in my opinion as good as little genie i am a defender of little genie i have wondered if i kept listening to this would it grow on me I think it's, again, a little bit Carpenter's like. It's very, very schmaltzy.
00:53:56
Speaker
I think it is a step down. I think that this is a step down from even Victim of Love. I mean, I'm going to score this higher than I scored some of the songs, but Victim of Love is trying to do something and it's trying to do something. Yeah, we've said, well, he has dipped into disco with Philadelphia Freedom, but to do an entire album. on the theme that Victim of Love is on, it's, it's, you know, it's still, and I know disco was hardly at its peak in 1979. Disco has kind of had its moment, but I think this song, Never Gonna Fall In Love Again, I get so middle-aged in, in the worst ways, in the worst ways. I mean, Leonard Cohen sings about middle age and old age in a way that is deep and original.
00:54:47
Speaker
And this is just really... And it's the first Tom Robinson lyric. And that is... Oh, no, it's not. It's not. We had second. But it's is's is's among the first. And, yeah. I don't hate it.
00:55:04
Speaker
I don't hate it. I don't love it. I... ah I'm going to be unkind here and i want to qualify to start with that for my money, Tom Robinson has arguably written the best ever Elton lyric. We've not yet covered it on an episode and it will be coming up soon. Next episode, tune in for that one. So, you know, I'm not slagging him off as a, as a person or somebody that, that can write great lyrics. Cause I really do believe he can. and has however dominic i could be a lyricist if all you have to do for the chorus is i don't want to fall in love never gonna fall in love again i don't want to fall in love never gonna fall in love i'm never gonna fall in love again i mean you're saying the little genie isn't specific enough at least it's got a name in it you know like yeah i think that's dross what's the point like is he getting paid for that you know i mean come on come on yeah
00:56:03
Speaker
it's It's really basic. ah A shame, considering he can he can do really good stuff. We should move on. We should move on. Oh, goodness. You're going have to start saying something about Take Me Back because I don't want to be completely negative consecutively.
Strong Criticism of 'Take Me Back'
00:56:20
Speaker
but I don't think I can not be this is the one this is the one yeah like on our last show i mentioned the kiki d song once a fall which again i don't know if i've listened to the kiki d song once a fall all the way through because i just hate it so much because it's so cringy i think take me back is cringy oh it's awful isn't it it's awful yeah
00:56:46
Speaker
One good thing we can say about Victim of Love is that they haven't just thrown in a sort of country and Western Americana type song just for the sake of it. We've wondered on previous albums, like, you know, on Caribou, there's Dixie Lily. I'm not fan of Dixie Lily on Caribou, but give me that over this. Give me that over this. Yeah, but you are thinking to yourself, well, why have they put that in? Was that just a cynical move? It doesn't seem to match anything else on the album. And Victim of Love, the last album we reviewed very poorly,
00:57:18
Speaker
At least didn't have that in, but that like surely that is what is happening here. I would prefer to listen to Elton John's cover version of Johnny B. Goode than Take Me Back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's awful. It's it's oh it's is the worst song so far. It's really, yeah in my opinion, in I've got nothing good to say about it. I think it is ah yeah yeah i think it's cringy. I found it painful to listen to.
00:57:47
Speaker
And it's so slow. It's not ticking that box for you either, isn't it? I mean, I will say it, there doesn't seem to be any sexism or racism in there, which I'm just thinking of other, other things that we've scored poorly. Dominic, you gave the song Ticking one out of 10 and I gave it 10 out of 10. Would you rather listen to Ticking or Take Me Back? Would you? Even though it's twice as long?
00:58:14
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, nice. Okay. Well, I think I've guessed your score for this one. I think, right. I want to i want to finish on a high. We've got praise coming. I'm going to finish on a
Praising 'Give Me the Love' - A Strong Album Closer
00:58:27
Speaker
high. I'm going to finish on a high. Me too.
00:58:29
Speaker
love... give me the love. And when I saw the the the title be so generic, I had low expectations for it. I quite like Judy Tuke, the lyric writer. um She ah sang Stay With Me Till Dawn, which is a song on Elton's Rocket label. So similar to Kiki D. She is a singer-songwriter who he signed to his own label. And um yeah, this...
00:59:00
Speaker
Lyric, you know, but I mean, I'm saying the lyric. it's It's more the instrumentation, to be fair. I love the flute. I love the horn. Is it a flute? does I love that that that sound on it. I love the strings. I really love the piano. Again, I said this about Street Boogie. Imagine...
00:59:20
Speaker
that this was like just a B-side, that it it wasn't following Take Me Back. I think that um it's it's a great song. And it's a little bit disco-y, isn't it? disco-y. It's like, it's good here that he's not been poisoned to the mere concept of disco after how Victim of Love was received, you know? um Yeah, this is this is great. I really like it I think his vocal performance is quite thoughtful and nuanced as well. and i I think a lot of what we saw on Victim of Love and on this album, 21 at 33, a lot of his singing has sounded like he's on drugs. I think he's gone on record and and and said that there is a ah later album that he he did record whilst you know high at the time, and and that's the only one. So I'm i'm not suggesting he actually...
01:00:15
Speaker
was high whilst recording a lot of these. but But in terms of one's own self-confidence and and not being thoughtful and not having a critical eye on things, I i think there have been instances in this album and the last one where you're kind of thinking, oh, mate, this is not going as well as you think it is. Whereas, Give Me the Love, like it there's real nice inflections in his voice and he's coming in at just the right time. It's not exactly on the beat in those verses. For me, don't know about you, Dominic, it really sort of made me sit up and pay attention when he's singing. You're kind of like, oh, wow.
01:00:48
Speaker
what's What's he singing about? what's What's going on here? Just because of the kind of lilt in his voice and the and the way he's coming in. I think it's really clever. Not in the chorus. I mean, the chorus is pretty on the nose and repetitive. I think that lets the song down, I i will say. I mean, it's powerful.
01:01:04
Speaker
But it's it's just the same same lyric over and over again to quite a basic tune. But musically and and vocal delivery-wise, it's a it's a strong ending to the album, I would say. Or certainly relative to some of the other tracks.
01:01:19
Speaker
Yeah, I love it. I will use that word, love it. I really love it, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, ah well done. Well... Well done, Judy. How do we say her surname? Duke? Duke? Yeah, I don't know. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. But she is the the the one and only track on this album. And I think indeed in any Elton album that she has been accredited with the the lyrics of.
01:01:44
Speaker
So yeah, that brings us to the end of 21 at 33. And again, there have been no subsequent re-releases. of this album. So what you see is what you get. So Dominic, we need to score this one. We need to give it some scores. Are you ready?
Final Scores and Overall Album Review
01:02:01
Speaker
I think so. Do you know what? My paper on which I've written the scores is full of scribbles because I keep bumping up or lowering different songs. um So yeah, I think never more so have I ummed and ah'd over my scores and maybe...
01:02:21
Speaker
Yeah, maybe I'm ready. I am ready. Let's do it. Okay, chasing the crown. What are you going for? Do you know what? I've seen i've seen you've upped your score for chasing the crown. Do you know what? I'm going to up my score then as well. So I'm going to give this. Because I was really harsh on it. And it's, yeah, it's a seven. I'm going to give it a seven.
01:02:42
Speaker
Yeah, nice. I've given it a five, which I don't really need to say anything more about that. um Yeah, it starts so well and then it just nosedives a little bit. Little Genie, I'm really interested to see what Dominic's going to give. Could you say what you... You said at one point you really disliked it. Can you give us what that score would have been, but then your final score now? It would have been higher than Blue Eyes. If you swap Blue Eyes on the very best of Elton John that has that song and does not have Little Genie... Well, I would ah definitely prefer Little Genie. So higher than that, I don't know, maybe maybe maybe a three, maybe. I did really dislike it.
01:03:21
Speaker
But now? I love it as much as Street Boogie. I'm going to give it a nine out ten. wow Wow. Nine out of ten. It's a great tune. is is yeah I like this as much as I like True Spandau Ballet.
01:03:34
Speaker
Well, I don't actually like traveling in lifts. I genuinely do always take the stairs. So it can it can play in the lift. I'm giving it a three. Sartorial Eloquence, I am giving double that. I'm giving it a six. I think it could so, so nearly be much more than that. It doesn't quite work lyrically, but. musically great so a six for me six from me and it's also a six for me for two rooms at the end of the world what about you dominic eight oh here we go here we go white lady white powder i'm sticking with six i think it's a generous six six all the sixes okay into the second half of the album Dear God.
01:04:18
Speaker
Nah, not feeling it. um I've given that a four. Six. All the sixes, Dominic. So consistent. Never going to fall in love again. on, Dominic.
01:04:30
Speaker
I marked this down. ah i was giving it a five, but no, I don't like it. And a four. Four from me. Yeah, I've gone for a four as well, which is double what I've given Take Me Back. That is it a two. Both of Both of the points it gets are for its lack of racism, sexism or other problematic attitudes. That's the only thing it's got going for it. What about you?
01:04:53
Speaker
Zero. I'd give it minus if I could. Yeah, zero. We need to do a bonus episode one time where we have to choose between Take Me Back and Johnny Be Good or, you know, things like that. I think that would be very interesting. Johnny Good, yeah. Yeah. And finally, Give Me The Love. i have given that the highest score for any track in this album. I've given it a seven.
01:05:16
Speaker
i love Give Me The Love. I score it nine. Nine. Okay. So, average scores. I've come in at 4.78, which is still the second lowest Elton album out of any. um And Dominic has come in at 6.11.
01:05:36
Speaker
which is also his second lowest, not far off blue moves at 6.83. But we're scoring more than just the tracks. Album Name.
01:05:48
Speaker
Dominic is not going to give it a 7 out of 10, but that's my score. What about you, Dominic? Oh, I'm giving it a confident 0 out of 10.
01:05:57
Speaker
You're giving it 21 out of 33. Artwork. I've given that a seven as well. Because you know what? if If he did that again, then I'd say no. But I think as a one-off, like, look, we're doing some 80s conceptual random mannequin work.
01:06:15
Speaker
Seven out of 10. you know I'm really tempted to give it a zero, but I'm not. I'm going to give it a generous one out of 10. You've got to leave real for ones that that that are worse, you know?
01:06:27
Speaker
I think it's marginally worse than Blue Moves. I gave the cover 2 out of 10 for Blue Moves. um I gave Caribou 1 out of 10 because it's just a photo of him looking dodgy. So, yeah. Okay. ah Cover versions, I have to give it 2 out of 10 because there have been quite a few cover versions of Little Genie. What? Oh, just all Little Genie. no No covers of anything else. Not that I can see. I mean, i I've not heard any of them. um I do love the pan pipes. You said that they all sound like they're pan pipes.
01:07:02
Speaker
there's um that that Doug Smith, there's a guitar only cover of Little Genie, which is not worse than the original. Yeah, alright, I'll give it two as well then. Okay, lyrics. um Five.
01:07:15
Speaker
Yeah, I've gone for a four. that ah They're so close. It could so easily be an eight. You know, I think you'd only need to change a couple of lines in some of the songs and it would be a much different. Music, I've given it a five. Again, it's it's on the cusp, but not quite. What about you, Dominic? Seven.
01:07:35
Speaker
Seven for the music. Okay. Flop Dodge. I've gone for a two. for Dominic. And hits, I've also gone for a two. Nine songs, I would say. Yeah, I'm going to give it a five as well. I reckon about roughly half of it I like.
01:07:53
Speaker
Okay, so that means our final score... for 21 at 33 45.47%, does put below Blue Moves. It is score so far.
01:08:05
Speaker
which does put it below blue moves it is our second lowest album score so far It did beat victim of love, which came in at 37.39%. Before we um talk about whether we think that's fair or not, I realized the last episode and the last few, we haven't said which episodes, which albums are are at the top.
01:08:27
Speaker
So currently in our number three spot is tumbleweed connection from 1970. That's 82 and a half percent. Uh, in number two, currently don't shoot me. I'm only the piano player from 1973. That came in at 83 and a half. And currently at number one is Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy from 1975.
01:08:49
Speaker
I hope that too many people haven't just stopped listening when we didn't rave about Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. If you are listening to these out of order, what we say is that if you trimmed it down to a single album, you could make a 10 on 10 best Elton ever out of some of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. But I struggle to hear people like defending the weaker tracks on there. I think that is a case of just, you know, so I'm really comfortable with our top three. They are albums that I own and listen to often.
01:09:20
Speaker
ah Yeah, really. I think they're they're good. You know, will anything top it? Because I am a big defender of the 90s Elton, so it's possible. It's possible.
01:09:31
Speaker
Yeah, and we've got The Captain and The Kid still to come in the early there There's so much good stuff, including... our next episode dominic i have been more nervous i you know what i'm more assured now i know that you've listened to the fox but when we decided to do this podcast one of my first thoughts was oh goodness i hope dominic likes the fox because i've loved that album for a long time and we're finally round to it next time ah jake shears of scissor sisters that's his favorite elton john album Yeah, that's true. One of his favourite albums of all time. It's like in his top 20. So, yeah.
01:10:09
Speaker
And indeed, it's worth us saying that although we've not scored 21 at 33 very well at all, there was nearly enough material to make a double album, some of which wet got put onto to The Fox.
01:10:21
Speaker
And also, linking into our teaser trivia question to end this episode, immediately after recording the album, you might remember me saying that it was recorded in France,
01:10:33
Speaker
Elton recorded two songs with a Eurovision winner. I'll tell you now that they were from France, but do you know their name and do you know how their joint release went? They released the two songs together on the same record.
01:10:51
Speaker
How did they get on? And yeah, amazing if you if you know their name. I mean, I didn't know that until I looked it up. I have listened to the so two songs and I really like them. So yeah, that we're going to reveal the answer to that at the start of the next episode. i do not know. I do not know the answer to this. What i do know is that I'm appreciative of you folks for listening to us. If you want to get in touch with us and say, how dare you, Slate?
01:11:20
Speaker
The album 56 at four and a half. How dare you? How dare you? ah Please do email in eltonveltonpod gmail.com. If you want to hear more about what Anthony does, he is on the Enough of the Falafel podcast. We do Vegan Week and Vegan Talk episodes, and I'm on them sometimes. He also records the Brambling Along podcast. I have my own website, dominicberry.net.
01:11:49
Speaker
Please do check out my poetry. That's it. That's it, everyone. Until next time, it is goodbye from me, Captain Domtastic, and goodbye from him, the brown dirt ant boy.
01:12:02
Speaker
Goodbye.
01:12:09
Speaker
This podcast is hosted by Zencaster. We've used some sound effects from zapsplat.com. We've taken information from songfacts.com as well as sireltonjohn.fandom.com, the wiki. And I'd also really personally recommend you read Elton's autobiography, which is called Me. I listened to the audio version. It's narrated by Taron Egerton, which is excellent. We're indebted to all those who've helped create and share Elton's music. And thanks again to James Cook and Paul Savage, who inspired the format of this show.