Retro Spins: Elton John - The Fox

Flipping over to 1981, I dive straight in from yesterday's post, Elton John's 1980 21 At 33, to his follow-up, The Fox. As noted yesterday, this album, along with the aforementioned 21, and its predecessor, 1982's Jump Up! were three albums I added to my collection out of some nagging necessitation to have all of his 1980's work.

Much like yesterday's post, I'm not going to dig into the history of the singer. I don't know enough about it to speak in any fashion of expertise, and I'm not going to regurgitate his long Wiki history as any perception of knowledge. Instead, I'll just jump into the album itself, and go from there.

Unlike 21 At 33, The Fox jumps out of the gate peppy, and interesting to my ears. Its upbeat tempo which drives Breaking Down Barriers is enjoyable, and makes me want to add it to my shuffle list. That right there is an achievement that none of the tracks from 21 got. It gave me hope.

I'm not a big rhythm and blues fan, but I will say that the guitar work in the second song, Heart In The Right Place was enough to make me take notice. It also showed the versatility of John. I already knew he had the chops to handle pop, rock, and even ballads. Now, we can go ahead and add blues to the list.

As a whole, I really dug this album. It had everything that 21 At 33 lacked. It was catchy, peppy, and a solid rock and roll entry. All this, despite not having what were considered "hits". Nobody Wins was the stand out track for me. It was mad upbeat, and just catchy all around. Definitely a hidden gem to be found. You should check it out. Yes, you. The person who just read that last couple of sentences.

Overall, The Fox was enjoyable. Again, devoid of hits, but good. Beyond that, there's not much to really say. This is kind of one of those short and to the point posts.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
June 7, 1980

 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
June 7, 1986

Retro Spins: Elton John - 21 At 33

There's too much history regarding Elton John for me to sit here and spew it all to you. Further, I wouldn't do it any justice in doing so. I know little to nothing about him overall. In fact, I dare say the only reason I know what I know is from his 80's material, which would lead to me recognizing some of his more popular 70's stuff. Basically, I'm a casual fan. I know the hits, they're okay.

As I often find myself doing, I compiled a list of said hits, and began putting my CD collection together over the past several years. Along with this came a slew of Elton John albums, carefully picked for the songs which I was after. This was fine. I was happy, though never really got around to playing through all of them. In fact, as of this post, I've only heard two full albums from him...Maybe three. There might be one from the 70's in there somewhere.

The point being, I have a ton of Elton John albums, and need to start listening to them.

Here's where things went off track. Rather than simply start going through them, I got a bug in my butt. One that kept nagging at me. For some reason, I suddenly needed every Elton John album from the 80's. This was probably driven by the fact that of the nine released between 1980 and 1989, I already had six. So, what was three more?

Anyway, this all comes to a head with the launching point for today's Retro Spins, which is John's 1980 release, 21 At 33. This is one of the latter clean up purchases I made, and perusing the back track listing, this is because there's nothing on here I know.

Sadly, after listening to it, there's also nothing on here memorable. This is one of the issues I've kind of had with Elton since first looking at his massive discography. He's thrown so many albums together over his storied decades long career, yet the footnote of those efforts are what, ten, maybe twelve "good" songs out of hundreds, possibly thousands? It's quantity over quality being shoveled in mass on the public. In retrospect, it's baffling that he's achieved the status he has.

If 21 At 33 were my introduction to him, I would certainly not be a fan of Elton John, well, not that I necessarily am anyway. Nor would I bother seeking out any other music from him. Considering his follow-up albums, 1981's The Fox, and 1982's Jump Up! also had no hits on them I know, and subsequently were the other two aforementioned albums I was missing, I don't have high hopes or positive expectations. Though, I will gladly accept being proven wrong if they deliver.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
June 6, 1981

 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
June 6, 1987

Retro Spins: Elton John - Sleeping With The Past

When I first started planning out my 2024 Retro Spins posts, I only had two 80's albums from Elton John. However, by the time I actually got around to listening to 1989's Sleeping With The Past, that had grown to five. I also plan on hunting down a few of his 70's albums, with the intentions of eventually getting rid of the greatest hits albums I have.

As I fired up the album, I was somewhat intrigued, but at the same time kind of disappointed with the opening track, Durban Deep. It felt like a song I could add to my shuffle list, but at the same time, I kind of felt like, "Is this really the best this CD is going to offer?"

Fortunately, when it got on with track two, Healing Hands, I was into it. It was once again one of those, "I remember that song," moments, and as I've said in other posts before, I love when that happens. What was great was that it didn't happen once, but twice, when Club At The End Of The Street started up.

However, with exception of Sacrifice, which is the song I initially bought the album for, I didn't really hear anything all the worth while. Overall, it was a pretty bland experience, and one that leaves me worried that investing in more Elton John may have been a mistake.

In a prior post, I made mention that I have a lot of CD's to listen to, and that I hoped I would reach a point where I could keep up, versus catch up. However, listening to the three albums I did today, put into perspective why that probably won't happen. Not only is there just isn't enough time in a day. But, much like any marathon, fatigue sets in when it's back to back to back, and this ultimately contributes to your overall enjoyment. I don't think I have it in me to listen to another album today. Plus, I really don't want to.

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Retro Spins: Elton John: Too Low For Zero

I bought Elton John's Too Low For Zero because it contains my all time favorite 80's track from him, I'm Still Standing. I also felt it would be a good introduction for me into the world of this multi-decade artist, who's music I only knew through greatest hits and radio play.

Too Low For Zero was the first album since his 1976 Blue Moves to contain all lyrics written by Bernie Taupin. It marked a comeback for this singer, who reunited with his core backing band of the 70's, producing chart toppers, I"m Still Standing, Kiss The Bridge and I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues.

For me, the album felt a little dated. Even for 1983. It leans heavily on a classic rock 70's style, and while it produces a decent sound, it's not a very memorable one. With a running time of over one hour, it's also too long. I enjoyed I'm Still Standing and I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues. However, beyond that, the rest of the album was very lack luster. Unpolished if you will.

I suppose I have to side with Don Shewey of Rolling Stone, who when originally reviewing the album, said, "Elton John and Bernie Taupin have written some great hit singles, but since the early Elton John LP, they have never produced an album of consistently first-rate material. And although Too Low for Zero is a big step up from losers like Blue Moves and A Single Man, it doesn't hang together, either." This really hits the nail on the head. The album is just okay, and that's not good enough for an artist of John's caliber.

Obviously this didn't slow the artist down much, as he's produced and released several more albums since 1983's Too Low For Zero. Hopefully though, things got better for him. I do plan on checking out a few more of his albums from the 80's, so time will tell (for me) on that.

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