Elton John

[GreenLunchBox]

I love the Dua Lupa song and there is a Blue song I love. But please can people tell me why Elton John is so legendary. He doesn't have the best singing voice, does he?

I saw Amelie the musical recently and there was a bit when "Elton John" put in an appearance. The song had lots of Elton John chords and themes in it, I wouldn't have said there was a characteristic Elton John chord before then.

I like his songs - they're catchy and fun to sing along with. He was popular because of his image, I think. Although having read his biography and seen the film, his is a very sad story.

Yes, I realise that the people who used to become famous were the ones who wrote their own material, worked and worked and 'made it' themselves.

Now it's all manufactured acts who need only a pretty voice, a pretty face and the luck to be noticed by the right producer. All the work is done by other people. The singer is just the cherry on the cake, dropped in at the last minute to catch the public's eye.

I suppose if that's what you're used to, the truly talented musicians of the past (and present) will look lumpy, ugly and sound unpolished to you.

Maybe not the most talented singer overall, but a hugely talented musician, and unusual in that many singers in his era were singing material written by someone else, and most modern singers are ultra processed now anyway and auto tuned to the max anyway. He probably compares with someone like Ed Sheeran - different style but also mega talented. See also Lin Manuel-Miranda: absolute musical genius but a (below) average singer. I think it’s possible to really respect someone because they are doing something few people manage to do, even if they don’t have the absolute best voice.

Oh and Billy Bragg FFS! Good writer, terrible singer - but enjoyable to listen to because he felt what he was singing.

Punk will have been an utter mystery to you.

Sorry that makes it sound like in Elton’s era he was the only one writing his own stuff - patently not true, but as I was typing I could only really think of examples like Burt Bacharach who wrote an extensive catalogue which was sung by many, or Meatloaf whose material was written by Jim Steinman

[quote RantyAunty]He was age 23 or 24 here. Before his throat surgery.
Just him and a piano.

Tiny Dancer

Your Song

[/quote] Aaaw you beat me to it @RantyAuntie! Tiny Dancer is just brilliant.

Are you very young OP?

Elvis was a famous Singer and sung other people’s songs. Good singers are ten a penny but Without amazing songwriters and musicians, there’d be NO SINGERS!

Elton is a phenomenally talented songwriter plus his performances are legendary.

Gosh that chord sequence in the chorus of Tiny Dancer is just electrifying. Great lyrics too (thank you Bernie Taupin).

EJ could play by ear really, really well.

Everyone slagging Dua sounds like a snob.
And everyone saying about manufacturered pop being new is an arse.
The Monkees where made for a TV show.

He is a showman, but if you want his real talent, you need to listen to Songs from the West Coast, a studio album.

The appearance of "Rocket Man"-era cohorts Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone as backing vocalists touches Songs From the West Coast with one of the trademark sounds of Elton John's 1969-75 albums. His admiration of Ryan Adams and Rufus Wainwright (a guest here) inspires him to recall the often stripped down, lyric-driven sensibility of his early days. The tone of the words, which long-term collaborator Bernie Taupin feeds John, is rooted in a wearier version of the romanticism that fuelled oldies as diverse as "Your Song", "Love Lies Bleeding" and "Burn Down the Mission". Songs From the West Coast sidesteps bombast with only a few exceptions"The Wasteland", with its invocation of Robert Johnson, just doesn't suit. The standout track is "I Want Love", a Lennon-esque rumination that's their most impressive writing, separately or together, in more than a decade. Rickey Wright

open.spotify.com/track/5rnMgctZxjKDNdqrVqg7Bm?si=a2931104b9a94c05

Everyone slagging Dua sounds like a snob

What do the people slagging Elton John sound like?

Try listening to Goodbye, yellow brick road and Elton John’s greatest hits, volume 2 albums to start with. This was back in the 1970’s, so his voice has changed as he’s got older, but he does have a good voice for putting those songs across. You can complain about people’s voices all you like, OP, but some of the greatest songs have been sung by people who don’t have pure voices - and their songs sound awful, when sung by people with “good” voices. For examples of those not blessed with conventional pipes, see:
David Bowie
Marc Bolan
The Rolling Stones
The Kinks
Aerosmith
Guns ‘n’ Roses
Muse
Bjork
Alanis Morissette
Madonna
James Morrison
Etc.
The key to their appeal is the delivery of the song and not how perfectly the notes are hit. Imagine Leslie Garret singing “Jagged little Pill” - I can guarantee that every note would be en-pointe, but it would sound truly awful!

I feel the same about the Beatles and Beyoncé. She makes my ears hurt.

I really can't stand that Elton/Dua lipa collab. Dull, unimaginative, turgid drivel.

I like some of his early stuff (yellow brick road etc) but also never really got the overall 'genius' hype.

What do the people slagging Elton John sound like
Me I don't like him.
But bringing in other singers to make your point that EJ is better is silly.

Music evolves,it would be boring if music always sounded the same.
And EJ had his biggest hit with a remaking of Candle in the Wind.
And he's doing his farewell tour for about 20 years now.

Time to hang up the mic.

The most appreciated stars aren’t always the best singers or musicians, but the ones who make you FEEL.

That might be goosebumps from their performance, something which strikes home in the lyrics, or the nostalgia for your youth which their music brings.

It’s the feelings which bring people back to them over and over.

Ah, so people only sound like a snob if they slag off artists you like?

Got it.

Dua Lipa a) was mentioned in the op and b) has done a song with Elton, so it's not a ridiculous stretch to discuss her on the thread ..

@MyMabel

I love him, absolutely gutted he’s moved his tour to 2023, so long to wait!

Is this his goodbye tour that started in about 2017?!

Is this his goodbye tour that started in about 2017?!

It was planned to be a three year tour (many world tours are two or three years long) and started in September 2018. So by my reckoning, due to COVID, he's only about a sixth of the way through.

But why let facts get in the way of a cheap joke.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g I think the same. I don't want to be generational but I value musicians able to play their own instruments and write songs or at least cover songs written by an original artist. What surprises me in retrospect watching some of the Top of the Pops from the 70s or 80s is that there were on an average episode several memorable pop songs and top bands playing well written songs across several different genres. Depending on the year, there would be great disco songs followed by ska, rock and roll, synth, new romantic, heavy metal/hair rock and so on or just pop. I remember volume of highquality output from Motown/Stax/Philly and others in the sould/funk/disco and the same across other genres. I don't hear the same now.

I was telling my DC how a provincial venue would have these bands touring and tickets could relatively easily be bought for £5? (which was worth more then). I know bands make money from touring and the promoters have realised the top bands can charge hundreds and still sell out stadia and arena with tickets selling out in minutes for some artists. It's a shame most teens won't be able to see top name bands affordably and easily.

I realised a long time ago I am too old.

@Danikm151

Gove Rocketman a watch. I think it’s on Netflix.

It was on Channel 4 on Saturday night, so it's on All4 for the rest of the week.

What a nasty spiteful thread to start OP. Okay you don't like him, but that is your opinion, why are you trying to insist everyone sides with you?