Singer/Songwriter: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John (1973)

What was difficult about listening to this album was trying to focus on only half of each song. Seeing as Elton John didn’t write his own lyrics, I could only analyze the accompaniment composition and his performance of each song.

This double album features some of Elton John’s most popular songs, like “Candle In The Wind,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” and the title track, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” However, some of his lesser known songs like “All The Girls Love Alice” and “I’ve Seen That Movie Too” deserve recognition for their unique arrangements and soulful delivery, one thing Elton John does successfully in many of his songs.

What is interesting about this album is the way Elton John integrates a variety of styles into specific songs. For example, in “Jamaica Jerk-Off,” he tries to capture the reggae-feel of typical Jamaican music, incorporating a “tropical” groove, as well. “Roy Rogers” is another example of this; in this song Elton John applies a sort of country twang to his vocals, and also uses a slide guitar to enhance that feel and further emphasize the lyrics.

I would consider Elton John half of a songwriter, seeing as Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics for all of his songs. However, to Elton John’s credit, his arrangements illustrate Taupin’s lyrics well. For example, in the song “The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909 – 34),” Elton John uses the music to tell a story, in addition to Taupin’s lyrics. Another good example of this storytelling through music is in “Dirty Little Girl” in the way Elton John punctuates his piano playing so vigorously.

So even though Elton John doesn’t write 100% of every song, his arrangements and performance still managed to tell a story in the way a traditional singer-songwriter might.