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2. Elton John (1970) Album Review
16 Plays21 days ago
Cheer up Elton; this album's about to catapult you into the public consciousness! But what do Anthony & Dominic think of this self-titled album? There's only one way to find out...fight!!!!!!!!!
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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, https://sir-elton-john.fandom.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
The Beatles' End & Elton John's Rise
00:00:00
Speaker
It is April the 10th, 1970. Within hours of Paul McCartney announcing that the Beatles era is coming to an end, a new musical prodigy is about to explode onto the scene. That's right, it's the release of Elton John's self-titled album, which is about to launch his career to the world
Introduction to 'Elton vs Elton', the Podcast
00:00:24
Speaker
stage.
00:00:24
Speaker
My name is Dominic. And my name is Anthony and you are listening to Elton vs Elton, the album battle.
00:00:51
Speaker
Welcome everyone. This is episode two of Elton versus Elton, the album battle. That's where two pals, that's me and Dominic, who absolutely love the music of Elton John, we're going to rage over which of his albums we love the best. Now, obviously, We're indebted to all who've been involved in bringing Elton's music to the masses and to James Cook and Paul Savage, who gave us the inspiration for the show's format. If you want to hear a bit more about me and Dominic, why we're doing this show, our our backgrounds, we have got a trailer episode that you can listen to in your podcast feed. And as I say, this is episode two. So if you want to hear us rage over his first album, that's the previous episode. So do go and check that
Origin of 'Elton Hercules Elton John'
00:01:34
Speaker
one. Before we go any further, let's give you the answer to the trivia teaser in our last episode. So Anthony wanted to know if you could name the inspiration for the name Elton Hercules Elton.
00:01:51
Speaker
John. So there was a point for each of the three names because each name had a different inspiration. Anthony, I'll be honest with you, I know the inspiration for one of the three names. Well, go on, give give us that. i've I've deliberately written the answer in white text in our ah Google Doc that's scaffolding our... Oh, really? Really? so oh Just so that you could answer it if you wanted to have a stab.
00:02:20
Speaker
Ah, you're a superstar. Right, so I know about the Bluesology band, mate. So I know about Elton Dean, who played a saxophone. Oh, and I'd forgotten, yeah, Long John Baldry. I did know that, I did know. But I had no idea about... um Hercules. Now, I only know this because you've literally just written it in front of me now, Anthony. Hercules was added as a tribute to the horse in the British sitcom Steptoe and Son. Now, that is news to
Cultural Inspirations & 1970 Events
00:02:52
Speaker
me. Love it. Love it. Yeah.
00:02:54
Speaker
Steptoe and Son, for listeners that have not checked that out, it might be worth a couple of minutes yeah of your time ah and then it's discretionary viewing from there on. It's an acquired taste. But yeah, very... Very old school British sitcom. and Very old yeah school. One of those many shows that was really important in its time, wasn't it? Really significant. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Much like Elton's first album, very important to him and those around him at the time, although not not particularly important. well-received when it was released. That is Empty Sky. That was our previous episode. That was the first studio album that was released, released on the 6th of June, 1969.
00:03:34
Speaker
About 4,000 copies sold in the UK. It did a lot better when it was released in in the US once Elton was a bit more well-known um and notable tracks that listeners might have heard of from that one. Probably Skyline Pigeon is the is the one that, you know, sort of meet medium level fans of Elton might have heard of. I don't want to grade Elton fans. that set That's a whole avenue we don't want to go down. yeah But yeah, that's probably the one that some people will have heard of. And beyond that, I think you ah need to be well invested in your Elton to know the rest of the tracks on that album.
00:04:17
Speaker
so So what's happening in 1970, Dominic? Well, in 1970, this album was released the same year as the first commercial Boeing 747 flight took off from New York to London. The United States lowered the voting age on March the 12th from 21 years old to 18 year old.
00:04:39
Speaker
And on April 10th, that's the day this album came out, Paul McCartney announced the Beatles were splitting up. A couple of days later, the Apollo 13 mission to space experienced an oxygen tank explosion.
00:04:55
Speaker
The crew did return safely. and on 10th of April, when Elton John, the album, was released, the UK number one was Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon Garfunkel, and the US number one was Let It Be by The Beatles. Indeed. it's It's fascinating going back and doing these shows and seeing what was number one at the time. It feels like the musical heritage was just so rich at this time. You know, all these number ones are things you're like, oh my goodness, that was a that was a current release at the time. Well, I mean, I did i did say on the last one that I think um Cecilia off of Bridge Overdrive, I trump mean, that's a terrible song. So, you know, it's not all gold, in my opinion. No, no good to know that people are human, isn't it? yeah
00:05:40
Speaker
In Elton's life at the time, if if you're listening to these shows in order, there's not much different to report really from from the last one because Empty Sky didn't propel Elton to worldwide fame.
Elton John's Musical Focus Shift
00:05:52
Speaker
So he's still living at home with his mum and lyricist Bernie Taupin. they're sharing a bedroom together still the focus for Elton is now producing his own music so we did tell you that up until the release of Empty Sky largely him and Bernie were writing pop songs for other people he but they were trying to get other people to take their songs on with without much success it has to be said but Empty Sky showed that there was some potential and so their their focus is now producing things for Elton to release himself. Dom, who was on this album? Lots of people.
00:06:32
Speaker
So many people, so many people. Madeline Bell is one of the backing singers. Now, I am a huge fan of Dusty Springfield and Madeline Bell did a large amount of backing singing for her. One of the other backing vocalists is Leslie Duncan. Now, on Elton's third album, so that'll be our next show. We'll be talking a lot more about Leslie Duncan and her significance, but she could be heard singing on the backing of many of the songs here. There are some strings on this album. ah One of the ah orchestral arrangers and conductors is Paul Buckmaster, who ah was previously working on the David Bowie song, Space Oddity. We've got drums from Barry Morgan, who was from the band Blue Mink, which Madeline Bell was also in.
00:07:25
Speaker
They did the song What We Need Is A Great Big Melting Pot. Caleb Quay was on the Empty Sky record, which incidentally, Anthony was talking about ah mid-tier Elton John fans who don't necessarily know everything. I would count myself in that category. So i haven't heard all these before. But Empty Sky is one I really, really know super, super
Contributors to Elton John's Album
00:07:45
Speaker
well. And Caleb Quay, it's great to have him back from Empty Sky back on this again.
00:07:52
Speaker
We've got Dave Richmond, who was the founder of Manfred Mann on bass guitar and double bass. A lot of the players who'd become the Elton John band aren't yet on here. Elton John himself is, though, so he's doing piano, he's doing all the vocals, and And if you listened last time, you will know that Anthony and I have differing opinions on the use of the harpsichord. Trigger warning, there will be some harpsichord on this record. Yeah, I'm i'm ready for it. Don't worry, I'm ready for it. Some notable pet people that I just wanted to draw attention to. you want to about Gus Studgeon? He's the producer, isn't he?
00:08:33
Speaker
first First album, because he did loads of them, didn't he, Anthony? Yeah, absolutely. So previous Elton album, Empty Sky did not have Gus Dudgeon on, but we have got Gus producing this one and the the introduction of Paul Buckmaster. that They're kind of a duo. that not necessarily they that They don't necessarily come as a package. but Gus is primarily doing the production, the overall production, whereas Paul Buckmaster is is focusing more on the orchestral side of things. And if you listen to this album, compared with Empty Sky, you can still hear there's similarities in the lyrics. there's There's lots of similarities, but the overall
Production & Success of the Album
00:09:14
Speaker
sound is a lot more sophisticated, perhaps we could say. And you know that comes with pros and cons. I think, Dominic, in particular, you're a big fan of how raw that first album was and I can see that too but with with Gus Dudgeon and Paul Buckmaster working on this one you can really really see the difference and actually and an interesting exercise if you uh if you want listeners is to listen to the deluxe edition of this album that was released a few years ago and it's got on the sort of second half of it the piano demo tracks
00:09:48
Speaker
for each of these songs. So you can hear it in its raw form. And for many of the tracks, there they're barely recognisable from the quote, finished product. So you can just see that you know the work that that Gus is putting in there.
00:10:02
Speaker
So in terms of how the album came together, how well it was received ah globally, apparently took four days to make. We'll see this a repeated thing throughout Elton and the band's work. Like they put these things together astonishingly quick and indeed just writing the songs. Elton's gone on record saying basically, if he can't put one of Bernie's lyrics to a tune in 45 minutes, he just stops trying and just moves on to something else. So that's that's just their way of working. With hindsight, and indeed at the time, this album was received well, so it got up to number five in the UK album chart, number four in the US Billboard chart. It came second in Australia and the Netherlands at points, as well as number four in Canada. And sort of with, like I say, with hindsight, people look back at it and say, goodness, this is an important album. This is a great album. So it's In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed their 500 greatest albums of all time. It was in there at 468. In 2012, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as an album cited as exhibiting qualitative or historical significance.
Personal Connections to Elton's Music
00:11:14
Speaker
It's interesting, isn't it, Dominic? Because that's not necessarily saying it's an excellent album. It's saying, well, this is significant because it's the first like majorly well-received album that Elton's done. And I also think that often people just judge albums on the hits. The number of books I've seen that include the Temptations album.
00:11:36
Speaker
Oh, which one is it now? um there's ah There's a Temptations album, which has got Cloud Nine. That's it. And like the opening track is phenomenal. But like the rest of the albums are really, really middling.
00:11:48
Speaker
And, you know, the number of ah lists I've seen of like, oh, the Temptations album, it's like so phenomenal, so phenomenal. It's like but you're judging the whole album on that one song. And I wonder if there might be a little bit of that going on here as well, because your song is so phenomenally popular. I don't know that that's just my ah my guess. We'll see. We'll see when we put it to the maths and we compare our scores. We will be the judges of that. Do you have personal sentiments towards this album, Dominic? spoke in the last episode saying that you originally had an ambition of collecting Elton's albums in order. remembered. Was this an early purchase for you? No. So I grew up in the countryside and in the age of the compact disc, records were expensive and not that easy to get. So I found Empty Sky and really looked for this one. But but the the next one chronologically I was able to get was Honky Chateau with Rocketman on So I'm less familiar with the albums in between Empty Sky and Honky Chateau. That said, ah me and some friends have a little get together once a week online where one person chooses an album and we listen to it together live and comment on it. And this album was brought by somebody else, one of my friends, about...
00:13:14
Speaker
two years ago that's when I first heard this record I was aware of it by reputation but had never sat down and listened to it until my friend Gwyneth brought it along and I thought oh great Elton John we've not had an Elton John yet and that was my first hearing of it I've not listened to it again since which says something about my opinion of it haha Since Gwyneth brought it. I do like it. I do like it. But I've listened to it many times in preparation for this. What about you, Anthony? Was this a record that you had when you were younger? I reckon I must have bought this when I was about 14 or 15, I think.
00:13:55
Speaker
and So i I grew up, if you listen to our trailer episode, you'll hear me waxing lyrical about the first time I heard Elton John music when I was about four years old, when I was in bed and my dad was doing the the washing up. to the only CD that there was in the house, the very best of Elton John. i I think I will have bought this one after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. So Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was the first like album that I bought of his when I was about 14. And I think I will have got this one next, probably because I saw it had your song on it. I saw that it was called Elton John. So I thought, well, that must be quite good then.
00:14:28
Speaker
So yeah, i've I've been aware of this for a long time. And a lot of the songs on it have had cover versions that have been covered in albums where Elton's been pairing up with another musician um and they've been they've been doing a version of it. So lots of the songs on here I'm familiar with. And um something I'm noticing with this project is...
00:14:50
Speaker
Generally, the more you listen to music, the more you like it. I think it it it it does something. So, yeah, it's um it's an important one for me. Should we look at the artwork? It's um it's basic in name and it's it's basic in content, isn't it?
00:15:07
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not mad keen. Not mad keen. What do you think, Anthony? Well, we should I mean, we should describe it for listeners who perhaps have not seen it. It is simply a picture of Elton's face at the time. He's not no looking especially happy. It's a black background and more than half of his face is is in shade. um So there's a bit of light and relief. I do like it I much prefer that to something that feels a bit contrived.
00:15:37
Speaker
And I mean, if every one of his albums looked like this, I might be like, oh, come on, should we mix it up a bit? And I'd probably say, come on out and give us a smile. But I think for ah for a second album, I'm going to put forward that this is his first really well-produced album, not just in terms of the music, but in terms of the promotion, in terms of the art, in terms of everything.
00:15:58
Speaker
I think it's fair enough. So, yeah, I'm... I'm not sure it massively suits the music. I think there is a lot of black on the cover. And, yeah, I don't know. I think it's... I mean, there are some, you know, serious topics on this record. But...
00:16:18
Speaker
Yeah, I think it implies this is going to be a bit more goth, goth Elton. That's what i think it looks like to me. It doesn't look like ah my gift is my song and this one's for you. It doesn't scream that to me.
00:16:33
Speaker
No, it doesn't. No, it doesn't. Perhaps when we go through the tracks, we'll be like, ah, that's why the album art looks like that. But yeah, speaking of that, let's get on with it and start reviewing these tracks, shall we?
Discussion on 'Your Song' - A Classic Ballad
00:17:03
Speaker
First up, first up, your song. Goodness me, what an opening, what an opening to an album. ah Four minutes and four seconds, like everything on this album, written by Elton and Bernie. No one else is sort of accredited with with the writing of any of the songs on this album. it's often described as just being a real simple piano ballad and, oh, it's just Elton and the piano. It's absolutely not. It starts off like that, but very quickly there's guitar and and we've got, like Dominic was saying, we've got strings, we've got a bit of orchestral orchestral involvement um as it progresses.
00:17:42
Speaker
What do you think of this song, Dominic? It's it's so well known. Sometimes it can that can be make it a victim. It can be a victim of its own success. What are your personal feelings of this song? I've heard many different people record this song and my personal favourite is... this version and I'm not one of these who go oh a cover version can never do better than the original not all not at all i i I love how you can really hear the words on this it's really which is something I'll say later for Border Song as well you know when compared to like the Aretha Franklin version or You know, a lot of people, like when they sing, that it's the the melody that carries it, whereas I really feel that Elton is in storyteller mode and it makes the words feel really sincere. My mum was pregnant with me and sung this to me whilst I was in my mother's womb. Wow!
00:18:42
Speaker
yeah I reckon your Elton fan rating just crept up a few percentiles there, Dominic. Yeah. She didn't sing Take Me to the Pilot when I was in the womb. It was your song that she sang to me when I in the womb. Yeah. I absolutely love this song. For me, it holds so many important links and sentimental bits to it, as well as, I think, just objectively being... a great song. I support Watford Football Club, who is Elton's club too. That is a coincidence, but it happens to be the case. And around the Elton John stand at Watford, there are some of the lyrics from this song written across for everyone to see. They now play it before matches, although that's quite a recent thing.
00:19:33
Speaker
Actually being a pianist myself, it's a wonderful song to play. i'm I'm no singer at all, but it's, it's a wonderful piece of music to just play on the piano. And, and I think as well, it's though there are people who are critical of it as maybe being a bit, you know, a bit too cheesy or or whatever. generally speaking people are really fond of it and i find if there is someone or something that you're really fond of and there's something that bridges you and your love of that thing and that person i e for me the music about and john ah i feel like your song is a bridge across to people you know if if people haven't haven't heard of border song or amarina or or whatever They've heard this one and generally they like it. um
00:20:17
Speaker
i i Like you say, Dominic, I like the fact you can clearly hear the words and we'll go on to talk about the tumbleweed connection um ah in our next episode. And that would be my one of my biggest critiques of that album is I've got no idea what he's saying unless I see it written down. And that's that's fine. You know, you can take that for what it is, but that's not the case with this. Just a bit of a nerdy music thing. It's in E-flat and a lot of Elton's E-flat-based songs are great. I don't know whether that's just the key that he goes into when he's just really feeling the flow, but it's it's fantastic. And I mean, there's lots of bits of trivia that we can we can share on this. but ah Originally the B-side to take me to the pilot. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Lots lots of surprises. I think my favourite little nugget is Elton's been quoted as saying many times that when he first saw the lyrics from Bernie, one breakfast time, because Bernie was like 17 when he wrote the lyrics for this. It's absolutely incredible. um He just looked at these lyrics and thought, oh my goodness, like I i can't mess this up. Like these are these are a really good lyric. but ah
00:21:24
Speaker
is Is there any criticism you would you would give the song, Dominic? Because i I just want to wax lyrical. I've got nothing bad to say about this song. Yeah, no, I've got nothing bad. Anthony's commented in our previous show about how Anthony perhaps knows more about music. And my job, I am a poet. That's what I do as a career. ah Some people um dislike the Moss theme.
00:21:47
Speaker
cross rhyme sat on the roof kicked off the moss a few of the verses got me quite cross i love it i love it i think that it's you know it's it stands out it's quirky it's playful it's it that's for me what makes it not cheesy that it's an unusual turn of phrase and that's enjoyable i really love the word i i think something that's struck me from an early age listening to this was that it is clearly a fantastic love song and the word love is not used once and that speaks volumes to how you can use a turn of phrase to to say something not directly but still be profound And not necessarily a romantic love song, because, you know, like my mum singing it to me, it's, you know, it could be for for anyone in your life, anyone for whom you you deeply care, you know, for whom your gift is your song, you know. And I think that's ah a great strength to the lyrics, that they're both specific and open. Yeah. It's um it's a song that's got a a place in in many millions, if not billions of people's hearts.
00:22:51
Speaker
if you're If you're really into it and you want to find different versions of it, the i arguably the original, even before Elton recording it, was by Three Dog Night. So this is an Elton and Bernie song, and but Three Dog Night in 1970 did record a version. You can listen to that. It's it's okay. that Interestingly, they take the melody...
00:23:15
Speaker
from the demo track that Elton's done as opposed to the finished version. And I prefer the finished version. They wanted to release it as a single, but they decided because Elton was an up and coming artist, they would let him release it as a, as a, you know, on, on an album. which I think is great. There's also been covers by Rod Stewart, Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, opera singer Alessandro Safina. It was voted by the British public in 2017 as the nation's favourite Elton John song in a UK-wide poll. And it it was released in the charts. It got to number seven in the UK, number eight in the US. And its highest um billing was a number three in Canada.
00:23:59
Speaker
So it's... ah Fair to say it's a well-thought-of song, isn't it? And a strong strong opening to the album. Yeah, and then we follow it with... Harpsichord!
00:24:11
Speaker
Yeah! Bring back the harpsichord! So, ah I Need You To Turn To is track two on the record, and I would argue this probably is a romantic love song, and although Elton had done plenty of songs that weren't included on Empty Sky, his debut record... If you were just listening to the album tracks and know like B sides or or A sides that weren't on the record. This is chronologically, I think, his first out and out romantic love song. It does have higher singing than than he does on a lot of his stuff. What would you make of that, Anthony? Elton is obviously by far a better singer than me. And I'm i i'm definitely not singer. I can sing in a choir when there's a few people to kind of cover up my inadequacies. I can sing in tune, but not much more.
00:25:04
Speaker
I think you can see in this album, you can hear in this album... the transition between the sound quality of Empty Sky and his albums of the mid-70s. And this is a track where I'd say you can hear in some of the high notes, there's still that rawness, which I think is fine because, it like you say, it's um it's a direct love song, this one. So if there's a bit of bit of cracking in the voice, that's fine. I i really i don't like the harpsichord. I really like the intro, though, in is that if you're listening through headphones or dual speakers or whatever. Like it starts in one ear and then then both come in and um yeah, it's just a shame. It's a harpsichord, but it's um it's it's it's really nice. And i'd I'd say it's the first album, it's the first track in the album where you can hear the positive impact of the orchestra accompanying. They are there in your song.
00:26:02
Speaker
But it's it's very much in the background, whereas there's a big change from the start of the first verse in this song compared with like the last time a verse or a chorus is sung. There's a big swell of strings. It's it's really beautiful, like musically. it's It's fantastic. I really like it anyway. Yeah, so...
00:26:22
Speaker
You know, as as I've said very clearly, I know Empty Sky really well. I had that album, Empty Sky, as a child. I listened to it repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. I'm less familiar with this. I know how popular this is with the fans, and I know indeed that he did... a a live album many years later, the ah Melbourne Symphony ah Orchestra live album, in which, like even though it was so much later, he did um like many of the songs from this on it, didn't he, Anthony? Many, many of it. i'm I'm not sold on the strings.
00:26:59
Speaker
I'm really not like not. I don't just mean the song. I mean the whole album. The whole album. I've not listened to the piano solo. You know, the early versions. I don't know that. I only know this record. And...
00:27:13
Speaker
I don't mind the strings when there's more going on, like I Need You To Turn To or our next song, Take Me To The Pilar. I think that that's so, um you know, energetic is one thing. But when we get to the slower songs in the middle, it's um it's a very specific beast. The strings take it to a very specific place. And I would say you're either going to be up for that journey or maybe it'll be less your kind of thing and I'm in the latter category I find a little bit a little bit syrupy for my tastes yeah and I suppose you know like ah all appreciation of all arts it's it's down to the subjective a lot of the time I think like I could say i I grew up with Elton John being played in my house and also my dad was really into classical music so I I listen to a lot of that. And so I think I associate it with a profoundness and a depth of feeling and and something really powerful, strings coming in, whereas perhaps at Summit, it just doesn't have that association. um But i like that. ah I'm on the fence with the lyric.
00:28:19
Speaker
i I like them and I wonder whether it it it points. it's It's a bit direct. The the chorus... i need you to turn to when I act so blind. i need you to turn to when I lose control. It's quite direct, but the verses, there's some really nice little turns of phrases. in in In my opinion, you're not a ship to carry my life. um And then later we've got, did you paint your smile on?
00:28:43
Speaker
Nice little things like that, I think they they do something for me. So yeah, I think it's, a like you say, it's it's arguably the first direct traditional love song that he's got chronologically.
00:28:55
Speaker
And it's, ah yeah, not not a bad first effort, I would say. I would also just finish to say, there is um I've been very thorough in looking up for my cover versions of every song on this album and and and all subsequent ones. There's a version by somebody called Eric Einstein, who as the name suggests,
00:29:12
Speaker
is of a Israeli origin. um It's decent actually, it's worth a listen. just Just pipe in, I need you to turn to into Spotify or something like that and you'll hear it. It's an interesting one.
00:29:24
Speaker
We already know some of what Dominic thinks of the next track. Let's get into it.
Analyzing 'Take Me to the Pilot'
00:29:30
Speaker
I think, yeah, take me to the pilot is the turning point of Bernie Taupin's lyricism, where he says, oh, I wonder if lyrics just don't matter.
00:29:42
Speaker
No, I'm being silly. I'm being silly. But um whereas there are some ah really mysterious, yeah enigmatic lyrics on the previous record, ah you know, they've not done themselves any favours in interviews, particularly. talking about Take Me to the Pilot. I think that it's a stunning tune and a stunning production.
00:30:07
Speaker
I adore it. um I had the great joy of seeing Elton on, you know, when we're recording this, he's like most recent, although the farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. I'm sure I will say that every time the song comes up, which he did on that particular concert, the only time I've seen him. And he did sing this and it's brilliant. But, oh, it would be great if the words were about something. Yeah, and and I have to say, since doing the research for this and and seeing those multiple quotes in multiple places where they basically just said, yeah, we don't know what it means either. We'll just put some words next to one another. it it takes the shine off. It does. It takes the shine off, um which is a shame. it's It's so fun to play on the piano. It's got kind of like a...
00:30:54
Speaker
12 Bar Blues boogie woogie kind of bass line to it, like a dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum. It's is great. It's fantastic. And like you say, there's there's nice arrangement with this. i I have to say, spoiler, I think the arrangement for all of the tracks on this album really works, but it it certainly does for this one. It's is just a shame that, yeah, we've got the quote here. What was it? Bernie Taupin has admitted to not knowing what the song's lyrics represent, comparing his writing style in this song to poets like Baudelaire and Rimbo, who just threw things together and went, wow, that sounds good. Oh, what a shame.
00:31:38
Speaker
But musically musically, I think it's it's fantastic. And when you hear early versions of them playing it live, it's fantastic. I'd i'd say when they play it, ah don't know if you can remember specifically, Dominic, when you heard it a ah couple of years ago, but it my memory of seeing it live is that it's...
00:31:58
Speaker
they do it in a bit more of a rock yeah way yeah i did now, whereas it's it's a bit more bluesy in those earlier renditions. But um yeah, it's it's good fun. You just have to... I mean, it's it's fine for me because i only listen to the lyrics if I really have to have to strain to do so.
00:32:16
Speaker
any anyway in any piece of music so it i think that achilles heel passed me by on this one are you are you able to listen to it and hear past that yeah i am i am one of my favorite uh 80s elton john songs is uh dinner the passenger who wanna get on and i'm sure that is just as not i've not actually researched what the words are meant to mean but they that you know i think they're comparable to take me to the pilot. And I love that. I love Passenger. you know So yeah, it's brilliant. It's brilliant. we'll we'll We'll get to the lyrics on that one in ah in a few episodes time. um Again, for those of you looking for a cover version, been covered by many others.
00:33:01
Speaker
The favourite I found was by someone called Lena Hall, L-E-N-A Hall. She's a female singer. She ah She plays guitar as well. The guitar is not as good as her voice, which is stunning.
00:33:13
Speaker
It's really good. and So i'd I'd recommend that one. Yeah, another cover version ah by Brothers Osborne. I said a little bit that we have our, my friends and I have our listening party and someone brought a Brothers Osborne record for us to all experienced and they're really good you know they're they're really good i've not heard their version of this and uh i'm definitely gonna check out i only know from anthony's notes he's provided me was like i know them i know brothers osborne so yeah yeah it's um it my opinion on it would be it's not drastically different to the original whereas lena lena hall has got you know a a very different voice to elton's and it's pretty much just guitar accompanying so it's got a completely different feel so it's It gets plus points for me for that one.
00:34:00
Speaker
Let's move on to No Shoestrings on Louise. Yeah, so I would say in my subjective view that not counting B-sides and non-album singles, this is my least favourite Elton thus far. If we're listening to them all in order, I think it's all right. And I think often artists have a large amount of interest given to them for their early work, especially before they were famous. And I thought, oh, if this was on like a 1990s album, how much
00:34:37
Speaker
praise would no shoestrings on Louise get if it was on The One or Made in England? How much would people rate it then? i think it's i think it's quite middling. I think that it's, um again, i don't know what the words mean. um And I just think the tune is a little bit like, oh, a bit pedestrian maybe. Am I being unfair, Anthony? Yeah. I think your comment of the context of the whole album is is crucial. I think this one really belongs in the next album. It's really evocative of Americana, which is what Tumbleweed Connection is all about. I like the lyrics. I love the i just like the mention of Lucifer. I just love that as ah as a synonym for the devil or what have you. So you've got... Lady Love riding a big red Cadillac. um And then a couple lines later, she goes to church to pray for Lucifer. I i really love that turn of phrase. The music doesn't excite me. It's very, very old school bluesy that the piano is almost a drone. um In the verses, it's it's basically staying on the same note, the same chord, and then it it changes up a little bit in the chorus. So that's a very sort of almost early 20th century bluesy feel, which is fine if that's what you're into. For me, I'm a big fan of this album as a whole.
00:36:00
Speaker
And I definitely prefer it least out of all the tracks in this album. I think this album benefits from from good production um and and good arrangements. And I think that saves it. Whereas in other albums, the the ah overall feel of the album um or perhaps lack of production might expose it a bit more. But no, I think i think if you're into Americana bluesy Elton, then this is a song you'd you would probably enjoy. Yeah, I'm going to disagree with two things that you've said. I'm going to disagree that you said that you won't. I mean, disagree is the wrong word. You said that you can't hear the words and how Elton sings on Tumbleweed Connection. And and I can, i can hear the words. But the thing that I'm going to really disagree with is that this could go on that album. Like, I think the lyrics to this are... more ah evocative than Take Me to the Pilot, but they're still... Tumbleweed Connection, i understand what every song is about. If it was on stage, if it was a musical, I can picture what's happening on the stage. This one is more lyrical than anything on Tumbleweed Connection. so and i And I also just think the melody is not as strong as any melody on Tumbleweed Connection. I'd never heard Tumbleweed Connection ever until preparing. for um this podcast series. ah
00:37:35
Speaker
And i am absolutely blown away by Tumbleweed Connection, having heard none of the tracks before. I think it might have been elevated to my favourite Elton album, maybe like that quickly. Spoilers, spoilers, Dominic. Goodness me. Spoilers, spoilers. Focus on the job in hand. I don't think No Shoestrings on Louise does belong on Tumbleweed Connection. I think it would let it down. It's nowhere near as good as the, what was going say, it's weakest track. know there is a weak track on the next one. And if this was on it, it would be that. LAUGHTER
00:38:08
Speaker
I mean, music musically it is in the same ballpark. I think it's fair to say, now I'm looking at the lyrics again, that the first line in No Shoestrings on Louise references a Cadillac, whereas most of Tumbleweed Connection is is referencing like 19th century yeah America. So it definitely doesn't fit in that regard. But ah as we've said several times already on this series, I tend to focus on listening on the music as opposed to the lyrics. So perhaps that's how that's skipped me by. But yeah, definitely my least favourite track on this album. It's not bad, though. I feel like I've really laid into it. Do you know what? It's an inoffensive, pretty like joyful song. It's not one that I would rush to skip. You know, it's just... When you've had...
00:38:54
Speaker
your song on a record you have set the bar high haven't you set the bar high and even take me to the pilot for all my critique of it it's like it's a high bar and just after them you're like oh okay we're nearing the middle of the album now aren't we and this sounds like middle of the album yeah yeah apparently it's an impersonation of Mick Jagger and the Stones according to Elton let's move on to First episode at High Enten.
Exploring '60 Years On' & 'Border Song'
00:39:22
Speaker
Interesting name. that that That is referenced, I think, this towards the start of the second or third verse. I wondered whether it it it should be called Now You're a Woman or Now Valerie's a Woman, because that's the phrase that keeps coming back. It's four minutes, 48 seconds long. it's an It's an interesting one, this one. What what do you what do you make of the lyric?
00:39:45
Speaker
Dominic, i'm always I'm always coming to you to be like, can you explain that? Because ah is it is it just a case that there's there's two people who were once close and now their lives have moved on in different directions?
00:39:56
Speaker
I think so. That was my ah ah taking from it. I really love the lyric. And I think that... um than this song and the next three songs. I'm going to include Bordersong, although adore Bordersong. Bordersong. I adore Elton John's version. His isn't my favorite version, nor is Aretha Franklin's, but we'll get to that in a bit. These next four songs, I feel like they're very piano and string led. They're kind of quite a lot. Bordersong builds up, but it starts...
00:40:29
Speaker
It doesn't jar with the tone. We've got these really mellow melodies where, again, the words really stand out and I enjoy that. They feel like movies to me, but they feel like movies that are...
00:40:46
Speaker
quite slow movies that, you know, they're not, they're not action superhero explosions, are they? They're all very subtle and it's not got the the energy of take me to the pilot. Of course it hasn't. It's a different genre.
00:41:01
Speaker
I struggle with, with this, this, this tempo, to be honest with you. I, I struggle with it. I think, um, And I think the strings don't help because, again, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, Tumpleweed Connection has got Come Down in Time, which is a slow song with ah a lyric, but it's it's far more basic. And I think... And basic is a good... Maybe that's the wrong word. Simple. There's a simplicity to Come Down in Time, a directness. And for me, the strings... The strings overwhelm it for me.
00:41:32
Speaker
For me. It's really interesting. So there's obviously... big difference in the production for this album versus Empty Sky. But you talked in the last episode about the song Sales and how the the lyric there is focused on really specific things and it really paints a picture. And I feel like this song does that for me. Yeah, I do. Yeah. You know, and and obviously it's got to be backed up by music that you enjoy and that you resonate with, but there's some lovely lines ah for the quadrangle sang to the sun and the grace of our feeling and the candle burned low as we talked of the future underneath the ceiling. It doesn't sound as, it it doesn't sound as, ah those two rhymes don't sound as cheesy as I just made them sound. There's some really I don't think you did make them sound. I think that's the testament to great words, that you read them and and the words spoke. they They're brilliant words, absolutely yeah brilliant.
00:42:29
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I think as well, what's great about Elton's work is that he and Bernie can... can evoke lots of different feelings, lots of different musical styles um as well. And I would say that these aren't feelings that I've ever felt myself personally, but I can really put myself in the in the place of the speaker in this song. And you know we've already spoken about ah different biases and preferences with regards to musical arrangements. i really ah really like the orchestral production of this. that I think this is the track that the Moog synthesizer that is referenced in the instrument credits for this album comes in. It it sounds like a musical saw.
00:43:16
Speaker
if you ever heard a musical saw, Dominic? is that a I have not. It's a really high-pitched but tuneful kind of haunting noise, and and that makes an appearance in this one just over halfway. I really love it.
00:43:28
Speaker
and I can see why a person would. I read one review, I wish I could remember which review it was, of this specific album that said you could divide it into either the category of lyrics that make sense,
00:43:42
Speaker
or lyrics that do not make sense, that that songs could be split into one, those two categories. so And it's brilliant after the two previous songs arguably being less clear.
00:43:57
Speaker
I love that we've got something about a real emotion, which again, isn't something that I directly can compare to anything within my own life, but I am there with it, I am there.
00:44:08
Speaker
I think I do need to go and hear these early versions of which you spoke because I think stripped of the orchestra, if it was more of a come down in time production, I would be really interested in hearing that. Yeah. um And in talking of listening to alternative versions of this one, Birgit Schumann does a brilliant cover to this. And i prefer it, actually, though I've said I like the instrumentation. of this version. There are points where it feels a little bit cobbled together. It doesn't quite flow. Whereas the the version that Birgit Sherman does is is lovely. And it's it's lovely to hear a female voice with with an Elton song, I think, from time to time. Next track...
00:44:51
Speaker
60 years on, I've been very interested to learn that the arranger and indeed solo cellist in this song, Paul Buckmaster, has expressed dissatisfaction with this. He describes he describes this as the 1930s horror movie score and saying that he much prefers Elton's 1970 live version.
00:45:14
Speaker
of this. um I'm going to kick the ball off here if I may, Dominic. Four minutes, 35. I really love it. I think it's that if if you are into the strings and the orchestral side of things, this really is the masterpiece in this album for that. This is not my original observation.
00:45:32
Speaker
um In fact, I think it was the really fun podcast. It's called something like Long Live Rock and Roll and they, or Live Long Rock and Roll, something like that. And they review different albums each week. And this is the only Elton one that they have reviewed. And they describe this as basically a classical piece of music, but you've got Elton singing. And obviously Elton's voice is not a classical music voice. It's sad. It's it's sombre. is It's wistful. it's I would say it's it's a profound lyric. It does sound like a swarm of bees at the opening. It's an unusual start to a song. And there's a lot of variety in this album. When we think of, like, Take Me to the Pilot, how that starts... I need you to turn to with the harpsichord, your song, the the piano, no shoestrings on Louise. You've got a 12-bar bluesy drone sort of feel to it. And this is completely different again. And yes, apparently the lyric was inspired by Bernie Taupin's relationship with his grandfather. I reckon Dominic's going to say that he doesn't like it because of the strings and the slowness. That's my prediction. What do you say, Dom? Yeah.
00:46:40
Speaker
You're right, and i'm well aware of her I'm well aware of how very celebrated this song is. And yet again, the words are just stunning, like really great words. But just, yeah, that the strings don't really do it for me. I think there's a lot of differences of opinion over whether an album does well if it shows great variety. or whether it's, you know, if it's boring and too samey, if it all sounds like it belongs in the same park.
00:47:11
Speaker
I think that Empty Sky, for all of its variety, I think that all of the songs sound like they belong on the same record, even Hey Tude, in my opinion, in my subjective view. And I think few... would argue that tumbleweed connection does not sound like one coherent body of work. I mean, that is definitely lyrically and musically one idea, you know, in the best sense of the word, just a brilliant, brilliant cohesion. i
00:47:43
Speaker
struggle with the variety on this record. I do think that, you know, these, you know, from first episode to to Greatest Discovery, that these four songs sound they like they belong together. But these four songs, with the exception of Bordersong, I'm less interested in.
00:48:01
Speaker
I love, we'll get on to them, I love the final two songs of the album but this big string orchestra sort of section it feels like it feels like um some you know one of some really old slow paced movie where everything's crawling along like a snail that's what it feels like i know i know i know sacrilege sacrilege it's clearly excellent it's clearly excellent we will get on to later elton john albums where i'm like you know what
00:48:31
Speaker
I dislike this song. And I wouldn't say that of any of these, not even no shoestrings. like They're all good songs. they're all they're They're not bad. And this is a lot of people would say 60 Years On is is up there with the best. It's just less for me. Yeah, yeah. It's it's definitely definitely not going to be to everyone's taste. i I think it's a really nice illustration of how an orchestra can be used in in a popular song. You've got like really low bassy you know cello in there, which is is the instrument that that Paul Buckmaster plays a solo on in this one. But in one of the later verses, you've got like a real nice sweeping flute um and I think clarinet. i think they're both playing... a nice little doodoooooodoodooooooo over the top. It's, yeah, if if classical music moves you at all, ever,
00:49:24
Speaker
even just very popular classical music, then I i think this is a song that the folk will like. Cover versions, I didn't really like. Brandy Carlyle, if if you like a sort of whiny, wispy female voice, then you might you might go for that one. ah I don't say that sarcastically, but I know some people do like that. Brandy Carlyle, of course, ah the person who recorded ah Elton John's most recent album, it's the duet.
00:49:51
Speaker
record isn't it his most recent album at the time of recording this so uh yeah yeah silver meter do a metal version of this that's really fun just because it's completely different um so yeah give that one a listen to if you like the idea of the song but you don't like its execution in an orchestral way i would say but yeah for me it ticks a box and i'm going to keep on waxing lyrical because we're now moving on To Bordersong, yes, Bordersong, which arguably, so the fact that, um I think it's quite a well-known fact, but maybe this will be a fact that that you listeners haven't heard before, that um Elton John wrote the words to just the last verse, just the last verse. And I think the early words are great, too.
00:50:48
Speaker
But the final verse, I mean, stunning, stunning, stunning. Now I mentioned before that I was less keen on the Aretha Franklin version. She did have it as a single. It was a really big hit single for her. That's amazing. When I saw Elton live and he sung this, he spoke a lot about Aretha Franklin and what a massive thing for him at his stage of the career it is.
00:51:12
Speaker
You can't really hear Aretha's words, when she gets to the, he's my brother, you know, like she gets so doing that big powerhouse gospel vocal. It, it, it,
00:51:27
Speaker
What I love is um the the directness. It's really, and I mean this in the best sense of the world, really like on the nose. like There's a man over there. What's his colour?
00:51:38
Speaker
I don't care. He's my brother. Let us live in peace. My favourite version is the opening track to the tribute album Two Rooms. Eric Clapton records a version.
00:51:53
Speaker
And... I think the beginning of the album version sounds a lot like our previous two songs, like it doesn't contrast massively from 60 Years On. It starts very piano-y and it builds and builds and builds, whereas Eric Clapton goes right in there with the kind of like big, big, guitar and there's a great guitar solo in the Eric Clapton and again the he's my brother you know I mentioned before that I personally grew up somewhere you know my life I grew up somewhere really rurally and i I was growing up in an area where there was a lot of racist talk despite the fact that everyone in our very traditional
00:52:35
Speaker
countryside community was white and yet a horrendously xenophobic views. So hearing a record like this was just fantastic. Just fantastic. It's a brilliant tune. It's a brilliant, yeah. I mean, I said that that I prefer the Eric Clapton version, but I do think that the production here, how it builds is amazing.
00:53:02
Speaker
stunning. it's ah It's a real journey from the start to the end of this. so i cannot I cannot sing the praises of this highly enough. I think it's an absolute masterpiece and an absolute crime that Bordersong is not as famous as your song, because as different as they are, I say it is equally as good as your song.
00:53:29
Speaker
Your song is ah is a wonderful song at doing what it does. I could not listen to it on repeat. I could listen to Border Song all day long. We spoke in the last episode about the false ending of Empty Sky And Dominic was really pleased that that it was a false ending and that came back. And I was kind of thinking, well, we've already had five minutes of this. I think we could call it a day.
00:53:52
Speaker
Border Song's only three minutes, 22 long. I wish it was 30 minutes and 22 long with multiple fake endings. And each time the gospel choir brings it back. Brilliant backing vocals. It's a choir led by Barbara Moore. They do a brilliant job.
00:54:10
Speaker
i'm I'm okay with the Aretha Franklin version. Yeah, no, why I feel I've been too harsh on it. It is It is. I prefer Elton's version. if you are up for an even more gospel version than Elton's version, and there's a group called the Resistance Revival Chorus, and they do a really fabulous, really gospel-y version of this that's gospel from the get-go. Not from the ghetto, I nearly said that wrong. But yeah, I think we needed this song in the album, listening to it chronologically, to lift us because I do think the cover art does...
00:54:47
Speaker
exemplify where we're at at this stage six six tracks in up to this point. Sure, we've had your song, but I need you to turn to it. That's quite wistful. Okay, take me to the pilot. That's that's positive. No shoestrings on Louise.
00:55:01
Speaker
First episode at High Enten, 60 years on. i get the I get why it's dark and looks a lot... doesn't look bleak, but it's it's serious. it's It's not a happy party album at this point, um especially after 60 years on.
00:55:16
Speaker
And I think Border Song helps lift things if you're listening to it in order. Again, just bias as a pianist. It's so fun to play. Take Me to the Pilot is fun to play, but it's very basic. It's in C major. and it's just the dominant chord c f g blah blah that's that's it whereas this really exemplifies elton's really clever way of crafting a song he in a sense it's easier to do fancy chord progressions in a ballad where it's slow and you can hear them but this is not a ballad and yet still he's he's making some interesting transitions musically that just sound great. And and that lift that you get, that kind of exaltation you get when the choir is joining in with the with the chorus and that line of, he's my brother or or what have you, like that only works because he's crafted a really clever melody there.
00:56:10
Speaker
I think it's a fabulous song. like you say, Dominic, it should be way more famous than like so so many of the songs on the very best of Elton John, I would sub out for this one in a heartbeat. Yeah, get rid of sad songs say so much. Oh, I've got a soft spot for that. Yeah, um this one was released as a single.
00:56:36
Speaker
It didn't chart in the UK. Terrible taste, the people in the UK at the time, clearly. It reached number 92 in the US. It reached number 25 the in the Netherlands. But um it it was, it's worth saying as well, um this was his first chart appearance anywhere when it reached number 34 in Canada. So only number 34, but it's the first time ah ah single under his name charted somewhere. Yeah.
00:57:02
Speaker
Anthony, what's your opinion of the Eric Clapton version of which I've given so much praise? To be honest, Dominic, it's ah it's a while since I've listened to I have heard it on on the album that you were referring to. I'll need to give it another listen. I'm not a massive out Eric Clapton fan. I'm really not. I'm really not a huge fan. But him doing Border Song and the guitar on it, I think it's... ah um I had the cassette version.
00:57:28
Speaker
of two rooms, the the tribute to Elton and Bernie. And I only listened to side one. Like, ah I don't really know any, to this day, I've never listened to the George Michael one or the Phil Collins one, which are on the second side. But, um you know, the the opening with like Sting, Kate Bush, Eric Clapton, I'm surprised I didn't wear the cassette out, you know. I don't know why I never got to side two. I really can't tell you why Maybe I listened to it once and it just didn't resonate as much as side A, but yeah.
00:58:02
Speaker
Really, if you haven't listened to it, it's definitely worth a listen. And you were wanting like a half hour version this. I mean, you could make your own mega mix by combining the yeahric original, couldn't you? Yeah. And there's a Willie Nelson version as well. So lot of lot of well-known musicians are ah clearly fond of this one.
00:58:23
Speaker
Now, the next track we've already spoken about a little bit on our previous episode, but we gave it the wrong name. it is The Greatest Discovery and not as I called it, The Great Discovery. Maybe I was thinking of The Great Escape. It's four minutes, 12 seconds long.
00:58:39
Speaker
It's got a similar makeup to the rest of this album in that you've got kind of the traditional band playing, but then we've got quite heavy strings in there. There's there's definitely some harp. that you can hear going on. There's a cello solo. It's all going off. We've talked about the lyric, Dominic, before. it's It's referencing Bernie Taupin's experience of meeting his younger brother for the first time. Not immediately obvious, though. I mean, it's a great ah unveiling of information. This definitely falls in the category of words that make sense. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And um it's this is one, if you're really interested in the songwriting and song building process, you've obviously got Bernie's lyric that's the initial impetus. Then if you go and listen to the deluxe version of this album, you'll hear the piano demo. and there's Elton singing with the piano, the the melody that the orchestra plays in the intro and in a really raw, quite scratchy voice. But you can hear how it's all coming together in his mind. And then you've got the final version here that obviously Gus Dudgeon has produced and and sounds a lot more polished. I remember you saying, Dominic, that this wasn't necessarily a song you want to bop around the kitchen to, but what are your general feelings of it? Because one doesn't always want to bop around one's kitchen.
01:00:04
Speaker
Oh, this one does. This one does. Yeah, I think that if um it's just personal taste, because it's clearly a stunningly good production of strings and and, you know, orchestral arrangement, not for me. If somebody got up, though, and read any of the lyrics of a First Episode, Six Years On, Border Song, or The Greatest Discovery, at a poetry open mic, so deliver them as spoken words, I would be mesmerised, you know, or I would also be thinking, why have you ripped off a Bernie Taupin lyric? But like, what I'm saying is if this didn't exist in this context, if my only experience of it was as a spoken word piece, then it would be very much to my taste because it's, it's word writing of which I feel great envy and great respect. Wonderful. It's just personal preference that for me, I'm not into the strings. I'm so glad when we do eventually get to the next song, The Cage, we're back on to bop around the kitchen or rock around the kitchen territory. But for this one, yeah, yeah. But with all your classical music, love, I mean, is this, what how what would be your rating? First episode, 60 years, 60 years. and this if you had to put them in order of preference like bronze medal silver medal gold medal these are the three races in the orchestral uh anthony olympics Who's getting bronze? Who's getting silver? Who's getting gold?
01:01:37
Speaker
I mean, definitely first episode at Hyington is the weaker of the three, and in in my opinion, just just with regards to how it's arranged. and like the The orchestra elevates it, but not enough, I would say. And...
01:01:53
Speaker
You know, music suits you at different times during the day, during your life and and what have you. And they're very different songs, aren't they? 60 Years On is is about someone coming to the end of their life and the isolation they're feeling, whereas this is this is a description of a new person joining a family. So in a sense, it's difficult to pick between them. If it's just orchestrally, arguably 60 Years On lays it on a bit thick.
01:02:21
Speaker
orchestrally it's it's it's really an orchestral piece of music with elton john singing whereas i i think the greatest nearly did it again the greatest discovery i think can still feature as a a slow ballad on a on a popular music album whereas 60 years on really is a classical piece of music But like you say, I'm ah such a huge fan of the the lyrics on this one. I think the repetition is really careful. There's only two points where there's any kind of repetition. In the second verse, well, it's worth saying there's no chorus. It's just stanzas of of verse. You've got a strange new sound you've never heard before, a strange new sound that makes boys explore. That's really, really nice. and And I love at the end, the last line is just repeated three times. This is your brand new brother. This is your brand new brother.
01:03:16
Speaker
This is your brand new brother. Beautiful. Interesting. The last two songs have got brother as an evocative climax to the message. Yeah. But just that the the thought of, I mean, I don't know how old Bernie is supposed to be in this, indeed how old he was when when his younger brother was born. But I'm picturing someone that's, say, a toddler.
01:03:37
Speaker
it just sinking in. Oh, I've got a brand new brother. And that repetition and what's happening to the music at that point as well, slowing down and and thinning out to just focus on that lyric. And then there's a lovely, it's like a little reprise at the end where you have the the same sort of chord sequence playing over again, a few more instruments come back in and Elton's like humming again.
01:04:00
Speaker
over the top. I think it's a beautifully constructed song. I'm a big fan. Is it a song that anyone has done cover versions of? You wouldn't think it would be ah an immediately obvious choice for reinterpreting. Um, I will say yes, but not not worthy of much note. um yeah If you really like Frank Sinatra Rat Pack style singing, ah spoiler, I don't, then you might like Eric McCormack's version. But other than that, there's nothing I'd recommend people to. However, I think Dominic is going to be recommending people to listen to The Cage. He's certainly going to have a bop around the kitchen to it.
'The Cage' & 'The King Must Die'
01:04:42
Speaker
It's definitely the most rock and roll track of of the album by a street, i would say. I don't really know what the words are about. I don't know, though, if I'd put this in the words make no sense category. that That's probably a bit too harsh because there's ah there's a frustration to it, which definitely suits the... ah production and the style. And the an album art.
01:05:09
Speaker
No, I thought... He looks sullen. He looks sullen. You can interpret... This is angry. But the great thing about that album art is he that could look wistful and a bit sad. He could look lovestruck. He could look angry. That's, you know, it's because there's so little there, it's open to many different interpretations. Yeah, yeah.
01:05:32
Speaker
I was so much more charitable with your artistic interpretations on our last episode, Dominic. I was really...
01:05:41
Speaker
can we Can we read the lyrics? Because it's it's an interesting one to try and dissect. I think we should have a go. Have you ever lived in a cage where you live to be whipped and be tamed? For I've never loved in a cage or talked to a friend or just waved.
01:05:56
Speaker
Will I walk while they talk about virtue? Just raised on my back legs and snarled. watch you kiss your dad Watched you kiss your old daddy with passion and tell dirty jokes as he died.
01:06:09
Speaker
But I'm damned when I really care there for the cell is the room in your lives where you lace yourself with bad whiskey and close the cage door doors on your life.
01:06:21
Speaker
Will I pray while you bathe in bad water, sing songs that I learnt as a boy, then break all the bones in my body on the bars you can never destroy? <unk>s There's some complexity there. It's just... I think... My reading, I think that a lot of artists when they start out, bearing in mind where Bernie Taupin was living at the time, Is is the Cage Society? is you know Even a group as a clean cut as the Carpenters, ah Richard and Karen Carpenter, had some vaguely anti-establishment stuff early in their career with songs like Mr. Gouda and Your Wonderful Parade. And I think the Cage fits in that kind of camp that you know it's a Cage made by
01:07:06
Speaker
you know, Etika, a cage made by the the richer folks, which, ah you know, Elton couldn't record a song like this these days, given, you know, his famously extravagant lifestyle. I mean, you know, ah I'm always slagging off his early 90s album, The One. And my my grandma and I had the... um VHS cassette of the one. And the big selling point of that was that he was wearing clothes by, I don't know what kind of amazingly fancy designer, some like really, you know, can't remember the clothes were, you know, really model.
01:07:47
Speaker
stuff And I thought, oh, is that good? Teenage Domini thought, oh you know, Kurt Cobain doesn't do this to see. is Is that a selling point? Like, you know, to have a sticker on the front of the VHS saying ah the clothes by Gucci or whoever it was. I can't remember. But, um yeah, the cage kind of seems like the exact polar opposite to all that. That's my interpretation of the lyric. Could be way off the mark. That's just what I...
01:08:18
Speaker
here We've spoken thus far about these lyrics chronologically and what have you. Could we say that this is the first real example of anger and spite in a Bernie Taupin lyric? yeah Yeah. I think so I think so I've just realized maybe my interpretation might be because the next song's called The King Must Die which um although I would put The King Must Die in the category of words that don't make sense the title is definitely you know a clear command isn't it so uh yeah I think there isn't anything like this on Empty Sky Empty Sky is you know even the
01:08:59
Speaker
the images of people in prison, it's a little bit less visceral. Well, I mean, you, you ah I think, did a good job, Dominic, of convincing me that Western Ford Gateway, it could just be painting a picture and actually many of the the lyrics that we've just read out there for The Cage they don't necessarily make sense as a whole, but they're painting pictures individually and and those pictures are related. There's overlap. So i'm I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt. And like I say, i i really enjoy the rock and roll feel to it. I think if it were to compare it with Take Me to the Pilot, I could listen to Take Me to the Pilot more or less all day long, whereas The Cage, because there's that real anger and spite in the lyrics, I think I'd probably...
01:09:49
Speaker
get to a point and I can go back and listen to a border song. Yeah, I'm sure you just said that you couldn't listen to Take Me to the Pile All Day. You could border song, but you couldn't. Which ones can you listen to, Anthony? Which ones can you listen to? Well, Dominic, glad you asked. It was your song I was saying after a few repeats. Ah, yes, sorry. Misremembering. would think, okay, that's enough lovey-dovey. I want to have a bit a dance. Yeah.
01:10:11
Speaker
um And Take Me to the Pilot and Board a Song, I could just have on loop because they're just they're just, they hit the perfect Anthony enjoyment for lively music. Whereas The Cage, it it dips its toe in a bit more anger, which I think is excellent, but I can only subsist on anger for so long.
01:10:29
Speaker
Could you listen to The King Must Die? that The conclusion, the final track of the album, is that one that you could listen to on repeat? um A few repeats. I think it's great. I really like this one. What they do really well...
01:10:45
Speaker
in in many songs across many albums with Elton's work is you really get a feeling of what it is that they're trying to get across. And whether it's playing in the musical fifths at the end of this song, there's a they don't literally do this riff, but it's if you imagine a sort of medieval king entering and the trumpet's going, did it ah do it's that kind of musical fifth. So there's not the third note in there. ah that makes it sound major or minor, happy or sad. They admit that and it it has that really regal feel to it. Again, it's no surprise for listeners to hear that that with this being really orchestra-heavy rendition, I think that does a lot. It's very dramatic.
01:11:31
Speaker
The king must die. The the lyrics are... Yeah, very, very dramatic. And there's they're quite short. I don't know whether you noticed this, Dominic, but each line is quite short yeah in the lyrics. But you've got no man's a jester playing Shakespeare.
01:11:47
Speaker
um When you have words like jester, Shakespeare and, you know, jugglers... I mean, I'm not saying that jugglers and jesters don't exist today, but immediately it dilutes the intensity of the title because you think, oh, right. So, you know, it's not now. It's a kind of, you know, so it's got a, you know, old day feel to it. can Can you explain the difference between that and Valhalla then? Because that's not now either. In in the previous album, you've described how you Oh, Valhalla, gave that 10 out of 10. Yeah, but Valhalla is like Leonard Cohen levels of ethereal beauty. I mean, that's... that's What are you asking me to say? I suppose what I'm getting at is...
01:12:35
Speaker
this This for me is is painting a picture and it's not a picture that is 1970. And I don't think it's intending to be unless it's a really, really detailed analogy. Yeah, but Valhalla, you're not thinking, or i wonder if this is about the mean streets of Moss Side in Manchester. You're not thinking that from a title. Either you've heard of Valhalla or you haven't. And if you haven't, it sounds quite magical. But the king must die. has got a title that could lead you into a direction
01:13:06
Speaker
the eat that could be modern. Yes, I suppose. and and there's and there's And there's analogies that you can take from the lyrics to to apply to anybody who is in a prominent, powerful position.
01:13:19
Speaker
And, you know, there's references in the lyric to, well, these these people that laugh at your jokes or that say that you're great, do they really think that? Do you really have friends if you're the king? And all all of this. So I think there's analogy and meaning that can stretch beyond that of a medieval courtier or something like that. Yeah, it's it's not going to be for everyone, this one, but with the orchestra-ness and the drama of it, I mean, the the last album, if it if it weren't for Hey Tude, that would finish in quite a dramatic fashion with Gulliver and the the the beloved family dog dying.
01:13:55
Speaker
This ends in quite a dramatic way to there's that basically all the music comes to an end apart from I think it's probably some low bass strings probably cellos that sort of thing and Elton just sings long live the king but he takes about 20 seconds to sing that long it's very drawn out I'm guessing it's not your favourite Dominic oh no i really like it why would it not be my favourite because it's slow and there's lots of strings ah I think there's strings in a sort of like
01:14:26
Speaker
rock opera type things like you know like like meatloaf I would do anything for love but I won't do that it's it's you know that's a slow song but it's like you know it's uh it's got a different kind of drive I could dance around my kitchen to meatloaf so I would do anything for love But I won't do that. And I could dance around my kitchen to The King Must Die. I'd love to hear a meatloaf cover of this song, of The King Must Die. I think i think that would be great. something i Another thing I will say in in praise of this song is i've critic no I've observed that Elton singing on earlier tracks in this album... is is a little bit cracked in some of the high notes. Like this is a real strong example of his vocal range and the power with which he can sing. It's it's some whether or not you like the melody or the lyric or, or you know, the strings in the background or whatever.
01:15:21
Speaker
Like if you just were to listen to the the vocal track isolated, you i think you hear it. his singing it's it's some of its best i would argue and that brings us to the end of the album that's there that's done yeah that's done
01:15:42
Speaker
when we do uh listening party my friends and i that i've spoken of which is how i first heard this album we have a strict rule on no bonus tracks from re-releases so we uh only listen to the album as was uh originally done so I've not heard the bonus tracks apart from Rock and Roll Madonna that was a single around the time of this album but then not included on this album it's it's a grand song and i can see I can see from your notes that you've handed me Anthony Grey Seal would that be the same Grey Seal of later years tell me Grey Seal how does it feel really?
01:16:23
Speaker
Yeah it features in Goodbye Yellow Brick Road like We'll we'll see with many re-released versions of albums Elton's team will include a different version of a song so when we get to Honky Chateau it's actually got the same song on it twice it's got as a bonus track you've got the fast version of the song Slave and whereas it's the slower more sort of bluesy one that made the original cut which do you prefer which slave do you prefer uh well we'll wait till honky chateau to reveal that one i will say i prefer goodbye yellow brick roads gray seal okay bad side of the moon is worth a listen to it's got a great intro where it is just drums and elton singing and more more instruments come in but it's it's got a real striking intro and it's Yeah, it's it's lively and it has the lovely chorus lyric of oozumala, oozumala, oozumala-ha. I didn't mention the ah the chorus for The Cage.
01:17:25
Speaker
I read the lyrics. Oh, that's brilliant. Oh, it's great. yeah Yeah. War of the Worlds level warbling. It's great. Yeah, absolutely. Right. We need to score this album, Dominic. We need to give it some scores. So right back to the start. Gosh, that feels like a long time ago. Your song. What are you giving your song?
01:17:48
Speaker
An easy 10 out of 10. It's at least 10 out of 10, isn't it? It's at least I've given it the same. I need you to turn to. Well, let me talk through how I'm scoring. i practice martial arts and the philosophy is you always begin on a 10 and deduct for missteps rather than start a zero and work your way up. So this might seem a little high, but I am going to give i'm going to give it a 9 out 10. I really enjoy it. Nice.
01:18:16
Speaker
I'm glad to hear that. I gave it a 7. um I like it and there's lots of songs I prefer a lot more. I think my scoring system Dominic is I'm sort of hoping to give the same amount of 10s, 9s, 8s, 7s and 6s all the way down to probably about 3 as we go through all of the albums. So I think I'm sort of ranking things. Oh that's an interesting way of doing it. yeah do When we get to next podcast episode, it's definitely not ranked. Expect some high scores for that. um Take me to the pilot. Take me to the pilot. For me, that is a nine.
01:18:54
Speaker
Just giving it nine. Even with, I know, you wouldn't think from how I really tore into it. i love But it's is's stunning, isn't it? petty to give it anything less. What do you give it?
01:19:06
Speaker
eight yeah that's great that's great that's really good to to be honest it would have been a nine but having learned just how meaningless the lyrics are i just i can't give it more than eight personally for that one what about no shoestrings on louise but we would you know what i um the least favorite i um and um and um because it's not awful it's not bad it's it's you know i'm gonna give it a six Yeah, I've also given it a six. I should say that even if I'm giving something like a four, I'm still acknowledging that that's probably four more points than I would rate a song that I would be trying to release into the pop charts in my early 20s. I've got no idea what score I will give sad songs say so much. I mean, it might be it might be minus figures, Anthony. Oh.
01:19:59
Speaker
oh i love And he does it so often live. It's like, oh, you could be you could be performing the cage. You could be performing the cage. Anyway, yeah. and I will defend that song when the time comes and I'll mostly be using Brian Adams' version live at Madison Square. I do like that concert, I do. And I do like Brian Adams. First episode, right, I really ummed and ah'd and I'm going to give it a seven because it is excellent i am deducting points just for it being not my personal choice by my personal taste sorry that that kind of very string heavy stuff but i do recognize it's excellent i i i can imagine some listeners being like oh that
01:20:48
Speaker
absolutely sacrilegious dominic not appreciating the genius of first episode and 60 years and you know i'm giving it a seven what do you give it anthony i've also given it a seven okay yeah i think it's i think it's decent but i think there's the things i like about it is done better in other tracks so that's why i give it a seven 60 Years On, I'm giving that a nine.
01:21:12
Speaker
See, I'm also giving it a seven. Yeah, I can understand that, Dominic. That's fine. We understand. Border Song. Ten. Yes, same. We're agreed on our tens. That is my only other ten for the for the album. And yeah, it's perfect. I'd give it more than ten if I could. What about The Greatest Discovery?
01:21:31
Speaker
Oh, you know, I do like it more than first episode of 60 Years, but it's still a seven. It's still a seven. I've given it an eight. scar I think it's well constructed, by yeah, couldn't listen to it all day.
01:21:47
Speaker
can Can't have too much happiness at new people being born into the world, goodness me. What about The Cage?
Album Scoring & Comparisons
01:21:53
Speaker
I listened to this album. So we're recording this in the evening. And when I first woke up this morning, I re-familiarized myself and I wrote down my score for The Cage. And then if we'd recorded it the afternoon, I would have given it an eight, but I'm giving it a nine. It's gone up a point because I listened to it just very shortly before I started recording. I was like, nah, this is this is not an eight. This is as good... as uh i like it as much as take me to the pilot i honestly do so i'm giving it a nine nice i've given it a seven i think uh i appreciate the anger of the lyrics but i didn't quite resonate with it and it didn't quite seem to make sense but musically it is fun so it's a seven for me and what about the last one the king must die exact same story it was going to be an eight and then listened to it again was like
01:22:43
Speaker
Nah, it's a nine. Yep, I too have given it a nine. So interestingly, see, with our conversation, Dominic, this shows how differently we score things. From our conversation, I would have thought I would be giving this a higher score than you, but my average is 8.1 and your average is 8.3. But it's worth saying that compared to Empty Sky, I gave Empty Sky an average of 5.89, whereas you...
01:23:10
Speaker
You gave it an average of nine. So yeah this is not quite as high as Empty Sky for you, but for me, this is well higher than Empty Sky. We've got other categories though. The album name, what are you giving that out of 10?
01:23:24
Speaker
Five. So I'm gonna, I've given it eight, but I don't think yeah you're giving his name. You're giving his name. And it's a one off. It's the same with the album art. He can do that once, once and once only. I think it's fair enough. It's Elton John. Here I am. boom Take it or leave it. So I've given the artwork seven. I reckon you've also given it five. Do you know what? I'll give it a six.
01:23:50
Speaker
Yeah. Because it's not a bad photo. i'm giving I'm giving the title five because it exists. So I think he's neutral it's neutral. Five is bang in the middle. It's not awful. And I think that the photo is is above standard. So yeah, oh six. Okay, cover versions. We've got at got Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson.
01:24:13
Speaker
Eric Clapton. A bloke called Einstein. i mean, I've not heard all of these, but there weren't any cover versions for Empty Sky, were there? a Skyline Pigeon.
01:24:25
Speaker
Oh, okay. and what what ah ah you You're giving them a score out of 10, are you? Out of 10, yeah. why you What are you scoring? I've given it 8, simply because there are some songs that don't have any cover versions, and some of the cover versions are naff. See, that thing, does it lose points? Because there's a lot of poor versions of your song. I think there's a lot of syrupy ones i'm gonna give it um seven i think it's fair enough for us to say that we might not give any tens for the cover version category you know i mean it's that that would be fine what about the lyrics as a whole i've gone for an eight oh because there's all the nonsense ones but again even the nonsense ones they're not awful um i i i think it's better than an eight i'm gonna give it a nine
01:25:10
Speaker
even with take me to the pilot which you know i know i laid it to nine nine for lyric i've uh yeah i've given it an eight what about music as a whole eight i have gone for a nine for the music oh swapping places. Maybe this is a bias as ah a pianist and someone who likes classical music but it's great to listen to and to play. It's a fantastic album to play on the piano, really great. The most confusing category, flop dodge, so to just explain that, if an album is free from any flops or any hint of a flop that would be 10 out of 10. If it's full of flops then it would be zero. Do you do you have
01:25:51
Speaker
I'm guessing i gave zero to Empty Sky. Do you have that information to hand? No, you gave it ten, as in if it's avoiding flops, then it's ten. Oh, right. Oh, I'm with you. I'm with you. Right. i I'm going give this a nine. what What's the minus one? Not one particular song. I mean, no shoestrings, like say. if that was on a mid-90s album, it wouldn't be so favourably...
01:26:15
Speaker
You know, so, so yeah, yeah. Yeah, I've given it an eight because no shoestrings and first episode I could, I could probably live with never hearing again. Yeah. to it And what about the opposite of that then hits? And to be clear, these are Dominic hits and Anthony hits, not necessarily conventional financial hits. I think I gave Empty Sky 10, didn't I? You gave it eight. You gave it eight.
01:26:41
Speaker
Oh, did I? Okay. yeah I'm going to give this the same eight because as great as some Your Song and Border Song are, you know, the others aren't Dominic hits. So eight for this.
01:26:53
Speaker
I've given it a nine because for me, Your Song, Take Me to the Pilot, 60 Years on, Border Song, The Cage, the ah sorry The Greatest Discovery, The King Must Die. They're all well up there. in a If there was a four disc Anthony's Greatest Hits of Elton John, they would all be great.
01:27:09
Speaker
heavily featured so that gives us an overall score for the elton john album of 78 and a half percent which puts it top out of two so empty sky uh score 68.47 so this is a whole 10 higher which probably comes from my my uh love of this and my less than love of empty sky But you know, my my absolute bias in favour of Empty Sky, I think I'm happy with a kind of 68 for Empty Sky and I'm happy that this isn't hugely higher, like 68, 78.
Introduction to 'Tumbleweed Connection'
01:27:52
Speaker
I've mentioned before, I've never, ever heard Tumbleweed Connection before you suggesting that we do this, Anthony. So that is a very new record in my life and I'm thrilled. about when we'll be heading to that in our next podcast time. Yeah.
01:28:09
Speaker
And a confusing thing that I found about Tumbleweed Connection is that that was recorded before this album, the Elton John album, was released. No! So were both recorded in early 1970. Elton John was released in April and Tumbleweed came out the 30th of October. We said, didn't we, that... um You know, Empty Sky was very much an Elton John album, but Elton John by Elton John was going to be songs for other people, wasn't it? Whereas Tumbleweed Connection is thematic.
01:28:45
Speaker
concept you know the songs are all about the same yeah i i don't know if it's technically true i mean these things you you you hear from every man and his dog who was there or or around about at the time i think some reports say that the elton john album was an album showing off the different things he could do as opposed to as we'll see from tumbleweed connection is that's more of a concept album So I don't know that he's necessarily writing this album for other people. Right. Now, last time we gave you a teaser, a bit of trivia, and we're going to do the same again because we're so insecure that you're not going to come back and listen that we need to leave something dangling. So...
Teasers & Closing Remarks
01:29:25
Speaker
I told you earlier that in 2003, this album was ranked 468 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
01:29:37
Speaker
My trivia question for you is what was number one? So this was in 2003. What did Rolling Stone magazine say was the greatest album of all time.
01:29:49
Speaker
And if you want a clue, if you don't want a clue, fast forward by 10 seconds. My clue is I know that Dominic wouldn't rate it as number one. so You know, Rolling Stone magazine also have a really, really excellent article with their um own personal opinions of what are the 50 best Elton John songs. I'm not going to talk about that too much because I suspect that might be a future source of trivia.
01:30:18
Speaker
questions from Anthony, but I really enjoyed it. I was very happy to see something from duets, the the the early 90s album make that. But anyway, thank you everybody so much for listening to us. You could get in touch with us, email at eltonveltonpod, that's Elton, the letter V, Elton p o d elton v elton P-O-D, at gmail.com. You can find me on my website, www.dominicberry.net, where I chat more about my poetry. You can find Anthony on two other podcasts, the Brambling Along podcast and the Enough of the Falafel podcast, which i occasionally join him on chatting about ah vegan stuff that's been going on in the news and also a general vegan talk show where we discuss vegan veganic topics. Until next time, it is goodbye from me, Captain Domtastic, and it's goodbye from the other one, the brown dirt ant boy.
01:31:22
Speaker
Goodbye, everyone. Goodbye, everyone.
01:31:30
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.