Mama Can't Buy You Love: The Official ILM Track-By-Track ELTON JOHN 1978-1988 Listening Thread

Let's do this!

http://www.biography.com/imported/images/Biography/Images/Galleries/Studio%2054/studio54-27-sized.jpg

"Ego"

http://youtu.be/qt7xtcD40Dg

http://eil.com/images/main/Elton+John+-+Ego+-+7%22+RECORD-83494.jpg

Sounds like a coked-up Captain Fantastic outtake in that it's woe-is-me-I'm-a-star special pleading. The hook isn't great. The stop-start dynamics are well done. Dunno about the train whistles though.

So, stage setting, from what I vaguely recall, By 1978, Elton has a) come out as a bisexual to Rolling Stone apparently costing him some (rather clueless) fans, b) split with Bernie Taupin and c) declared he's done playing live. Thus begins "The Not-So-Great Years"

From Elizabeth Rosenthal's bio: "Elton viewed 'Ego' (a leftover Taupin collaboration) as a commentary on bloated show-business vanity of the type embodied, he said, in the careers of David Bowie (!) and Neil Diamond."

"Little Jeannie" the big hit between 1978 and 1983; I can't wait to loathe it.

Taupin (temporarily) going out in real style: that run of "Before schoolish, immaturish, lose-your-coolish" is some of the most brutal rhyming in the English language.

I recall liking "Ego" when I first heard it ca. 2000---was touted then as the "great lost Elton single" as it had flopped hard and wasn't included on any compilations. It's still fun & weird: very Sparks/Deaf School, musically. Why EJ thought this piece of cranky rock-star theatrics would be a hit is another thing.

yeah I don't think this is bad at all but am unsurprised it flopped.

Listening. I don't think I've heard this before. What's the year?

early 1978

Hey wait get back to your book or something oh hi there col. (Actually how long HAVE you been here?)

just on the Eagles thing. I will devote about 5 minutes per day to this project, so no worries Ned

Stoked for the madness.

shh!

I quite like this! I get why it wasn't a hit though, it's not really hooky enough to want to listen to a lot. But it's cool.

and he looks so young in that vidoe

his eyebrows are ridic

I don't mind Taupin's lyrics. The sillier he is the better off we all are.

agreed

I'm so damn curious about A Single Man. By his own standards a flop but more than respectable sales at the height of disco. And I love britishes to discuss "Song For Guy," a massive hit that made no impact in Amerikay.

yeah, "Song for Guy" is a mystery for me, too. first we get a really weird B-side though, if we're going to do strict chronology here

I don't know shit about Elton beyond the hits. But "Ego" has me intrigued. Nice and sprightly; I could almost (barely, but almost) imagine EC & the Attractions doing this.

Finally, some love (or faint praise anyway) for "Ego" on ILM - this was sadly absent from the recent artist poll we did.

(My turn to eat my words by the time we get to 1985, I suspect)

sooner!

1978-1988 is the period where Elton looked the most stylish, I think this is where he peaked in terms of appearance.

the coke diet iirc

the late '70s, thin, sorta-Mod Elton reminds me of someone else, but can't place it.

I could almost (barely, but almost) imagine EC & the Attractions doing this

I used to get Elton and Elvis Costello mixed up when I was a kid- they both wore glasses, frequently wore hats, had names beginning with E, had songs with pianos in them etc.

Some of the facial expressions and mannerism in the video look sort of Bowie-esque, I don't know if that's intentional (c.f. the quote above about Bowie being one of the inspirations for the figure in the song)

I had forgotten this song existed, can't remember what I thought of it at the time; evidently not much. Crazy tempo changes, very rock-theatre. The Sparks/Deaf School comparison is apt.

I admire you guys, but I have no intention of subjecting myself to this if only because I never want to encounter any reason to have to hear "Wrap Her Up" again.

Three months away. Be a man. Bite your lip (get up and dance)!

Over time I think it's important that we wear a succession of slightly worse wigs and technicolor fun shirts

I used to get Elton and Elvis Costello mixed up when I was a kid- they both wore glasses, frequently wore hats, had names beginning with E, had songs with pianos in them etc.

― going out dancing with the girls, her cat. (soref), Wednesday, December 11, 2013 3:54 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I can almost hear an Elton "Alison" in my head--however it ends up being a Bernie opera riffing on the notion of "you that little friend of mine take off your party dress".

I guess I'll go in for this, as I recently picked up some classic era Elton on disc cheap during an Amazon blitz (I even got the expanded Here and There!).

"Ego": I heard this before on a friend's public radio show some years back. He mentioned afterwards that the song was his intro to EJ via the radio, and it was one of the first new music singles he got on 45 (he'd be 8 y.o. at the time). It does have a slightly infectious Sparks feel, not to mention coming off like sped-up Meatloaf/Steinman.

I've never heard this one before. There's some seriously funky chord changes goin' on. Not bad.

But what would Don 'n' Glenn say?

well, yeah

DON: We knew Elton. He and Bernie were songwriters who sold millions of albums. Glenn and I wondered how they did it. We met him a few times at the Chateau Marmont. He was kind enough to buy us a few bottles of champagne, which we were most appreciative of when we were up and coming.

GLENN: Remember that party in '74? Pretty sure he was watching us up and coming.

DON: Well, yeah.

"Chloe" from 1981 is a pretty good minor Top 40 ballad.

I got The Fox as a joke gift last xmas. I'll be happy to oblige in a couple months.

the one I'm bracing for is (my God I hope not Don 'n' Glenn-influenced) Victim of Love

let's have our fingers crossed for Don Felder on guitar though
RIGHT? :D

"Part Time Love", the lead single from A Single Man, would have made a good 3rd or 4th single. But it was the lead single. Always thought it was catchy, but can see why it never went Top 20.

can't wait to discuss it

I got The Fox as a joke gift last xmas.

A lump of coal in the stocking if there ever was one.

Don and Glenn will be making a backing vox appearance in a couple albums.

I think Elton hates The Fox as much as everybody else. Both Top 40 singles, "Chloe" and "Nobody Wins" haven't shown up on any U.S. singles compilation that I can think of.

he looked battered on a repeat of Top Of The Pops last week doing Song For Guy, always liked that one though. the best quote i ever read about his lost years was from EJ himself who said in UNCUT magazine of the coke years "it sounds like a dead person in there".

The only Fox-y tune I remember is the gay thing cowritten with Tom Robinson.

should I do today's, Alfred? I'm awake and have had a cup. I've got all the links, i think

I've got a toot waiting, so go for it.

say goodbye to diet soda?

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

what about the one with Paula Abdul?

80s-Elton-by-numbers, sung well & given a kick midway through w/ some fun piano runs, as if EJ had gotten bored while listening to a track playthrough

"Heavy Traffic"

http://youtu.be/LnsqaNRTQTc

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UYViqG0MWng/0.jpg

We're back to the tone and approach of 'Religion" but not it smerits. Brisky strummed acoustic guitars and EJ's cocktail piano anchor a just-another-day-in-the-burbs scenario about a guy gettin' high on "apple juice and cocaine" while his mate makes PCP in the basement.

points given: a fairly fresh sound, with the acoustic guitars and piano, and a mix so airy (at least in the verses) it sounds like Neu! by comparison to some of the gunked-up tracks on this album; one line sounds like EJ's muttering "Paul McCartney". points taken: Bernie Taupin using '80s TV movies as pointers as to what "kids these days" are up to; chorus singers wouldn't make the cut for a Lloyd Webber show

it's a better "We Didn't Start the Fire."

"Poor Cow"

http://youtu.be/14ageaewAMs

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/4/24/1366818866351/Terence-Stamp-in-Poor-Cow-008.jpg

(had to break the Elton-photo rule, given the title)

"Since God Invented Girls"

http://youtu.be/R-L3wpisJOM

http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/ultimateclassicrock.com/files/2012/06/51147134.jpg

John Broadbent4 years ago

This song gives me a boner. ....Shaped it like an hourglass, and made the angels moan. Oh, here's a little heat boys, to straighten out them curls. Now there ain't been no angels 'round since God invented girls!

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn

What the bloody hell is this garbage?

what a way to go out, Elton. Nicely encapsulates the worst of his '80s, though: desperate affirmations of heterosexuality, blustery singing, fretless bass, Taupin too bored to even be cryptic.

forget to say something on "Poor Cow": not bad, esp compared to today's turkey. sounds like EJ trying to be Squeeze in places

Well, Babylon & On-era Squeeze.

more like Babylon & On-era outtakes, to be fair

one more song to go?

Two, if you can find the live "Medley" that was on some editions of the 12" of A Word In Spanish. Includes Elton covering a bit of Leon Russell's A Song For You ("an American classic" per EJ). Then goes into a couple of classics we've already featured itt. Would be nice to finish on an upbeat note... if that's in the spirit of the thread?

I want to review the Aretha collab "Through The Storm."

"Rope Around a Fool"

http://youtu.be/kzD6hHzKkBQ

Elton listen to "Dixie Chicken" before cutting this one? Chorus is a bit ungainly but this is better than at least half of Reg

well, couldn't find the medley Jeff was talking about, so here's The End, a last duet w/Aretha:

"Through the Storm"

http://youtu.be/M44suQXkucQ

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/86/Through_the_Storm.jpg/220px-Through_the_Storm.jpg

an apt title summation

alright, Pearls From Elton's Lost Years (a guide to people who don't want to slog through this whole thread):

Part Time Love
It Ain't Gonna Be Easy
Mama Can't Buy You Love
Chasing the Crown
Breaking Down Barriers
Blue Eyes
Dear John
Ball and Chain
I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
I'm Still Standing
Too Low For Zero
Religion
Breaking Hearts
Nikita
Lord of the Flies (hey it stuck in my head)

what else?

This was illuminating -- like the Eagles thread it confirmed what I knew. The surprises: the so-called late seventies minor singles like "Part Time Love"; learning that Jump Up! has almost as many good to great songs as TLFZ.

My list, longer than yours (and hey -- where's "I Don't Wanna..." on yours?)

Ego
Part Time Love
It Ain't Gonna Be Easy
Chasing the Crown
Breaking Down Barriers
Elton's Song
White Lady White Powder
Ball and Chain
Dear John
I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
I'm Still Standing
Too Low For Zero
Religion
Breaking Hearts
Nikita
I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That
Goodbye Marlon Brando

i would add:

shooting star
cold as christmas

and maybe:

passengers

oh right! "Cold as Christmas" def

my list got lopped off: meant to include "Marlon Brando" and "Don't Wanna Go On."

spotif'ied playlist: http://open.spotify.com/user/judgeparker/playlist/5KzQRGivsutcFZYnr8FFIG

Missing you already. Thanks for doing this.

I'm down with A,LS's list, but would also add fcc's picks + most of the Thom Bell sessions + "Nobody Wins" + "Belgium".

Elton in the wild: "Nikita" at Office Max.

Cold War epilogue

i think i would do a paul mccartney one of these if you guys did one! i couldn't do elton. ugh. it just occurred to me that i've probably only heard like 2 or 3 mccartney albums all the way through. i don't know why he had to put out so many records though.

PLEASE DO

Pretty sure col would be. Turrican, Tim Ellison, Doctor Casino for sure.

Might be best to circumscribe a time period though.

i don't want to be in charge of it. i would listen and chime in though...

I've done EJ and Don 'n' Glenn. I'm done.

macca yes!!!!! he's perfect for one of these.

'Venus and Mars' thru 'Press to Play' would work (11-12 years' worth)

no pressure or anything. i just saw this yesterday and i was like man i don't even remember some of these coming out:

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/paul-mccartney-albums-ranked/

now see that's the kind of eccentricity I can get with: Back to the Egg and Flaming Pie in the top ten!

jesus, he's made some bad album covers hasn't he?

you'd think someone in his position would be more....careful? like, if his discography were 6 or 7 really great records of the best tunes he could come up with spaced out over a period of decades...he could be scott walker.

i dunno, i guess he can't help himself. and he can do whatever the hell he wants and that can be a problem sometimes.

He likes to work. Says he takes the tube to his office every morning.

i respect quantity. artists should be ... making art!

plus, i take that back about scott. he's made like 15 albums.

i don't know if i respect quantity. you can be making stuff and not presenting it all to the public. but i guess if you're happy with it, why not? just seems like he's made a lot of records that aren't remembered by a lot of people beyond hardcore beatle/paul people.

i've always believed that the very act of making music and actually releasing it, which is to say forcing yourself not only to make it but to complete it, tends to make your music better. i'm sure there are plenty of exceptions, but in general i've found that the artists i like the most tend to do their best work when they're working fastest.

I ranked top forty hits from a dark time.

Has anyone dipped into the Jewel Box yet?

And a related question: does anyone know what the hell is going on with the ever-changing digital track list for the jewel box? If he was just adding tracks to it, fair enough. But it seems like things get added then lost again (unless you’ve liked/saved the previous version on Spotify) and other tracks are just released as one-offs (like the jazz version of “Come Down In Time”) and not put in the box at all. I’d say “Classic Neil” but wrong thread obv.

AND REACH OUT
FOR HER HEALLLLLLIIING HANDSSSS

^^^ otm