At long last, after three months and thirty albums I’ve reached the end of Elton John’s discography. I still can’t say I’ve listened to all of his discography: by my count there’s still four collaboration albums, two Christmas albums, five live albums, ten soundtrack albums, six EPs and several non-album singles which were excluded from these reviews, which I’ve listened to in varying amounts. But the thirty ordinary studio albums? I’ve listened to them all.
Was it worth it? Probably not. But I am glad for what it prompted. At the end of last year when I was revamping my “everything playlist” (the playlist I just chuck every song I feel like regularly listening to) I thought it would be a cool challenge for 2024 to listen to every one of the 400 or so albums which have a song in the playlist. I never began this challenge and it was quickly mostly forgotten. This project of reviewing albums has kind of inadvertently rebooted that idea, though in a slightly different way. My intention with that 400 albums challenge idea was to listen to albums by the artists for whom I only listen to 1 or 2 of their songs, rather than to explore the discographies of the artists I listen to the most. But I think as time goes on this will more and more resemble the former.
In terms of Elton John, like I suspected, most of his albums kinda suck! But whatever, sitting next to the army of shit albums from the late 70s and 80s are a couple of the greatest albums of all time. And we already know which ones they are. There are a few good songs that I’ve discovered that I don’t think I’d have found any other way.
This “summary” post came about because I decided not to review Regimental Sgt. Zippo, which I’d previous included in my schedule1. With a spot free, I came up with a few ideas for what to do instead. The first of these was a playlist of all the good Elton John songs, and the second was a ranking of all of the albums.
All of Elton John’s regular studio albums ranked
#1 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
I'm torn between picking my favourite and the popular one, but I'm going to give the top spot to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It's correctly considered John's best album, and a magnum opus. More than a handful of his most popular songs belong to this album, and it's full of bangers. Original rating: 5 stars.
#2 Madman Across the Water (1971)
It's actually my favourite, and it's probably much higher on this list than it ought to be because I love it so much. But this is my list! The album is epic and ambitious in a small way, and I love its prog rock influences. Original rating: 5 stars.
#3 Tumbleweed Connection (1970)
This is the album where Elton John finally became Elton John. Taupin and John's love letter to America, a place where neither of them had been yet. It's pretty good. Original rating: 4½ stars.
#4 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)
John and Taupin's fantastic musical autobiography. Taupin's storytelling abilities are turbocharged by the (mostly) real stories of their career so far, and John sings it superbly. Original rating: 4 stars.
#5 The Captain and the Kid (2006)
Perhaps riding a little bit on the heels of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, their sequel, written towards the end of their career (although, it is nearly 20 years old now!) almost reaches the same heights. Original rating: 4 stars.
#6 The Diving Board (2013)
It's one of the albums where his experimentation really paid off. A dark, reflective, piano-centred album. I wish there was more of this. Original rating: 4½ stars.
#7 Honky Château (1972)
Honky Château marks the beginning of Elton John's superstardom, and it's because it's really good. It takes the foundations laid by his early albums and turns the pop up a notch. Original rating: 4 stars.
#8 Too Low for Zero (1983)
Probably John's only really good album in the 80s. Half of the album feels as good as anything he released in the 70s, and the remainder kinda lets it down. Original rating: 3½ stars.
#9 Songs from the West Coast (2001)
With this album John and Taupin revisted the styles of their early career, and I think it mostly works. Original rating: 3½ stars.
#10 Elton John (1970)
This was kind of a second debut album for John, and it certainly did a lot better than his actual debut. It holds up well. Original rating: 3 stars.
#11 Sleeping with the Past (1989)
A semi-tribute album inspired by Billy Joel's An Innocent Man, it sees Taupin and John imitating the genres that inspired them. But it's more than just a simply copy. Original rating: 3½ stars.
#12 Wonderful Crazy Night (2016)
The album where John finally stopped taking himself so seriously and just have fun. I think it worked. Original rating: 3½ stars.
#13 Made in England (1995)
Writing the original review for this in a rush, I said I'd come back to this album, and in writing this ranking I did. It's a great album, and I think it's the album with which John finally found his way again, after a couple of decades of personal troubles and wayward artistic experimentation. Original rating: I didn’t give it one.
#14 Jump Up! (1982)
Bernie Taupin reckons this is one of their worst albums, but I think it's not so bad. After much experimentation and shit albums in the late 70s, John had begun to find his way again. Original rating: 3 stars.
#15 The Fox (1981)
The Fox was the album that immediately preceded Jump Up! and I think it belongs in the same category. It’s not amazing, but it’s an improvement. Original rating: 3 stars.
#16 Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973)
It's the most forgettable of John's albums during his most successful period for me. But I really like Crocodile Rock. Original rating: 2½ stars.
#17 Empty Sky (1969)
Elton John's debut album wasn't an artistic triumph, but it was a very good blueprint. I think it compares favourably to a lot of his output, but it was quickly surpassed by his subsequent albums. Original rating: 2½ stars.
#18 Caribou (1974)
I think I marked Caribou down a bit unfairly on the first listen. After Goodbye Yellow Brick Road it's a bit jarring, but against the rest of John's discography, it's not as bad. Original rating: 2 stars.
#19 Peachtree Road (2004)
Peachtree Road is alright, but it doesn’t do it for me. John is back recording music in the US, but it’s just the same as ever. Original rating: 3 stars.
#20 Rock of the Westies (1975)
A self-proclaimed rock-ier album, Rock of the Westies ought to really do it for me, but it doesn't. Original rating: 2½ stars.
#21 The Big Picture (1997)
It's an album that fails to stand out, and isn't as good as its neighbouring albums, but it's not all that bad. Original rating: 3 stars.
#22 Breaking Hearts (1984)
Breaking Hearts doesn't belong alongside the really shit albums, but it's firmly in the bottom half. It's very 80s, and not in a good way. Original rating: 3 stars.
#23 Reg Strikes Back (1988)
It was meant to be John's comeback album, but it's just forgettable. Original rating: 2½ stars.
#24 The One (1992)
The One is long and drawn out. I reckon there's probably a better album hiding in here, but it's a slog. Original rating: 2½ stars.
#25 Ice on Fire (1985)
A lot of the albums from this period are just kinda boring. It's like John didn't know what we was doing, and his tumultuous personal life wasn't helping either. Original rating: 2 stars.
#26 21 at 33 (1980)
The title of this album really suggests that at this point John was just recording albums for the sake of it. Oh it's the 21st one? Yeah let's call the album '21'. Original rating: 2 stars.
#27 Blue Moves (1976)
His first big attempt to do something really different. It's bad, and it's also a double album so there's twice as much bad to listen to. Original rating: 1½ stars.
#28 A Single Man (1978)
Like Blue Moves, this album was recorded during a time in which John shed most of the people who'd been part of his music for the previous decade and tried something new. Personally I think he went a bit too far and it just sucks. Original rating: 1½ stars.
#29 Leather Jackets (1986)
This album was recorded while John's life was a complete mess, and it sucks. Original rating: 1 star.
#30 Victim of Love (1979)
Without question this is Elton John's worst album. A late attempt to jump on the disco bandwagon. It didn't feature any of his regular backing musicians, Taupin didn't write any of the lyrics, John didn't write any of the music, and he didn't even play any piano. An actual disgrace. Original rating: 0 stars.
Reflecting on this ranking, within the top 10 there are three albums I’d never listened to before: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, The Captain and the Kid, and The Diving Board. The others are, naturally, the albums I already knew and liked. I think history has already done a lot of sorting, and the ones that are remembered favourably are remembered for more than just being popular.
The Elton John Playlist
As I was writing these, I kept a list of the songs I liked on each album with the vague intention of making a playlist for my own purposes at the end. I’d decided since that I wasn’t going to bother with the playlist, instead just chucking the songs into my ‘everything playlist’ as I went, but I’ve revived the idea for this post.
The playlist contains, as I write this, 100 songs. I didn’t choose 100 as a specific number, it just turned out that way. By my count, the albums I reviewed consist of 323 songs, and this playlist includes 94 (or about 30%) of them. They’re joined by 6 other non-album singles, including, for example, two songs from The Lion King. The songs in are in the playlist in chronological order by album, except for the non-album singles which are at the end (this is because I nearly forgot about them).
DrunkPukeko’s Top 10 Elton John Songs
This is a last minute addition, but I thought I’d also include a top 10 for songs.
#1 I'm Still Standing (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973)
I’m Still Standing is full of arrogance and triumph and it’s great. It’s an awesome mood lifter, you can’t listen to the song and not feel pumped.
#2 Bennie and the Jets (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973)
The audience sounds in Bennie and the Jets are real, but the song isn’t a live performance, it’s just about one. It was recorded in the studio and edited to sound like it was live, and it’s awesome. John’s thunderous piano is elevated by the artificial audience.
#3 Madman Across the Water (Madman Across the Water, 1971)
Madman Across the Water is one of my favourite Elton John songs to sing along to and I think that’s one of the reasons it’s so high on the list, but it’s also my favourite song from my favourite album.
#4 Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973)
Possibly Elton John’s most epic track. It began as two songs, and technically still is, but it was mixed together as a single track to open Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Funeral for a Friend is dark, eerie and cinematic before leading in to the powerful
#5 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is a perfect song. It’s only two verses and two choruses, but it feels epic.
#6 The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-1934) (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973)
Bernie Taupin is endlessly inventive and, at least to a kid halfway across the world. The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-1934) tells the story of a moonshiner shot in a downtown hotel. It’s also completely made up. And it rocks.
#7 Crocodile Rock (Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player, 1973)
Crocodile Rock was my first favourite Elton John song, dating all the way back to watching his episode of The Muppet Show. I’m always imagining crocodile muppets when listening to it.
#8 Step Into Christmas (non-album single, 1973)
This song is absolutely the odd one out on this list, but I’ve included because I really like it (it’s hands down my favourite modern Christmas song) and because it genuinely is one of my favourite Elton John songs. I never listen to it outside the couple of weeks preceding Christmas, but it’s still comfortably in the top tier of my most-listened-to Elton John songs.
#9 Saturday Night's Alright (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973)
Probably Elton John’s best rock song. It’s about brawling in pubs. I love the electric guitar and energy of this song.
#10 Indian Sunset (Madman Across the Water, 1971)
Indian Sunset is the other great song from Madman Across the Water. Like many songs written by Taupin, it’s rather made up, though it does contain references to real people (in inaccurate ways!). I imagine Native Americans would have a slightly different view on it than I, but I just think it’s cool.
Honourable mentions: Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time), All The Girls Love Alice, and I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself. '
A final word…
Or a few more. I’m not going to do some grand pronouncement about Elton John in the way I try to do for each album. But I do want to say that he is a musician with an extraordinarily impressive career who is quite important to me. I inherited a lot of my music taste from my parents, and that’s undoubtedly why I’m listening to artists from the 70s and 80s. But a few of them stand out as being really good. Elton John is one of them.
I also wanted to highlight how I think that the contribution of Bernie Taupin, and of Elton John’s band (in its various forms over the years) are integral parts of ‘Elton John’ as an artist. You can tell when Taupin and the band are absent, and it’s usually because what you’re listening to sounds like shit. Which is not to say that they carry him, but just to point out that it’s a group effort.
I think that’s enough of my life spent writing about a guy.
Regimental Sgt. Zippo was recorded in 1967 and 1968 and was intended to be John’s debut album, but the (imo correct) decision was made not to release it and to record something different. It was released 53 years later in 2021 for Record Store Day, before having an ordinary release in 2022. Wikipedia counts it as John’s 31st studio album, but in my opinion it belongs in the ‘others’ category alongside the soundtrack albums, collaboration albums and the like.