Elton John - Rock of the Westies
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CD Details
Artist: Elton JohnEdition: Music CD
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1996-05-14
Music Label: Island
Soundtracks:
- Medley (Yell Help, Wednesday Night, Ugly)
- Dan Dare (Pilot Of The Future)
- Island Girl
- Grow Some Funk Of Your Own
- I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)
- Street Kids
- Hard Luck Story
- Feed Me
- Billy Bones And The White Bird
- Planes (Bonus Track)
- Sugar On The Floor (Bonus Track)
Music reviews of Rock of the Westies
Music Review: Yes, it rocks, but doesn't obscure that Elton was struggling
Rating: 4 Stars
While 1975's CAPTAIN FANTASTIC & THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY only managed one hit single from the album, the fact that it was critically lauded & became the first LP ever to debut at #1 in BILLBOARD indicated that Elton John & Bernie Taupin had set themselves some high goals for their next album. Returning to Caribou Studios in Colorado, where they recorded 1974's CARIBOU, not one of Elton's finest efforts, perhaps that had something to do with his second album of 1975 being rather substandard this time around. Both albums rock like a mofo on some moments, but especially on ROCK OF THE WESTIES, that certainly didn't mask the fact that the material on the album was quite subpar & that perhaps it was time Elton & Bernie pursue outside work for a while.
The fact that ROCK OF THE WESTIES was another near-dud in Elton's vast career maybe didn't matter to his fans, who helped it become the 2nd album in history to debut at #1 (and the last for over a decade). Even with 3 hit singles, there was little to recommend anyone to buy the album for beyond what they heard on the radio. Some may call it intentionally lightweight, but before this, a lot of Elton's more freewheeling material was much finer-crafted than this.
His 5th #1 single came in the form of the faux-reggae rocker "Island Girl". Its backhanded tribute to a tropical prostitute is undeniably catchy & certainly miles above GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD's reggae entry "Jamaica Jerk-Off". Even so, I'm sure Elton & Bernie certainly don't consider this to be a personal favorite with their much more prestigious material.
"Grow Some Funk Of Your Own" is appropriately titled with Elton dabbling in funky rhythms one wouldn't think a White guy could master. Radio stations were divided over this song and "I Feel Like A Bullet [In The Gun Of Robert Ford]" when they were released as two sides of a single, causing both to cancel each other out & stop in the top 20. The latter tune is a heartwrenching ballad that is another of Elton & Bernie's patented look at love affairs that made them head & shoulders above other such material of the time. While their love songs have grown slightly more traditional in recent years, "I Feel Like A Bullet" remains a sign they can still create some truly original ones.
Outside of the hits, ROCK OF THE WESTIES has few highlights to call attention to. "Dan Dare [Pilot Of The Future]" is simply mindless fun if anything else in this tribute to the British comic strip character. "Street Kids" is an attempt at an epic that is maybe the only song on here that takes itself a little too seriously. "Hard Luck Story" has Elton once again revisiting the country-rock of TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION, and again just barely succeeding. "Feed Me" & "Billy Bones & The White Bird" are thinly-veiled allusions to Elton's drug problems which were starting to flare up by this time, yet not see their worst effects until the next decade. The only all-out bomb on ROCK OF THE WESTIES is the opening medley of "Yell Help/Wednesday Night/Ugly". A combination of rock, funk and pop that tries too hard to accomplish too much in its 6-minute span, it is said that the fact Caribou Studios was high up in the mountains caused back-up singers Labelle to lose an octave or two off their range, hindering their performance on the medley. Elton took matters into his own hands and multi-tracked his voice in order to finish it off. The fact still remains that the song lumbers along without much of a destination.
With those inclusions, ROCK OF THE WESTIES would merit a 3-star rating. But remastered, the album features two outtakes that, had they replaced two of the weaker tracks on the album, could have made it better. "Planes" was initially a B-side to "Island Girl" and would have made a fine addition to the album, edging it above the less memorable songs that did make it. "Sugar On The Floor" is far & away the best of the two, with just Elton & his piano, singing with almost all his emotions bared. Perhaps that was why it was left off of ROCK OF THE WESTIES, too serious for its (perhaps intentionally) lighthearted mood. I believe Elton's protege Kiki Dee did record this song & released it; I wonder how she did on it, but I can bet she couldn't equal Elton's rawly exposed nerves.
ROCK OF THE WESTIES continued Elton's long run of success that had been going on for about 5 years, yet it would also prove to be the tail end of it...for a while, anyway. Elton's announcement of his bisexuality the next year would seriously affect his commercial standing; his fracturing relationship with Bernie Taupin would result in the temporary severing of their partnership (not before a grandiose send-off with the double album BLUE MOVES); Elton's own personal problems with addictions and depression would warrant a temporary "retirement" from music to get things in order (he would return two years later). All told, Elton would regain some of his commercial success, but it was clear the superstar era had ended, and ROCK OF THE WESTIES would be his last #1 album for two decades. Too bad the glory years had to end on such an uninsipired note.
Description of Rock of the Westies
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.Although it was viewed as one of Elton John's more lightweight efforts upon its 1975 release--possibly because it followed only half a year after the acclaimed Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (and partially because many thought the album was released to fulfill a contractual obligation)--Rock of the Westies appears in retrospect to be his last great rock album. It certainly does rock consistently harder than any other John album, with guitarist Davey Johnstone even getting cowriting credits (with John and Bernie Taupin) on the opening "Medley: Yell Help/Wednesday" and "Grow Some Funk of Your Own." Lyricist Taupin seems to be going off the deep end here at times with titles like "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" and "Billy Bone & the White Bird," but "Island Girl" was another huge hit for the pair. And the CD version adds the wonderful pop gem "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart," which turned KiKi Dee into an eternal Trivial Pursuit answer. --Bill Holdship
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