Rolling Stone Australia — June 2017

MUST-

HAVES

Honky Château

1972

Elton John had already
scored a few hits as a
mild-mannered piano
man, butHonky Château
was the breakthrough
where he learned to rock.
He banged out the songs
in a week with his lyrics
wingman, Bernie Taupin.
For anyone else, this could
have been a greatest-hits
album: the New Orleans
boogie of “Honky Cat”, the
country-rock strut of
“Hercules”, the slow-burn
grooves of “Mellow” and
“Mona Lisas and Mad
Hatters”. One morning
during the sessions,
Taupin came down to the
breakfast table with a
stack of lyrics he’d dashed
off overnight. Elton picked
one – “Oh, I quite like this”

• sat at the piano and
  wrote a tune in 10
  minutes, ready to be
  recorded by the time the
  band finished eating. The
  result was “Rocket Man”,
  the space ballad beloved
  by everyone, except
  maybe David Bowie.
  Honky Châteauwas where
  Elton truly turned into the
  Elton John the world has
  treasured ever since.

Goodbye Yellow

Brick Road

1973

Elton’s most grandiose and

ridiculous manifesto, a

double LP indulging all his

kinkiest stylistic whims and

decadent fantasies. He

goes hard in the 11-minute

progfest “Funeral for a

Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”

and the leather-boy

rumble “Saturday Night’s

Alright for Fighting”. And

he reaches his gender-

bending zenith with

“Bennie and the Jets”, the

b-b-b-brilliant stomp that

got him onSoul Train.

Greatest Hits

Volume II

1977

Elton treated his hits

collections as a key part of

his statement, and this one

was an iconic Seventies

artifact, right down to the

cover photo of him playing

a late-night game of

cricket. It features his

gaudiest singles: “The

Bitch Is Back”, “Island Girl”

and “Don’t Go Breaking

My Heart”. There’s also

“Philadelphia Freedom”,

written for tennis champ

Billie Jean King.

Songs From

theWestCoast

2001

Elton spent the Nineties as

a cherished showbiz

institution – while paying

less and less attention to

his actual music. So it was

a shock to hear him and

Taupin regaining their

hunger as a songwriting

team, with weathered

tales like “The Emperor’s

New Clothes”.

FURTHER

LISTENING

Tumbleweed

Connection

1970

Elton and Taupin were

obsessed with the Band –

that was practically a

requirement for English

rock stars in 1970. They

tried to make their own

version ofMusic From Big

Pinkwith this, their third

LP. The rootsy concept

comes to life in “Where to

Now, St. Peter?” and

“Country Comfort”. The

high point, “Amoreena”,

was never a hit, but it

reached cinema

immortality in the opening

scene of the Al Pacino

movieDog Day Afternoon,

setting the hungover

Seventies vibe.

Madman Across

the Water

1971

Part of the magic of

ballads like “Levon” and

“Tiny Dancer” is the piano

Elton was playing – the

legendary Bechstein grand

at London’s Trident

Studios. It’s the most

famous piano in rock – the

same one heard on the

Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and

Bowie’s “Life on Mars?” It

really flatters Elton’s

melodies here, as he and

Taupin get far-out with

“Razor Face” and “Holiday

Inn”. So what is “Levon”

about? Elton has no idea.

“Part of the enjoyment and

mystique of our thing is

we’ve never collaborated,”

he said. “I’d never ask

Bernie what it means.” (For

the record, Taupin swore

the song had nothing to do

with Levon Helm – he just

liked the name.)

Caribou

1974

“The act is going to

become a little more

Liberace-ised,” Elton

announced in ROLLING

STONEin 1973. “I’d like to

have nine pianos onstage,

a cascade of pianos, and

make my entrance like

that.” He wasn’t kidding.

ForCaribou,crashed out in

nine days, Elton upped the

candelabra ante with “The

Bitch Is Back” and “I’ve

Seen the Saucers”.Caribou

also has the delicate

valentine “Pinky” – but

Elton made no apologies

for turning on the glitz.

Captain Fantastic

and the Brown

Dirt Cowboy

1975

Elton made history with

this autobiographical

concept album – the first

album ever to debut at

Number One. Not bad for

his most defiantly unpop

statement; “Someone

Saved My Life Tonight”

Essential Elton John

A guide to his best and most overlooked albums – from glitter-

rock hits to yellow-brick ballads and beyond. By Rob Sheffield

Reviews

84 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com Ju ne, 2017