“A
Tremendous Leap Of Faith”: The Diving Board, The New Album by Elton John Review
by Author, Artist - Claude W. Bernardin, 11/10/13
A determinedly devout fan of the music
of the 1970’s, I was a young witness to the talents and rise from total
obscurity of Rock Legend Elton John. It was the singer-songwriter Era, and of
all the albums a young teenager could buy, I was always saving my best for the
next album by Elton. The guy churned them out non-stop for five years, every
six months a new studio album to hold and cherish. The Music ripped, it shone,
it even glowed….Not one performer could catch his tail winds, he was a
barnstormer alright, and you either caught that train, or it left you eating
his dust.
I loved every aspect of the Glamor, the
glitz, the melodies, the electricity of it all. The lyrics were my own Poetry,
I owned them, poured over them. The Liner notes, I used to use a magnifying
glass and read every word over and over again. By the time 1974’s Captain
Fantastic came out, we were buying two and three copies of each album, one to
play, one to never open, one to plaster a bedroom walls with.
But the dream had to end. It came to a
screeching mind numbing stop in the Fall of 1976, for reasons a million times
over we all know well. Sadly, the late 70’s and 1980’s would be troubling times
for a fan of this guy. We fans stood by him, as much as could humanly be
expected, but it’s hard to admit you like a gay guy in a Donald Duck suit
singing “Crocodile Rock” now isn’t? But we did!
By 1995, The Legend was kind of faded,
for me. The World had just granted him a Hit in “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”
and The Disney Film, “The Lion King. But I was beginning to struggle with the
music. It just didn’t have the same salt and pepper that I’d grown up with.
What was even worse I had just met the man in Columbus, Ohio. He was pleasant,
vibrant, caring, thoughtful…and all I wanted to say was….”Dude….What’s with the
music? What’s going on these days? Your albums are like roller coaster rides of
Highs and lows….” But I couldn’t muster it. He was a complete gentleman, and I
was in awe. That day he and I shared some very nice pleasantries. One
particular conversation focused on my favorite song of his, “Talking Old
Soldier”. I soon realized we shared a similar love for the song. At this
particular moment, having just published a book entitled, “Rocket Man: The
Music of Elton John from A to Z” I hardly saw myself as some kind of Public
Enemy Number One in the Life and Music of this Great Legend. But two years later,
after the death of My Mother and Father, I found the Internet, and decided,
TRUTH must prevail! I opened up my Great big mouth and began singing the Billy
Joel tune, “Honesty is such a lonely word…” ! I figured it was high time we
saved this man from a life of downward spirals, inconsistent music output and
so off I went. I am none too proud of those moments today. In fact I am
embarrassed by them, and would apologize for them if the chance were to ever
arise. I was wrong. A fan is just that, and so if I had fallen off the Star,
and the Star no longer twinkled, it still wasn’t right.
I guess for me, this is my way of paying
that back now. If nothing else, I certainly owe Bernie Taupin, Nigel Olsson,
Davey Johnstone, and Elton John this much. I mean these guys were And still are
Legends. I’m just a shcmuck from wherever America. But I had been there, I had
flown to Legendary-Halls in Nashville, Columbus, Boston, New York. I had seen
him and his band for decades, standing at the edge of 17,000 fans playing the
King. The 2 – 3 hour Power House sets, The Lit candle encores, The Thundering
applause, the Clamoring to stage for an autograph. I knew the ups and downs on
any given night, the truth behind, “Bad Sushi” in New Jersey, and yet, as the
years progressed, It seemed odd to me that the same stage magic and energy, was
disappearing on every studio album he’d release. Don’t get me wrong, I found
the odd track to love, “Cry To Heaven”, “One More Arrow”, Burning Buildings”,
“The One”, “Blue Avenue”, “No More Valentines”, “Wake Up Wendy”.
There was a hopeful glimmer in 1989 with
the release of “Sleeping With The Past”, but that didn’t seem to do enough to
resurrect the Historic Electric Light of a Rock N Roll Legend. Somehow it all
seemed a bit sad to me. Like the game was over, And The Legend was walking off
the field for the one and final time. He had left his mark, No one could surely
argue to the contrary that The songs of John and Taupin did not live up to the
Statuesque Grandeur of Springsteen, Simon, Lennon and McCartney.
Oh, but time waits for no one, not even
Elton John. And as the years blitzed by, we would see again and again a little
glimmer of the old self, but soon we’d see it lapse back in to a state of
hibernation or worse, obscurity. Some of it just wasn’t fair. 2001’s “Songs
From The West Coast” , for instance, was a brilliant effort, that matched The
absolute best of this songwriting teams 1970’s classics. But the World was too
busy reeling from 9-11, and the death of Princess Di, to notice. Album after
album would be treated to a quick hello, some fan and critical praise, and then
back to the shadows of the record bins they’d go. The tours as well, would be
littered with the memories of a few new gems, here today, gone tomorrow the mantra
of the day. Many times, I admit now , I began to fade off myself into new
musicians, settling down with the likes of Tori Amos, Ben Folds, John
Mellencamp, even dare I admit this Bruce Springsteen ( shudder ), for a
different musical fix. I suppose you could say I needed something more. BY the
mid- 2000’s, I had settled on only one studio album in his illustrious career,
1976’s “Blue Moves”. Why you may ask, wasn’t it reviewed back then as a HUGE
career disappointment? Yes I suppose it was, but for me….it was the exact
moment the Man, his words, his melodies, his arrangements, his Production fell
into a dark cold vacuous wasteland. I needed to understand it, to hopefully
fathom its deepest depths, to come to terms with its inevitable brilliance and
weaknesses. And so I did just that, day in, day out the album played. And I
fell in love with its every nuance. I longed for an album as rich, as
passionate, as creative, as self-expressive, and still nothing seemed to quite
measure up.
In 2009/2010 The Union was released,
featuring Leon Russell, paired with Elton. My Two Childhood Piano Gods back in
the saddle once again, what were the chances of this happening? Was God really
listening up there? Was he as much a fan of that Rock magic, as I had been in
1970? Now I may be an old fool, but I knew there was no way we were going to
“MATCH” the energy of “11/17/70” or “Amoreena” and “Roll Away The Stone” or
“Delta Lady”, I mean come on! They were in their 20’s! But the album did not
disappoint. For me personally it remains a career milestone for both musicians.
It had wonderful, honest moments. Touching moments. And songs that clearly rose
to the “Style” of their heyday. I could want very little than that. It made me
smile daily as I played this CD, and I would say softly, “Isn’t life grand when
music like this is made with such love?” I let all the battles the die-hard
fans had about who would play on what, and why this wasn’t featured on that?
Left it all in the dust. I had what I had needed, I had passion once again…and
it was all over that record, no I had two things…Passion…and Total soul opened
to the stars “Honesty”, once again…..and it was breath taking music . It still
is, when the CD is allowed to occupy my CD player in my truck. But I was fine
with it, I figured this was it, like that clip of Leon…saying in to a
camera….”That’s all folks” and the camera pans back for one long fade away shot
down a dimly lit hall.
In 2013, the news broke, we were to
ready ourselves for new product that just “MIGHT” be better than that album.
Better? I was cynical to say the least, been there, heard this before. Well
this long awaited album, even went through several studio sessions, and several
name changes, THESE were signs of greatness???? I was sure that this was Elton
and Bernie’s, “High Noon”, like Gary Cooper, Personally compelled to stare down
the barrel of his past shadows, defiant but still terribly weakened by his own
demons. And what were they…1. The singer hated working long hours in a
recording studio, this was evident now after all these years and all those
interviews. 2. Neither lyricist or musician seemed willing to recognize they
had a heavy weight hanging around their necks, 1973’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick
Road”! Comparisons were going to be natural. 3. His voice, the guy who sang
“Blues…. Ooowwwhhh , Owwhs…” In Yellow Brick Road, that was this guy? His voice
was surely in question, too road weary, too shagged out. So we waited, and we
waited…..and finally, The day arrived, September 24th. The release of “The
Diving Board” was a career achievement! Both musician, and lyricist had created
another Masterpiece, a magnificent body of work – A Stephen Foster/Nina
Simone/William Faulkner-esque montage of gritty New Orleans blues, smoky jazz
clubs, and pure AMERICANA – fuel injected by the brilliant cinematic visage and
storytelling of Bernie Taupin. The songwriting team of John and Taupin handed
us the musical equivalent of Thornton Wilder’s classic 1930’s , “Our Town”. Who
said Rock N Roll was only for teenagers? That was then…this is now! Those words
of 1973, on “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” had finally proven to be prophetic:
“Oh, I’ve finally decided my future lies…beyond the Yellow Brick Road!”
And apparently they discovered their
future down the back roads of American History.
“A
Tremendous Leap Of Faith”: The Diving Board, The New Album by Elton John Review
by Author, Artist - Claude W. Bernardin, 11/10/13
I loved every aspect of the Glamor, the
glitz, the melodies, the electricity of it all. The lyrics were my own Poetry,
I owned them, poured over them. The Liner notes, I used to use a magnifying
glass and read every word over and over again. By the time 1974’s Captain
Fantastic came out, we were buying two and three copies of each album, one to
play, one to never open, one to plaster a bedroom walls with.
But the dream had to end. It came to a
screeching mind numbing stop in the Fall of 1976, for reasons a million times
over we all know well. Sadly, the late 70’s and 1980’s would be troubling times
for a fan of this guy. We fans stood by him, as much as could humanly be
expected, but it’s hard to admit you like a gay guy in a Donald Duck suit
singing “Crocodile Rock” now isn’t? But we did!
By 1995, The Legend was kind of faded,
for me. The World had just granted him a Hit in “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”
and The Disney Film, “The Lion King. But I was beginning to struggle with the
music. It just didn’t have the same salt and pepper that I’d grown up with.
What was even worse I had just met the man in Columbus, Ohio. He was pleasant,
vibrant, caring, thoughtful…and all I wanted to say was….”Dude….What’s with the
music? What’s going on these days? Your albums are like roller coaster rides of
Highs and lows….” But I couldn’t muster it. He was a complete gentleman, and I
was in awe. That day he and I shared some very nice pleasantries. One
particular conversation focused on my favorite song of his, “Talking Old
Soldier”. I soon realized we shared a similar love for the song. At this
particular moment, having just published a book entitled, “Rocket Man: The
Music of Elton John from A to Z” I hardly saw myself as some kind of Public
Enemy Number One in the Life and Music of this Great Legend. But two years later,
after the death of My Mother and Father, I found the Internet, and decided,
TRUTH must prevail! I opened up my Great big mouth and began singing the Billy
Joel tune, “Honesty is such a lonely word…” ! I figured it was high time we
saved this man from a life of downward spirals, inconsistent music output and
so off I went. I am none too proud of those moments today. In fact I am
embarrassed by them, and would apologize for them if the chance were to ever
arise. I was wrong. A fan is just that, and so if I had fallen off the Star,
and the Star no longer twinkled, it still wasn’t right.
I guess for me, this is my way of paying
that back now. If nothing else, I certainly owe Bernie Taupin, Nigel Olsson,
Davey Johnstone, and Elton John this much. I mean these guys were And still are
Legends. I’m just a shcmuck from wherever America. But I had been there, I had
flown to Legendary-Halls in Nashville, Columbus, Boston, New York. I had seen
him and his band for decades, standing at the edge of 17,000 fans playing the
King. The 2 – 3 hour Power House sets, The Lit candle encores, The Thundering
applause, the Clamoring to stage for an autograph. I knew the ups and downs on
any given night, the truth behind, “Bad Sushi” in New Jersey, and yet, as the
years progressed, It seemed odd to me that the same stage magic and energy, was
disappearing on every studio album he’d release. Don’t get me wrong, I found
the odd track to love, “Cry To Heaven”, “One More Arrow”, Burning Buildings”,
“The One”, “Blue Avenue”, “No More Valentines”, “Wake Up Wendy”.
There was a hopeful glimmer in 1989 with
the release of “Sleeping With The Past”, but that didn’t seem to do enough to
resurrect the Historic Electric Light of a Rock N Roll Legend. Somehow it all
seemed a bit sad to me. Like the game was over, And The Legend was walking off
the field for the one and final time. He had left his mark, No one could surely
argue to the contrary that The songs of John and Taupin did not live up to the
Statuesque Grandeur of Springsteen, Simon, Lennon and McCartney.
Oh, but time waits for no one, not even
Elton John. And as the years blitzed by, we would see again and again a little
glimmer of the old self, but soon we’d see it lapse back in to a state of
hibernation or worse, obscurity. Some of it just wasn’t fair. 2001’s “Songs
From The West Coast” , for instance, was a brilliant effort, that matched The
absolute best of this songwriting teams 1970’s classics. But the World was too
busy reeling from 9-11, and the death of Princess Di, to notice. Album after
album would be treated to a quick hello, some fan and critical praise, and then
back to the shadows of the record bins they’d go. The tours as well, would be
littered with the memories of a few new gems, here today, gone tomorrow the mantra
of the day. Many times, I admit now , I began to fade off myself into new
musicians, settling down with the likes of Tori Amos, Ben Folds, John
Mellencamp, even dare I admit this Bruce Springsteen ( shudder ), for a
different musical fix. I suppose you could say I needed something more. BY the
mid- 2000’s, I had settled on only one studio album in his illustrious career,
1976’s “Blue Moves”. Why you may ask, wasn’t it reviewed back then as a HUGE
career disappointment? Yes I suppose it was, but for me….it was the exact
moment the Man, his words, his melodies, his arrangements, his Production fell
into a dark cold vacuous wasteland. I needed to understand it, to hopefully
fathom its deepest depths, to come to terms with its inevitable brilliance and
weaknesses. And so I did just that, day in, day out the album played. And I
fell in love with its every nuance. I longed for an album as rich, as
passionate, as creative, as self-expressive, and still nothing seemed to quite
measure up.
In 2009/2010 The Union was released,
featuring Leon Russell, paired with Elton. My Two Childhood Piano Gods back in
the saddle once again, what were the chances of this happening? Was God really
listening up there? Was he as much a fan of that Rock magic, as I had been in
1970? Now I may be an old fool, but I knew there was no way we were going to
“MATCH” the energy of “11/17/70” or “Amoreena” and “Roll Away The Stone” or
“Delta Lady”, I mean come on! They were in their 20’s! But the album did not
disappoint. For me personally it remains a career milestone for both musicians.
It had wonderful, honest moments. Touching moments. And songs that clearly rose
to the “Style” of their heyday. I could want very little than that. It made me
smile daily as I played this CD, and I would say softly, “Isn’t life grand when
music like this is made with such love?” I let all the battles the die-hard
fans had about who would play on what, and why this wasn’t featured on that?
Left it all in the dust. I had what I had needed, I had passion once again…and
it was all over that record, no I had two things…Passion…and Total soul opened
to the stars “Honesty”, once again…..and it was breath taking music . It still
is, when the CD is allowed to occupy my CD player in my truck. But I was fine
with it, I figured this was it, like that clip of Leon…saying in to a
camera….”That’s all folks” and the camera pans back for one long fade away shot
down a dimly lit hall.
In 2013, the news broke, we were to
ready ourselves for new product that just “MIGHT” be better than that album.
Better? I was cynical to say the least, been there, heard this before. Well
this long awaited album, even went through several studio sessions, and several
name changes, THESE were signs of greatness???? I was sure that this was Elton
and Bernie’s, “High Noon”, like Gary Cooper, Personally compelled to stare down
the barrel of his past shadows, defiant but still terribly weakened by his own
demons. And what were they…1. The singer hated working long hours in a
recording studio, this was evident now after all these years and all those
interviews. 2. Neither lyricist or musician seemed willing to recognize they
had a heavy weight hanging around their necks, 1973’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick
Road”! Comparisons were going to be natural. 3. His voice, the guy who sang
“Blues…. Ooowwwhhh , Owwhs…” In Yellow Brick Road, that was this guy? His voice
was surely in question, too road weary, too shagged out. So we waited, and we
waited…..and finally, The day arrived, September 24th. The release of “The
Diving Board” was a career achievement! Both musician, and lyricist had created
another Masterpiece, a magnificent body of work – A Stephen Foster/Nina
Simone/William Faulkner-esque montage of gritty New Orleans blues, smoky jazz
clubs, and pure AMERICANA – fuel injected by the brilliant cinematic visage and
storytelling of Bernie Taupin. The songwriting team of John and Taupin handed
us the musical equivalent of Thornton Wilder’s classic 1930’s , “Our Town”. Who
said Rock N Roll was only for teenagers? That was then…this is now! Those words
of 1973, on “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” had finally proven to be prophetic:
“Oh, I’ve finally decided my future lies…beyond the Yellow Brick Road!”
And apparently they discovered their
future down the back roads of American History.
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