“Daniel” is one of those hits that today may inspire a lunge to change the station, but it’s still a sweet song; note the electric piano for a change, and trilling acoustics. “Teacher I Need You” has triplet arpeggios that would dominate several Ben Folds albums in thirty years’ time, and a lyric not too far from the teen angst of “Amy” and “I think I’m Gonna Kill Myself”. “Elderberry Wine” and “Midnight Creeper” both boast meaty brass for the intentions of boogie; the former has enough meter changes to have you tripping over your feet, while the latter tries to be tough. In between, however, is “Blues For Baby And Me”. This criminally under-heard tune has all the elements of an Elton John classic: a cascading melody matched by the piano, a romantic lyric, and open-ended mystery. The strings and horns recall Love and “Levon”, and either a Coral sitar or a real one adds unexpected accents.
Despite its borderline disco beginning, “Have Mercy On The Criminal” is a heavy-blues version of the outlaw cowboy music of only a few years before, given more drama by Davey Johnstone’s multi-layered guitars. “I’m Gonna Be A Teenage Idol” is a terrific track, but for the overdone horn arrangement and unconvincing lyric. (For a better slant, think “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen.) “Texan Love Song” is a parody of redneck ideology and hardly an homage, an approach that works so much better on “Crocodile Rock”, with its simple progression and infectious singalong la-la chorus tag. It would be a fine ending to the album, but “High Flying Bird”, another poetic Bernie Taupin lyric given a big open treatment, points to certain songs yet to be written or recorded.
As mentioned, Don't Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player was a huge hit, and got his 1973 off to a strong start. Even with only two hit singles, it was enough; plus the packaging had lots of pretty pictures in a full-size lyric booklet. Many years later, the reissue added decent value in the form of four B-sides from the era. “Screw You”, “Jack Rabbit”, and “Whenever You’re Ready (We’ll Go Steady Again)” will be of interest to completists, but the key addition is “Skyline Pigeon”, a re-recording of a song from his debut, given a wonderful string arrangement and beautifully understated treatment by the band. A gem, truly.
Elton John Don't Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player (1973)—3
1995 CD reissue: same as 1973, plus 4 extra tracks
On the original MCA cassette, the track sequence switches “Midnight Creeper” and “High Flying Bird”. That means, for me, that we get one side of very high-quality pop songs on Side 1. This is followed, for the first time, by second class filler on Side 2. Dudgeon turned up the production from the lower key sound of “Honky Chateau”, but that doesn’t disguise the weakness of the material.
ReplyDeleteWhen I compare “Have Mercy on the Criminal” with “Rotten Peaches”, a song with a similar theme, I hear something far more overproduced, melodramatic and tasteless. I wonder if Bernie had some snide contempt for the narrator in “..Teenage Idol”. Elton sure sings in that way. I admit that I reveled in the sarcasm of “Texan Love Song” when I first heard it, but now I realize that it’s condescending. On the other hand, it’s disturbing to think that, with a little tweaking, it could become a MAGA anthem. “Crocodile Rock” is fun, but just fluff. “Midnight Creeper” is the second (unfortunately, not the last) time that Elton and Bernie decided to poorly imitate the Stones.
The other half of the album is such a contrast. I never really cared for the arrangement of “Daniel”, but the song is really moving. It’s hard to believe that Elton had to pressure his record companies to release it as a single. “Teacher, I Need You” might be another example of Bernie’s lyrical regression on the album, but the rolling piano, as well as, of all things, a mellotron on the bridge, lift this one up. “Elderberry Wine” is a lot better than its A-side, except for Bernie’s use of “black eyed peas” as a verb. “Blues for Baby and Me” is another example of Bernie evoking teenage naivete (“Fast Car” was a long way away). Maybe it’s also a bit of a melodrama, but the Buckmaster provides a great arrangement. I agree that the sitar is a very unusual touch for a song like this. Finally, there’s the glorious “High Flying Bird”, which is this album’s sleeper. Wow. The addition of the remake of “Skyline Pigeon” is just icing on the cake. The three B-sides from the “Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road” sessions don’t fit. There’s more emphasis on Davey Johnstone’s work on these than on “Don’t Shoot Me..”.
The smash success of this one, of course, encouraged Elton to continue further in this direction. Of course, this continued to deliver mixed results.
The "butchering" of American Beatle albums (as well as the Stones, Kinks, and nearly everyone else) was nothing compared to what MCA did on the cassettes for nearly every album in their catalogs. I dare say the listening experience was different in all cases.
DeleteThey left some untouched (very fortunately, they had enough respect for "Captain Fantastic.." to leave it alone). However, the track sequences were radically altered for "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road" and "Blue Moves" --- so much, that I still find it jarring today to hear the songs on CD in their original LP order. "Wait, that song shouldn't come next", etc.
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