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

No surprise - I'm the only voter for my number one tune.

woe @ Original Sin not placing
actual physical pain @ Just Like Belgium failing entirely

#51 "I Want Love"
damn so close

#69 "Friends"
#70 "Whatever Gets You Through The Night"
didn't expect much love for these, but i had my hopes up.

#73 "Country Comfort"
i assumed this was more of a fan favorite.

I could only manage half a ballot, but had Song For Guy as my number one

figured "someone saved my life" for a strong finish tho #1's a mild surprise.

both a nasty piece of work and utterly transcendent. life is rarely this honest, let alone pop. plus that hook.

1. “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” (40)
2. “Tiny Dancer” (36)
3. “Rocket Man” (33)
4. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” (30)
5. “Levon” (28)
6. “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” (26)
7. “High Flying Bird” (25)
8. “Your Song” (24)
9. “Amoreena” (23)
10. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (22)
11. “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (21)
12. “Philadelphia Freedom” (20)

Hadn't really thought about it till now, but eight ballads.

Thanks, JF.

I love Someone Saved My Life Tonight, btw, and completely forgot to include it on my ballot, so I'm glad other people picked up my slack. I owe y'all one.

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
The Last Song
Bennie And The Jets
Rocket Man
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elderberry Wine
Sartorial Eloquence
Too Low For Zero
The Bitch Is Back
Candle In The Wind
Tower Of Babel
Honky Cat
I'm Still Standing
Sacrifice
Mellow
Tiny Dancer
Levon
Take Me To The Pilot
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

mona lisas and mad hatters
sorry seems to be the hardest word
rocket man
harmony
bennie and the jets
captain fantastic and the brown dirt cowboy
love lies bleeding
where to now st. peter
blues for baby and me
grey seal
we all fall in love sometimes
levon
i want love
tiny dancer
saturday night's alright for fighting - 17
philadelphia freedom
elderberry wine
amoreena
take me to the pilot
all the girls love alice

Sartorial Eloquence wuz robbed, btw!

great poll! someone should seriously send this thread to the big man he'd get a kick out of it i'm sure!

Grimsby was robbed!

1. Your Song
2. I'm Still Standing
3. Burn Down The Mission
4. Blue Eyes
5. Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
6. We All Fall In Love Sometimes
7. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
8. Someone Saved My Life Tonight
9. Bennie And The Jets
10. Whatever Gets You Thru The Night
11. Tiny Dancer
12. Take Me To The Pilot
13. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
14. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
15. Lady Samantha
16. Levon
17. Rocket Man
18. Daniel
19. Kiss The Bride
20. Part-Time Love

albums:
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
2. Madman Across The Water
3. Too Low For Zero
4. Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
5. Tumbleweed Connection

totally confused by the #1, had no idea anybody anyway rated that song in the grand scheme of EJ's catalog. wish i had voted for "Tiny Dancer," kind of assumed that a vote for it would help it inch toward a #1 over a song i like more, but i was wrong.

tracks:
Amoreena
Levon
Bennie And The Jets
Your Song
The Bitch Is Back
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)
Kiss The Bride
Madman Across The Water
Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
Razor Face
I’ve Seen That Movie Too
Dirty Little Girl
The Cage
I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues
Sixty Years On
Club At The End of the Street
Empty Sky
Save Rock N Roll (Fall Out Boy featuring Elton John)

albums:
Tumbleweed Connection
Madman Across The Water
Caribou
Honky Chateau
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Philadelphia Freedom
I'm Still Standing
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Tiny Dancer
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Sacrifice
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
Nikita
Empty Garden
Madman Across the Water (version with Mick Ronson)
I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That
Grey Seal
Crocodile Rock
A Word in Spanish
Candle in the Wind
Daniel
All the Girls Like Alice
Club at the End of the Street
Bennie and the Jets

"Nikita" didn't appear, no?

my ballot:

1. I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues
2. The Bitch is Back
3. Someone Saved My Life Tonight
4. Saturday Night’s…
5. Blue Eyes
6. Grow Some Funk of Your Own
7. Harmony
8. Grey Seal
9. Hard Luck Story
10. I Think I’m Gonna Kill Myself
11. I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That
12. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
13. Bitter Fingers
14. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
15. Cold As Christmas
16. Love Lies Bleeding
17. This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore
18. Mellow
19. All The Young Girls Love Alice
20. I Feel Like a Bullet From the Gun of Robert Ford

01. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" (1975) [655 points, 21 votes, 5 first place votes]

this makes me happy! by far my fave elton. good job you guys!

So glad Rocket Man came in so high --- that chorus, much like GBYBR, just absolutely gives me chills and tearyness for no real explicable reason except Elton's delivery

no Nikita, hence my sad sad bolding

"Someone Saved" and "Goodbye" bot grate on me -- i won't say it's cause they're ballads or because of the production sheen or the strings because EJ has lots of songs with those qualities that i love, but they both have this overbearing swaying inanity to them.

this poll has made me realize that I may actually prefer Billy Joel to Elton John, in that the former's angry self-righteous neurosis and crippling neediness are perhaps more interesting to me than John's goofy cartoon melodramas. not sure I agree with Alfred that John is "weirder". (all things being equal I would rather listen to neither of them)

"all things being equal I would rather listen to neither of them"

^^^ new board description

I think I like Elton slightly more because Elton has a, i dunno, joie de vivre? in his delivery ...even if the lyrics can get into Billy Joel bitter sarcasm territory, he never telegraphs that bitterness somehow

not to say I don't love Billy Joel. Oh how I very much do.

There's no shortage of Billy Joel songs I like, but Elton can sing that motherfucker under the table.

EJ is toooootally weirder than BJ. the way an earjob is weirder than a blowjob.

(or could've at one point) xp

bwahaha lol some dude

I don't mind Elton's hits nearly as much. Billy Joel's best songs are mostly deep cuts IMO. Also Joel's voice is often really lame and across the board he wrote weaker songs. Joel mopes too much. Elton is a cooler guy overall. I'm pretty sure a list of songs I hate from either performer would stack much higher for Billy Joel.

1. We All Fall In Love Sometimes
2. Don't Go Breaking My Heart
3. Original Sin
4. Tiny Dancer
5. Madman Across The Water
6. Bennie And The Jets
7. Gotta Get A Meal Ticket
8. I'm Still Standing
9. Rocket Man
10. Honky Cat

11. The Cage
12. I've Seen That Movie Too
13. Are You Ready For Love?
14. Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
15. Philadelphia Freedom
16. Levon
17. Grey Seal
18. Indian Sunset
19. Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
20. Dark Diamond

Really surprised at the winner. It's a lovely song alright, but I don't believe I've ever heard it before and that amazes me - I've never heard Elton John's most popular song*! It's very Queen actually, now I'm eagerly anticipating the Queen poll.

* in ilmworld

Elton having a wider vocal range than Joel isn't really debatable, but it's also not really something I care about.

agree that even at his most maudlin or bitchy John doesn't reach the deep black pit of loathing that is the heart of Joeldom

ooh Ismael otm, I've been thinking someone saves my life tonight reminded me of someone/something and Queen hits the nail right on the head

i could google this but I'll ask bcz lazy: did Elton and Freddie Mercury ever record together?

that would be mindblowing imo

Not sure, but Elton sang on Bohemian Rhapsody at The Concert For Life.

Elton having a wider vocal range than Joel

Well, that's not really what I was getting at. Joel sings like it's his job. Elton sings because he can't not sing.

TOP 20 SONGS

1. Country Comfort
2. Madman Across the Water
3. My Father's Gun
4. Tiny Dancer
5. Son of Your Father
6. Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters
7. Ballad of a Well-Known Gun
8. Your Song
9. Take Me To The Pilot
10. Mellow
11. Levon
12. Burn Down the Mission
13. All the Nasties
14. Sixty Years On
15. Amoreena
16. Holiday Inn
17. Border Song
18. Susie (Dramas)
19. Can I Put You On
20. Where To Now St. Peter?

TOP 5 ALBUMS

Tumbleweed Connection
Madman Across The Water
17-11-70
Honky Chateau
Elton John

MOST HATED SONGS

Candle In The Wind 1997
Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting
Wrap Her Up

A little surprised at the surprise over "Someone Save My Life Tonight." It was a #4 single off an album that entered the charts at #1 in the middle of his most famous period--it's far from obscure. Not as famous as "Your Song," granted, but also spared that song's overplay.

obviously "Someone" was a big peak era hit, but so were lots of other songs that go nowhere near the same amount of votes. it was #9 on Rolling Stones' poll of best Elton songs, and it's roughly his 15th most popular old hit on Spotify. i'm not surprised that ILM has some demographic quirk that made the #1 something not as obvious as "Rocket Man" or whatever, i just had no idea "Someone" would be that song or why that is.

doesn't get much airplay over here compared to the bigger hits (cause it's so long i guess), i barely heard it growing up and you heard EJ hits all day every day on the radio.

incidentally i had no idea about the autobiographical element of the song that i suppose might've made it seem more significant to me if i'd been aware of it -- same thing with "The Last Song," which i didn't know any of the context around before being surprised to see it on the countdown

For me, it's just so evocative in a long-ago kind of way--much more so than many of the other mid-'70s hits. Hard to explain. I think it was basically as ubiquitous as the others at the time--since then, no.

"Someone Saved..." is one of the few seventies Elton tunes that both parents loved. We took a road trip about ten years ago and when a local station in Orlando played it they both harmonized over the closing refrain. One of those "awww" moments.

this poll has made me realize that I may actually prefer Billy Joel to Elton John, in that the former's angry self-righteous neurosis and crippling needines

yes but at least Elton has his neurosis indentured to a lyricist. Joel has to write his own psychodramas.

like, to me, I think "Billy, it's your own fault you can't articulate you neurosis and crippling neediness."

wait it's not over

00. "A Word In Spanish" (1988) [9 points, 99 votes, 999 first place votes]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wlRmzlBPf4

plus, I love Elton's British attitude towards stardom: he follows the pop charts assiduously, will know exactly where his late seventies singles peaked, no angst. Meanwhile Joel worries whether his albums get crit luv.

as a side note, before hip-hop was a force American artists were wary about looking like they care about silly things like chart positions; they're artists, man.

billy's a pessimist. elton's an optimist.

billy's a born pop singer-songwriter who wanted to be a rock star. elton's a born rock singer-songwriter who wanted to be a pop star.

Tracks

1. Someone Saved My Life Tonight

2. Rocket Man

3. Crocodile Rock

4. Blues For My Baby and Me

5. Grey Seal

6. Tiny Dancer

7. Levon

8. Sacrifice

9. High Flying Bird

10. Daniel

11. Your Song

12. No Shoe Strings on Louise

13. Honky Cat

14. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

15. Border Song

16. Step into Christmas

17. This Song Has No Title

18. Pain

19. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me

20. Candle in the Wind (GYBR version)

Albums

1. Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player

2. Honky Chateau

3. Greatest Hits (1974)

4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

5. Caribou

Shit List*

1. Can You Feel The Love Tonight

2. The Greatest Discovery

3. Sixty Years On

*my ignorance of post-'75 Elton shows here; "Wrap Her Up" was unknown to me until this poll happened, and it might even be a worse song than CYFTLT. Decided for #2-3 to punish yucky album tracks that sullied an otherwise solid record instead.

billy actually is an angry young (now old) man. elton actually is still standing.

xpost

(sorry for the ugly formatting there; was copy/pasting from my original email to Fever)