A Mistake Album Version
Find A Mistake Album Version at Amazon
|
Your Song kicks this album off to outstanding expectations, and the collection of music delivers. Your Song owns arguably one of the finest fusions of lyric and music in rock history. When the drums kick in midway through the song, you may tell the composer, lyricist and musicians were all on the same page. No wonder Elton has closely always ended his live performances with this song. The second track, I Need You to Turn to begins with a harpsichord massaging our ears. Elton used this instrument to great effect early in his career. This ballad is plaintive and well worth a listen. Take Me To the Pilot is the “rocker” on the album. It gained outstanding popularity with die hard Elton fans. Pilot’s frenetic pace may get you worked up by the studio version. Live, the song is, as Taupin would write later in Bennie and the Jets, solid walls of sound. Elton’s uptempo prowess appears to be born with this song. No Shoestrings on Louise is a country flavored tune that I have always felt suitable Elton well. On his next album, Tumbleweed Connection, Elton shows off more of his skillfulness with more country music. This tune is fun, and amazing to persons who are not conscious of Elton’s musical diversity. First Episode at Hienton is the best song on this album along with The Greatest Discovery. Yes, I know Your Song is on this album, but the lyrics depicting a girl’s loss of virginity and the haunting, soft composition is with regard to emotions moving on a level Your Song can’t start out to touch. The bittersweet episode is lyrically painted by master brushstrokes of language. Metaphors fetch us as listeners to a near voyeuristic view emotionally. Those who are incognizant of Elton’s album music must listen and revel in beauty. It is difficult to listen to Sixty Years On and not state this is the best song on this album. I always wanted to listen this one live. I have two live versions of the song, and it is power is immense. The lyrical treatment of aging is powerful. Poignant, wholly orchestrated and full of intense imagery, Sixty Years On possesses the strength necessary to induce depression regarding one’s age. The orchestral pieces within this song are beyond well done. Guitar and flute mesh with Elton’s understated piano work to invent a masterpiece. His enthusiasti singing is no slouch either. Border Song was a concert favored for a lot of years. The songs begins melodically enough, then kicks in with more tempo. Better served up live with Elton’s passion, this version is more ballad than the rocker he presents when he performs the song live. With a choral background of singers, Elton kicks the song up to a fixed imitation of his live performances. This version stands well on it is own, but you will have to listen it live to genuinely get the full strength of the song. The Greatest Discovery begins with a pretty violin, joined by the rest of the orchestra, and then, the lyric. The description of the invention of a newborn brother is so poignant, so with regard to emotions moving, it can not be listened to without being moved. I wish everyone who ever thought Elton’s singles were his best music would have an chance to listen to this song. If I were to compile my list of Elton’s sheer best music, (and I am sure I will), this song would unquestionably be on the list. The gorgeous picture painted here of family is an idealisti we all dream of. There are not sufficient superlatives to do this song justice. The Cage is a rocker fronted by Elton’s piano. I have always thought this song never got sufficient attention from Elton. It moves with horns, guitars, tambourines, again, solid walls of sound. I never was graced by this song live at his concerts, but I bet it was unbelievable when he played it early in his career. I ought to interject here that there is no “soft” spot on this album where you have a throwaway song. Throughout Elton’s career, on almost each album, you get a quality crusade from him and his band. The King Must Die is tour de force. A piano lead-in brings us to soft melodic contemplations of life thanks to Taupin, but it belies an upcoming storm of passion. The title is well suitable to the lyric and Taupin’s imagery is superb. This is a song well suitable to a live performance, but this studio version is wrought with power. Notice how I use the same words in my descriptions like power, poignant, passion and others. Listen to this album beginning to end and see if you don’t have struggles with adjectives that pale in light of the music falling versus your ears, whether the music be soft and tame or hard and driven. There are a few bonus track additions like “Bad Side of the Moon” which is an uptempo song, “Grey Seal” the initial version which pales next to the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road version, and “Rock and Roll Madonna”. All three of these songs move well, have splendid lyrics, and would have made most artists’ albums back in the day. The fact that such quality material couldn’t make it to his albums is a testament to Elton and Bernie’s talents. While this album is still unpolished a bit like Empty Sky (compared to his more famous, later works), both make the most of that rough edged quality. The raw talent is exposed in inconceivable to ignore. This is veritably a outstanding album. I realize it sounds like I believe Elton does not have a bad album, but he does. Everyone is entitled to his mistakes, but early on, you will not find any work by Elton that is not full of, yes, I’m going to use them again, power, passion, poignant as well as a heap of other intense emotions. Taupin’s early career lyrics were so spot on, and so fresh that they listen well even today, closely forty years later. Treat yourself to a good deal of outstanding songwriting. Listen to his self-titled album and smile. |
