Tag Archives: Elton John

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Song of the Day #4,035: ‘The Cage’ – Elton John

My overall enjoyment of the movie Rocketman sent me down a bit of an Elton John rabbit hole.

I created a playlist of his most notable albums (particularly those released between 1970 and 1975 plus a couple of entries from the 80s) and listened to them all in order. I wanted to see what I’d been missing, as I’m primarily a fan only through his best-known songs.

After spending a few weeks on the exercise, the simple verdict is that John is primarily a greatest hits artist for me. But not entirely.

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Song of the Day #3,695: ‘Madman Across the Water’ – Elton John

Elton John’s Madman Across the Water is my seventh favorite album of 1971, though it would be more accurate to say the first side of Madman Across the Water made the list. When ‘Tiny Dancer,’ ‘Levon’ and ‘Madman Across the Water’ are three of your first four songs, you can pretty much hang up your hat and call it a day.

The other tracks — ‘Razor Face,’ ‘Indian Sunset,’ ‘Holiday Inn,’ ‘Rotten Peaches,’ ‘All the Nasties’ and ‘Goodbye’ — are all solid, if not up to the level of the opening classics.

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Song of the Day #3,444: ‘I’m Still Standing’ – Elton John

Closing out my week of songs favored by my daughter Fiona is another 80s hit, Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing.’ This one didn’t come courtesy of her neighborhood friend, however, but through an animated film.

Specifically, the 2016 movie Sing, which features a group of animals competing in an American Idol-style singing competition.

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Song of the Day #3,380: ‘Rocket Man’ – Elton John

It’s time for everybody to admit their age, as Day 19 of the 30 Day Music Challenge calls for ‘A Song From the Year You Were Born.’

In my case, that’s 1972, and I had quite a list of impressive works to choose from. Some of my favorites include Jackson Browne’s ‘Doctor My Eyes,’ The Rolling Stones’ ‘Tumbling Dice’ (and all of Exile on Main Street, for that matter), the Eagles’ ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’ (already used in this game), and Al Green’s ‘Let’s Stay Together.’

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Song of the Day #3,299: ‘Cold As Christmas (In the Middle of the Year)’ – Elton John

I’m far from an Elton John completist. I own only a handful of his albums and I’m really familiar with just two of them — Honky Chateau and Madman Across the Water.

One album I’d like to know better is 1983’s Too Low For Zero. It comes highly recommended by my brother-in-law and features the excellent hit singles ‘I’m Still Standing’ and ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’ in addition to today’s SOTD and the title track. Continue reading →