Madman Across The Water

Dammit Elton John, why don't I like you? Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of glam, even gaudy, music. But for some reason I'm just not connecting. Maybe it's your ballad structure, piano forwardness, love of california? Maybe you're too bombastic? Maybe your music feels both too sincere and not sincere enough? Maybe it's the thinness of your drum in the mix or that so many sound like You. Maybe your songs go on far too long, loitering far past their welcome? I don't know. Maybe one day I will. But not today.

To be honest, I've always cared about Elton John's music about as much as the current economic situation of the Marshall Islands. This is a really good album though, so maybe I should look into the Marshall Islands more. As it turns out, 77% of their exports are passenger and cargo ships. Also this is my 365th album. Thanks for a great year! This site really made each day a bit brighter and I look forward to roughly 2 more years of great (or at least interesting) music! :)

“Madman across the Water” by Elton John (1971) Long familiarity with this album, which I owned on cassette tape and listened to endlessly on a mono portable deck. Bernie Taupin wrote the excellent lyrics, Elton John composed brilliant melodies and performed the songs with passion, while producer, arrangers, studio musicians, choir, orchestra, and engineers put together one fine collaborative audio production. This one of the earliest albums where the mixing board becomes a musical instrument on its own (the producer, Gus Dudgeon, knew exactly when to ‘tell’ the piano to sit back and let the backing musicians take over). If it weren’t for a couple of clunkers (“Razor Face” and “Rotten Peaches”), this album could’ve been a classic. Elton John has characterized himself as a pianist: “I’m a pounder.” He’s right. He never developed his left hand, and his right hand is chord-heavy. But his piano/vocal composition, dynamic synchronization, and blend are magical. His vocal melodies are enthralling. As an experiment, try to listen to just the melody, while filtering out the vocal trills, runs, and stylings. Then also filter out the chords and background musicians, and you should touch greatness. Sequences of cascading and unanticipated intervals, always leading home to the anxiously expected tonic, frequently supplied only by the instrumentals. The melodies of “Tiny Dancer”and “Levon” will live forever. In terms of psychological horror, the title track “Madman across the Water” is profoundly angry, and fittingly under appreciated. Taupin shines (“Is it in your conscience that you’re after another glimpse of the madman across the water?”), while Sir Elton’s melody and vocal performance scares the hell out of you. And the social justice sensitivity of the sad and angry ballad “Indian Sunset” moves to tears (even if it’s tainted by a historically uninformed and anachronistic confusion of the plights of Iroquois, Sioux, and Apache cultures). I can’t listen to the line “Peace comes with a bullet hole” without a tissue. Fine album. 4/5

Hard to follow an opening track like "Tiny Dancer" but, with one exception, it's a great album. "Indian Sunset" is a real stinker of a track. I mean... why? What would possess you to write a song like that? Why do you think that's okay? Taupin really screwed that one up hard. Minus one star for culturally insensitive and historically inaccurate appropriative "story telling". The rest of the album is quite nice, though.

Enjoyed the classic that is Tiny Dancer, rest was meh

I enjoyed the theatricality so much more than I thought I would. A classic with a lot of sincerity, but Indian Sunset certainly does not stand up.

Man this guy can sing! Loved it, and found some songs to be way more gospel-like than I expected but I dig it

Love me some classic Elton but this doesn't really make the cut. First two are great, rest is typical '70s Reg - clumsy but oddly endearing lyrics and some pleasant tunes. Broken record on this topic, but Tumbleweed Connection is the forgotten masterpiece!

A bunch of random stories, album wasn't cohesive. A lot of songs sounded the same. Ghetto Gospel sampled Indian Summer Favorite songs - Tiny Dancer, Levon

A pretty solid (and dare I say “proggy”? Prog-ish?) release from Elton John. First half of the record was better than the back half. Tbh, Indian Sunset was where I started losing interest and Rotten Peaches was laughably dumb.

"Tiny Dancer" might have one of the greatest build ups of all time. Over 2:30 to get to the chorus! Unreal restraint and talent on display here. And then Elton outdoes himself and goes straight into "Levon". The record loses a little steam with "Razor Face" but bounces back with the title track, which is heavier and more atmospheric than I expected. This album almost gets a five from me for its first two tracks alone. It feels like a classic, near-masterpiece to me. "Indian Sunset" is compellingly cinematic if you can ignore the stereotypical representation of an Indigenous warrior written by a white British dude with very little in the way of meaningful perspective or insight. It's not particularly problematic, but it hasn't aged well. I can't quite bring myself to give the record a five, but it's a worthy inclusion and I really enjoy how dark and introspective Elton gets here. Especially "Goodbye". Chills. Rating: 4.5/5 Favourite tracks: Tiny Dancer, Levon, Madman Across the Water, Holiday Inn, Goodbye

I think this may be my favorite Elton John album. Perhaps because it contains "Levon," the first track of his to ever really capture my imagination. His creative collaboration with Bernie Taupin is incredible. Elton John is certainly a very talented musician and performer but honestly I think it is the poetic imagery and mysterious fractured glimpses of implied storytelling in Taupin's lyrics that really draws me in. "Rotten Peaches" is my second favorite track on the album.

Hits are stron Songs too lon Patience gon Elton John

This was my first time listening to an Elton John album in full and my man knows how to make good music

if you can overlook the 7 minutes of whitesplaining the native american plight, what you've got here is elton's first genuine banger of an album. nowhere near the heights he'd reach in the next few years but a great album in its own right.

Selling Americana to the Americans is never easy. This does it superbly.

Another brilliant one in my eyes. It's no Yellow Brick Road but what a way to start the album with Tiny Dancer. I also didn't realise that Indian Sunset was the 'those who wish, to follow me' song. A fantastic tune that gives me the rising ballad feeling that I so adore. Long may the hairs stand tall on the back of my neck. I was pleasantly surprised when Levon came on after the classic opener. Straight into another ballad type song but I suppose that is the bread and butter of Elton John if we're honest. Just to confirm: I really enjoyed Levon. Only listened to this all the way through once but I will almost certainly be listening again. I enjoyed the feel of the entire album, very ballad-heavy which is right up my street; however, I was hoping for a 'Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting' type tune to burst out of nowhere. Despite that, really good stuff.

With most songs clocking in around five minutes, the record feels like a major work, and in many ways it is. Madman Across the Water begins to fall apart toward the end, but the record remains an ambitious and rewarding work, and John never attained its darkly introspective atmosphere again.

It isn’t love it isn’t hate it’s just indifference.

Just not my thing. I find Elton John quite annoying when it’s not a song I know well. Gave up halfway through.

The second Elton John album I've listened to as part of this project. And again I'm quite taken with it. I had already forgotten the piece "Tiny Dancer". It was nice to hear it again. I think I will listen to this album again. Will I become a fan of Elton John? Probably not, but I will probably give up my previously rather negative attitude. 5/5

I used to think the title was some kind of marketing ploy aimed at Elton John himself. Now I think maybe it refers to longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, whose lyrics are completely bananas. Is there a luckier man to ever exist, who responded to the same newspaper ad the same time as the only person alive with enough talent and charisma to turn his words into magic? Anyway, Elton John is incredible despite whatever nonsense Taupin makes him sing about.

I don’t know if I can give an honest review of this album without the color of sentiment. This the epitome of early Elton John. His bright, young, expressive voice takes center stage of every song. He sings with enthusiasm and never just recites the words. Every song is easy on the ears with no unnecessary noise. Every instrument is brought in and faded out with purpose. Of course the piano lays the foundation. But horns, strings, and even an accordion take their place in the songs. This album is often overshadowed by later ones. But this brings out the early talent and lays out musical elements that show up in later albums.

That Tony Danza song really tugs at the heart. Had no idea Elton was gay, and his love for Tony was surprising to hear about!

Classic, sort of cozy

‘Indian Sunset’ is probably the only real misstep here, but Elton still manages to salvage Bernie Taupin’s lyrics with a wonderful arrangement. Everything else works, from everybody’s favourite ‘Tiny Dancer’ to the awesome title track, to (surprisingly) ‘All The Nasties’ and on. I can’t quite bring myself to give this is a 5, on account of ‘Indian Sunset’, but it’s a very, very close-run thing. ‘Madman Across The Water’ is a mostly excellent album and one I look forward to re-visiting often, a new favourite.

A swell time.

Tiny Dancer = Humongous Banger Reste de l’album = Ouain cool, mérite une deuxième écoute

Eher schwacher Title Track, aber Tiny Dancer/Levon/Razorface ist ein wundervoller Start. Die restlichen Lieder überzeugen mich zwar nicht ganz, der Gesang bleibt aber über das ganze Album erstklassig, demnach gebe ich knappe vier Sterne.

If you can get past the Album cover then you’re in for a good listen. I don’t know, there’s something about the album cover that just puts me off. This isn’t “1001 Album covers you must see before you die” after all.

it seems silly to write that the piano stood out for me on this album, considering it's elton john. but it did! it's no wonder his piano playing is so renowned and respected. the piano was beautiful and commanding in every song. the piano in "tiny dancer" (while a great song) is what allows the listener to become destroyed. and i must bring up bernie taupin! elton gets a lot of well deserved credit, but this album is filled with beautiful lyrics. while the "madman across the water" song has a soaring piano, the lyric of "is the nightmare really black/or are the windows painted" is what makes the song into an epic masterpiece. all this to say, john and taupin make a great team. a super enjoyable listen.

A fine album from Elton that contained elements of what would carry him to his imperial phase later on in the decade. The first four songs load the album with consistent hooks and catchy melodies, the middle portion is a little forgettable and the last two songs end the album out with great ease. One of the few worthwhile introductions to Elton around this time if you want to get ahold of what he was about. Favorites: Tiny Dancer, Levon, Razorblade, Madman Across the Water, All the Nasties.

Indian Sunset is the only blemish on an otherwise perfect album, but boy, what a blemish it is. Best track: Levon

Only song i was familiar with before listening with Tiny Dancer, so that was a good start (Also not having Tony Danza in a single scene in Rocket Man was a missed opportunity) To me this is a prime era of Elton John Madman across the Water is another stand out track, almost verging into proggy territory. Rotten Peaches was the only real meh track to me, rest of the album was pretty solid

I was quite familiar with this album. It has a very American barroom feel. The standouts were Tiny Dancer, Levon, and the title track. Some of the songs drag a bit

Jumps from the sublime to the absurd, but even Bernie Taupin's well meaning (but essentially racist) lyrics about native Americans can't stop this album being fantastic. Best tracks: Tiny Dancer, Levon, All The Nasties

I love Elton John's music, but Madman Across the Water just reinforces my belief that he’s more of a singles artist than an album artist—Goodbye Yellow Brick Road being the big exception. “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon” are absolutely great and easily the high points here. The rest of the album isn’t bad, but it definitely tapers off. Nothing else really sticks with me the way those first two tracks do.

I think I’m discovering elton john is not meant to be listened to in a full album probably ever. he has bangers and they are great on their own or next to other artists’ tracks but it’s really too much all together in a row. It’s just too theatrical for me. It’s similar to how I feel about queen — great at making these cinematic pieces, but if every song is A Lot then none of them feel like anything. So I think each of these songs is fine on their own and well constructed, but put them all back to back and you lose the intrigue of each one’s drama.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1001 ALBUMS - # 55 The original Mad-Piano Man 🎹 claims his mark ways ahead of Mr. Billy Joel on this memorable release. Elton John’s fourth studio album marked a shift toward a darker, more introspective tone. It features lush orchestral arrangements and deeply personal lyrics from Bernie Taupin. Elton’s songwriting partner Taupin’s lyrics on this album are some of his richest and most poetic. The writing takes a more serious, gloomy turn compared to the upbeat pop of earlier albums like Tumbleweed Connection or Honky Château. Themes of disillusionment, identity, alienation, and mysticism thread through the songs. 🎧 Classic Track: Tiny Dancer 🎧 Deep Cut Gem: Indian Sunset 🎧 Personal Favorite: Razor Face Musically, this album leans into symphonic rock and progressive influences, featuring heavy string arrangements, lush piano-led compositions that give Elton full space to be emotional and grand with layered production that feels more theatrical than radio friendly. 🖼️ Album Artwork: Phoned-in Compared to later, more polished pop albums like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, this album has an earthier, more dramatic character. A brooding, beautiful early-’70s standout that is worthy listening to Sir Elton’s more celebrated works.

Here we go with my first Elton John album! It's a collection of piano ballads (which is what you would expect from Elton John), the music is pleasing but the most inspired aspect of these songs is the lyrical content, with Elton John being more of a storyteller here (looked at the Wikipedia page and I guess the one I should shout out is Bernie Taupin). Some tracks stood out to me (and I put those in the "favorite songs" section), but this is not really up my sleeve, the songs are all pretty similar. Favorite songs: Tiny Dancer, Levon, Madman Across The Water, Indian Sunset, Goodbye Would I listen to it again? I don't really feel like it, but it might be worthwhile as this one could be one of those albums that grows on you. 7/10

Not mind-blowing. Tiny Dancer is a classic and the rest is forgettable but comforting.

Don't have much to say about this one, as it felt like every single song was the came. Tiny Dancer only stood out as it has been made popular through other forms of media and Indian Sunset stood out as it was sampled in a 2Pac song. Had it not been for either of these events, there would be nothing special to say about this album at all.

Tiny dancer And more! Very good album

My favorite Elton John album. The title track alone is five stars, and then you’ve got Tiny Dancer and Levon. There’s also Indian Sunset... what a powerful song.. plus that killer solo in Razor Face. Can’t forget about Rotten Peaches, and Holiday Inn is great too. Honestly, the whole damn album is amazing.

This is probably only a 4 star album. It's really really good. But Tiny Dancer might be the best sing along song of all time. And to follow that with Levon? Hard to not round up.

Álbum maravilhoso!

Brilliant album from start to finish. Levon remains one of my favorites. Madman Across the Water and Indian Sunset were also top tracks. 5

British ode to America in 9 songs. Great sound great lyrics, balanced with substance

Great

Great

I came into this album only knowing "Tiny Dancer," but knowing that it's one of the greatest songs of all time. What I got in return is a batch of eight other songs that are all Tiny-Dancer-quality.

Played it three times in a row. Great driving and lounging music.

Beautiful album. Really big and grand production that accompanies Elton’s iconic voice. All of the songs were great, but the title track was probably my favorite aside from Tiny Dancer, which needless to say is an absolute classic. This is the first Elton John album I’ve heard in full length and I found it very captivating.

I think this might be the strongest overall album Elton John ever made.

Just excellent. I have always enjoyed his work and this album contains a few true classics.

Brilliant from start to finish. One of my favorite albums by one of my favorite artists.

Elton John doesn’t make bad albums

This is my first time listening to an Elton John album. I’ve heard several of his songs in my life just never took the time to listen to an album. This is a great first for me!

listening

good album

Legendary

So much stellar writing and performing on this album - stories shared by the piano and given so much life.

Linda experiencia

Fun! Early Elton slapped.

Great

HELL YEAH. THIS SHIT HELPS ME BATTLE MY DEPRESSIVE BIPOLAR EPISODE. ACTUAL MADMEN WHERE Y'ALL AT?

Immediate 5. Have listened 12,000 times before and will listen 12,000 times again.

Holiday inn best mandolins

Never heard of this album but I love all the tracks and am familiar with all bar one of them. It's like the starter to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road... Exciellent album.

Classic Elton is always great but I really enjoy hearing some of the deeper cuts

Loved this - gosh, what a classic! *****

I bloody love Elton John. I’ve yet to hear a song by him that I didn’t like, and this album doesn’t break the rule. I initially thought I only recognised Tony Dancer from the track list, but anybody familiar with Ghetto Gospel by Tupac will definitely find some familiarity in Indian Sunset too. The piano playing is fantastic as usual, with phenomenal composition. This, coming together with the lyrical content, gave me no shortage of goosebumps over the 45 minute playtime.

luv it, such a good voice.

"Madman Across The Water" by Elton John is a pivotal album that solidified his legacy as one of the foremost artists of his generation. Released in 1971, it features a rich blend of orchestral arrangements and poignant lyrics, showcasing John's exceptional songwriting talent and unique vocal style. The album's standout tracks, such as "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon," resonate with emotional depth and poetic brilliance, further establishing his status in the music industry. With this work, John not only captivated listeners but also set the stage for a career that would profoundly influence pop and rock music for decades to come.

If your album opens with Tiny Dancer AND Levon, I’m going to give you five stars.

This has two all-time classics and maybe one of the best rock pop songs ever. Gotta give it a 5

Seminal album. prime Elton John.

This album is special to me. That piano is a cosmic force of its own. And 1971 was a great year for the mandolin.

Love Elton more than a straight man probably should. Levon is one of his better songs, if not his best.

I'm an Elton John fan in passing, but I'd never sat down and listened to this whole thing. I liked it at first (who doesn't like Tiny Dancer?), and was feeling a strong 4, but when Madman Across the Water came on with that jazzy guitar and bass riff it launched this mofo into 5-star territory. I love repetitive, droning riffs like that when they're tight and catchy. It just locks into something they can really jam on with feeling, but never loses its structure. What a great song. Rest of the album is great, too.

gotta love elton john

It's a great day now that I get to listen to Madman Across The Water. An album with brilliant songwriting, iconic piano playing, grand orchestral gestures, and plucky arrangements. I love this one so much. Favorites are Tiny Dancer (never gets old), Levon, the title track, Indian Sunset, Holiday Inn, Rotten Peaches, All the Nasties, and...I may as well have listed every track.

definitely some of Eltons best. opening with Tiny Dancer strong and it stays pretty consistent after that, its nothing complicated either, just pure Elton, and it pays off pretty well. I really enjoyed this listen.

A classic from ol EJ. I think Elton’s first few albums are his best and this one is a good example of why. Simple arrangements. A lot of it is just him and a piano. But when the songs open up with more symphonic and choral elements it doesn’t go too far over the top the way he would on future albums. Tiny Dancer and Levon are classics for a reason! Normally I give 5 stars to albums I’d add to my record collection but since this is already in it that’s an easy 5.

Most excellent!

We've gotten a couple of singer-songwriters in my group's journey, but almost none of them compare to Elton. He just has a way of making a song compelling as can be. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 5. It was well worth the 387-day break between “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and this album; these are the only two Elton John albums on the list, and I feel like I need to listen to the man’s whole discography after this one. This is not as fun (and thankfully not as long) as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t feel as impactful in some fashion. Tiny Dancer is the obvious standout here, but I’ve never heard the rest of the songs on this album – I loved almost every single one of them, save for “Goodbye”, which, while haunting & a good track, feels TOO depressingly sad as the closer, even for an album that’s generally steeped in sad-ish songs. What strikes me the most about this album is how not poppy it is; I wrote this down while listening to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (though I didn’t include it on the website at the time), but whenever I think of Elton John, I’m expecting a bunch of songs similar to stuff like I’m Still Standing or Don’t Go Breaking My Heart; the big poppy hits that he’s kind of nestled into for the last decade, at least whenever he does collaborations. That diminishes what kind of artist Elton John is though, and I think this album proves that at a higher level than Goodbye Yellow Brick Road did, in terms of the general emotional impact relative to each song. Granted, that’s a whole year of “only remembering the stuff I really, really liked off of that album” striking my brain, but GYBR (does anyone type this??) is a relatively upbeat album compared to this one; this is where Bernie Taupin & Elton John get to flex their storytelling ability, whether it’s in Taupin’s lyrics, or Elton’s vocals, or in the orchestration that gives each song a cinematic flourish that I’m just a sucker for. I’d be remiss to not acknowledge the problematic nature of “Indian Sunset”, which I find to honestly be the biggest & brightest example of that cinematic flair, arguably moreso than Tiny Dancer for me. Inherently, the biggest red flag in the song is the use of the term “red man” in referring to the Native Americans, but the other red flag is simply letting two white British men decide to write a song with historical inaccuracies & stereotypes about the Oklahoma Territory, the Trail of Tears, and that general time period. With that said, I can’t help but feel like the two truly had the best of intentions when writing the track, and I think the general feel of the imagery & the story they’re trying to tell via the vocals & orchestration creates the emotional impact they’re going for, and hopefully gets the point across of “hey, the colonization and everything really fucking sucked, actually”. Ultimately, I think it’s just a fabulous album, and picking between this and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is a coin flip – they’re both doing different things, and I can’t truly compare them directly to each other. It should come as no surprise that this is a 5 – I’m really sad that there’s not more Elton John on the list, but hopefully he’ll have a surprise feature or two somewhere along the next… oh, 607 or so albums. Surely, there’s at least one? Either way, I owe it to myself to listen to the rest of his 70s stuff at the very least.

Fantastic

Good old Elton…nice piano and good voice

So many iconic songs on here, and so much INCREDIBLE piano playing. Truly, in my opinion, Elton at his best.

This is 1001album at its best — taking artists you think you know, and proving you wrong! I was a fan of Elton John but not as much of a fan as I am after listening to this!

Such a great album, first in a series of incredible stuff from one of the best. Elton’s ability to sing on top of the complex piano parts he carries always impresses me.

I Think that I love Elton John’s music

Another masterpiece by the master.

Great

Brilliant

Elton’s voice is extremely beautiful right from the start with Tiny Dancer. His voice is majestic and I love the chorus. The second song, Levon, continues the momentum. I’m loving the album. I want more from the album! It was phenomenal.

Captain Fantastic does it again

great album, great songs,

Hoy toca el segundo disco que aparece en el reto de éste artista, una bestia de la música. Era imposible que Elton John pasara desapercibido en su época (y en cualquiera) con la dulzura de su voz y sus ambientaciones. Se lo siente como un Bowie pero más pop. Pasional, sus canciones tienen una épica y son todos hits. Notó sutiles aires a Genesis, también. Hasta el lunes y muchas gracias.