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6. Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player (1973) Album Review
23 Plays1 month ago
Have mercy on the...podcasters Dominic & Anthony, as they review Elton's sixth studio album; can DSMIOTPP top the Elton v Elton charts, or will it be singing blues for baby & me?
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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
Introduction & Episode Premise
00:00:00
Speaker
It's 26th of January, 1973. Now, don't shoot me. I'm just the podcast co-host. We're going to... Don't shoot me. I'm only the piano player by the one and only Elton John.
00:00:15
Speaker
My name is Dominic. And I am Anthony, marvelling at Dominic's impromptu introductions. You are listening to Elton vs. Elton, the album battle.
00:00:44
Speaker
everyone. This is episode six of Elton versus Elton, the album battle. This is the podcast where two pals, Anthony and Dominic, who love the music of Elton John, we rage over which of his albums we love the best.
00:01:01
Speaker
We've done five episodes so far. We're working through these albums chronologically. This is number six, Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player. We got the idea for this show from two guys, two comedians, James Cook and Paul Savage, who did this sort of format for the Men's Football World Cups. um So we're big thank you to those guys. And obviously, big thank you to everyone who's involved in producing Elton's music. But yeah, like I say, episode six, Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano player exciting stuff dominic very exciting if you feel like checking out our previous ones you can because we're going through every record in chronological order but you don't have to if you're just a massive fan of this record and want to dive straight into this one and spoilers i am a massive fan of this record i'm so excited about this particular one you won't miss anything if you just start listening right here But before we go any further, we do have each episode a little trivia teaser, and I'm going to give you the answer to the one in the last
Trivia Discussion: Honky Chateau Album Cover
00:02:04
Speaker
episode. We asked you, there's something unique. about the cover of Honky Chateau that cannot be said for any other Elton John album cover. Now, I owned Honky Chateau as a kid, and if Anthony hadn't put this question to me and then told me the answer, I wouldn't have got it, although it's so obvious once you know, easy once you know the answer. The answer is, it is the only Elton John album
00:02:34
Speaker
featuring a photograph of Elton John, in which Elton John has facial hair. ah Maybe it's the only day in his life that he's had facial. I don't know if I've ever seen any other photo of him looking slightly hirsute, but definitely wasn't something that stuck with him. So yeah, that was our previous episode. Honky Chateau was released in May 1972, so about seven, eight months before this album. Honky Chateau reached number two in the UK and number one in the US. Best known tracks, Rocket Man and Honky Cat. But if you listened back to our previous episodes, you'll hear that we do like quite a few other tracks on their Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. And for me personally, Amy, I think are some tracks too.
00:03:34
Speaker
Dominic, we're now in 1973.
Global Events in 1973
00:03:36
Speaker
What was going on in the world at the start of 1973? Because that's when this album came out. was the very start of the year, wasn't it? That's right. Well, on New Year's Day, the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark entered the European Economic Community, which would later become European Union. January 15th Vietnam War. There's progress in peace negotiations. US President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive actions in North Vietnam. Now, Don't Shoot Me was released when the UK number one single was The New Seekers with I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.
00:04:16
Speaker
Much, much, much, much later covered by the Oasis spoof band Noasis. And the US s number one at the time. was Don McLean with American Pie, much, much, much later covered by Madonna.
00:04:32
Speaker
Indeed. So that was the global context in the context of Elton's life. He's a very hardworking musician. So in between albums, he's doing a lot of touring. He is definitely becoming a global superstar by this point. Very well known, you know, going put him in a top five or a top 10 but he's he's definitely up there in terms of the most well-known musicians of the day his his lavish lifestyle is becoming you know gradually more and more of a thing on stage i think we start to see a shift in 1973 in terms of outfits that he's wearing and and and things that are coming to the fore. and We mentioned Legs Larry in the previous episode in terms of you know tap dances being performed, not just in an album track, but on stage and and you know one-off things like that. And in terms of rubbing shoulders with the stars, that's getting more extravagant too. So in his autobiography, Me, about this time in his life, he talks about
00:05:30
Speaker
going for dinner with Princess Margaret and and then things like that. So he's really um mixing with A-listers for sure. In the actual time that he was recording this specific album, he had glandular fever, like right up until when this album was recorded, which he himself attributes to overworking and just... not necessarily living life to excess, but just in terms of how hard he's working and and um not not having any break. But um you I think it's fair to say, Dominic, you can't hear that he was very ill before recording this album. There's no hint that, I would say, in the recording. No, his voice is excellent on this. In terms of the band, we have perhaps the smallest gathering of folks that we've so far had on an Elton John album, I believe.
00:06:26
Speaker
We have the core group of Davy Johnson on guitar, sitar, mandolin, he's on every track, Dee Murray on bass, Nigel Olsen on drums, Gus Studgeon producing and doing the brass arrangements. We've got few guest artists doing saxophone, trombone, trumpet. Ken Scott on the ARP synthesizer. So we we had some French session musicians on the last album as well. This this too was recorded in France at ah at Chateau de Rueville. I just want to say the names of the horn section that were that were playing here because they've got such French names. Jean-Louis Chaton and Alain Rateau on saxophone, Jacques Bolognese on trombone and Ivan Julien on trumpet. Fantastic names. um So yeah, recorded in France, like Honky Chateau, um exactly the same place. It was also known at the time as Strawberry Studios. It it does still exist, though you can't you can't visit it, unfortunately. I
Album Title & Vocal Experimentation
00:07:34
Speaker
have looked it up. According to Elton, this album was the first where he felt comfortable experimenting with his vocal performances and style. That surprises me in that I'd say his vocal performances have been quite varied up to this point as well. But, you know... His his opinion is the one to listen to there. His opinion is that. I would say that one of the strengths of it is that it's more consistent than, say, Honky Chateau or the self-titled album. So, yeah, that's an interesting thing for him to say.
00:08:09
Speaker
Yeah, we'll talk um later about our ratings out of 10 for the album title. And spoiler from me, I really like it. ah Apparently, the name came from an incident with legendary comedian Groucho Marx. So Elton was playing the piano at a party at Marx's home. And after an evening of constant ribbing where Groucho Marx was referring to him as John Elton, Groucho held out his middle and index finger in the style of a pistol and pointed it at Elton John and Elton then raised his hands and said, don't shoot me. I'm only the piano player. um And the name stuck for that subsequent album. um It's also a play on the 1960 Francois Truffaut film, Shoot the Piano Player. And the original Oscar Wilde quote, don't shoot the piano player.
00:09:00
Speaker
He's doing his best, which I i ah can't say i'd I'd heard of that before. Lots of Oscar Wilde quotes get bandied around. don't know, but that that one was new on me. I didn't know about the John Elton thing. There's a ah sketch from much later in Elton's career, Rowan Atkinson interviewing him, when one of the jokes is Rowan Atkinson calling him John Elton. Yeah, I remember someone when the 1997 version of Candle in the Wind took the charts by absolute storm, like by far the biggest number one in history. I think it probably still is. His his name was obviously in in circulation. I was about 10 years old at the time.
00:09:41
Speaker
And I remember overhearing someone calling him John Elton and thinking, no, no, no, no. no Don't be so silly. But yeah there we are. we We didn't all have the benefit of knowing Elton's music from the age of four. This album did very, very well um across national charts. Number one in Australia, Canada, Italy, Norway, Spain, UK. The first time one of his albums reached number one in the UK.
Chart Success & Track Analysis
00:10:09
Speaker
And of course, in the US, it also came number two in the Netherlands, Finland. This album was bought by a lot of people, certainly relative to other music that was being bought at the time. may Maybe there was just no other that decent music on at the time, but I ah don't think that is the case. But yeah. It did very well. And I too bought this album. I think it must have been the third or fourth Elton album I bought, partly because of the name. um i've I've played the piano since the age of five. And so stage in my life where I realised I liked Elton's music, seeing this as a title and probably seeing that Daniel and Crocodile Rock
00:10:50
Speaker
what on the track listings would have led me to to buy it so yeah i've I've owned this album for a good 20-25 years Dominic more like 20-25 minutes but it's ah it's an album you're you're familiar with right Oh, very, very familiar. um So I bought it for the first time in my life today.
00:11:13
Speaker
i bought it um but I've been listening to it on the YouTube, reminding myself of it and just I love it so very, very much. I did have access to this as a child. So any younger fans of Elton John might not appreciate how in days gone by, there were so many different ways in which we listened to music. So cassettes were popular in a not ironic way. There was the invention of the CD in my sort of early teens. And of course, vinyl.
00:11:47
Speaker
So in our house, we had some records on, each of those formats. And I had some CDs. So I had Honky Chateau, I had Empty Sky. Now my dad had Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player and Sleeping With the Past and 1979's Single Man and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, as well as a few 12-inch singles.
00:12:11
Speaker
And I enjoyed this album and all the others I mentioned when he played them, but I felt far too clumsy to trust myself holding that delicate vinyl. I wasn't going to putting that on and risking scratching all my fingernails on it or getting grubby fingerprints on the on the the groove. So, um yeah, I didn't hear this as much as the CDs.
00:12:35
Speaker
So, yeah, but i bet it was often played and and loved. Yeah, absolutely. Well, We're here to talk primarily about the different tracks on the album. So let's get into it, starting with the opening track, Daniel. we going to talk about the cover? We usually have a little natter about the cover, don't we? apologise. Yes. And it's such a good one because I'm mr Positive to your like grumpy, oh, it's not all that, this song.
00:13:03
Speaker
Apart from the album covers, every time we get to this bit of the podcast, you're like, I guess Elton in a beard is interesting. um gi I mean, no, that's not what you said. But um I love this album. of I think, you know, up to this point, this is by far the best album cover ever. Not as iconic as the next one, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, but it's it's great, isn't it? It's a great title and a great... what would you say Would you say, yeah, that that the fact that the the title is so central to the art, like it if it just said a random film... on there it's sort of um there's there's two guests buying their ticket to go into the cinema or the theater um and we've got the lettering don't shoot me in in the boldest letters and then i'm only the piano player starring elton john do you think if it was just a random film on there it would feel as strong as as a piece of album art um I'm not quite sure I understand your question. So, I mean, what do you mean? My question is, are you saying this is a great album name, which has a suitable photo photo showcasing the name of the album?
00:14:17
Speaker
Or are you saying artistically, the layout of the picture and everything name? I really like the layout of the picture. I think that Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player doesn't necessarily... Those words don't suggest it's a movie. Like it could just be like it really was, a quote from one person to another. But these songs on this album are often character stories. There's a lot of ballads on this record. And yeah, I think the idea of going into a picture house to experience these tales suits the content of the words and music really well. Yeah. Yeah. I would agree. can't fault it. I think we've discussed your jujitsu style of marking starting at 10 out of 10. I didn't correct you last time. It's Taekwondo. do apologise. Jujitsu is the Brazilian one. I didn't correct you last time. That's all right. all right. Yeah.
00:15:15
Speaker
I start at 10 and then I deduct marks as I go down. Although I think I gave Elton's beard like three out of 10 and that's completely not... I hope there wasn't seven factors. It was like each follicle of hair lost a mark. It wasn't that. No, but perhaps the general theme lost seven marks in one go. But this this one I would struggle to find fault with it. i I don't know what anyone could possibly say about this album. It's great photo, isn't it? Really good. Just as a photo, it's beautiful. And as we say, fits the album well. It does indeed. Right. Let's get into it then. Take two.
00:16:07
Speaker
Daniel, first track, 3 minutes 55. Interestingly, i've read when researching this that there was initial reluctance by the record company to release this song as a single. and They said it was too sombre and too lengthy. They then went over that decision and did release it. and it did very well number four in the uk album that's got two top tens on it that happened in the uk before yeah absolutely um number two in the us at number one in canada um so it's you know it it was released on single and did very well what do you think about this song
00:16:47
Speaker
i can't I love it. I adore it. It's one of my favourites. I can see why they might not have thought it was good. for For the reasons I love it, I think the words are very open to interpretation, that they don't paint a full picture in the way that some of... ah Bernie Taupin's tales do, the more story-like songs. But I love that about it. I think there are enough specific... It's a contrasting set of words of specifics and vagueness, and I love that. And I love that there's no second verse. I love that. I love...
00:17:23
Speaker
ah that's always really caught my ear because often second verses, sometimes second verses can really take the storytelling to another level. And sometimes they're really boring and really repetitive. And I adore that instrumental. I think it's surprising.
00:17:39
Speaker
ah It's a super strong chorus. I'm very happy to hear it again. Those of you who've listened before know Anthony does object to too many choruses in LTC songs. They're back to back. If they're back to back, I often don't see the point. It depends. If you do it straight both times, I just kind of think, well, what what's the point? But if there's variation and, you know, if there's space. Good courses. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah it's It's a pretty faultless song.
00:18:06
Speaker
I would say it it's some it's not telling a tale of something that I personally have references for in in my own life. um So it it kind of doesn't resonate as much as other Bernie Taupin lyrics. But musically, it's you can't knock it. It's a real good blend of things, that a criticism i had always.
00:18:28
Speaker
of hymn 2000 in empty sky was it it felt like the levels of the flute had just been like tripled needlessly whereas this is a very flute heavy song in the backing and it's it's perfect um like you say dominic the instrumental solo is is lovely.
00:18:47
Speaker
With regards to the lyric, it's um I think it's generally cited as the most misunderstood lyric and in an Elton John song. And it's's it's based on Bernie reading an article in either Time or Newsweek about the Vietnam War and about veteran who had been wounded, wanted to get away from the attention he was receiving,
00:19:07
Speaker
when he came back home. So it's it's about that. I'm going to be really pedantic. I'm going to correct Bernie Taupin on his own interpretation of his own words that he wrote. It's not about that.
00:19:18
Speaker
It isn't. That's what Bernie Taupin read, which inspired him to write these words. But these words are not about that. These words are really open and a person isn' isn't wrong. They've not misunderstood it. if they you know It is so...
00:19:36
Speaker
very open to interpretation and that is not a criticism that is a joy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And um I mean, I remember hearing this song for the first time, you know, when I was six or seven or something like that, and I would have just taken it literally as someone singing about their brother called Daniel and and and you know, it it like you say, might be yeah, it it works on works on... But, you know, compared to Crocodile Rock, which is a very specific lyric, and and wonderfully so, like, Crocodile Rock tells a very clear story of love and rejection and dancing, and I think that...
00:20:15
Speaker
the the, you know, most casual listener would struggle to misunderstand crocodile rock. So they're they're very, very different lyrical beasts. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. This was released as a single, as we say, and it had Skyline Pigeon, the piano version on its B-side, which we've discussed on previous podcasts. We won't necessarily get into repeating that now, but... one of us are there One of us prefers the piano version. One of us prefers the harpsichord original version. you can You can go back and listen to find out who is who. The song also appeared on the soundtrack of the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Loads of covers, loads of covers. um Marie Laforet adapted and covered the song in French in 1974. And others such as Will Oldham, Fuel. Sam Smith has done possibly the most recent one, which is... How interesting. Yeah, it's...
00:21:18
Speaker
it's decent it's very often i don't i don't think a a cover of an elton song is better than the original and i'd say that for all of the covers of daniel i think elton's oh but wilson phillips i mean you know wilson phillips song hold on for one more day is a absolute masterpiece and i think that their version of daniel has a very different energy, is beautiful. I wouldn't say better, I'd just say you're really worthy of existing and brilliant in its own right. I mean, their voices have that kind of sadness that I think brings a new quality to the lyrics that um Elton's just got a different voice so yeah. Yes yeah he he doesn't necessarily carry a sombre feel with him does he? and he's It's not one of those that's very contrary in the and previous episode we speak about the song I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself and where it's sung in a really jaunty way with really jaunty music it's it's not that contrasting but he's He's definitely not sounding really down when he's singing, is he? So yeah, i can see how that cover version could bring something different. Final little bit of trivia for me. The lyrics were written for this by Bernie on the same day that Elton composed the song, which was the same day on which it was recorded. So in the morning, the song didn't exist. And by bedtime, it was written and recorded. incredible and and not atypical to their songwriting process.
00:22:51
Speaker
Amazing stuff. Amazing stuff. Now, i know from our former conversations that the next song is not one that you love. And we keep saying at the start, you always say, listen to two pals rage about their views. I don't think we really do rage. i don't think we really do. Like we we discuss whether harpsichord or piano is better. But I'm ready to rage over this because you know what?
00:23:16
Speaker
I... love this song and I've got my boxing gloves on. I'm ready to deeply defend. So lay into...
00:23:29
Speaker
Dominic, I think this is a really nice musical track. I don't think I've got much issue with the music. It's it's not a masterpiece like Rocketman or even like the previous track, Daniel, but it's it's good enough for an album track. It's quite lively. It's not too long. It's not like Indian Sunset that goes on for about half an hour. So I've not really got an issue I want to respond to each of your points in Czech. So the single, I Don't Want to Go On With You Like That, from much later in his career, has got a bit of a, wo you know, sort of a non-lyrical chorus.
00:24:08
Speaker
And I really want to like it. It's one those songs I really want to like. And you compare I Don't Want to Go On With You Like That to Teacher I Need You. Oh, oh, oh, oh. I mean, he would have given his eye teeth for like a hook like that in the mid I mean, it's brilliant, I would argue. that the melody is single standard. Yeah, okay. No, I will accept that. I will listen to it again with that in mind. Where it falls down for me is, I'm not sure this is going to be much of a battle, Dominic, because it's just the fact that my career is a male educator.
00:24:50
Speaker
and just As is mine. As is mine. yeah yeah And just, it it makes me squirm with with discomfort. just this this As it should, Anthony. As it should. As it should. So, like, you know, in the world, some things get better, some things get worse. And, you know, I'm a male educator. And, you know, of course, I'm so grateful that there is so much child protection. Quite right. Absolutely. You know, it makes me feel.
00:25:20
Speaker
really safe that you know there's there's so much less a chance of anything bad going to happen to any of the children children still have feelings i was running a poetry workshop in a school and a really kind of quite shy teenage lad read a poem about me in the class and i felt like I had been trained for this situation. I was looking around, was like, is this a Mickey take? Are people like taking the Mickey? Because it was really romantic about me. And he read it. I mean, this is about like a 13 year old lad. And was like, you know, are they setting me up? And, and, you know, was in front, it wasn't like, it was in front the whole class. There was teachers there. And I felt so,
00:26:04
Speaker
secure that it would be handled responsibly. I genuinely think this lad was kind of quite innocent and I don't think even he realised. When I say it was romantic, he was saying like what lovely eyes I had. I mean, it was so dodgy. You do have largely lovely eyes, to be fair. I just won't know that instinctively, but...
00:26:26
Speaker
yeah The point I'm making is I fancied a teacher when I was at school. You know, ah what a potentially dangerous situation. Thank goodness nothing happened to beyond a teenage crush. You know, we've got songs like Lulu, To Sir With Love. You know, yeah, songs like that aren't really written anymore because the times have changed for the better, for the better. um I told you what a huge David Bowie fan I am, that film Labyrinth is all about an underage girl's confusing relationship for David Bowie in a really confusing role. That film would never be made today.
00:27:09
Speaker
I'm in complete agreement that it is quite right to squirm at it. But I think that whereas I do question Bernie Taupin writing from the position of a Native American or or or singing about his island girl, or on this very record, the Texan love song, oh, there'll be lots spoken about those lyrics later on,
00:27:35
Speaker
I'm kind of quite fine. I mean, there's, some you know, as a poet, I'm a big fan of rap. There's a Run DMC song called ah Miss Elaine that's basically the rap version of Teacher I Need You. And I don't know, you know, it's so innocent. It's so innocent. And I mean, again, Run DMC are men when they're recording. It's kind of a mid-career record. But I can suspend my disbelief and think it's just, you know, it's not...
00:28:04
Speaker
threatening it's just yeah a really relatable subject i'm definitely not saying that people should not write songs about like you say confusing feelings and things like that ah that that rightly Is it right that it's a taboo? No, it's not right that it's a taboo. It's it's right that there are safeguards and and things put in place to to stop these confusing, developing feelings going further. I think I have a bit of a barrier for it. My question to you as a proponent of this song is, what age do you think the speaker is? Because i i don't think it's consistent. And that makes it less believable. I think if it was consistently, if I if i listened to this and thought, oh, that's a 15-year-old boy singing there, or that's an eight-year-old boy or a four-year-old boy. But i I don't get a clear picture. I thought younger than 15. I thought like sort of 12, 13, because there is the line, like a little child, which implies that the speaker isn't primary school. So I think old enough to have these feelings.
00:29:14
Speaker
I did think quite young, which is why I thought, is what what what what confuses you, Anthony? Absolutely. Well, well i I think, I mean, shoot me down for being too literal, but like the the language is not completely basic such that it would be a, you know, a seven or eight year old talking is is clearly ah older than that. But then there is, there's a real like submissive feel to it that that makes me think, well, it it has to be someone of primary age, doesn't it? But then, a la No. No. No. I mean, look... Student teachers can be, like, enthralling. Yeah, yeah, yeah. i I don't think I would be picking this apart so much if if if it was a subject that I had no relationship to at all. But it's... it it I mean, listeners who have, you know, different jobs to being in education, if there's a TV drama on...
00:30:18
Speaker
that relates to your field of work, your profession, then you will look at it with a more critical eye and say, well, it's not really like that and blah, blah. Oh, that's a little bit out. And I'm i'm definitely guilty of doing that here. But yeah yeah I, yeah, I reckon there are songs out there about confusing infatuations from a child towards a younger adult that I prefer to this, though. i I'm struggling to name one at the moment, but I, Well, do have my boundaries. One that is an absolutely amazing melody and such a big hit. I can't remember who sang, ah you're much too young girl.
00:30:55
Speaker
Remember that? Young girl, get out of my mind. I mean, that is so sinister. And again, it just shows the age in which it was written. That's like, oh, I mean, at least he is saying, get out of my mind. So that one makes me feel a bit icky. It's like, oh gosh, that's like, whereas for me, this is more Lulu to serve with love. It's more in that category. Yeah, yeah. No, I am willing to accept that it's musically it's probably better than I'm giving it credit for. Yeah, I've got my own hang-ups, which are and not they're not going to go away, and unfortunately. and Talking of hang-ups, talking of hang-ups, you know, you couldn't get someone who is more anti-alcohol than me. I have been teetotal for so many years now, like over a decade, and yet another song I adore
00:31:44
Speaker
elderberry wine i think that it's a really relatable lyric just because i don't get drunk doesn't mean that i can't empathize with the situation of the person who is in elderberry wrapped wine i think it's a stunning lyric of again really specific like needlepoint detail really beautiful words and Yeah, I think it's a really sad set of words put to a really quite jaunty tune. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's is's definitely a jaunty tune. And you've got similar but different to...
00:32:25
Speaker
teacher, I need you. You've got a real catchy piano vamp that goes throughout it. it Again, it's said this a lot about the previous album, but it's it's almost a bit honky-tonky. With Elderberry Wine, it's like a da-da-da-da-da.
00:32:40
Speaker
du it like almost Saturday night's Alright for Fighting kind of rhythm to it. But that that carries it along, doesn't it? Yeah, it's it's a piteous image, I think, that it that it creates this song. I won't be scoring it highly just because I don't know. It almost it almost repulses me to to kind of...
00:33:00
Speaker
if image I will be scoring it highly because again, i think like that cinema shot on the outside, this is a short movie. And I think. that when a person gets really drunk, there are contrasting feelings because often the trigger point for getting inebriated is a great loss or tragedy.
00:33:24
Speaker
But, oh, you know, I'm teetotal now. I have been drunk in my time. and I'm 47 this year. In my 20s, I was, you know, four sheets the wind a large amount of the time. And it feels great. And I think that this song,
00:33:40
Speaker
It captures that. I don't think it's irresponsible in the same way I don't think Teacher I Need You is irresponsible. But I think it's joyful. I think that, that yeah, yeah, i I love it. It will be getting a super high score from me because um because it's not just ah it's such a son boring love song. And I mean, I love love songs when they're well written, like Time Dancer.
00:34:03
Speaker
Give me lyrics like that any time. But when songs are just, you know, I like your eyes. like your smile. That's, that's, baby's got blue eyes. When is that? When is that? Give me these lyrics any time, any time. So yeah, very high score from Dominic. Yeah, I respect that. I'm nitpicking here, Dominic, but I'd be interested to hear you defend the following line. Well, I can't help thinking about the times you were a wife of mine. You aimed to please me, cooked black eyed peas me.
00:34:37
Speaker
Made elderberry wine. That's not a great lyric. I'm picking this lyric, but that is not a great lyric. Cooked black-eyed peas me. Imagine trying to teach English to a speaker of another language and justifying those views.
00:34:55
Speaker
i love that I love it. love it. He's drunk. Well, exactly. That's the obvious one. He's drunk. He's drunk in his No, it's catchy musically and it's a ah vivid image. if um yeah peep People will have different perspectives on um ah how palatable an image it is, but it's certainly vivid. Yeah, and I think Yeah, unlike Madman Across the Water, where I said a lot of the songs, the words were so dark, I felt a little bit uncomfortable. It's a very subjective thing, isn't it? I can understand why both of these songs might repel a person. But for me, they're just that right side of interesting, unique, intriguing. Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. Elton says that this is a stock Elton John song that could fit in any of his albums. It was released as the B-side of the number one hit Crocodile Rock in October 1972. The fourth track in this album...
00:35:58
Speaker
Blues for Baby and Me. It is a bit longer than The Last Few. comes in at 5 minutes 39, like all the other tracks on the album written by Elton and Bernie. When I was listening through to the whole album start to finish, not not how I... Usually in in the first, you know, 20, 30 years of my life, that wasn't how I'd listen to music. i'd I'd pick and choose. But more recently, I've been listening to albums start to finish. This was the point at which I was thinking, I wonder whether a bit of goal shift has come in or goal creep has come in here in that Blues for Baby and Me, i think is is a really solid song.
00:36:38
Speaker
And I was noticing it wasn't really doing much for me, which could be said for the previous two tracks as well. And I was thinking, I wonder if if this was Elton's debut album or his second album, would I be met being more accepting and more excited by this? Because ah it's got some really interesting musical functions in it. You know, you're never quite sure when the next line or the next beat's going to come in. Sometimes he's adding an extra beat to a bar. taking a beat away. There's a lovely little sitar solo or a riff that Davy Johnson's doing. What an incredible musician. You know, any guitar, mandolin, sitar, he can play them all. It's a completely different feeling to the previous tracks as well. and
00:37:23
Speaker
And the lyrics aren't awful either, right? i ah do Do you... think, Dominic, it's it's possible to to judge albums or tracks differently based on what's come before in in previous albums or or things like that? Or were you completely objective and not not influenced by these things? I don't know if it's correct to judge things in relation to when they were made, but I do judge things in relation to when they were made. I often...
00:37:53
Speaker
think about songs oh this is so good but because it's late career people have got bored in the eyes and they're not giving it a go or I think oh this is just an early song and because people glamorize oh I liked them before they were famous this is put on a pedestal and it's not all that it's not a hidden masterpiece I love Blues My Baby and Me I don't love it as much as the first three songs but I really love it I really love it I agree with everything you've said about the musicality. um
00:38:26
Speaker
Kiki D has a song that Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote for It would be released in the year following this that has some similar themes. It's called Lonnie and Josie, and it's about escaping parents, escaping troubles, about going off somewhere. And ah I think Lonnie and Josie is a better song than Blues for My Baby and Me. But I love the Americanism of the the Greyhound. That's the name of a bus company out there.
00:38:55
Speaker
I think the rhythm's really interesting. It is a little bit long. I'm not always a fan of the slower songs, but this one, I mean, I'm a massive fan of Valhalla off the debut record. And yeah, it does the same sort of ah thing that Valhalla, or indeed Rocketman does, that I'm really... I'm really...
00:39:17
Speaker
on the journey with them. I love, again, it's a movie. These songs, in my opinion, are ah movies, and I think more successful than a lot of the attempts of movies on the far more critically acclaimed Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Oh, he said it! Oh, he said it! think that's where you were going. And it's, you know, I will, I will listen to this album again through that lens, if you can listen through a lens, I think that's a mixed metaphor, if ever there was one, because, and and maybe it's because i had Goodbye Yellow Brick Road for a good year before buying any other Elton album. And I was intimately acquainted with each of the,
00:40:03
Speaker
sleeve notes with the lyrics and and the picture of the character that there is there. And so I really felt, yes, these are all different characters from different movies, different walks of life or what have you. And I didn't instinctively get that for for the Don't Shoot Me album. But i I will listen to it again through that framework because I do see where you're coming from. And and maybe that that gives you something more to to to kind of evoke something from um because it's yeah it's really vivid. Yeah, when we're younger, I think we're more tolerant to albums being all over the place. Time passes slower when you're young and you can just, everything's new, everything's a debut experience. And, you know, I mentioned on a previous podcast what a fan of the UK rock group Placebo I was Placebo's debut album is all rock. Their second one is all over the place. And there's really slow songs, really fast, manic songs. It's very... kind And as a teenager, I loved it. I thought, oh, it's even better than the first. As an adult, I find that album a bit all over the place. And that's the journey I've been on with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. So like you, I heard Don't Shoot Me after Don't Brick...
00:41:19
Speaker
so ah after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. However, I think it's more successful at doing that very thing because there is a greater consistency of style.
00:41:32
Speaker
Yes. Yeah, no, that's that's an interesting observation that I wo i will bear in mind on my next listening to this album. I'd like to talk about Midnight Creeper because for me, this is where I really sit up and pay attention to this album. It's fairly or unfairly. It's not got me out my seat yet, but like the the absolute brilliant horn section in this one and that the kind of vamp that we've got going that's like a did it it did it it did it it did really gets you going, really grabs
Energetic Tracks & Lyrical Styles
00:42:03
Speaker
your attention. It's three minutes, 52 long.
00:42:06
Speaker
the The bass in the and the rhythm of the guitar as well, I think, really kind of bring this closer to a rock and roll feel than I think we've had for several of the tracks in the album so far. Bernie,
00:42:20
Speaker
says it's a nod to the Rolling Stones. Obviously, Bernie's not a musician, but like he's he's entitled to his opinion, of course. There was originally a banjo in this arrangement too, but Elton asked for it to be removed.
00:42:34
Speaker
Dominic, how do you feel about this one? Are you as a big fan of the the brass and the sax as well, or not so much? I love it. With Teacher, I Need You, it's got the wo whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
00:42:48
Speaker
Midnight Creeper doesn't have any woohoos in it. It doesn't, you know, ah feel, and I mean, Elderberry doesn't either, but I don't know. prefer Elderberry to Midnight Creeper. I love Midnight Creeper. I love it.
00:43:03
Speaker
I love it. I have been out of my seat dancing around to tracks two and three. So i love Midnight Creeper, but he's going to get a super high score from me. Super high score.
00:43:17
Speaker
But ah maybe... Maybe just the lyrics weren't quite as ear-catching as the quite dramatic topics of tracks two and three. And even four, even four, I would say, Anthony disagrees. Well, do you know what? it's It's maybe more in a sort of acoustical, rhythmic or plosive way. I think the lyrics work really nice. in in the There's a ah section where Elton sings, when there's a nightmare...
00:43:47
Speaker
I'm there. And I like that. That really works for me. And at the, yeah, there's other sections where he's, he's singing, watch out, honey, watch out, honey, watch the things you do again, rhythmically, it works really nice. It's almost, it's, I'm probably using ah an incorrect term here, Dominic, but like, you can have quite percussive poetry, can't you, in terms of performance style. And it, it, it,
00:44:11
Speaker
veers towards that. it's It's obviously got a melody to it as well and it's not completely percussive, but there's some... For someone like me who doesn't initially listen to the lyrics but listens to the melody of the singer and the rhythm and and and the the volume of it and what have you, it's it's a very tuneful and rhythmically interesting vocal line and and backed up by the...
00:44:40
Speaker
Yeah, the sax and the trumpet and and other backing brass. It's a real pounder. I think it's great. I don't know what a midnight creeper is. but Yeah, well, exactly. That's the thing for me.
00:44:53
Speaker
i agree with what you say. And you've really made me think, Anthony, because you're right. The staccato delivery is going for something entirely different to the specifics of Elderberry. But that's what I miss. I feel that if you're just...
00:45:08
Speaker
reading the words on the page, like there's less there's less metaphor, there's less imagery, there's there's less specific detail, which is where I think Bernie shines. Like, yeah, so he's just going for different things, yeah.
00:45:23
Speaker
and And interestingly here, we've we've got people under the heavily heavy influence of alcohol. You've got long haired ladies, while they look so fine, locked in my cellar full of cheap red wine. That that one sneaks in there in a way that elderberry wine is of a very front and centre of that song. It is a brilliant song. I feel like I've, um you know, not praised it enough. It is excellent. It's excellent. if yeah um If listeners, you're not a massive fan of the brass heavy backing. Well, it's not even backing, really. It kind of leads this song. There is ah quite a Motown-y cover of this song by Sherry Renee Scott um that you can hear on Spotify, amongst other authors. We've not spoken about some of the other covers for some of these other album tracks, but we will we will go back and point you to them if, like me, you're you're quite fond of hearing Elton covers, even if your usual conclusion is, yeah, well, Elton's version's better. Being a fan of the brass and the sax on Midnight Creeper, it will be no surprise to hear that I'm also a big fan of...
00:46:34
Speaker
Have mercy on the criminal. Criminal, as he sings it. Five minutes 58. I'd say it's the closest we get in this album to a sort of operatic epic that that we we seem to have on most Elton albums. There'll be ah a much longer track. I mean, Empty Sky has Empty Sky. We've had, well, again, the title track, Madman Across the Water is a really long one as well, isn't it? Not quite in the same...
00:47:04
Speaker
operatic category is as he yeah there's although it's really dramatic isn't it it's really powerful it's fantastic he sang it when i saw him live oh nice one of the few album songs he didn't perform daniel but he did perform have mercy on the criminal with a really wonderful animation behind him It was stunning and one of the songs that I'd kind of forgotten existed. I can see why because he's an older man with not the same voice he had when he was younger and I would say that this is one of those songs where the
00:47:44
Speaker
instruments do a lot of the work i mean there's that riff that's kind of quite similar to derrick and the dominoes layla which is very very good yeah wayne's war of the worlds also has that same riff on uh i think it's thunder child has a little bit of uh that energy uh but but bit because it's a a concept album it comes and goes throughout the entire record so Yeah, I guess it is a, you know, a ah standard rock and roll thing. It's fantastic. I think it's too long. I love it. I love it. I love it. And, you know, Dusty Springfield, who Elton was a huge fan of,
00:48:27
Speaker
said that every time she sang a chorus, it had to be sung in a slightly different way. And, you know, I grew up with 1990s Dance, where it's a sampled chorus, where there's zero variation in the vocals, maybe lots in the rhythm and, you know, percussive additions. Elton sings this in a different way. Like, he really gets more... I mean, the final chorus, he is squealing it out. It's it's fantastic. So it is hardworking. It's not...
00:48:56
Speaker
plodding along it is drama i'd i'd like it you know maybe maybe just knock 58 seconds off yeah and we've we've said before you know that they're putting these songs out very quickly and if you do stick to a quota of well we'll have one sort of long dramatic song on each album i'm not suggesting they were as formulaic as that but some are going to hit the mark and and some are going to fall short i think it's one of the first examples of that longer dramatic song that I'd heard of Elton. So i I probably used to really rate it. And and since then, I've heard other ah dramatic songs, like, I don't know, like 60 Years On or The King Must Die or something like that, which i I rate higher than this. It's, Bernie's really got, well, young Bernie, I should say, It really is um has got a lot of sympathy towards prisoners, criminals, anyone who's having a run with the law. I wonder now, since he's accrued a lot more fame and presumably possessions and wealth, whether he's equally as forgiving. as though he can liberate him of his bodily possessions.
00:50:05
Speaker
But it's it's, I mean, for the first six albums, we've got at least eight or nine yeah tracks that are pro-prisoner, criminal. Yeah.
00:50:16
Speaker
and And even if not the full line, there might be a like a just a sorry even if not the full song there might be a a line in there. yeahs an It's an interesting running theme isn't it But no, it's it's ah definitely on on the ah The Elton John Prisoner compilation, it's definitely got to feature. If you like this song and want to hear a different version of it, Lena Hall, who does lots of Elton covers, does a decent version of this. ah Government Mule, or Govd Mule, because they've abbreviated it, um does a sort of bluesy, less rock version of this. um And then there is... Also a cover by a band called Burning Rope, which I will leave listeners to decide what they think about. i we like we we get
00:51:08
Speaker
less brass heavy with I'm gonna be a teenage idol which is track seven. Dominic why don't you kick us off with this one how do you feel about this? Stunning, stunning, stunning, stunning. One of my favourite albums of all time is David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars which takes a lot of inspiration from from Mark Bolan as does this song. I mean ah you know I believe that Elton has has actually said that that was the case. And it is that sort of celebratory. It's right to the point, like the song Star. It's right to the point. It's brilliant melody, brilliant harmonies.
00:51:52
Speaker
ah it's It is absolutely excellent. lot of different melodies. bits coming together. Oh, adore it, adore it. On the last episode, I spoke about something I particularly like in the track, Suzie and Amy. Both of those tracks have what I described as an asynchronous combination of bass, guitar, piano, and drums, where they're all doing their thing, playing in the same key, but it's not quite coming together, and that is deliberate. And then often in a chorus, it will come together. And this is another great example of that, which again fits with the kind of strain, like that the the speaker here is saying something, i'm I'm gonna be this, this is what I'm gonna be, but I'm not quite there yet. They're straining for it, they're reaching for it. And then the chorus is like, we've we've got we've got less brass than the previous two tracks, Have Mercy on the Criminal and Midnight Creeper, but it's still there building up the tension But then the chorus is a completely different sound, isn't it? We've we've got these vocal, long vocal backing bits where you've got like a, o um when he's singing that, i'll be a teenage idol.
00:53:07
Speaker
It's such a change. And it really evokes those choruses, evokes the dreaming that the speaker is is doing. it's um It's a lesson in almost musical theatre composition, I would say, or certainly, you know, musical ballads, to telling story, painting a picture. it It does that so, so well. Yeah. And it's another character piece. I mean, it's about someone pre-fame and it's not a acting fantastic thing where you think, oh, he's talking about himself when he was younger. It just feels like another movie. And for that, I love it.
00:53:46
Speaker
Yeah. I think this could be a hit. If you, you know, if Daniel and Crocodile Rock were not dreamed up and the, you know, the record producers are looking down this album saying what what we're going to release is a single,
00:54:01
Speaker
I think this would be a great single. And a lot of Elton's less well-known songs suffer from the fact that they're up against absolute classics that yeah blow everything thing out of the water. But, you know, if this was if this was a musical artist's best ever track, I think you'd be like, yeah, that's decent. Like, that's that's a good track. That's the one they're known for, and and it's solid. I think it's only let down by the fact that he's performed...
00:54:30
Speaker
even better, well-known, even, even well, I question even better songs. at There's not much wrong with this, I'd say. they Yeah. There's not much wrong at all. It will be getting a high score from me. The lowest score on the album will be going to Texas Love Song, containing lines like, you long hairs are sure gonna die.
00:54:54
Speaker
Goddamn, you're all gonna die. And you don't like the fairies either. your fairieslee at town I mean, I think... It's the character that doesn't like them. It's the character.
00:55:09
Speaker
But the character... Well, here's the thing. I think you've got to... You don't have to do anything. I think that it's it's understandable if you question. i wonder why. I wonder why the writer has written this song from this character's perspective. Because it is just um a set of, you know, quite right-wing characters. quite unpleasant, quite violent. He's very right-wing, Dominic. you' You're being very British there. It's very... ah You long hairs are sure gonna die. I mean, so Anthony and I have got a shared friend who is from Texas. And I do wonder what she would make of um this song representing her state in the US of A. I mean, because, you know, we've had a lot of talk about like any place, you know, there's a more liberal areas and, you know, does this adhere to a certain negative stereotype that some Texans, perhaps, I'm not a Texan myself, But I can imagine people being like, oh, don't say that about us. Come on, man. That's that's what everyone says about Texans. So, you know, yeah, Bernie, by now he's really wearing his colours on his sleeve that he loves writing about American things. And, yeah, yeah.
00:56:25
Speaker
I think this is better than Indian Sunset. It's a lot better than Indian Sunset. It's surely disparaging. Surely the tone of this is... it or if it's not sort of... I think if you play this in the UK at a reformed political march, I think people would just go, yeah, correct. but Correct. Okay, so so let me let let's take it in in the era it was written. I think, would it be possible to write a song like this where you are poking fun at some of the idiosyncrasies and stereotypes of ah you know people from a certain part of America, but you're not doing it in a way such that you're saying...
00:57:09
Speaker
You lot are absolutely ridiculous and and and an abomination. You know, these are just funny little things that you do and that you say. And, you know, we still love you. But, you know, these these are little tropes that you come out with from time to time because there's there's no way that that Bernie thinks these things.
00:57:30
Speaker
No, no, no, no, there's no way he does. um It's not a parody song. It's not a political satire where it's taken to such extremes that it's obvious. I mean, like I say, I can i can believe, just, you know, reading the lyrics, I can believe that the character means them. It's a believable character. And and that's really valid. It's an interesting thing to write about. um The tune's good. Yeah. know that helps doesn't it i think indian sunset on the preview is that what it's called indian sunset in madman across the water yeah yeah that that's like less successful in the melody department in my opinion so
00:58:11
Speaker
Yeah. You know, I'm a person who's listened to Nick Cave songs where he's writing about people going with a gun and destroying half of the town. So it does make uncomfortable listening when in 2026, when we record this, certain views represented by this lyric are popular, arguably the dominant view, um certainly of the the ruling party. But but i we can't hold that against just a song that was popular. was written in, you know, the tail end of 1972. I'm sounding really woke here. I'm just saying that in the same way you were a little squeamy over Teacher I Need You, I guess I'm just a little squeamy about it. And as a 47 year old, I'm squeamy about Nick Cave these days. I'm squeamy about Madman Across the Water. I'm just expressing a personal discomfort with like, oh, here's a song that is really successfully ah painting a picture of a character saying some really horrible things. And that makes me feel a little uncomfortable, especially because it's sung so very nicely and very tunefully. But that doesn't make it wrong. I'm not saying that this song shouldn't exist. I'm not saying down with this kind of thing. I'm not saying that, you know. i listen to it now through the lens of a parody, actually, I would say, in that I find it quite reassuring that these these caricatures that are that are real...
00:59:44
Speaker
ah in the world that we live in and and will have been at the time too can be put into words made catchy with some music and and and a tune and what have you and I listen to it and go yeah that is ridiculous what ridiculous thing to say oh kids but back in the day kids still respected the president's name well why should you respect the president's name like what what a stupid thing to to to believe and ah like I quite like that but I i can't say that teacher I need you makes me feel uncomfortable and not respect the fact that this makes you feel uncomfortable. do So i think I think that's fair enough. But yeah, like you say, musically, definitely nothing wrong with it. And it's gonna tick the box for different people lyrically. for different reasons and not sit well with others shall we talk about I'm going to say the biggest track on the album in terms of sales well-known-ness Crocodile Rock
01:00:43
Speaker
Three minutes
Praise for 'Crocodile Rock' & Poetic Lyricism
01:00:44
Speaker
55. Just a great pop song, isn't it? yeah I could spend three hours 55 just talking about Crocodile Rock. I love it. And maybe some of our listeners might think I'm a real hypocrite because i've talked at length about the discomfort of the the twee aspects of the previous record. And this one starts... didn ah I think that the words are so grounded and I love the way he goes. go rockin zoom and oh light is I think his vocals are exceptional. The la la la is really, I mean, it's so, to write a chorus that catchy, it's a brilliant lyric.
01:01:30
Speaker
It's a brilliant, brilliant song. I absolutely adore it. Absolutely adore it. If you were trying to teach people how to write pop songs, like you you couldn't go much better than just playing this and and pulling out various elements of it. it's I think i I like it and don't feel like it's contrived or or too cheesy because it's not pretending to be anything else. I don't think. And, and you know, it's evocative. Like, it's a strong lyric. it's It's not like it is just saying, oh, I love her. She loves me. And and and that's it. Like, there's there's a... it It continues that theme of painting a picture of an era, a moment in time, and, you know, a set of folk doing certain things for certain reasons. And and musically, it's... I don't know whether when music...
01:02:27
Speaker
producers are putting together an album at the point at which they say right we're going to read release daniel and crocodile rock as singles here they then do extra fine tuning of the production and just make it i know that richard carpenter did with the carpenter's records very very much so and even you can find early copies of the records before singles number three and four were written where there are just tiny bit raw and you can hear just added a little bit of bass just let's put that extra oomph in yeah a great example being the song top of the world off of the song for you album i'm at the top of the world and just listening to how they
01:03:08
Speaker
You know, because somebody did a cover version of that and it was a huge hit on the US country charts. And they were like, well, we've got to do our own version. It became like one of their best selling songs. But it was a later single. It was intended as an album track.
01:03:23
Speaker
And I definitely think that that was common practice. I do. Yeah. I mean, it's it's flawless in its execution, you know, and and these are good musicians playing. So i'm I'm not saying, oh, they needed they needed. the turd of their music to be polished for it to sound palatable. Definitely not what I'm saying, and but it comes across really crisply. It's, some I've heard Elton be dismissive of the song in, in recent years, but I, I, I don't think, that was really heartfelt. ah Bernie Taupin has said that he didn't mind creating the song, but it's not something that he would listen to, which is, you know, it's fair enough. But yeah, it's it's a fantastic pop song. Have you seen Dominic um Elton...
01:04:11
Speaker
ah I think he's hosting the Muppets show in 1978. Crocodile puppets, amazing. yeah It's fabulous, isn't it? It's fabulous. Listeners should check that out. um And on a similar but different theme, the film Gnomeo and Juliet that I think came in but out at about, out in about 2010 it's like a pixar or dreamworks children's story film uh about rival gnome families based on romeo and juliet in case you couldn't tell there's a lot of elton music in that reworked and um yeah crocodile rock is the kind of title track they've they've slightly changed the words um and nelly fatado is singing and i'm a big fan of nelly fatado's voice so that that lends a new lease of life dominic were you aware of the sort of legal controversies around this song ah It was settled though, wasn't it? It was Edie Gonzalez, the sort of fed up vocals, the writers of that said, or you nicked our thing. And i mean, it's just mad how often stuff like that happened when these days it's all legal samples, isn't it? It's, you know, the amount of cannibalism of music is just accepted. But yeah, it was found to not be the case, wasn't it? Yeah, absolutely. And yeah,
01:05:33
Speaker
Yeah, it was something I wasn't aware of, but yeah for what it's worth, i've I've listened to the tracks that are alleged to have been originals that have been ripped off. And there's going be similarities between lots of bits of music. It doesn't mean it's, you know, ah a cynical theft attempt. um And I mean, it's it's a separate issue, but like Elton...
01:05:56
Speaker
himself says, well, like this, this is a derivative song. Like it's supposed to be evocative of existing types of music. So like it's, yeah, it's going to sound very similar to certain things.
01:06:08
Speaker
That's kind of the point. So I yeah don't really need to anything more on that. um If listeners like the feel of the song and want to hear it in a completely different way, Larkin Poe do a cover of this that's really lovely, mellow. um It's got a female voice, quite acoustic guitar, heavy. Well, I say heavy. It's central to the sound. And there is a metal version by Leo, which is well worth a listen. Should we move on to the last track, Dominic? The last track is as good as Time Dancer. I said it. I said it. I went there.
01:06:48
Speaker
High Flying Bird could be a single. It's absolutely stunning. This record is chock-a-block with hits and High Flying Bird has got such beautiful words. do you want to read them out? I would absolutely love to. You wore a little cross of gold around your neck.
01:07:13
Speaker
I saw it as you flew between my reason. like a raven in the night when you left. I wear a chain upon my wrist that bears no name.
01:07:24
Speaker
You touched it and you wore it and you kept it in your pillow all the same. My high flying bird has flown from out my arms.
01:07:35
Speaker
I thought myself her keeper. She thought I meant her harm. She thought I was the archer, a weatherman of words. But I could never shoot down my high flying bird.
01:07:51
Speaker
The white walls of your dressing room are stained in scarlet red. You bled upon the cold stone like a young man in the foreign field of death.
01:08:02
Speaker
Wouldn't it be wonderful is all I heard you say. You never closed your eyes at night and learned to love daylight. Instead, you moved away.
01:08:14
Speaker
My high flying bird. Oh, that's as good as Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatter's. That is real poetry. And not every lyric has to be poetry. I don't think Daniel is poetry. I think Daniel is an evocative lyric. I think high flying bird is poetry. True poetry. She thought I was the archer, a weatherman of words, but I could never shoot down my high fly bird. Oh, yeah wow.
01:08:46
Speaker
it Yeah, it's it's it's really powerful. I think if you're in a a stage of your life where you're feeling romantic things or longing for something that once was or or what have you, that's that's really going to evoke something, isn't it? And and and resonate. Musically, it it does a grand job too. I'd say other tracks on the album, the the music stands out more. And that's not necessarily a criticism of this. Like we've spoken on previous episodes about how sometimes the music just needs to do a job and just just carry the lyrics, just be the just be the vessel for it. And I think that's what this track is. And that's that's interesting in an album where there's a lot of quite distinctive musical choices, but maybe it's a ah fitting end to it. Because actually, Daniel, I don't think you'd say he's stunning musically. it's It's perfectly crafted, but it's it's not going to win awards for...
01:09:47
Speaker
being, you know, all bells and whistles. I think it's stunning musically. i think that Leonard Cohen is stunning musically. I think it's really, you know, in the same way you stood up for the lyrics for Midnight Creeper and you made me think because I dismissed the lyrics because they weren't doing a certain thing. Well, I'm going to say the same thing in reverse about the genius of the musicality of Daniel and High Flying Birds because I do think that they're supportive of the language, but that doesn't mean that they're lesser or not. You know, I think Crocodile Rock, I'd say it's 50-50 music words, I'd say for that one.
01:10:29
Speaker
You know, I'm sure there's other ones where maybe the music ah is doing... more work. I think Teacher I Need You, maybe one of the reasons Teacher I Need You doesn't make me squirm is I think the music's doing more work than the words. The the vocals is quite low in the mix on Teacher I Need You. So I'd say it's maybe a 70-30, if not 80-20 mix of music winning in that one. And maybe that's a deliberate choice because of the topic, you know. Elderberry Wine as well, like, you know, vocals not as high in the mix, but Daniel, very audible language. And that doesn't make the music not fantastic. It is fantastic for supporting them in the same way that Suzanne by Leonard Cohen is. Yeah, I...
01:11:17
Speaker
Yeah, it's the music's job in Daniel is not to take centre stage though, isn't it? And I think that's that's the case with High Flying Bird. Like you're supposed to really focus on the lyric here. It's it's interesting, these these slower, more mellow, thoughtful songs finishing off these albums. It it it does seem to be a does seem to be a a theme, doesn't it? Although I was thinking of Skyline Pigeon, but of course that's not the final track of the excellent reprise tune into episode one to hear ah that's why we do rage dominic you you say how quickly you've forgotten episode yeah discussion about hey chewed and the reprise
01:12:15
Speaker
So that brings us to the end of the original 10 tracks on the album. When I first bought this album, same as you, Dominic, have done literally today, it came with bonus tracks because in 1995, there were some bonus tracks on there. Do you want to say a little bit about those? I've listened to each one one time. Here are my scores. Screw you, Young Man's Blues, 10 out of 10. It's absolutely amazing. It's phenomenal. Phenomenal. What he would have done for a song like that on later ones.
01:12:48
Speaker
Jack Rabbit, I'm less keen on. Sounds bit Chaz and Dave. to me right can i interject can i interject hey jack rabbit your defense of hey chude i seem to remember was anthony is only two minutes long jack rabbit is one minute 50 give me a little bit of twee music think din dink Like that's fine. It does its job. And then it hops off over a hedge and you don't have to worry about it anymore because the lyrics are not profound. It's not making any kind of impression on you. It just pops by like a little jackrabbit and then up off it goes. And then we, we move on to another great track in whenever you're ready, we'll go steady again. I give that nine out of 10 whenever you're ready. It's super. It's absolutely super. These I say, listen to them the first time, but I've like, you know,
01:13:39
Speaker
got playlist i've made with them on wonderful and yeah adore skyline pigeon prefer the original but these are all excellent tracks yeah i will give the piano version of skyline pigeon a solid 10 on 10 i'd give 11 if i was allowed but Those scores don't count because we only ever give official scores for the things that appear on the first release of an album. So that is what Dominic and I are going to... Dominic and I? Dominic and me?
01:14:08
Speaker
Dominic and I? Dominic and I, that's what Dominic and I are going to do. Now, goodness me, I can't give my reservations of teacher, I need you, and then fall into a grammatical trap. Goodness me, what would my colleagues think? Let's break this then. Out of 10, Daniel, what are you giving it, Dominic? Oh, an easy 10 out of 10.
01:14:30
Speaker
I've given it a harsh 8. I think it's think it's a lovely song, and I just like others... More. I'm going save my rage for what's going to no doubt be a horrendous score for Teacher I Need You, which I give 10 out of 10. Fantastic.
01:14:51
Speaker
i been I'm giving it five, Dominic. What? I'm giving it five. Change the lyric. Change the lyric and I'll notch it up three. But it it makes me squirm and I can't not squirm at it. And... and That's fine. There'll be plenty of people who will enjoy that song. So if we ever do a re-rating where we take a panel of 10 people's scores, then my... What do you score Lulu's with Love? Oh, I don't know. give that 10 on 10. As also give Elderberry 10 on 10. Stunning Three in row. Yeah.
01:15:34
Speaker
Well, your your record for consecutive tens at the start of an album was Tumbleweed Connection, where you did it for the first four tracks. So that'll be interesting to see. I gave this one six. I i prefer it. I need you. Yeah, there's just something about the image I don't i don't really like like dwelling on. But that's arguably harsh, too, because it it is evocative. It's... it does the job it's trying to do blues for baby and me i'm gonna change my initial score i'm gonna move that up to a seven because actually it's right yeah it's what are you giving that one it's a teensy bit long nine out of ten yeah i think the length of it does does affect it and yeah it's things are picking up for me at this point in the album which is reflected in the eight out of ten i'm gonna give midnight creeper what's yours How interesting your best score so far. um I'm giving it nine. I can't give that one a 10 on 10. It's great, but it's not a 10 for me. So yeah, nine for midnight, really strong nine.
01:16:33
Speaker
When I first bought this album, the next track, Have Mercy on the Criminal, I probably would have given an eight or a nine, um but that's dropped over time because I think there are similar Elton songs that do the job much better. So I've given that seven. What about you? um If it was shorter, it would have been a full marks one. I'm giving it a nine. I really love it. And I've got the added subjective joy of hearing him perform it live.
01:17:01
Speaker
It's brilliant. nylon Nine for me. Equal top score for me thus far for I'm Going to Be a Teenage Idol. i have given that eight. What about you, Dominic? Do you know what? I really listened and re-listened to this because thought, am I being overly generous? Ten out of ten. It's excellent. There is nothing for which I can fault it. Love it.
01:17:20
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's a great song that one, isn't it? It's a great song. Texas Love Song. This is going be your lowest, I reckon. Do you know what? I've just bumped it up a score just now. I've bumped it up. I was thinking seven.
01:17:32
Speaker
it's ah It's an eight. It's an eight from me. So it's still the lowest one, but it's an eight. Yeah, I've given this one a 7, which for me like is ah is a decent score on this album. might I rate it as a parody, as i as I said when we were looking in depth. Highest score on the album for me goes to Crocodile Rock. I've given it 9 out of 10. Oh, 10 out of 10. Perfection. Perfection.
01:17:57
Speaker
Nice one. And the final track, High Flying Bird. That's got to be a 10 for you, Dominic, right? It's got to be a 10 for me. Stunning. And I'm not always into the love songs, but oh my word, if if there's a love song, it's that. I have given that one a 7. I think it is a good all-round enter the album. So...
01:18:18
Speaker
Dominic, are you aware that you have just rated Don't Shoot Me, I Am Only the Piano Player as your highest ranking album so far based on tracks alone? Average score of nine and a half.
01:18:33
Speaker
for Dominic. Mine comes in at 7.2, which is exactly the same as Tumbleweed Connection. so its there Equal third place behind Honky Chateau and Elton John, which are both in equal first. But we don't just rate the tracks. We're going to look at the album name and other things too. So let's start with the album name. That is my first 10 out of 10 for this album. yeah i think it's perfect. Easy, easy 10. What about the artwork? I've given it an eight.
01:19:02
Speaker
all 10 beautiful artwork yeah i think there are better i think there are elton albums uh covers that are better than that one which we will see later cover versions we i'm just going to mention a few that we didn't say when we were originally going through the tracks we've obviously made boys crocodile rock Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Teacher I Need You.
01:19:25
Speaker
Richard Marks and Stephen Cummings um have done versions of this. There is a Scandi band called Lapligan who do a really great upbeat rock version of it. Elderberry Wine covered by Irish Scot singer May McKenna. And the only one other one that we didn't mention, Marta Coloma. There's a decent cover of Blues for Baby and Me. I've given it five because there's several tracks that don't have any covers and of the ones that have been done, they're okay. But I think other albums, they've been much better cover versions. So it's a five for me.
01:20:03
Speaker
I'll give this a seven. Dominic, your waxing lyrical of the little pastiches and little films that each of these tracks may well represent has inspired me to up my score for the lyrics. I've given it a seven out of ten because there are definitely albums where I overall prefer the lyrics.
01:20:21
Speaker
What is your score for the lyrics? Ten. Kaboom. What about the music? What about the music for you? Am I knocking anything off for some of the songs being a bit long? ah A nine. That's been a pretty solid score for the music. Like it it's only Elton John you gave an eight. Everything else has been a nine. I've given it an eight. Flop dodge, that means how how well the album does in avoiding anything that resembles a flop. What have you done? Ten. Ten, I really disagree with you about Texan Lovesong being a parody or pastiche. I mean, you know, you're entitled to your view, but I think that it is a Nick Cave kind of authentic character piece like all of them. So yeah, I think anything on this,
01:21:07
Speaker
could could you know none of them i wanna skip you know not even text them i don't think it was written as a parody i think that's how i hear now yeah yeah but yeah no i i do know what you mean i've given this a six for flop dodge because Yeah, again, it's just it's just the lyrics, but tracks two and three, Teacher I Need You, Elderberry Wine, I just really don't like. So that that brings it down for me. And finally, hits. How many Dominic hits are there? How many Anthony hits? I've given it a seven because there's yeah there's there's several songs in there I really like, but it's not quite at the heights of Honky Chateau, Madman or Elton John, which has got more Anthony hits. What about you, Dominic?
01:21:54
Speaker
Any one of these songs could be the opening credits of a Hollywood movie or like, you know, the end song or, you know, the fact that he did sing Have Mercy on the Criminal and it really connected with the audience, many of whom wouldn't have heard it.
01:22:11
Speaker
And I reckon you could have interchanged Have Mercy with any of the songs here, and it would have had the same reaction, 10 on 10 for hits. Yeah, absolutely. Okay.
01:22:23
Speaker
All the scores are in Let's see what the overall percentage is.
Album Ratings & Preferences
01:22:30
Speaker
We have got a new leader, Dominic, by one whole percent, 83 and Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player zooms up to the number one spot, one percentage point above Tumbleweed Connection.
01:22:45
Speaker
i think that's I think that's fair. You've definitely bumped up the average there. But I think, I mean, I prefer this album to Tumbleweed Connection. Oh, I adore Tumbleweed. I adore it. But yeah, i this is my favourite one so far. I mean, every time I look at the scoreboard, I weep at Empty Sky being in final place. I mean, it's... Oh, it won't be for long. It won't be for long.
01:23:13
Speaker
it's It's going to come out very favourably, think. if yes Well, you know, we'll see how we get on with the 1980s and we'll see how we get on with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Now, at the time of recording this, I've not really listened Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. So my views by the time we record it might be different from they are now, which I think is a bit all over the place.
01:23:37
Speaker
Give me Blues for My Baby and Me over I've Seen That Movie 2. Give me that. Give me High Flying Bird over Harmony any day is what I'm saying. is that fighting talk, Anthony? you know what, Dominic? We're now going to cut to a montage of me putting a sweatband on and just like hitting the punch bag and running up the steps up to City Hall 17 times and getting ready. Because I'll fight for my life for Goodbye Yellow Grim Road. So bring it on. and Love it. Love it. Released October 1973, which is after Kiki D's a debut for Rocket Records, Loving and Free. I will crowbar in absolutely tons of Kiki D facts. I will crowbar in tons of Kiki D facts. She does do some backing vocals on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. So yeah, I look forward to talking about that record very much indeed.
Teaser for Next Episode & Listener Engagement
01:24:32
Speaker
Indeed. Before we get to that show, we've got a little teaser bit of trivia for you. This one's quite niche. So in the US, they will do a chart each year. in terms of which album has sold the most copies across the whole calendar year. And there is a point of contention as to which album sold the most copies in the US across 1973. Some sources suggest it is Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player by Elton John.
01:25:06
Speaker
But Many cite a different album, a non-Elton album, as being the biggest selling album of 1973. Can you name the artist and can you name the album? I will give you a clue if you would like.
01:25:22
Speaker
We have definitely mentioned the artist several times on previous episodes. Don't think we've mentioned them today. We've definitely not mentioned the name of the album before, though. The answer will be revealed at the top of our next episode, episode seven. Yeah, criminally, the answer is not Kiki D loving and friendly. It should be. It's a crime that it's not. Anyway, thank you everyone for listening to us. If you want to get in touch, please do. You can email us at eltonveeltonpod.com.
01:25:53
Speaker
at gmail.com you can check out me Dominic my poetry on dominicberry.net you can find Anthony on his podcast the brambling along podcast and Anthony usually does and I often do the enough of a falafel vegan podcast until next time it's goodbye from me Captain Domtastic and him the browner and boy goodbye goodbye
01:26:24
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.