Music Primer: Elton John: The Classic Years

Over the past five years I have experienced a sort of music renaissance and have purchased ten times the music in the last five years than the previous twenty. Music has always meant a lot to me and while I have listened to and purchased a wide variety of music over the years there are three groups/musicians in particular who have stood the test of time for me and I thought it might be fun to go down memory lane and revisit some of the songs and albums that helped shape my own version of memory lane. So find a comfortable seat, grab something to drink and listen up as I spin a tale or two about the music and the musicians who have brought me great joy, comfort, passion, and provided an escape from the painful human condition on more occasions than I can remember.

My story begins in the summer of 1969. It was a memorable summer. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and I fell in love for the first time with a beautiful, vibrant, young fellow sixth grader named Karen. It was the summer of love and I can still vividly see and hear many of the sights and sounds of that magical summer as if it happened just yesterday. Of course when you fall in love you have to have some love music to reinforce and accompany the wonderful feelings associated with the early stages of infatuation and love…I bought my first album that summer and my choice was entirely based on the strong feelings of love that I was experiencing at the time. The album was Elton John’s self titled album simply called Elton John. It was his second release but it is the one that brought him international attention from the music industry. I bought the album because I was in love and each day of the summer of 1969 I can remember pretending singing “Your Song” to Karen in my imagination over and over and over. Karen was my first love and Elton John’s music represents my first love in music. I did eventually get around to listening to some of the other tracks on the album and my life long affair with Elton John’s music began in that summer of 1969.... the summer of love.

Over the years I have mentioned my musical tastes both publicly and privately on numerous occasions but seldom have I ever mentioned my great love for Elton John’s music so I guess it’s time to “come out of the closet”, like Sir Elton, and proclaim my own personal preference when it comes to music. I suppose I have stayed in the closet for all these years because in the circles I run Elton John is not the chic choice of the academic herd. Also, I don’t own any Elton John albums past Captain Fantastic which was released some thirty years ago!....but….despite my lack of interest in his music for the past thirty years I do consider his first nine albums better than the careers of the vast majority of musicians who have come and gone over the years and these albums are enough IMO to place him in the palace of the music gods of our generation.

Elton John began playing music at age 4 and when he was eleven years old he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where he studied music for six years before he joined his first band in 1961. Over the years Elton John has fallen out of favor with a lot of critics but his popularity remains steady world wide and I think it has a lot to do with fact that, what one may think of his music and shallow lyrics at times, he is and has always been an extremely talented musician and one hell of a performer to boot which has gathered him legions of fans world wide. I suspect a lot of folks can’t get past the wild glasses and costumes of the 70’s and 80’s but if you check out his recent DVD release entitled “Elton John Dream Ticket Four Destinations” you might find yourself pleasantly surprised by the performance of a master musician. His outdoor concert at the Ephesus Great Amphitheatre and the London Royal Opera House are as good as they get and his performance of Rocket Man at Ephesus reminds his lifelong fans that he is still Captain Fantastic!

My favorite albums and songs…..I don’t have a favorite Elton John album and I am not going to say much about many of his popular songs since most people are already familiar with his numerous hits which include Rocket Man, Your Song, Tiny Dancer, Honkey Cat, Crocodile Rock, Daniel, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Bennie and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting. While I enjoy listening to most of these songs from time to time Your Song is the only one that I would include on my top ten Elton John songs…..Here’s my list of favorite Elton John songs, albums, and a few brief comments…..If you are looking for a baroque sound with lots of strings, harpsichords, and airy syntheseisers than check out Elton John’s self titled album Elton John. I love the beautiful melodies of “I Need to turn to you”, “First Episode at the Hienton”, “Sixty Years On”, and “The Greatest Discovery”….and….if you want hard drying piano riffs with strong vocals check out Take Me to the Pilot, “The King Must Die”, and “The Cage”……If someone held a gun to my head and demanded I pick a favorite Elton John album I suspect I might choose Tumble Weed Connection. It’s such a departure from his previous album and if you like a bit of a country twang and ballads than this might be the album for you. The ballads include “Ballad of a Well Know Gun”, “Son of your father”, and “Talking Old Soldiers”. My favorites songs on this album include the classic cult favorite “Burn Down the Mission”, psychedelic “Where to Now St. Peter, and the beautiful “Come Down in Time”. If you like the sound of Burn Down the Mission on this album you might want to check out his eighteen minute heart pounding live version of this song on his 11-17-70 album.

Well, I have a way’s to go on this little project but I think I will take a break for now and come back and finish another day when I have more time. I said a lot more than I intended and have a ways to go but if I don’t stop it here I doubt whether there will be anyone left out there in cyberspace who has the stamina to finish my long winded tales from music memory lane…..