Elton John: Honky Château - 1972
"It is a rich, warm, satisfying album that stands head and shoulders above the morass of current releases" - Jon Landau, Rolling Stone.
Honky Château was the album which saw Elton John finally go “rock” and employ the Elton John Band of Davey Johnstone on lead guitar, Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums. For some reason, they were not allowed to be used on any more than one track on the previous albums, session musicians were used instead. I suppose when they were of the quality of Caleb Quaye then it didn’t matter so much.
Elton had been perceived, particularly by the mainstream media, as a studious, bespectacled singer-songwriter safe enough to appear as a guest on the Mike Yarwood show, or “Cilla”. Now, however, it was getting near the time for him to don the outsized sunglasses and platform boots and become the somewhat preposterous “glam” rocker he would continue to be for many years. Not quite yet, though, he still appeared earnest, serious and hippily bearded on the cover, a bit like Van Morrison at the same period. The music, though, was given a full rock treatment, pounding drums, rocking as opposed to tinkling piano, classic rock guitar and was augmented by Elton’s more bluesy voice. The songs, too, included some jazzy, blues rockers. In all these respects, this was a transitional album for both singer and songwriter.
Now, Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids.....
The lead off track, Honky Cat, was a horn and piano-driven piece of New Orleans-style funk and brassy rock which saw Elton aping his heroes Leon Russell and Dr. John. It was totally different from much of the material on the four preceding albums, with its instant, catchy jauntiness. It pulls you in from the very first piano notes.
In Mellow we had a piano ballad with the addition of Olsson's steady drums. It wouldn't otherwise have sounded out of place on Madman Across The Water but, again, there is a blues rock, thumping backing that makes it an integral part of a very different album. The sound quality on this album is, I should add at this point, simply superb. Crystal clear while retaining an essential fullness and warmth. There is an excellent electric violin solo from Jean-Luc Ponty on this track also.
In I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself we have the sort of upbeat, honky-tonk piano-driven rock that Elton would specialise in for the next however many years. Catchy and rollicking with Elton's voice fully using that strange mid-Atlantic twang now. Lyrically, it is not one of Bernie's best, however, the jaunty, bouncy tune not befitting of its sombre words. Suicide is certainly no carefree issue, is it? People have grown more sensitive to such subject matter these days, back then it was just another subject to be witty about.
Susie (Dramas) is a full-on, potent, kick ass slab of blues rock with as heavy a riff in the chorus as Elton had ever used so far. Olsson and Murray provide top-notch backing in this. One of the best cuts from the album. Its Americana sound is very much influenced by The Band, I would say.
Then, of course, we have Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time). It remains, to this day, one of Elton's (and Bernie's) most loved songs. It continues the trend for space-themed songs begun by The Rolling Stones in 2000 Light Years From Home and taken to number one by David Bowie with Space Oddity, although it is not inspired/influenced by either, it is simply about the same subject, one that was everywhere at the time. Funny how space travel never really developed in the way everyone thought it would, isn't it?Anyway, it took me until 2011 to finally see Elton in concert and, even then, there was just something special about Rocket Man, sung at Sussex County Cricket Ground as the sun set. "All the science, I don't understand, it's just my job five days a week...". Great lines. Allow me to witter on a bit more, I've always thought it was a bit odd when it the end of the second verse he sings "rocket man", then, when you think he's going to sing something else, he sings it again. Finally, I love that yelpy "oh no no no" bit.
Salvation is a really uplifting song, with its once more Southern States-influenced gospel chorus and piano build up and also Nigel Olsson's relentless drums. Again, it's simply great stuff. Listen to that sublime bass at around 2:40 from Dee Murray. Bloody beautiful. When Murray's bass combines with Elton's ivories the result is Heavenly. Like Susie, this was another overlooked song by both fans and Elton himself.
A lovely bass and acoustic guitar introduces Slave, a country-ish cousin to Border Song from the Elton John album. The Southern States images of slavery hark back to Tumbleweed Connection. Amy is a bit of a Honky Cat re-visit, vocally and musically. Pleasant enough in its bluesy, funky way, with more swirling electric violin too. It is one of those almost-forgotten Elton deep cuts. Hell, I almost forgot about it when doing this review!
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters is, quite simply, one of Elton and Bernie's finest ever songs. Just beautiful, everything about it - the instrumentation, the lyrics, the atmosphere and Elton's voice never sounded better. "I thank the Lord for the people I have found". I could quote so many lines from it. Peerless. A "sequel" to the song was recorded for the Reg Strikes Back album in 1988. Using Elton's self-given middle name in its title, Hercules is a rousing, funky rock closer to what is, definitely, one of Elton John's top five albums. I love this track.
I love this album. Simple as that.
An interesting alternative version is a faster take of Slave. It is a sub-three minute piano-powered romp through the song, sung at breakneck pace. It has its appeal, but I probably prefer the original on balance.
