Songs From the West Coast

Elton John - Songs From the West Coast

Songs From the West Coast
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CD Details

Artist: Elton John
Edition: Music CD
Audio: German (Unknown); English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2001-10-02
Music Label: Umvd Labels
Soundtracks:
  1. The Emperor's New Clothes
  2. Dark Diamond
  3. Look Ma No Hands
  4. American Triangle
  5. Original Sin
  6. Birds
  7. I Want Love
  8. The Wasteland
  9. Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes
  10. Love Her Like Me
  11. Mansfield
  12. This Train Don't Stop There Anymore

Music reviews of Songs From the West Coast

Music Review: It may be a tired rave, but this is Elton's best in decades!
Rating: 5 Stars

After the mid-1970s, Elton John's superstar days diminished in a litany of personal problems, addictions, and insecurities that effectively rendered his glory days over. His commercial successes still continued along virtually unabated, but after 1976's double album BLUE MOVES, the majority of Elton's albums were hit-and-miss affairs with some occasional glimmers of brilliance, but more than a few amounts of coasting. But at the start of the 1990s, Elton finally cleaned up his life and got back on the ball creatively for the most part. However, in the rush to re-establish his commercial dominance, the genius that had characterized his early works had been soft-pedaled. Then at the start of the new millennium, Elton & his lyricist Bernie Taupin (who Elton had worked with only sparingly throughout the '90s) were essentially reborn thanks to 2001's SONGS FROM THE WEST COAST.

While to claim it as one of Elton's all-time best would be a rush to judgement, it's still nonetheless astounding that with SONGS, Elton finally tried his hardest to create another masterpiece like his early '70s music, using the same intelligent songwriting that was reminiscent of TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION and CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, along with getting back behind his piano on a larger basis than before. The only thing that is different is that Elton's voice is now deeper than it was in the early days, owing perhaps to age or the long-lasting signs of his addictions. But it's a voice of experience nonetheless, and SONGS shows just how far Elton has come after 3 decades of celebrity.

The first single "I Want Love" was hailed as Elton's finest in almost 20 years, and this John Lennon-inspired ballad is certainly worthy of that honor. While the singer may want something a little akin to a one-night stand rather than truly lasting love, it still speaks to any listener who has wanted some kind of affection, no matter what. Not since the title track to 1992's THE ONE had Elton created such an affecting ballad.

Elton's ballads have always been the surefire winners in his career, and those on SONGS do not disappoint. "Original Sin", the heartfelt "Ballad Of The Boy In Red Shoes" & the anthemic closer "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" (perhaps hinting at a final break with his decadent past) are further additions to that long list of great slow songs in Elton's catalog. The fact that producer Patrick Leonard decided to give the album a more roots-based production (he's Elton's most sympathetic producer since Gus Dudgeon) makes the strengths of these tunes even more crystal clear.

But of course, "American Triangle" is the reigning king of the album's ballads for its emotion alone. An intensely moving tribute to the late Matthew Shepard, you can tell Elton felt a kinship with Shepard, as an openly gay man himself. While the lyrics could be misinterpreted as homophobic, this is definitely not the case, and is just simply a case of not whitewashing its subject. Hopefully, one listen to this song will turn any hateful person around.

Because Elton's most recent big hits have been Adult Contemporary-leaning ballads, his status as a credible rocker back in his early days is often overlooked. Yet SONGS helps put paid to the fact that Elton still can rock, and perhaps even better than before. The opening "The Emperor's New Clothes" is the siren call that Elton the rocker has returned. "Dark Diamond" is a borderline funk experiment with the welcome help of Stevie Wonder on harmonica. The blues-based "The Wasteland" has been denounced as a sour apple, but it's not half-bad, even if it does warrant perhaps a finer-crafted experiment on the next album.

The other songs do indeed take a while to register, but once they do, you can't overlook their stellarness. "Look Ma No Hands", the countryish "Birds" (finally seeing Elton return to TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION days successfully), "Love Her Like Me" (which is a slight descension back into AC gloss) & "Mansfield" all work their ways into your subconscious eventually. Just give them time!

At Elton John's age (he just turned 57), a veteran like him would maybe be expected to lose the genius of their early years & just let the accolades from the product of that era keep rolling in. After constantly being accused of coasting along for the last two decades or so, re-energizing himself was probably the last thing Elton could be expected to do. But with SONGS FROM THE WEST COAST, he did that and then some. Hints of the album may point to being a certain valediction (Elton commented a year or two ago about it being his last album), but I don't think Elton is leaving us for good. He could just be weary from all the activity of the last few years, and is in need of a rest. When he does come back, we can best be sure that another modern masterpiece like SONGS FROM THE WEST COAST is definitely in the offing.

More Songs From the West Coast free music reviews:
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Description of Songs From the West Coast

Songs From The West Coast - Special Limited Edition. Features bonus CD with 8 tracks, 'Your Song' (With Alessandro Safina), 'Teardrops' (with Lulu), 'The North Star', 'Original Sin' (Junior's Earth Mix Edit), 'Your Song' (Almighty Mix Edit), & the videos 'I Want Love', 'This Train Don't Stop There Anymore' & 'Your Song'. 2002.
The appearance of "Rocket Man"-era cohorts Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone as backing vocalists touches this CD with one of the trademark sounds of Elton John's 1969-75 LPs. John has acknowledged those records--his most typically singer-songwriterish--occasionally, if mostly to revisit audience favorites in concert (1987's Live in Australia, a late-'90s VH1 show). But on Songs from the West Coast, his admiration of Ryan Adams and Rufus Wainwright (a guest here) inspires him to recall the stripped-down, lyric-driven sensibility of his early days. The tone of the words Bernie Taupin feeds this notorious diva is elegiac, rooted in a wearier version of the romanticism that fueled oldies as diverse as "Your Song," "Love Lies Bleeding," and "Burn Down the Mission." West Coast sidesteps bombast with a couple of exceptions; only "The Wasteland," with its invocation of Robert Johnson, is enough to provoke a dismayed "oy." The standout track is "I Want Love," a Lennonesque rumination that's their most impressive writing, separately or together, in more than a decade. --Rickey Wright

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