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In all honesty it must be said that this is an excellent album. If a new artist would have come up with this album it would be the sensation of the year. But the trouble is "It isn't a new artist. It's Elton John!". He has done all of this and better the first time around. So all the rave reviews are just an indication of how much we miss the "classic" Elton and how lightweight some of his later albums have become.

It is certainly a return to form and nobody buying this album will be disappointed. Whereas most of his more recent albums rely on a few strong tracks this is a consistent effort with good to fine songwriting, inventive musicianship and a clean "Elton John" sound. In comparison with his classic albums however it falls short. At the time the great songs came easy to him. Now he has to work hard to approach that level and he doesn't succeed all the time. Then he was a great vocalist. Now he sings in a lower register and the range isn't anymore what it used to be. Then he had a innovative producer with Gus Dudgeon, but now we have heard it all before.

So yes, it is a great album, compared with anybody's standards, but no, it doesn't rank with the best of Elton John.



Rating: 4 out of 5

If you are reading this review,first let me direct you to the Deluxe edition of this album that comes with a bonus DVD doco and a web-link on the CD to download exclusive tracks online that are not on the album but one of which appears in the lyric book.I highly recommend the Deluxe edition to the standard edition for those two reasons.One of the download tracks "Across The River Thames" is awesome,and part of the Captain and the Kid Story!
Elton toured Australia in late 2006 on the back of this album and had a good deal to say about it getting no airplay or promotion.Indeed he performed a block of the album's songs(5 or 6 of them if my memory serves me),right in the middle of the show preceded by "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" from the original Captain Fantastic.He spoke of the fondness he and Bernie share for that album(as do a lot of his fans)and the reasons for doing a follow up to that autobiographical masterpiece.If you buy the Deluxe edition of the album,it's all explained on the bonus DVD interview.

After the show I could hear a number of disgruntled patrons complaining about too much new music and the volume of all things(and I thought I was getting old!).But as Elton said in his monologue before the "Captain and the Kid" block of songs,and I quote,"If we don't play them,how else are you gonna hear them."So he must have known there would be a few out there who only want to hear Candle..,Your Song and Crocodile Rock etc.Indeed!

But,I digress,just to point out that I think this album really did go over every-one's heads or slipped under their radar.And for the life of me,I don't know why.It is probably the best thing he's done for quite some time.It leaves Peach-tree Road and Songs From The West Coast for dead.

I dare anyone to listen to some of these tracks("The Bridge,"Blues Never Fade Away") and once you know the story behind the song,be genuinely moved!The lines in "Blues..." that refer to Gianni Versace had me in tears!And the obvious reference in "The Bridge" to the demons in all our lives is some of the best words Taupin has EVER written!

If you are an Elton fan and have not bought this album(shame on you,add it to your cart this instant)you won't be disappointed.

Breathtakingly Beautiful!

Rating: 5 out of 5

To keep this review simple, this album is just as well-written with equally good vocals as anything Elton has done before. All of the songs on this album are good and are of exceptionally high quality - you'll listen to them again and again.

The best songs on this allbum are 'Postcards form Richard Nixon', 'The Bridge', 'Tinderbox' 'Blues Never Fade Away' and the brilliant tribute to himself and Bernie, 'Captain & The Kid'.

Even if you've not really got into Elton before, you'll appreciate the quality of the music on this album and regard it as an instant classic.

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

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