0481. Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
If this album had continued in the streak of opening bars of the eleven minute double-track Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding, I'd have written this off as yet another pompous prog album, due to its multi-layered synthesizer fanfares and general crappy sci-fi feel. But it gets better (not just the album, but the song too).
Not one for understatements, Elton John decided that for his seventh
studio-album in four years, he thought he'd make it a double. And at the
first listen I thought it'd be better if it was a one LP release, as some
of the tracks weren't as good as others, but after the second turn I thought
"well, maybe there's something to it, actually" and at the third (yes, if
I've got the time I listen more than twice) I became convinced that as an
Elton album goes Goodbye Yellow Brick Road should be a double.
Still some songs that are quite stupid, though, cause okay, I get that
Elton's not the most serious guy around, but seriously: Jamaica Jerk-Off?
What the hell?
On the other hand, tracks like Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, the title-track and Candle In The Wind (about Marilyn Monroe, but later on getting revamped for the funeral of Lady Di) pick up the slack and it turns out to be a pretty good album, that is (rightfully) considered one of his finest moments.
