Now decked out in a brand new wig, Elton John surged forward into the ‘90s with the first of several albums determined to prove he wasn’t leaving the top of the charts anytime soon. The One arrived with the usual promotional push, with ornate Gianna Versace-designed cover art to match his new suits. All lyrics were credited to simply “Taupin”, and Elton played a digital piano, but the music was your basic adult contemporary. Despite the ubiquitous synthesized harmonica that everybody his age seemed to be using then, “Simple Life” is inoffensive pop that could be read as a statement of newly sober and clean purpose. The title track has enough echoes of earlier Elton songs (most notably “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”) to feel comfortable yet not too derivative, but we could do without the seagulls. It was a justifiable hit. “Sweat It Out” has a nice moody opening, then the programmed drums kick in like somebody smacking a two-by-four against a refrigerator for six minutes. Unfortunately, the stream-of-conscious-style lyrics and delivery don’t fit, and the melodic chorus deserves better. “Runaway Train” got a double push from being a duet with the also-newly-sober Eric Clapton as well as being featured in the new Lethal Weapon movie. Gospel-style backing vocals on the choruses and organ solos dueling with the lead guitar keep it ordinary. In case you hadn’t noticed, Bernie Taupin was fascinated with the American South, and “Whitewash County” would have been a lot better with a different arrangement—maybe using real fiddles instead of fake ones, and turning up the mandolins.
Of course, it’s followed by “The North”, which we’re taking to be a not very fond reminiscence of life in that part of England. And while Elton was here, queer, and we got used to it, Bernie wasn’t, so he kept supplying lyrics like “When A Woman Doesn’t Want You”. It’s about time there was something with a slower tempo for the drums, and the song is still good advice for those aspiring to be sensitive men, assuming they were listening. “Emily” would appear to be a portrait of an Eleanor Rigby type who wanders through cemeteries talking to herself, but despite that cool chord change over the coda, the jaunty music doesn’t fit at all, making us wonder if Elton read the lyrics. Similarly, the “Philadelphia Freedom” approach to the unhappily married couple living “On Dark Street” doesn’t pull any heartstrings, especially with Nigel Olsson and Kiki Dee singing along. “Understanding Women” had already been released on the British version of his box set; the only enticement here is David Gilmour on lead guitar for a few bars. But what ultimately redeems the album is the aptly titled “The Last Song”. While not overt, the lyrics are sung from the perspective of a man dying from AIDS complications finally being accepted by his father. Partially inspired by the recent death of Freddie Mercury, the sentiment is universal and extremely touching.
As had become standard practice, most songs have elongated endings encouraged by the longer CD capacity; most tracks exceed five minutes, some get close to that, and two go past six. A little editing would have made the album a lot tighter, just as the boomy sound and programmed drums on nearly every track make the album title a little too literal. It’s too bad, because the good songs are really good. (In 1998 the album was reissued, along with several others, with two contemporary B-sides as bonus tracks: “Suit Of Wolves” and the hideous “Fat Boys And Ugly Girls”.)
Elton John The One (1992)—2½
1998 CD reissue: same as 1992, plus 2 extra tracks
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