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Dont shoot me... is a terrific Elton John album which I would highly recommend to any fans of his early stuff (yellow brick road, Captain fantstic etc). Included here are the excellent singles Daniel and Crocodile rock. A must have for any serious Elton fan.


Rating: 5 out of 5

I like Elton John, he's my favourite pop star singing 'Crocodile Rock', not Phil Barron actor he does 'Teddy Ruxpin' with his remind voice, but, he's worst than Paul McCartney.

Rating: 1 out of 5

With every single Elton John album I find myself reaching the same conclusion, to wit: his best songs are never his big hits. "Daniel" (#2 on the Billboard singles chart) and "Crocodile Rock" (#1) are certainly okay, but "Elderberry Wine," "Blues For Baby and Me," "High Flying Bird," and "Have Mercy on the Criminal" are all better songs. This would help to explain why this 1973 release was the second Elton John album to reach the top of the Billboard album chart (after "Honkey Chateau"). You can point to this album and his other 1973 release, the double-album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," as defining the year that Elton John became the biggest pop star in the world.Compared to his earlier efforts this album is clearly an attempt to be more pop oriented, not to mention a showcase for the musical diversity of John. "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" continues to feature the orchestral arrangements of Paul Buckmaster, who functioned in a lesser way for Elton John and Bernie Taupin the way George Martin did for the Beatles. This is a much stronger album that "Honky Chateau" (ironically the one album where I listen to "Rocket Man" and decide it is both the best and most popular song), which came out the same year, and clearly sets the stage for the grandeur of "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road." Behind that and "Madman Across the Water," I would rank this Elton John's third best album. This CD reissue includes the bonus tracks "Screw You (Young Man's Blues)," "Jack Rabbit," "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)," and a simple piano version of "Skyline Pigeon." So if you do not yet have this album in your music library then there is no reason not to make a point of making sure that is the version you pick up.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Nice to see a number of very early tracks reappear - I once owned a tape containing these and other numbers from Elton's embryonic years. Good stuff, too.But the main event is Don't Shoot Me. I'm going to brave a disagreement with previous reviewers who praised the ballads on this collection and disregarded the rest. I'd say forget everything and listen to Have Mercy on the Criminal, a good old-fashioned emotional melodrama of a song in the finest tradition of Madman across the Water (ie. the title track of that album.) Elt throws the kitchen sink at Have Mercy, to tremendous effect. Note the dramatic major to minor chord changes, soaring strings and vocal pyrotechnics designed to wring every last tear from the audience. An absolute belter of a track, and worth the price of admission on its own!

Rating: 4 out of 5

Until 'Don't Shoot me...' was released,Elton and Bernie's work had consisted of rather sombre heavily orchestrated albums. Only 'Your Song' had charted succesfully as a single, though the 'Elton John','Tumbleweed Connection' and 'Madman..' albums had all received critical aclaim.'Don't Shoot me..' marked a change in direction for Elton with a shamelessly commercial sound. The opening cut 'Daniel' is the story of a one eyed war vetran who could only find peace in Spain. Though curious in it's subject matter, it became one of the biggest hits of Elton's career.'Crocodile Rock' was even bigger, becoming his first American chart topper, and a top 3 hit in the UK.'Eldeberry Wine' is still enjoying radio play 30 years on. The best track on the album never became a single - 'High Flying Bird'.The rest is pretty average. Carried to the top of the album chart by a surge in Elton's popularity on both sides of the pond, this was the first of his 'classic albums'that would see him dominate the charts until 1976.

Rating: 4 out of 5