Absolute Radio: Discover real music

It's back to the '70s, with a twist. This is a fabulous album in every respect. If you had written Elton off as a has-been you'd better think again. Superb

Rating: 5 out of 5

What a great album! As a younger fan of Elton's who wasn't around in the 70's I hate this usual idea that he heasn't written an album of quality since then. Songs from the West Coast was good as was Peachtree Rd but this tops the lot. The highlights are Tinderbox, Blues Never Fade Away, The Bridge and The Captain and the Kid. I would argue that this is better than the original Captain Fantastic album of 1975. It a must have for any music fan.

Rating: 5 out of 5

I just love this CD.I'm playing it at the moment so thought it time I gave it its very worthy 5 stars.
I'm surprised its not been more widely received as it deserves all the praise it deserves.
I love Eltons piano playing on 'And The House Fell Down' but love all the tracks.
Well recommended.

Rating: 5 out of 5

"We stuck around for the battle/Waiting for a plan/To turn you into a brown dirt cowboy/And me into a rocket man"

This matches Songs from the West Coast in excellence. The lyrics and melodies are the best Elton and Bernie have ever created. If this was their last album - which is always possible - then it will be an exceptionally beautiful curtain call.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The problem with this album is that it effectively polarises opinion between those who 'get' Elton and those who don't. For the fans who have avidly followed his song cycle over four decades it is a great treat to have an album that is really about the experience of being Elton John. For those who see him as a commercialised purveyor of mawkish ballads they will see no point in this at all.

I am firmly in the former camp. For me there is some fine songwriting and performing here. 'Richard Nixon' charts the wonderment of two boys from the UK finding themselves in the promised land of Watergate era Hollywood. 'Noah's Ark' is a really cool rock song about the kind of skuzz that infests the music industry. 'New York City' takes the boys to the East Coast and the culture shock of the scary Big Apple long before zero tolerance and late seventies clean ups. 'Tinderbox' covers the utter fatigue of dealing with superanuated stardom for six years. 'The House Fell Down' is the cost of drug fueled celebrity: paranoia, depression, ill health. 'Lucky' is just a celebration of those who've died over the years and thanks that they haven't. 'Lost it' revisits relationships formed over the decades. 'Old '67' celebrates the continuance of probably the most important relationship of all here John/Taupin. 'The Captain and the Kid' takes the story forward and paints them as survivors of a long road and one not wholly travelled.

But here's a question. These are songs about the career of Elton John. Weren't the songs during the career of Elton John also about these issues? Isn't the same story told by: Tiny Dancer,Sick City, Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, Love Lies Bleeding, Feed Me, Empty Garden, The Wide Eyed and Laughing, Latitude and The Fox? Now that would be quite and album too (six stars at least!!!)

Rating: 4 out of 5