toomanyhatz
god
I've met him/her. He/she's great!!
Posts: 3,243
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Post by toomanyhatz on Apr 30, 2019 18:02:30 GMT
Going to see him in September. Somewhat amazingly, considering I was trying to plot ways to get to Dodger Stadium to see him in 1976, for the first time. I'm excited.
Forget that he's done tons of cheesy work in the ensuing years and that he looks like your gran - he was great for a while. I think it's undeniable.
Anyway, post some tracks for me:
A Classic from his peak:
An underrated gem from the 80s or later
A performance of (or on) a non-original song
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toomanyhatz
god
I've met him/her. He/she's great!!
Posts: 3,243
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Post by toomanyhatz on Apr 30, 2019 18:11:57 GMT
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Post by clive gash on Apr 30, 2019 18:18:52 GMT
One for the “once thought highly of” thread I reckon.
Very hard indeed to see beyond his man-baby persona, vanity and conspicuous consumption.
Benny and the Jets is great though.
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Post by bungo the mungo on Apr 30, 2019 18:30:47 GMT
i've always liked the line 'i'll be as high as a kite by then' from rocket man.
he's very you though, hatz. i can also imagine (perish the thought|) loveless knocking one out to him too.
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Post by oh oooh on Apr 30, 2019 18:39:33 GMT
He's one of those very mainstream artists you grow into, I think. I never met an EJ fan when I was 18. Now, the fuckers are everywhere.
A Classic from his peak:
An underrated gem from the 80s or later
(not underrated really but it's the best I can do, not being a season ticket holder)
A performance of (or on) a non-original song
oh I don't know
I think we once raved about Tumbleweed Connection. I like a lot of it. It's an eye-opener to the uninitiated, bit like Rod's early albums, solid stuff. You could say the same about Madman, too. And that other one with 'Take Me To The Pilot'.
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Post by oh oooh on Apr 30, 2019 18:51:25 GMT
did a British artist ever court the American market more shamelessly, by the way? did a British artist ever sound more (musically) American?
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Post by Charlie O. on Apr 30, 2019 19:35:36 GMT
As an American, I never thought he sounded American!
A Classic from his peak:
An underrated gem from the 80s or later: I can't do that, so I'll go backwards instead:
A performance of (or on) a non-original song:
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2019 19:59:34 GMT
I can't deny his talent, but his talent seems so earthbound and tied to a kind of proficient craftsmanship, that I can't get excited by him, however much the trad rock crew tell me I should. It feels like getting excited by a bricklayer: "look how beautifully that brick wall has been built"...I mean it's still just a fucking wall!
I do really like Benny, Yellow Brick and Rocket Man though!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2019 20:13:32 GMT
did a British artist ever court the American market more shamelessly, by the way? did a British artist ever sound more (musically) American?  No to the first. Undecided on the second. I think the last album of his I bought was Captain Fantastic in 1976. That's 43 years of recorded music of his I haven't missed out on one bit. |
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Post by oh oooh on Apr 30, 2019 20:26:40 GMT
Didn't he cut his teeth playing at the Troubadour for quite a while?
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Post by bungo the mungo on Apr 30, 2019 20:37:41 GMT
I think the last album of his I bought was Captain Fantastic in 1976. i was still at primary school then. food for thought. |
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Post by Half Machine Lipschitz on Apr 30, 2019 20:42:06 GMT
One of my earliest musical memories is of sitting in my sandbox in the backyard of the family house when I was about 4 or 5 and belting out what few words I knew of 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'. My mother happened to be watching from the kitchen window at the time, and after would always bring it up whenever she felt like embarrassing me (in a playful way). I listened to that album a lot, and 'Madman Across the Water', too. We had 'Captain Fantastic' at some point, but I'm not too familiar with it.
Anyway, I've always liked the title track from 'Madman...'
As for the other two options, I don't think I can contribute anything at the moment.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2019 21:04:30 GMT
I think the last album of his I bought was Captain Fantastic in 1976. i was still at primary school then. food for thought. I'm surprised they let you graduate, to be honest. |
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Sneelock
god
Better than Washington...
Posts: 8,564
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Post by Sneelock on Apr 30, 2019 22:07:33 GMT
Didn't he cut his teeth playing at the Troubadour for quite a while? 11/17/70. I was just thinking about it regarding the cover question. (unfortunately none of the covers do a lot for me) the rock critics absolutely PLOTZED over that thing. Maybe he was already a name but that thing really put him on a lot of people's radar.
maybe this pushes "the peak" a bit but I think "Sorry seems to be the hardest word" is Elton pretty much "in the zone". the song - the performance - objectively it doesn't really seem like anything special but it IS special. that one really sticks to my ribs.
none of his "comeback" stuff really grabs me. some is better than the rest. faint praise.
of COURSE he shamelessly courted an American audience! it's part of what Americans loved about him. if "Honky Chateau" & "Don't Shoot Me..." don't convince you then I'm going to go have a drink because you can't be convinced.
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Post by dipstick on May 1, 2019 1:03:43 GMT
Elton was once at the peak of civilization. I respect him for that.
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