Word: elton
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...memory of Elton's power to evoke a mellowness or an up-beat rowdiness, his power to make people buy his records and keep them on the radio, makes Elton John's Greatest Hits Volume II a sad record. It contains little of the spark to be found in his first collection of hits. If Elton's music changed in the first half of this decade from quiet piano-and-voice cuts to glitter-and-guitar tunes, it still had an original fire in it that shows in his first collection, released in 1974. The collection traced Elton's history...
...Elton John always had a song on the radio in the first half of this decade. He reached adolescents sitting at home with transistor radios and he reached their older siblings on wheels. Although it is fashionable now to sneer at the musician-turned-glitter star, his influence on popular music was once very real. His popularity did not arise in the beginning out of pure hype. Simple songs of affection like "Your Song" and "Daniel" can still move those who are disposed to be moved. If less memorable, cheerful piano boogie numbers like "Honky Cat" and "Crocodile Rock...
Sometime after the first collection came out Elton's music lost much of its power, and was left with only the loudness and outrageousness, and his name. He had pumped out too many records too fast. There is a limit to how much original music one man can produce; after a while he starts covering the same ground over and over. He has nothing more to say. Elton's songs started sounding tired. They stayed on top of the charts only because they came from Elton John...
...slide did not begin until around the time "The Bitch is Back" rode up the charts in 1974. The bitch was back, alright, but the bitching sounded a bit contrived. Significantly, "The Bitch is Back" is the first cut on Elton's latest set of "greatest hits," and the song is one of the better cuts on the album. Of the ten songs included, two have something to say, two are fun in a simple, unelaborate way, one is drawn from the early part of Elton's career, and the other five are plainly boring...
...album includes two trashy re-makes of '60s pop songs, "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "Pinball Wizard," the latter made for the still trashier film Tommy, itself a pathetic re-working of The Who's rock opera. Elton John's name did nothing for these ghosts from the past except make them sell. The originals were much better. Elton's willingness to perform them only showed that his fire was burning out. "Island Girl," an original, was among the most annoying of AM radio's most played tunes. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," a vapid, iivv number...