I can remember being a kid and hearing my father grumble about Frank Sinatra. Apparently, he thought Ol’ Blue Eyes was washed up. To me at the time, Sinatra just seemed like an old guy singing old-style music. Elton John recently turned 65, and he’s looking ripe for retirement. Many cringe with the mere mention of his name. Do young folks know his best work? Or do they just associate him with Princess Diana and The Lion King? It’s time for a defence of Elton John.
There are lots of people around the world who would be surprised that a defence is even a necessity. John still has legions of fans. But time takes its toll on the beauty of youth and the vigour and pitch of one’s voice. I understand now what my father was talking about. Still, it’s impressive to see such a seasoned performer as John continue be so generous with his musicality.
Watch the Elton John inspired ballet Love Lies Bleeding on CBC
Not that I’ve seen him live. I can only go by the recordings I’ve seen or heard. But I can tell you that one of the most electrifying concert recordings I’ve ever encountered is by John when, in 1970, he performed at the WABC radio station in New York City. What brilliance, energy and power he brought to that show. It’s available on an album simply called 17-11-70.
Those first Elton John albums – Tumbleweed Connection, 17-11-70, Madman Across the Water, Honky Chateau, – they easily rival the best indie rock/pop of today. Check out this performance of “Levon” from Madmen Across the Water.
After Honky Chateau, something happened to John’s music and his persona. With records like Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, John glammed up his act and took on the cloak of pop. The world ate it up. It was the ’70s. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road hit number one on Billboard and stayed there for eight weeks.
Check out this live performance that John gave on the television show, Soul Train.
After Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, things get a bit dodgy with John’s discography. There was Caribou, which was uneven; there was Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, which might be the last great album John made. After that, there are lots of albums but – this is a defence of John.
His beautiful tenor voice (as a younger man) is such a pleasure to hear, his fountain of melodic invention and facility to marry that invention with the conventions of various pop and rock styles is truly impressive. Music just flows out of this guy with an ease that most can only admire and few rival. John Lennon was impressed, enough so to work with John on several songs on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
So, I’m going to suggest we indulge on who John is now, based on the strength of what he accomplished in his heyday; that we use his presence among us today as a stimulus for even the most cynical to go back to John’s best recordings from the ’70s and see what the fuss was about. The kind of advice I could have given my dad when he was grumbling about Sinatra.
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