Elton John & Leon Russell: The Union - 2010

  

Elton John finally got to record with his long-time hero Leon Russell, the man who influenced his sound more than anybody, on this appealing album. 

The opener, If It Wasn't For Bad, introduces us to Russell's slightly hangdog, world-weary voice. The song has a great hook, I find it reminiscent of an old Style Council track for some reason. Elton's Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes is a melodic piano-driven ballad with hints of Elton's early albums. Hey Ahab is a big, rousing blues number that Elton performed impressively in concert for a few years after the release of this. His voice sounds great on this and the song is driven by its strong backing vocals too. 

An evocative Bernie Taupin song about the US Civil War, Gone To Shiloh is the sort of song he has specialised in over the years. Neil Young contributes vocals to the song, effectively. The country-ish but bluesy Jimmie Rodgers' Dream is another instantly catchy one. There's No Tomorrow is a New Orleans gospel-flavoured mournful song, with some killer guitar in the middle, while Monkey Suit is another pounding rollicking number that Elton did so well in concert. This was classic, upbeat Elton blues. 

The album is actually fourteen songs in length, so it lasts a fair old time. I could go on about each individual track but it is probably not necessary, they do not change much in style. Basically, if you like early Elton John, piano-led bluesy rock with airs of country, and lyrics of the Old West, Taupin-style then this is for you. Russell's style, delivery, piano playing and indeed songs are very much in the fashion of John/Taupin's - so they both feed successfully off each other. The piano on the lively A Dream Come True is superb. Just check out the lovely The Best Part Of The Day, Elton at his absolute best, with Russell's touching help. Just beautiful. 

A breath of fresh air pervades all around this album. It is enjoyable from beginning to end. 

Popular posts from this blog

ROXY MUSIC

Image
For many people, Roxy Music mean  the Radio Two stalwarts of Jealous Guy, Love Is The Drug, Avalon, Dance Away and Oh Yeah!, performed by Bryan Ferry in a white tuxedo and played in lounge bars throughout the land.  For others, however, it is the strikingly innovative band that exploded on the scene with the single Virginia Plain in the late summer of 1972 that floats our boat.  They are a band of two distinct halves, like Fleetwood Mac (actually they had three) - the pre 1975 incarnation and the post hiatus one of 1979 to 1983.  I like both of them, as it happens, but it will always be the early years, those five great albums and the singles that do it for me.  In 1973, along with David Bowie and Mott The Hoople, there was nothing my fourteen year-old self liked better. I found a danceable solution to teenage revolution..... Did anyone really know what hit them in September 1972, when Roxy Music appeared on the scene with their wonderfu...
View Full Post »

TOM PETTY (with The Heartbreakers & solo)

Image
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers came on to the scene in 1976, after a few years gigging as Mudcrutch, and because of the time they emerged, they were considered punk. I guess they had a swagger and wore leather jackets, but they were no Ramones. They were, quite simply, a Southern States US rock band, albeit with a penchant for short, concise, sometimes fast-paced rock songs. Their influences were The Byrds, The Rolling Stones and even 60s pop bands like The Searchers.  Click on to the images below to read the reviews. Tom Petty You're Gonna Get It Damn The Torpedoes Hard Promises Long After Dark Southern Accents Let Me Up Into/Wide Open She's The One Echo The Last DJ Mojo Hypnotic Eye Full Moon Fever Wildflowers Highway Companion Best Of Anthology American Treasure Live Anthology
View Full Post »

U2

Image
I am not a "proper" U2 fan, I have to admit. I have all these albums but they don't move me in the way that many others do, so please bear that in mind when reading my reviews. Click on the images for in-depth reviews - Boy October War Unforgettable Fire Joshua Tree Rattle & Hum Achtung Baby Zooropa Pop Leave Behind Atomic Bomb No Line Songs Of Innocence Songs Of Experience
View Full Post »

THE JACKSON 5

Image
The Jackson 5 - five irrepressible teens and pre-teens that took the music world by storm in the late sixties and continued to do so until 1975, when their spin-off solo careers took over, followed by their mutation into The Jacksons - more mature disco purveyors - which saw them reach even greater heights. I cover the whole lot here, and rightly so. Don't tell me The Jackson 5 were merely throwaway bubblegum-ers. They weren't. Far from it. I Want You Back is one of the best carefree, joyous pop songs of all time. Click on the images below to read the reviews. Intro To Jackson 5 ABC Third Album Maybe Tomorrow Lookin' Windows Skywriter Get It Together Dancing Machine Moving Violation Michael Jackson Jermaine Jackson The Jacksons
View Full Post »

THE ROLLING STONES

Image
Ah, The Rolling Stones. Where do I start?  I guess I was first made aware of them as a seven or eight year-old in the 1966-67-68 period when they started to appeal to my heightening sense that the all-conquering Beatles were goody-goodies and The Stones were proper bad boys. My developing tastes found this to be an admirable thing. Even at that age, there was a nascent feeling that if the older generation - parents, teachers and the like, even the judiciary - despised them, they must have something about them. Ironically, though, my Mother loved The Stones.  Then, of course,  there was the music - loud, punchy, riffy, buzzy and singalong, but not in a  "she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah.."  way, but in a  "he can't be a man because he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me"  style. The Stones always had a healthy cynicism and a bit of tongue-in-cheek humour that appealed to me no end.  Not only that, there was the look - the cockiness, the laddish ...
View Full Post »

STING

Image
Like the post-millennium output of Van Morrison, Paul Simon, Mark Knopfler, Elvis Costello and Rod Stewart - among others - you know pretty much what you are going to get, and there is something rather comforting and reassuringly trustworthy in that. I put Sting's albums on and I know it will be easy-going, relaxing, lyrically thoughtful, gently rhythmic and immaculately played. His albums have always been hi-fi demonstration standard in their sound quality - razor sharp acoustic guitars, subtly syncopated percussion and clarity of voice.  There are not too many "wow" moments on Sting's albums. However, I don't listen to Sting to be wowed, I listen to him for a feeling of solidity and warmth. He has never let me down in that respect - an intelligent, contemplative and sensitive man who deserves far more respect than he gets. Fair play to him.  Click on the images below to read the reviews. Dream/Blue Turtles Nothing Like The Sun The Soul Cages Ten Summoners' ...
View Full Post »

ELVIS COSTELLO

Image
In the summer of 1977,  I was doing some student work in a bakery in Aylesbury, Bucks, when a colleague came running up, excitedly telling me that "Elvis Costello's coming to  Friars !" (the local rock club). I had never heard of Elvis Costello. His enthusiasm intrigued me so I went to the gig, despite not having heard any of his music. It was the "Stiffs" tour featuring Ian Dury and Wreckless Eric. Costello headlined and played an impressive set.  After that, I bought the  My Aim Is True  album and then, the following year brought  This Years Girl .  Many more live experiences of Costello and his excellent band The Attractions would be forthcoming over subsequent years as this quirky, bespectacled and passionate artist became one of my favourites.  He was an ideal new wave anti-hero - odd-looking yet possessed of a superb instinct for a piece of wordplay in his lyrics. He also knew his music and was influenced by country music, Stax soul, Motown,...
View Full Post »

The Beach Boys: 20 Golden Greats

Image
The Beach Boys, like their sixties counterparts the Beatles, were very much a group of distinct phases. Like The Beatles, they began with several years of joyful, unashamed teen pop before noticeably "going weird" at the same time.  This is the very first Beach Boys compilation I bought, in the boiling hot UK summer of 1976. It was totally ideal for such a summer. I almost felt I was catching a wave in California even though I was in Buckinghamshire.  "If everybody had an ocean"  - indeed. The collection takes us to the end of the sixties, missing out the Surf's Up and Holland albums, both of which are good, and the occasional later classic such as Lady Lynda , from 1980. No matter, though, because these years were The Beach Boys' best, for sure.  We start off with some glorious sun, sea and sand fun, fun, fun. Surfin' USA begins with a killer of a riff and an absolute huge wave full of summer atmosphere. Even all the years later it makes me incredibl...
View Full Post »

BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS

Image
I first got into Bob Marley in October 1975 when a friend of mine played me the live version of No Woman No Cry that is now known the world over. After that, I got the Catch A Fire, Burnin' and Natty Dread albums and the rest is a huge part of my own history. Now, it's time to get up and stand up..... Click on the images below to read the reviews. Soul Revolution Catch A Fire Burnin' Natty Dread Live Rastaman Vibration Exodus Kaya Survival Uprising Confrontation Legend
View Full Post »

DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES

Image
Diana Ross and The Supremes were, quite simply, a pop chart phenomenon. Despite an uncertain and tentative beginning when they were known at Motown Records, harshly, as the "no-hit Supremes", they went on, from 1964, to score hit after hit and become the best-selling female vocal group of all time. All this was in spite of Diana Ross being an inferior singer to many others at Motown, in my opinion... Click on the images below to read the reviews. Meet The Supremes Where Did/Love Go I Hear A Symphony Supremes A Go-Go Relections Love Child Let The Sunshine In Cream Of The Crop 20 Golden Greats Supremes post Diana Diana Ross solo Sups/Tempts Together Sups/4 Tops Return Of 7
View Full Post »