Rating Elton John Songs - (General ratings discussion)

[JonUrban]

OK, here's my list of non-hits that I might put together for that car. Some known, some not so known, some liked by some, some despised by others, but for me, these are some good tracks that just don't highlight his early years. Those are easy, there is some really good stuff in his later albums, including hist that I did not add because well, they were hits! (sorta - not like his '70s hits):

Empty Sky
Skyline Pigeon
Rock and Roll Madonna
Madman Across the Water
Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters
Blues for Baby and Me
Have Mercy on the Criminal
High Flying Bird
I've Seen that Movie Too
Dirty Little Girl
All the Young Girls Love Alice
Social Disease
Harmony
I Have Seen the Saucers
Writing
One Day at a Time
White Powder White Lady
All Quiet on the Western Front
Restless
Who Wears These Shoes
On Dark Street
Medicine Man
You Can Make History Young Again
Postcards from Richard Nixon
Just Like Noah's Ark
Gone to Shiloh
Mandalay Again
Looking Up

 

[LuvMyQuad]

I've Seen the Saucers... another great tune from the Caribou album. Thanks for reminding me Jon.

Dixie Lily is on the same album as well. Another winner. With "The Bitch is Back" as the big hit from the album.

 

[cutter]

Looking at the songs listed and a couple of my favorites not listed are I Feel Like A Bullet, This Song Has No Title. This thread made me go to Elton and hit shuffle.

 

[DuncanS]

I wonder if fredblue/Adam can stay under 50 songs on his list...gonna be tough for him

Nothing from Adam yet...………..he must still be typing his song list

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Nothing from Adam yet...………..he must still be typing his song list

I think he's arranging for a new forum server for more space

 

[DuncanS]

I think he's arranging for a new forum server for more space

Are there enough Petabytes of storage out there

 

[4-earredwonder]

I find it nigh impossible to select a John/Taupin favorite. I was in the Army when Elton John's eponymous album was released. Had it on 8track/LP and played it to death. All his succeeding 70's albums were, IMO, glorious and to have them on 5.1 multichannel SACD with incredibly superb sonics and Greg Penny's wise and glorious remixes is more than any EJ fanboy could ever hope for.

His bigger than life Vegas persona over the years sometimes eclipses that early genius which introduced John/Taupin to the masses but the beauty of his melodies and Taupin's sometimes obtuse lyrics, IMO, have withstood the test of time.

 

[Shnicks]

Some excellent suggestions so far, to add a few faves not yet mentioned... Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Come Down in Time, and The Ballad of Danny Bailey.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Oh yes Danny Bailey...another good song from Yellow Brick Road

 

[bluelightning]

Not a huge fan of Elton John, though there are a number of songs I like. My favorite is rather is rather unconventional. Curtains from Captain Fantastic. My son's favorite, which he played at his piano recital is I'm still standing. I typically tend to prefer darker music.

 

[sbrom]

Let’s face it, EJ has a great catalog.

As a youth my favorites were Rocket Man and Funeral for a Friend. I still love them today.

When I turned 60 a couple years ago I was just getting into multi-channel audio. EJ’s SACD’s were among the first surround albums I collected. I discovered “Sixty Years On” from his self-titled album. It now sits near the top of my list. Something about the song just hit me hard, given my age at the time.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Let’s face it, EJ has a great catalog.

As a youth my favorites were Rocket Man and Funeral for a Friend. I still love them today.

When I turned 60 a couple years ago I was just getting into multi-channel audio. EJ’s SACD’s were among the first surround albums I collected. I discovered “Sixty Years On” from his self-titled album. It now sits near the top of my list. Something about the song just hit me hard, given my age at the time.

When I don't want to play the individual albums....THIS is my go to source...love this performance...hours of great songs...

 

[4-earredwonder]

When I don't want to play the individual albums....THIS is my go to source...love this performance...hours of great songs...

One of my VERY favorite Elton John RBCDs which BEGS for a 5.1 remaster or even a BD~A 2.0 Lossless remaster: https://www.amazon.com/17-11-70-Elt...F8&qid=1533342308&sr=1-42&keywords=elton+john

 

[sbrom]

Ok, you got me 4-earredwonder and Clint. Just ordered both,

 

[bluelightning]

Ok, you got me 4-earedwonder and Clint. Just ordered both,

I am probably going to do the same, when I get home

 

[TVB]

Elton means music to me. When I was a teenager "Your song" played on the radio while I was driving at 4th/abriendo and I thought, wow who is that!. I can still remember where I was when new Elton songs first hit the airwaves! Now that's a musician who has made a real impact on your life! I was in a King soopers when I first heard "You gotta love someone" from the Tom Cruise racing movie and that one blew my mind. We had a coffee table stereo and I remember lying on the floor next to one of the speakers listening to "Mona lisa and Mad hatters" over and over again because I couldn't get enough of it. Ditto for "Candle in the wind" and "Sacrifice". I listened to "Can I put you on" over and over from an 8 track tape in my buddies ElDorado when we were going to and from trout fishing on the Arkansas river. It seems every Elton album contained several songs that I would listen to incessantly for several months because they were so incredible. Most of these songs didn't get any airplay and sounded better to me than the "hits". "Captain Fantastic" had half a dozen songs that were Fantastic, including one of the best songs Ive ever heard in my entire lifetime "Better off Dead". A list of my favs will be forthcoming....

 

[halbroome]

Interesting thread. So I sat and thought about it and realised with me its not songs I go back to its albums (regardless of the artist), as that is the 'framework' through which I perceive the songs. So the two EJ albums I play the most are Tumbleweed Connection & Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy as overall I like those complete packages of songs the most.

I TOTALLY agree that Tumbleweed Connection is Elton's (and Bernie's) best work! "Come Down in Time" is perhaps my favorite song on it -- and I can play it on piano, too

 

[atrocity]

http://www.k-zap.org/ plays "Where to Now St. Peter" and the somewhat obscure studio version of "Can I Put You On" surprisingly often. I'm not complaining!

 

[edisonbaggins]

I honestly don't know EJ songs well enough to make a list. I love all the EJ SACDs though.
I don't know what album I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues is from, but I wish they'd do it. Love that song. Crocodile Rock too.

 

[JonUrban]

Where the heck is Adam? I thought he'd be all over this thread. He must be at "the end of the world".....not our town (forum)

@Snood - You didn't ban him did ye?