Easily as Good: 1973

Elton John's Underrated Brilliance

The one-page album review in New Musical Express (February 3, 1973) defended Elton John against the chic criticism of the time, arguing that admitting admiration for him was seen as a lapse of taste among rock arbiters. It pointed out that Elton John was easily as good as Leon Russell and James Taylor combined, and mostly better, but his rapid rise from cult-hero to pop-star meant the cognoscenti resented the public latching on early. The review traced his journey from the not-very-good first album Empty Sky (DJM DJLPS 403) to the successful Elton John (DJM DJLPS 406) and Tumbleweed Connection (DJM DJLPS 410), praising the arrangements, production, and songs like “Your Song,” “Take Me To The Pilot,” and “Border Song,” while noting the shift to a louder, funkier sound and the backlash against the live album 17/11/70 (DJM DJLPS 414) for being too raucous.

Article Overview

Publication Details

Magazine: New Musical Express (UK).

Date: February 3, 1973.

Format: One-page album review.

FOR MANY moons it has been ever so chic to take pokes at Elton John.

To admit to a considerable admiration for the man and his work would be, among today's arbiters of rock mode, a lapse of taste some-what equivalent to leaving Black Sab-bath albums lying around the floor when your friends drop by: Nobody seemed to not-ice that Elton John was easily as good as Leon Russell and James Taylor put together, and mostly he was better than that.

What lumbered him was the fact that he didn't spend enough time as a cult-hero before he be came a pop-star, and the self-pro-claimed cognoscenti couldn't stand the idea of the public being on to something good before they were.

Before his second album got him off in the States, there was a first (and little-known) album called "Empty Sky (DJM DJLPS 403). It really wasn't very good. Elton's songwriting part-ner, Bernie Taupin, was writing well below his best at this point, and nobody really seemed too sure of what they were doing.

All that "Empty Sky" served to do was break the ice for what followed.

What followed, in fact, was "Elton John" (DJM DJLPS 406), an album of John-Taupin songs arranged by Paul Buckmaster, produced by Gus Dudgeon and backed up by Caleb Quaye's brigade of laid-back studio wizards. It sold, and deservedly so.

Elton John had sorted himself out as a pianist, singer and com-poser, but Bernie Taupin was still only functioning intermittently. Mainly, the mood was relaxed, low-keyed and sentimental, but tracks like "Your Song", "I Need You To Turn To" and the eerie "First Incident At Hienton", which had all the uncertainty and mystery of John Fowles" extraordinary novel "The Magus", wove most powerful spells.

In the style that was later to become more prevalent were "Take Me To The Pilot" and "Border Song", driven along by the drumming of Barry Morgan, while "No Shoe Strings On Louise" was a drunken carouser with some demented guitar from Quaye.

Where "Elton John" possibly backfired on its creator was that whereas Elton John was basically a rockanroller, he was typecast as a weedy type who sang sensitive and observant songs to a small piano, a misconception which the poor fellow is still struggling against to this very day.

The third album, "Tumbleweed Connection" (DJM DJLPS 410) mined some new ore, and ex-plored a few new things. Taupin had evidently fallen in love with the Band, because his latest batch of lyrics were almost exclusively concerned with the Old West, full of images of guns, fathers, stage-coaches, plantations and the like.

Still it worked, and the sound if not actually full blown teen oid punk-rock, was getting nice and sweaty. Buckmaster's orchestrations were played down, and the band worked overtime and really got funky.

Apart from Lesley Duncan's "Love Song", it was virtually raunch all the way, with some really sweet touches carefully placed en route.

Like on "Where To Now, St. Peter?" when Elton sings "I took myself a blue canoe", with a love ly lilt on "blue". Quaye matches him with a shimmering wah-wah run that immediately conjures up an unlikely vision of an unnaturally brightly-coloured flamingo gently taking off.

Around this time, our hero was collecting gold discs like most people collect back issues of "The Silver Surfer" and going on the road backed up by Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olsson (drums).

Logically, a live album resulted from all this, "17/11/70" (DJM DJLPS 414). It sold okay, but those whose job it is to write of such things panned it. Which was a shame, because I rather dug it.

The reason that "17/11/70" aroused such ire was that it was loud, noisy, chaotic, violent, outrageously funky and just natural ly rocked like a bitch, which was not at all what was required by those who'd originally latched on to Elton John because he was so -tasteful, you know?

As revenge for him being what he wanted to be, and doing what he wanted instead of living out other people's fantasies, he got clobbered.

But, dear friends, don't get put off "17/11/70". It's really fine. "Take Me To The Pilot", "Sixty Years On" and "Burn Down The Mission" Just never sounded so good, and "Can I Put You On" and "Bad Side Of The Moon", two John-Taupin songs hitherto unfamiliar, boogled some. Not to mention "Honky Tonk Women", "Get Back" and "My Baby Left Me", just for good measure. Two horrendous bummers followed rapidly on "17/11/70"'s heels. One was a movie sound-track album with a couple of El-ton John songs which was pro-moted like an Elton John album, and really didn't make it.

The other was more serious "Madman Across The Water" (DJM DJLPH 420) was the next official album, and once more Paul Buckmaster smothered everything in mountains of slud-gy, whipped-cream strings. There were a few nice songs, notably "Tiny Dancer", but all in all, it is best to draw a veil over "Mad-man".

Poor old Reg, we thought. Played out, poor soul.

Then, one day, "Honky Chateau" (DJM DJLPH 423) arrived through the post. It was put on the turntable rather casually and without, it must be admitted, an excessive degree of interest.

Some forty-odd minutes later, it had to be admitted that Elton was no way played out. For the first time, Elton was backed up by his road band, featuring the newly-recruited Davey John-stone, late of Magna Carta and Noel Murphey.

Johnstone was excellent, and considering it was his first gig as an electric guitarist, his work on "Honky Chateau" was pretty bloody phenomenal

Consider also Jean-Luc Ponty's astounding electric fiddle on "Mellow" and "Amy". And remember also the songs.

This album marked the first time Bernie Taupin produced a set of lyrics that didn't make you cringe when you saw them writ ten out. "Honky Cat" and "Rocket Man" were the singles, but "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters", "Hercules" and "Susie (Dramas) also had lotsa charm.

Elton John was back.

Now, of course, there's the brilliant "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Plano Player" (DJM DJLPH 427) which contains all manner of wonderment outlined in great and tedious detail in the reviews section just the other week. Elton John is still going strong. and long may he continue to do

Power to him.

Did you have this NME review in your archive? Were you ready for Elton's early brilliance? Share in the comments!