The Big Picture, Elton John’s twenty-fifth album, continues the trend of his 90s albums in being decent. His output in this decade has been more consistently OK than in the decade before. If I had to say a bad word about it, it would probably would be that it doesn’t really stand out from the immediately preceding albums, there’s lots of orchestral accompaniment, but otherwise it sounds no different. Is it better to stand out for being shit or not stand out for being mediocre? I’m not sure.
The album’s most famous song, and probably the only thing it will be remembered for, is Something About the Way You Look Tonight. It’s an OK song, but I find it a bit drawn out - it would probably be a much better 3½ minute song than its actual 5 minutes. It was also made famous not as part of this album, but as the B-side1 to Candle in the Wind 1997, Taupin and John’s tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Big Picture has been described as “dark and introspective” and it is. But to me it just sounds like everything else John released in the 90s. That’s not inherently bad, but after listening to this many albums, I’m left wanting something more. 3 stars.
Technically it was a double A-side, but c’mon.