I had an annoying day today dealing with the various
dehumanizing ways we service people en masse in the 21st century. It
began with an hour and a half of waiting at the medical clinic, all so I could
get 10 minutes with a doctor that told me…I have the flu. It ended with my bus
not picking me up and me waiting another 40 minutes for the next one.
That experience will garner BC Transit a less than
kind review from me, but first a less than kind review of the kind you were
expecting.
Disc 1175 is… Honky Chateau
Artist: Elton
John
Year of Release: 1972
What’s up with the Cover? It’s a Giant Head Cover! This is
early in his career and as you can see Elton cannot yet afford large sunglasses
for his Giant Head. Those would come later.
How I Came To Know It: Sheila got me into Elton John and
bought most of these studio albums when they were remastered and re-released on
CD. I filled in the collection here and there and I’m not sure where “Honky
Chateau” fits into those two possibilities.
How It Stacks Up: We have seven Elton John studio albums and I
saved slot #3 for “Honky Chateau”. However, this record let me down and I must
drop it down to #5 – moving both “Madman Across the Water” and “Caribou” up one.
It still beats out the bloated and overrated “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” but it’s
close.
Ratings: 3 stars but only barely
Sometimes I wish Elton John would just lay off the
boogie woogie and stick to ballads. On “Honky Chateau” I wished it early and
often.
The record starts with “Honky Cat” which if our copy of “Greatest Hits” is to be believed
was a hit. Why, I have no idea, with its horn section that sounds like a fart
and a bunch of frantic bells and piano trills that are clever enough but don’t
make me want to tap my feet, except maybe in agitation.
This is one of two songs that Elton attempts to use
the word ‘cat’ in a cool way. The other is “Hercules”
near the end of Side Two. Sadly in neither case is an actual cat involved, it
is just Elton trying to be hip to the new slang. I don’t think he manages it in
either case.
Even on slow songs like “Mellow” Elton warbles around so much that I had a hard time
following the melody, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. By the time “I Think I’m Going to Kill Myself” came
on at Track 3 it was starting to sound like good advice.
I just don’t dig Elton John when he’s trying to be
groovy or boogie woogie or whatever he is trying to be on these songs. On “Amy” he says of the titular character “you’re far out, you’re fab and insane.” Sadly
Elton is not these things, and his efforts to infuse these songs with an urban
strut fail.
Instead, the songs seem to dart around frantically, without
much purpose or plot, until they eventually wear themselves out and stop. It
reminded me of the mentally ill woman who waited with me at the bus stop today,
randomly swearing and giving various objects the finger. I was listening to
Elton so missed her epithets, but I like to think she was also unhappy with the
transit system. But I digress…
For all that frustration, when “Rocket Man” comes on I almost forgive it all. “Rocket Man” is just one of those perfect songs. Elton writes a
gorgeous melody and then relaxes into the song’s flow. The guitar and piano
play off one another beautifully, the backup singers ‘ooh’ with sublime
inspiration and as Elton’s Rocket Man is “burning
up his fuse out here alone” (for the record, that’s what he’s doing) he is
also tapping into something universal. The loneliness of existence is
beautiful, precious and not really alone at all; we’re all slowly swaying within
the same feelings of isolation. Great stuff.
I also really love “Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters,” which is another song in taking solace
in isolation, although here that isolation exists within the multitude; surrounded
by the sights and sounds of New York City. If you’re looking for a place where
you can be friends with no one and everyone at once, New York City is it. The
song ends with Elton thanking the Lord for the people he has found. You’re not
sure if he means all those strangers or a few close friends and really, in the
moment it doesn’t matter.
I’m sure for lots of people this record is a classic.
It was certainly successful – the first
of six straight #1 records for Elton. But this blog isn’t about critical acclaim
or commercial success. It’s about how I feel about a record and apart from a
couple of classics lifting it up “Honky Chateau” left me behind. Like the #11 bus earlier.
Yeah, I’m not over that.
Best
tracks: Rocket
Man, Salvation, Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters
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