Bernie Taupin Is A Godawful Lyricist Whose Lyrics Sound Amazing Coming Out Of Elton John's Mouth — ILM ARTIST POLL #41: ELTON JOHN

Nobody at all commented on #21. Which is fair.

One of the interviews I watched with EJ recently contains a bit where he's asked about the lyrics of Take Me To The Pilot, and he admits it's just a bunch of phrases that sound good together and is completely meaningless.

Burn Down The Mission

the chords in this are a really odd thing to try and hang a melody on, sounds very forced to my ears. the double-time breakdowns before the last verse come out of nowhere and feel like they're lacking some kind of hook until the "burn it on down" bit comes in. Don't really buy the man-of-the-proletariat act in the lyrics. meh.

Take Me To The Pilot

this is terrible. melody and lyrics are so half-assed. it feels like there is literally nothing to this song, a bunch of empty gestures.

16. "The Bitch Is Back" (1974) [293 points, 15 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rig3tgyYiAM

I'm with Shakey: very little time for Elton ballads, particularly the theatrical ones. end of imperial phase in late seventies made him write less ponderous trifles, at least until the end of the 80s

Is the Unimpressed Skeptic going to be a poll staple now? Not that I mind--it's interesting to hear the other side. I'd like to sign up for Tom Waits and Roxy Music.

Take me to the Pilot is great, I find it very addicting even though it's almost completely meaningless

All of these songs are part of my childhood.

The Bitch Is Back

this is a song I've heard about but never actually heard, I think. does that horn line quote "Good Day Sunshine" or is it me? Lyrics are genuinely catty and funny for once. Hard for me to not to hear this as a third-rate Bowie knockoff though, and the melodic hook is not that great. This is another tune which makes me wonder how Elton was viewed in the context of glam - it seems like he was a little late to the game, and I've never really considered him part of the genre even though its themes and window-dressing are obviously tailor-made for him...? (see also: Rocket Man and Crocodile Rock. From my perspective he was prone to these rather baldfaced ripoffs of other people's tunes from a couple years previous).

I love Bitch Is Back -- Elton's delivery on 'stone cold sober as a matter of fact' is really infectious, one of my favorite songs to sing out loud driving around etc

makes me wonder how Elton was viewed in the context of glam - it seems like he was a little late to the game
There was a bit of retro-fitting by the GBP. It wasn't until "Saturday Night's..." in '73 that we realised - duh - yeah he's sort of glam too innit. That's the track that gets put on the glam rock comps.

I wonder if the skeptics are missing hearing these songs hours at a time on AM/FM radio? It's hard to judge the hookiness of "The Bitch is Back" on one listen. It sounds great on the radio!

15. "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters" (1972) [302 points, 12 votes, 2 first place votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrOu0oc9aB4

yeah I don't remember hearing any of this stuff on the radio for some reason, apart from the couple I already noted. I dunno if I just ignored them and they just blew by me, or my parents were listening to different stations or what. (My parents were not really Elton John fans, I think my mom had one Greatest Hits comp from the early 80s and she never listened to it)

xp
Two first place votes?? Have at 'em, Shakey! ;-)

(Full confession: I used to like this, but it hasn't aged well.)

14. "Grey Seal" (1973) [306 points, 14 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsozyGR6Eo4

Happy that "Don't Go Breaking" made the top 20, i'd been worried it would be dismissed by too many to get that high. Disappointed that "Bitch" isn't a little higher, fantastic song.

Grey Seal's a standout, one of my favourite discoveries from this

"Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters"

I find his ballads easier to take without the schmaltz and bombast, so I'm thankful for what this song is not, at least. Lyrically again it uses reference points in an irritatingly shallow and clumsy way (surely they could have shoehorned in a reference to Broadway's "bright lights" while they're mining empty cliches...) I dunno, he seems to have tons of these kinds of songs in his catalog, it's not a style I can get into. there's no depth, no ambiguity, no challenge.

"Grey Seal" is a jam.

I didn't know "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" until after he played it at The Concert for New York.

"Grey Seal"

huh this gets downright proggy in spots. melody in the verses is pretty good, descending vocal melody in the chorus is catchy. kinda like the harmonies on this. I do like fiery wah-wah breaks so that gets points too. lyrics are ridiculous nonsense, as usual. this feels like an album opener (I'm guessing that it's not though?), seems like an effective energetic scene-setter for a rock-opera.

13. "Philadelphia Freedom" (1974) [325 points, 13 votes, 1 first place vote]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhJHL34DiBY

Sorry, 1975.

TOO TOOOOOOOOOOO LOW

12. "Madman Across The Water" (1971) [345 points, 14 votes, 1 first place vote]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iccMG7drduQ

Original "Grey Seal" not on youtube? I couldn't find it via a quick google.

I kinda prefer the first half of the original (the low key intro on electric piano and the minimal arrangement for the first verse works better IMO) and then the second half of the GYBR version. In fact I once made a splice of those two halves for an EJ mixtape.

Xxpost LOH OH OH OOH OOH OH OH HOO OH HOW

"Grey Seal" in my top ten; it's the peak of Taupin-nonsense.

I dunno HOW I forgot Philadelphia Freedom.

One of my favorite bits of bass playing in an Elton song ("Madman").

Different strokes, etc. The lacunae in "Mona Lisas" are precisely why I find tje track so thrilling

love how on "Philadelphia Freedom" Elton swoops up and down so much, from just about growling in the verses, to falsetto in the chorus.

does Elton do the backing vocals on the verses?

11. "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" (1973) [363 points, 16 votes, 1 first place vote]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93JvHkdYNNw

sorry but I have to do this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ecakrMaxkY

haha

I screened Fandango the other night, and thought of this poll when the opening credits came up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9D5mdq07uc

That was totally my introduction to that song, lol. Shockingly low imo.

Xpost

Madman is my first really traumatic Taupin experience. dug the song before I started paying attention

Philadelphia Freedom and Saturday Night are great obviously. too low, both of them

It's got a fantastic guitar riff, good energy. Elton should've tried more uptempo glam/rock stuff when he had the opportunity.

Here's another link for the Spotify playlist - http://spoti.fi/1576dgG - so catch up and get ready for the top 10. I'll brb.

11 	Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting 	1 	16 	363
12 	Madman Across The Water 	1 	14 	345
13 	Philadelphia Freedom 	1 	13 	325
14 	Grey Seal 		14 	306
15 	Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters 	2 	12 	302
16 	The Bitch Is Back 		15 	293
17 	Take Me To The Pilot 		14 	286
18 	Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word 	1 	12 	261
19 	Don't Go Breaking My Heart 		12 	261
20 	Honky Cat 		13 	254
21 	Burn Down The Mission 	1 	9 	244
22 	Daniel 		11 	219
23 	Elderberry Wine 	1 	9 	214
24 	Candle In The Wind 		11 	201
25 	Sacrifice 		9 	183
26 	Amoreena 	1 	8 	173
27 	Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me 		7 	147
28 	Tower Of Babel 		6 	139
29 	Harmony 		5 	138
30 	Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy 		6 	131
31 	All The Girls Love Alice 		7 	129
32 	The Ballad Of Danny Bailey 		5 	124
33 	I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That 		7 	123
34 	Mellow 		7 	115
35 	Crocodile Rock 		5 	113
36 	My Father's Gun 		5 	111
37 	High Flying Bird 		4 	108
38 	I've Seen That Movie Too 		5 	95
39 	Razor Face 		4 	93
40 	I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford) 		5 	90
41 	The Last Song 		4 	89
42 	We All Fall In Love Sometimes 	1 	3 	87
43 	Where To Now St. Peter? 		4 	85
44 	Island Girl 		5 	84
45 	Are You Ready For Love? 		4 	83
45 	Holiday Inn 		4 	83
47 	Blue Eyes 		3 	83
48 	Border Song 		5 	82
49 	Too Low For Zero 		4 	81
50 	Little Jeannie 		4 	73

Baaaaaaffled by ''Madman'' placing this high! Okay album track, great title, but I can't even remember how half of it goes.

It's funny - I don't really remember hearing ''Philadelphia Freedom'' or ''Bitch is Back'' until I was an adult, though both were hits. I suspect southern classic rock radio has little use for these two glammiest, showiest, campiest, vampiest out-n-proudest (but not) Elton numbers. I can easily foresee me only getting more in love with both.

Sadly, I have found myself unable to un-hear ''As I live and breathe, it's Philadelphia Cream Cheese!'' from the day that it first occurred to me.

"Philadelphia Freedom"
so much better at this bubblegum disco stuff than the overwrought theatrical ballads. still can't get past Taupin's tendency to use signifiers he seemingly has no understanding or grasp of, but it's a little more forgivable on pop fluff like this. this has kind of a disco-version of Proud Mary feel to it, as much because for the vocal mannerisms as the music and lyrical sentiments. 5 1/2 minutes of this is too much tho.

"Madman Across The Water"
more cowbell.

"Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)"
heard this one before. it's okay but another one that just sounds like a Bowie rip (Suffragete City maybe?) to me. lol @ Elton pretending to be a street fightin man. wtf is this 8 minute version, this song should be 2 1/2 minutes tops.

what mix are you listening to?

btw glam Bowie only got as good as Elton did with "Saturday Night" in "Watch That Man."

it's a GOOD bowie rip!

"mona lisas and mad hatters" was my #1, and i'm surprised it didn't make the top 10. it's all about that two-part harmony on the chorus. it's a really beautiful ballad melody throughout, and a great vocal performance. i've never had a clue what it was about, and i never cared.

Baaaaaaffled by ''Madman'' placing this high!

tbh i'm more baffled that "Levon" is slated to place Top 10.

"sorry seems" was high for me too. there's a live solo performance on the voting thread, from carson's "tonight show" I think, that completely melted me and kicked it up several spots.

xpost ILX wears war wounds like crowns.

alvin tostig had a poll today...