James Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 No, not referring to Lew : ) Referring to the Elton John song, ...a song that is uber obscure, but at the same time is such a great and out of the box pop song that it could have been a song of the year if positioned and promoted right. A testament to how great a composer was Elton between 1969 and 1976: Now Creeee..EEEP: https://www.last.fm/music/Elton+John/_/Midnight+Creeper 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 Closes out which may be one of my favorite album sides of all time (Side 1 - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Paino Player) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 And then flip it over and get hit by Have Mercy On The Criminal. Wow! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 Yes! Yes! And Yes! To everything James and Craig just said here re: Have mercy on the Criminal and Midnight Creeper. My first Elton John album ..actually bought by one of my brothers. It was the first album he received in his record club. He introduced me to it and I now own it and of course became attached to every single song on the album. I played the heck out of it for sure like it was the last album on Earth. I know these songs so well and they were so good. No argument from me, Elton was doing some of his best work here. And let's not forget Bernie Taupin's lyrics. Those good old days ..where have they gone? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 I remember so well telling friends that there is no way he will ever be able to do better than this album. AND THEN...in less than a year, I had Goodbye Yellow Road in my hands. I thought "Wow. He just did it!". Now, looking back, I think I still like Don't Shoot Me...more, but the fact that he released these two back-to-back is just crazy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 I agree Craig.. because it was my 1st album and so it is special to me. There is a whole atmosphere about it unlike any of his others. I cannot forget the way it made me feel when I listened to all of those songs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 And even more crazy is maybe my fave - Honky Chateau - came out only 8 months prior to Don't Shoot Me. Incredible zone he was in. Incredible. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 In my opinion...the best three album run in rock n roll history. (and one was a double album...geesh!!!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 Yea, in effect that's 4 masterpiece albums in 17 months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Agreed. I know we've marveled elsewhere here on Elton's genius during that three-album run, and rightfully so. I personally would extend that span one album in each direction, because Madman Across the Water was a stunner and (I know some of you Eltonians are a little colder on this one) Caribou was a powerhouse of great pop. So, for me, it's a 2.5-year, five-album run of brilliance:Nov 1971: Madman Across the Water [favorite track: Tiny Dancer]May 1972: Honky Chateau [favorite track: Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters]Jan 1973: Don't Shoot Me [favorite track: Crocodile Rock]Oct 1973: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road [favorite track: I've Seen That Movie Too]Jun 1974: Caribou [The Bitch Is Back] And it's hard to stop at Captain Fantastic from May 1975. Either way, you also have to figure in non-album singles recorded in 1974: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (recorded during Caribou) and "Philadelphia Freedom" (recorded Aug 1974, released in Feb 1975). Not bad! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 PS: Craig, somewhere here, there's actually a pretty cool thread angled on your point: best three-album runs in history. The Elton trio of Honky, Don't Shoot Me, and Yellow Brick Road was part of that discussion. (So were Raspberries' 2nd, 3rd, and 4th albums and Eric's first three solo albums — we're biased. And I know I would have mentioned the Beatles' White Album, Abbey Road, and Let It Be. Gotta find that thread and bump it....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew C. Clark Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 The song "Elderberry Wine" is my favorite. Also B 45 flip single of "Crocodile Rock". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 Matt, that's how I first encountered "Elderberry Wine", ...someone in my family had purchased the 45 of CR 2 or 3 years prior to me buying the album, and I remember flipping the 45 over and listening to the B side and being impressed that a B side was of such high quality. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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