If nothing else, Elton John was determined to keep churning out music at a steady pace of a new album every year. Too Low For Zero kept him on the charts thanks to decent tunes as well as getting somewhat back to basics. Bernie Taupin was fully on board, providing the lyrics for every song, and so were all the members of the original Elton John Band. Even Ray Cooper and Kiki Dee show up on “Cold As Christmas (In The Middle Of The Year)”, an odd choice for the lead track, given the title and subject matter (an older couple falling out of love). But it’s forgotten as soon as “I’m Still Standing” crashes in, and as wonderful a statement of purpose as any. The title track suffers from the keyboard and drum machines of the time—Elton is solely to blame, since James Newton Howard was no longer handling the synths—but there’s no denying its catchiness. “Religion” is a decent countrified track hampered by a lyrical indictment of hypocritical born-again types. (Social commentary was never this pair’s strong suit; that was about a decade away.) But he shows he can still get a hit with a slow one with “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues”, another terrific track, helped along by a harmonica solo from Stevie Wonder. (Davey Johnstone gets credit for some of the music as well.)
Unfortunately, “Crystal” is in the same one-man-synth-band mode as the title track, but again, it’s got a terrific melody, and deserves to be rearranged. Its demo feel is underscored when it segues jarringly into the rocking, nearly Who-like “Kiss The Bride” with its welcome guitars. While “Whipping Boy” sounds like we’ve heard it before, it’s good and trashy in a way he and Bernie hadn’t been since the ‘70s, and like everything we’ve heard so far here, it’s infectious. It’s a quick segue to the slower “Saint”, with its opening fanfare straight from an Asia album, and the band supports the chorus well. Just as slow is “One More Arrow”, which seems to be an elegy for a doomed young man that Elton sings at the upper end of its register. Thus his best album in years ends hauntingly.
The contemporary sheen made sense then, and there are enough elements in Too Low For Zero to put it on the level of his ‘70s heights. It’s definitely worth revisiting. Even the lengthy B-sides included on the reissue, which seem to come from earlier sessions, aren’t that embarrassing. “Earn While You Learn” is a funky instrumental credited to Lord Choc Ice, “Dreamboat” is a Gary Osborne lyric that rhymes “dream on dreamboat” with “steam on steamboat”, and “The Retreat” is another Taupin rumination on dead soldiers that doesn’t quite evoke Tumbleweed Connection.
Elton John Too Low For Zero (1983)—3
1998 CD reissue: same as 1983, plus 3 extra tracks
How does four good tracks (and only two of them great) get a 3? You're entitled to make the call of course, but I'm not sure how Too Low For Zero becomes average.
ReplyDeleteThe great songs are really great, and the sum of the parts makes it work. I'm not looking forward to the pile of Elton album coming next.
DeleteAmen to that. And given that Too Low followed Single Man, Victim of Love, The Fox and Jump Up!, I guess Too Low holds up much better than those suckers. And yes, good luck with the next eight. You should probably do them all with one entry and then go straight to Songs From The West Coast. Love your work. Cleveland Jeff
DeleteBernie was finally game to reunite full time with Elton, and the effort really does show through. The return of the old band helps, too. Three strong singles, although the video for “Kiss the Bride”, with Elton at a Hell’s Angels wedding, is simply awful. I don’t think that Bernie adequately explained the etymology of the word “blues”, but I love singing along with the “Rolling like thunder/under the covers” part in a bass voice.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rest of the songs, even minor songs like the silly “Crystal” and “Whipping Boy” are a lot a fun. I disagree with you about the title track. In this case, the way the synths and drum machine are used, and that piano solo coming out of nowhere, are an excellent fit for the claustrophobic lyrics. While I find “One More Arrow” very moving, I would’ve preferred it if he sang it his normal range, rather than an exaggerated falsetto. I believe that he did so live.
While the synthpop sound dates the album to the 80’s, Chris Thomas employs it tastefully, so, unlike later, the songs aren’t overwhelmed by it. Of course, Elton and Bernie came up with solid songs. The album certainly sounds more consistent than the previous three, but it doesn’t have a knock-it-out-of-the-park track like “Empty Garden”.
As for the bonus track B-sides, the first two are outtakes from “A Single Man”. They are very fun and danceable. I also disagree about “The Retreat”, another one that would have made “21 at 33” a better, if less commercial, album. I found it very moving the first time I heard it, even more so than “All Quite on the Western Front”. I wonder if a real incident inspired the lyrics. The album sessions did produce one later B-side, “Lonely Boy”, with a so-so melody supporting a so-so Gary Osbourne lyric.