Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Track List:
Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Candle in the Wind
Bennie and the Jets
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
This Song Has No Title
Grey Seal
Jamaica Jerk-Off
I've Seen That Movie Too
Sweet Painted Landy
The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-34)
Dirty Little Girl
All the Girls Love Alice
Your Sister Can't Twist (but She Can Rock 'n Roll)
Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)
Roy Rogers
Social Disease
Harmony
Songs I have heard before this listening:
Candle in the Wind
Bennie and the Jets
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)
Notes on the music:
So, I am writing this after writing everything else below. That was an experience. I am aware that Elton doesn’t write lyrics and just sings. I believe that parts of this album highlight a theory that I’ve had before that lyrics don’t matter. Which given how much I’ve written about music in the last few weeks should show that the theory is easily provable as wrong. But the point I try to make with it is that if the delivery of the song is good and done well then it doesn’t matter what you are saying. That’s what Elton and his producer found out in the 70’s and it’s still true today. The radio stations aren’t playing epic prog songs by the likes of KGATLW. They are playing disposable top 40 drivel that is produced to be resampled into club music. The song’s that Elton sings aren’t always the most lyrically advanced or deep but the music is incredible. The man could take the ingredients list of spam and turn it into a radio worthy pop song. This album shows this, his talent is still developing but has bloomed so greatly by the time this album was released. That is a rant and not fully related to Elton John. I enjoyed listening to this. I have heard a lot of it before with various interests and intents and purposes of listening but actually taking the time to sit down and digest it as a whole was a pleasant experience.
Notes on individual Songs
Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Starts with wind and slow building organ. Very 70’s feel with spacey riffs. It fades? Another slow build, this time an arp, piano, and guitar. Then another change to a completely different feel, now a darker but faster song. Perhaps this is a melody? Quite a few changes of style. We finally get lyrics. A love story where the narrator tells the story of falling in love with someone and then losing her.
Candle in the Wind
Memories and song association are weird. This song is about Marilyn Monroe. I don’t associate this song with Marilyn Monroe rather with Princess Diana. That is my first recollection of hearing this song was in the hoopla following her death. The song celebrates Marilyn's iconic status and celebrates everything she did while acknowledging that part of what made her have that status is also what extinguished her.
Bennie and the Jets
I really like this song. It’s a fun tale of a fictional band as told by a fan who has been researching them feverishly. I really enjoy the groove of this song, the part that feels like a jam at the end, it just sounds happy and excited for music.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
This is an ode to a life that is no more. Thinking about what could have been. Recounting the path that got you there and planning for the future.
This Song Has No Title
I really don’t have the brain power right now to try to decipher this song. My god it seems like a bunch of words put together that mean nothing for Elton to make sound amazing. Perhaps there is some deep Dylan shit here but it’s lost on me for now, perhaps one day… But this song does sound amazing. Elton could sing AI transcribed Tibetan throat singing lyrics and make it something I would nod my head to.
Grey Seal
Well I am gonna go with a modern interpretation of this one. He is talking to an AI or computer assistant that he has named Gray Seal because they are cute creatures. It’s also a reflection on the modern education system that people are having to learn by curiosity and convenience rather than in formal education. I need to check and make sure this was written by Nostradamus.
Jamaica Jerk-Off
I am not sure this one has aged too well. There is so much better music than this attempt at this genre, the pseudo reggae mixed with rock and pop. I am certain that the name didn’t help me want to like it more.
I've Seen That Movie Too
This is back closer to what I expected coming into this album. The drums are recorded super crisp on this one and really shine. The song is about being in a relationship and can tell that your partner is being dishonest about something and confronting them about it. The solo is so emotional.
Sweet Painted Lady
Probably the sweetest sounding song about visiting a whorehouse I’ve ever heard. I hear a lot of Harry Chapin in this, they both are able to string lyrics together and intertwine them within the music.
The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-34)
Some angry piano chords start this. It’s an ode to a dear friend, Danny Bailey. His story is told and he is an outlaw who is ultimately killed by the police. I like the near ragtime feel that dances with the pop beat.
Dirty Little Girl
I don’t know who this song is about but it sounds like she developed a habit and ended up hitting rock bottom. The lyrics are a bit viscous. The music is self aware that it’s traumatic to the woman and uses effects that help create a deeper feeling of discomfort as you listen. They could be the thoughts of the woman who has fallen down on her luck.
All the Girls Love Alice
This is upbeat and jazzy feeling. The story is about a girl named Alice who was a closeted lesbian and ended up dying neglected in the streets. The song ends after some jarring noises that really help make it feel uncomfortable.
Your Sister Can't Twist (but She Can Rock 'n Roll)
It’s a Rock ‘n Roll song. I do find it a bit creepy that there are multiple songs that reference young girls.
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
This one I was looking forward to, it’s a rock ‘n roll song but more aggressive. Like a 70’s take on 50’s rock ‘n roll while also talking about being of that era. Idolizing the greaser punk life. I could see Elton John and the Fonz…
Roy Rogers
Another song about nostalgia for the 50’s. There is a slight country and western feel. Some slide guitar and the general cadence.
Social Disease
It may be the recording I am listening to on this one but the song has a 30 to 45 second crescendo that makes the song feel like it’s slowly approaching the listener. The song is pointing out the perils associated with alcohol consumption. They choose to use the line “I just get high on tequila” which makes me think they are trying to equate it to illicit drug use. .
Harmony
This is a pretty one again, more like candle in the wind. This sounds like the narrator has been reunited with a lost love and has rekindled. It is pretty.
