Reviews (page 13 of 13)
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It seemed like listening to a whole album of Tiny Dancer-like songs. Not a fan.
Couple songs I recognize, but a lot of them sound very similar.
Tiny Dancer is great. A pub classic forever more. I tried but failed to get into the rest of this album. Elton is hugely talented, but I can't seem to click with his vibe aside from a handful of hits.
None of the other songs on this album really stuck out to me aside from Tiny Dancer.
Really trying to love elton john here, it's not working very well
Hadn't heard this before. Classic EJ, so some highs, but pretty boring.
Obviously this starts with one of the greatest songs of all time, so I understand why it’s here. The music is absolutely incredible on every song, but a lot of the songs are unfortunately ruined (with all due respect) by the vocals and/or nonsensical lyrics. Indian Sunset — beautiful song and melody, beautifully sung, but I’m not sure how I feel about it. I surprisingly liked Holiday Inn. All the Nasties is Tiny Dancer (reprise) not in a good way. Kind of a lackluster showing.
He’s a great singer. The tunes are catchy. Great piano player. I’m just personally not into this I think. I guess it feels like nothing he says sticks unless you want it to. I feel like every second is theatre and overblown, there’s never a different vibe or volume. I could try to like this. Maybe it’s the accent too
Fun!
Artiste connu, peu apprécié. C'est le premier album que j'écoute en entier. Résultat: j'ai commencé à faire autre chose dès le premier morceau. Je n'aime pas l'instrumentation pseudo classique, les choeurs, et j'ai entendu mieux en piano ... A ce stade la note oscille entre 1 et 2. Les morceaux me paraissent trop long, sans grand intérêt pour moi donc très ennuyeux. Seule exception : Madman across the water, avec son riff de guitare et une orchestration plus réussie, qui sauve l'album de la note minimale. =>2/5
Elton John, the consummate “best of” artist. The highs are high (tbh that’s only Tiny Dancer) but this album generally swims in an ocean of 70’s mediocrity which not even his obvious talent and fine arrangements/production can salvage. The best part for me was discovering it wasn’t yet another tedious double album from the era.
There's a lot of garbage here unless you're a fan of Tony Danza. Also, Indian Sunset is some pretty appalling red face. This is pretty close to one star.
I feel like if I made this list I wouldn't be going this deep into Elton johns catalogue. But that being said, I heard levon on the radio a day after I listened to this so I guess people like this album? Just seems too country to be olhos self titled and too orchestrated to be honkey tonk chateau. Seems like a drug induced mess to me.
Don’t know why, but for some reason this album just irritates me and sounds bland to my ears. I think this is probably unfair criticism, but I just can’t warm to it. At times, some of these songs and his voice sound like Jim Croce (who doesn’t irritate me at all). I’d prefer to listen to Jim any day. Just can’t really explain why.
I don’t even care for tiny dancer. I am not big on these piano men and their grandiose gestures.
Would not listen again but man Elton can belt; tiny dancer!; rest was kind of blah. A high two?
Nothing particularly stand out except Tiny Dancer, and Holiday Inn is good.
Not the best John. Tiny Dancer is a jam but the rest was a little hohum. 2.5/5
I like the piano though
meh... я не выкупил прикол альбома, он просто скучный и однообразный. 2/5
A bit too much Elton John for me, I really started to dislike his way of singing about halfway through. I do like many others of his songs though, so I'm looking forward to getting one of his other albums.
Wowee this has aged poorly. Tiny dancer is the only song I liked, other than that I was well bored. Except for Indian sunset, which actively made me uncomfortable. After listening to this for about 45 minutes, I thought it had suddenly turned around for the better, but as it turns out that was the end of the album and Spotify had started shuffling in recommended songs I might actually enjoy. Good job Spotify, not so much Elton. 1 bonus star for tiny dancer, I'm being very generous here.
Underwhelming
Now a lot more informed when I say: not a fan of Elton John. Impressive composition and very “big” but not for me
Tiny Dancer is perhaps my least favorite of Elton John's big hits. It's melodramatic, cheesy, and feels like a gross, sloppy kiss from a relative you've met twice. It just is too ballad-y for my blood. So, it doesn't surprise me all too much that this album does absolutely nothing for me, but, man, what a slog. I don't care for Elton John wanting to be held, sure, but I especially don't want to hear him sing like he is a Native American going through it, that's a tricky topic on all sorts of levels, and a white, British guy is not doing the topic any favors. It just felt like every song wanted me to ask "What am I doing here?" and even when the album tried to sound better, it was too little too late. I have always seen Elton as a hits guy, and this album with no (IMO) good hits means I'm just listening to melodrama for the sake of melodrama, and it's kind of obnoxious. I'll take Billy Joel for my piano rock needs, I suppose.
Meh... Other than the two (rather weak) singles, I had never heard any of this, and I don't know how I ever really would have, either... There's certainly nothing even close to radio worthy here... More-or-less, it's just a boring, longer-than-necessary, story-telling experience... But it didn't outright assault my senses, so I'll give it a disappointed 2...
2.4 meh faves: tiny dancer
The album starts with Tiny Dancer, perhaps a little too opulent but typical Elton John. It's fun, the typical Elton sound at the beginning - piano, vocals. Other typical songs carried by piano and voice, but musically weaker than Tiny Dancer.
Arrivare alla fine senza strapparmi i coglioni è stato difficile. Eppure non era così male
Hold me closer, Tony Danza. I'm not really a big Elton listener but I've always liked his radio hits well enough. Unfortunately, here that's only "Tiny Dancer" (possibly "Levon" too, but I didn't recognize it). He gets "Tiny Dancer" out of the way immediately, and then to my ears the rest of the album largely just smears into unmemorable Elton-textured soup. "Indian Sunset" is a big "we don't do this anymore" kind of song. And the album cover is pretty bad too.
Meh. Pop
As much as I try, I can't get neither into Elton John's music nor piano rock.
O disco até vai melhorando quando vai chegando ao fim, mas a sensação é que falta alguma coisa.
It's a vibe. Just not mine exactly.
**An ok album, long, slow, most tracks sound alike
I never really got into Elton John. His stuff has a "musical theatre" vibe to me that I don't really gel with. This album is classic, I assume, because it has "Tiny Dancer" on it... which is a good song, but even before it ended I was checking to see how long the album was. And the rest of it sounds much the same but not as catchy. It just sounds like Elton John. Musically impressive and well orchestrated and all that. I just don't like it very much. Though I enjoyed his movie. That was good.
Any chance of me enjoying this album was destroyed by uni housemate blasting out Tiny Dancer 24/7 for several weeks.
Hold me closer, Tony Danza! "According to Gus Dudgeon, Taupin named the character in the song after the Band's co-founder, drummer and singer Levon Helm. The Band were apparently John and Taupin's favourite group at the time. In 2013, however, Taupin said that the song was unrelated to Helm." - that's funny, that's instantly what I thought of when I read the track name Holy hell Indian Sunset is six minutes of something else. Not for me. I kept wanting to complement the lyrics, or the orchestration, or anything; but to be honest I found almost all of it annoying. Tiny Dancer is kind of a comfort just because it's so famous. In the end I would say that I tend to like John's voice and performing. But other than that it was trite lyrics and overworked arrangements.
Can Elton be a singer/songwriter if Bernie Taupin did all the lyrics? And other than Tiny Dancer, was any song really enjoyable? This one didn’t get me - I’m not an Elton fan anyway and this one sure didn’t help that any.
Pretty ok
yawn
This was a good listen - glad it was only 9 songs. Indian Sunset was a nice change of pace. Tiny Dancer is a classic.
Meh.
2819 - It's good, but I don't love it or connect with it. It's basically Billy Joel but not as good. C
Not that many songs but just felt like it went on and on. Every song kind of blurred together and got boring.
I love Elton John, but this album just wasn’t it for me. Beyond Tiny Dancer by and Levon, this album was a total mess. i’m giving two stars only because of the first two tracks.
One good song
meh
Nicht mein Stil. 2,5
It's okay. Other than the first 2 songs, i did not care for it too much.
I was never a big fan of Elton John, and it's the more uptempo of his songs that I prefer. There are no uptempo tracks on this album. There's some beautiful piano throughout, of course, but this whole thing mostly faded into the background for me.
A bit too mellow for me. And the songs blend together a bit due to the piano parts having similar patterns around each chord progression. But I like the mix of instrumentation and how orchestral some songs feel as well as the different sections in each song.
Honestly pretty disappointing. All felt very same-y. Levon and Razor Face in particular just felt like slightly worse copies of Tiny Dancer. Indian Sunset was promising until the lyrics started... By far and away my favourite of the tracks I hadn't heard before was Madman across the Water.
nope... zegt me niks... geen fan
boring. overrated. it wasn’t that bad it just felt like background music in a café
Okay, album. Couple of good songs.
Other than a couple of standout tracks I can't really understand why this is on here.
It's good, but I don't love it or connect with it. It's basically Billy Joel but not as good. C
A couple of alright songs, but otherwise pretty boring.
Am Ende doch immer gleicher Aufbau der Lieder. Titellied mal weniger Klavier.
confession time: i have always, always gotten elton john and billy joel crossed up in my head. in my defense: they've both got J names, they both play pianos, they both make music that's kinda just been part of the atmosphere...i know, it's lame, but here we are. anyway, this album being on this list places me in grave danger of learning to tell them apart, is what i'm saying, and i'm not sure i'm super happy about that. update: overall, i give this a solid meh
Starts out strong with Tiny Dancer, but the rest of the album is pretty meh.
2 amazing songs. When Elton and Bernie are great, they're really really great. But the rest of the album just... isn't. Let's never mention Indian Summer again.
I kind of like Tiny Dancer
I like some Elton John songs but overall, this album isn't something I could get into.
I've never been a fan. Good radio stuff tho
Meh
Miksi hittibiisi on eepos, josta täytyy kuunnella kaksi minuuttia ennen kuin pääsee koukkuosuuteen? Muutenkin biisit ovat helvetin pitkiä - ja muut eivät ole hittejä. Sanoitukset ovat aikamoisia sikäli kuin niistä saa selvää: Bernie Taupin, mitä teet? Matala 2.
Uneven songwriting. Tiny Dancer and the title track were the only tunes I liked.
Managed to avoid Elton until now, though not for any particular reason other than that the songs I heard never compelled me to listen to more. Is it just me or do he and Cher, at times, sound alike? Never before realized that he's singing Levon and not "leave on." Tiny Dancer has not gotten better with age. I suspect there's an Elton John album I would like because I do like "Rocket Man" but this album is not the one for me.
Definitely a record of two halves, the first side is pretty good, not least the title track, which was new to me. Flip the record for some hot garbage.
this album should be a slay, but it simply is not
Soft 2
Early Elton John dit, en hij had z'n Britse ziel duidelijk al verkocht aan de glitter en glamour van Californië. Heb een instinctieve afkeer van het meeste werk van de man, maar deze ballades - duidelijk meer gericht op de US dan zijn eerdere platen - bevatten hier en daar wel momentjes die laten inzien waarom het mannetje zo immens populair is. Maar ondanks deze momenten - zoals de Supertramp-achtige symfonie in 'Madman Across the Water' en de storytelling in 'Levon' - voelt het hele album toch een beetje als mosterd na die machtige maaltijd genaamd 'Tiny Dancer'. Één van zijn signature songs, en één van de weinige die ik echt goed kan hebben. Werkt ook in verrassend veel films, wat wel wat over zijn gave zegt om nummers te laten leven. Alles na die epische opener wat enigszins interessant klinkt, is uiteindelijk een slap aftreksel van 'Tiny Dancer'. De catchy hook in 'Holiday Inn' komt nog wel in de buurt. Het was allemaal wat veilig, wat toch ook wel een grote reden was achter zijn populariteit. Easy going en relatable. Al met al wel een album waar zijn songwriting me doet denken aan een Jackson Browne, en de productie aan dat van Paul McCartney & Wings. Geen hele verkeerde combinatie. 6/10 Highlights: Tiny Dancer Holiday Inn
Ook al laat de ontknoping van Tiny Dancer lang op zich wachten, het tempo van de plaat is lekker hoog. Echt een show plaat, waarmee John de US wil veroveren. Passend bij zn karakter, bij de 70's, echte piano rock. Niet mijn ding, maar hij tikt een hoog niveau aan voor wat hij wil bereiken. Tiny Dancer blijft zijn magnum opus. Alles daarna is toch een slapper aftreksel. 6,5/10 Highlight Tiny Dancer
Primaraly known for Tiny Dancer, a truly beautiful piano driven song, sad and fill melencoly, a part from that i dont lnow any other songs, Levon feel like it is the little brother of Tiny Dancer The album is considred Prog Rock but i’m not sure why, way more pop Rock for me This album mark the beggening of Elton John massive sucess, honneslty it has good songs, but not very impactfull and very « original » in the sense that it just fell like every Elton John album
Ok
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.
Don't care for the rollicking piano
I have never listened to an Elton John album before - now I know why. Best track: Holiday Inn. But still way too OTT for my liking. The lyrics are all quite bad. The music/vocals rather bonkers in places. But it's Elton, and this is what he does. Watford! :D
Besides Tiny Dancer I’m not too sure about this. Indian Sunset was a bit of a weird listen. He can definitely sing well it just doesn’t click with me overall. Favourite song: Tiny Dancer
Nothing wrong with this, I just found it very boring. Every song sounded the same. Won’t be in a rush to listen again.
It’s just not clicking with me. And I wish I did. Because I respect Elton John. I just find myself bored. Tiny dancer is a classic though.
Ok
Tiny Dancer is one of my favourite EJ songs, but I still don't love it. And it's the best thing on this album, which is otherwise just very EJ. Fine, but not interesting or exciting at all.
As usual with Elton John for me... Some absolute killer tunes, but a whole album's worth is just too much. Particularly this one, which is heavy on the really grand piano, strings, big emotions. It's just too much for me. As a side note, the production on the drums really is godawful. Worse than St Anger. There, Elton John and Metallica in one short review.
I don't mind Broadway Elton John — Aida is a good show. I've never been a huge fan of Elton John the pop singer other than a few of the big hits. I don't know if it's because he's always seemed too melodramatic and overwrought for pop (i.e., too Broadway, perhaps?), if it's because I've never gotten his weird obsession with blues and Western tropes as a British dude (though maybe that's really Bernie Taupin's fault), or if it's unresolved childhood trauma from when I asked my mom to buy me the "Circle of Life" single from The Lion King when I was six, and she came home with the Elton John version — clearly, I still haven't forgiven her for that. This album didn't do much for me. Other than the classic "Tony Danza" song, there's not much I really enjoyed. His singing style is just not my thing. He has a good voice, but he tries to do too much and it gets obnoxious. He ends up sounding pitchy, and he does a slightly less egregious version of the melisma theatrics that Christina Aguilera is infamous for (but without the vocal chops she has). It's also difficult to understand what he's saying because of the weird affected Southern twang. I generally much prefer covers of Elton's songs to his originals. Some of the music is okay, but it starts to feel same-samey after a while. And again, it's all very theatrical, but not in a way I enjoy. The literal Broadway chorus that comes in on All the Nasties is like a nightmare orchestrated by Phil Spector (though the drums in that song are cool). The lyrics are mostly cheesy, but I prefer the lonely rock star songs over the weird attempts at epic storytelling. Indian Sunset is god awful and deserves a special shoutout — the definition of the racist "noble savage" trope. 2/5 for me
So many ballads...
I'm not a fan, the music is just too saccharine which is quite off-putting. I could maybe stand it one song at a time, but the whole album is too much
I just have an occasional love of Elton John. There are an handful of his songs which are brilliant but the majority I can take or leave. Not listened to this album in full before. Not surprising as there are no big hits on the album which would draw me to it. The exception is Tiny Dancer which belongs to the aforementioned brilliant category. The other songs I haven’t heard or took notice of before. It was an enjoyable listen which I would not avoid in the future. Will stream again but unlikely to buy unless in bargain bin. Lot of album reviews state album is a bit proggy. Other than Rick Wakeman being on it and a few tracks over 5 minute mark cannot hear this. 2.5/3 25/3/24
Accidentally listened to the extended version of this which was basically three hours of variations of tiny dancer.
OK, nothing particularly attention grabbing
Let's not go crazy here. Songs are too long, and meh.
Two incredible songs followed by mostly filler. Not as I remembered it.
not as good as other Elton John
Not my jam.
Nice
Elton John just isn't for me. He's a global megastar because he knows how to get elderly people out of their seats and boogie in the aisles, but nothing makes me go to the bar quicker than an Elton single. I gave this a fair shot - Tiny Dancer is 90% naff with a pretty good chorus. The rest is entirely forgettable trash that sounds exactly the same as the preceeding song, but without any novelty. Truely, I'd sooner listen to a dog try and de-worm itself on a the Teletubbies Honky Tonk piano than put myself through this album again, a total waste of my time!! Sorry Elton, nothing personal. I think you coming in on Eminem's Stan that one time was a very big dick move, but please stop making albums like this.
Not good
Good, but not my vibe. Wasn't sad when it ended and Spotify autoplayed into Carole King.
You hear tiny dancer and you’ve heard them all. I’m not a fan of piano ballads
Calming and not headache inducing, perfect for my mood. Got a bit repetitive in tone towards the end and found myself unable to fully pay attention to the music
Bold of them to put Tiny Dancer as the first track. The rest of it was pretty forgettable. Also wtf was Indian Sunset? O_o I kept checking to see how much time I had left until it was over. No disrespect to Sir Elton... I just didn't love it.
zzz
a few bangers the rest is kinda mid? ending song was quite nice.
Nothing on this that would make a greatest hits album... Still curious that he wrote a song about Tony Danza before he became famous
Tiny Dancer being the obvious standout here, is very good. The rest did not come close to that level. Will I listen to again: 0%
Hey Elton, we need an album's worth of songs to follow Tiny Dancer. OK. Tiny Dancer so good, it's the first track and from there it feels like they arranged the album from best to worst tracks. Levon is pretty good, Razor Face is alright, but there is no reason to flip to side 2.
Not too bad an album. But a bit prosaic. Nothing stands out, it sounds like Elton John. I get the feeling he's just churning out a bunch of pop hits and hoping something catches and becomes popular.
Wasn't feeling it
Never listened to non-single tracks from Sir Elton..probably ok with that moving forward too. Madman is a good one, the rest of the tracks were forgettable. Shout out to the Holiday Inn for getting so many songs written about their reasonable accommodations.
Didn't care for this one as an album. Couple of great songs in Tiny Dancer (obvi) and Levon. There were a couple songs I couldn't finish (just got annoying I don't know).
zuviel Melancholie, zieht mich runter
Good album this pleasent and melodica tunes and strong emphasize on the piano and the artist voice. Anybody who knows Elton John will immediately recognize it at his.
I was surprised when I saw the tracklist how few of these songs I’d casually come across… then I heard them and it made sense. Not a ton to like on this one. Levon is a top five EJ song for me (but Tiny D is NOT… maybe because of that dumb scene in Almost Famous). Did Elton record/release Indian Sunset on purpose? I wish this was a 10pt scale or we could rate with half points, because prob between a 2/3 for me. Ultimately just not good enough for 3.
I get it but I don’t care for any of this except that tiny little dancer 2.5/5
Elton's ok but I don't really dig this album, it's kinda boring. Tiny Dancer is obviously great.
I don't know why, but I don't like Elton Johns music as much as I think I should! He has some absolute bangers and 'Tiny Dancer' is no exception. I often find myself belting out his songs, I loved the recent movie Rocketman and even read his biography last year. Despite this, I dont think I have ever put on an Elton John album on to listen to!!! It's very supermarket/elevator music and I enjoy it very much in the background, where I feel it belongs. That said, he has much better albums than this one!
Apart from Tiny Dancer (which is an amazing song - and always makes me think of that great bus scene in Almost famous! Amazing film) the rest of this album is a bit of a sorefest. I feel like I should really like Elton John's music, but I've just never got into it. I enjoyed watching Rocket man, can sing along with a bunch of his music, and the version from 'Sing' of 'I'm still standing' has even brought a tear to my eye (this coming from the woman who rarely cries!) - BUT I just don't ever feel excited to listen to his music, its just a bit boring :( Fave track: Tony dancer
It was Elton so yay but apart from the super strong opening with Tiny Dancer, the rest didn’t work for me.
Another Elton John album built round 1 track. Instantly forgetable
This was pretty hit or miss for me. Tiny Dancer is great and I really enjoyed the title track and Holiday Inn. Other songs weren’t as engaging for me and Indian Sunset is one of the more unintentionally racist, but well intentioned works that I have encountered in recent memory.
Next 5 songs played by my Spotify Algorithm: The Mama's and the Papa's - Go Where you want to go Hall and Oates - Rich Girl Fire Straits - Wild West End George Harrison - Give Me Love The Beatles - Norwegian Wood
This album is too all over the place… I mean, tiny dancer is one of the greatest songs ever written. But overall the flow of this album seems too random for me to have another listen. Highlights for me include tiny dancer, and the title track madman across the water
The same song over and over
I had no idea razorface was Elton John. Decent album. A little slow for my tastes, but it was undeniably Elton John.
Bland
Ne znam, nakon prvog slušanja je meh.
I didn’t realize how much I didn’t like Elton John’s voice until I played this album all the way through. The instrumentals are alright, but they don’t make up for having to hear Elton John sing. I liked the refrain at the end of Rotten Peaches though.
I like: Tiny Dancer Levon
Was ok, glad to have it in the background as not my type of music, but was listenable while doing other stuff, not gonna listen again though
every song sounds the same
hmmm another Elton John... Awwwe this is the album that has Tiny Dancer. Always reminds me of Almost Famous. I know he was a huge deal, but I'm just not feeling it. I liked the first and last track. 2 stars
I am glad it's not just me being confused by most of the lyrics. Indian Sunset is not a song a British artist would want to sing today, isn’t the word “squaw” now declared to be racist? I find it funny to hear his voice sounding so young, so just for that it was interesting to listen to this album. The song I liked most is the name giving song for the album. I have no idea what to make out of the lyrics, I just like the presentation, the band and his voice are amazing. It seems no one at the time got the meaning right either, maybe as a madwomen it just speaks to my soul.
Love Tiny Dancer, rest of it sounds a bit samey. Not bad, just not enough for my liking.
My parents never had music on in the house when I was young, except for the Kings College Choir at Christmas. The only music I heard was what my sister played in her bedroom which was next to mine, and as she was the biggest Elton John fan..... I tell you this because I cannot remember hearing this album before, though I know she had it. Quite frankly, it's not one of his best. I could name half a dozen I would consider more worthy of inclusion. Really its just an ordinary 2 for me.
I’m probably one of the only humans on the planet who managed to make it to their mid 50s without ever listening to an EJ album. I have an impulsive reaction to change the radio station as soon as I hear his tones, or if I’m somewhere in a public space I just put my fingers in my ears and shout blah blah blah blah until I’ve managed to escape the torture. Irrational behaviour by an otherwise fairly rational and balanced man perhaps. It’s not just EJs long association with an unmentionable football club down the M1 that warrants this abnormal response, although I am guilty of playing up to this as it’s now simply expected of me. In the same way that I’m expected to keep repeating the same Dad jokes and laughing at myself whilst my family just shakes their heads and fondly pats my arm. I knew that this day was coming as soon as I signed up to this 1,001 albums thing as I guessed there would be EJ presence. I thought I’d just skip it. But in this new progressive version of myself, I listened to the whole thing. Under headphones. So it’s our secret. So, my review… Positives Song writing - there are some ok songs on here. How much credit does EJ take for this? I genuinely don’t know. Arrangements - some beautiful orchestration and very clever use of tempo change, soft then loud and harmonisation. The title track - great song with a nice atmospheric build to it. Piano - obvious I guess but he can play the piano pretty well cant he! Negatives I absolutely hate his vocal style. Over pronunciation and over singing at times. It’s my number one hate on any piece of music (Mariah Carey for example) but EJ just has this weird exaggerated twang to his voice when he sings. What’s that all about? Like he’s either trying to be American or play a theatrical character? Ends up just sounding like a Benidorm club singer/Vic Reeves Shooting Stars parody act. ‘Indian Summer’ is an example. I’m proud of myself for trying and for being objective enough in my review. Zero stars for his vocals and choice of football team, but 2 stars overall - carried by the quality of some of the songwriting and the production.
Madman Across The Water has one of the greatest opening tracks of all time and progressively gets worse. At one point, Elton John sings, “ I went to see my chieftain” … I just can’t do it. He wrotes get piano melody and sings well but it doesn’t seem to all come to get together even. When it does though it’s the elite of the elite, in this case that’s Tiny Dancer. 5.9
every song sounds the same
I just found this...is fine. I think a lot of Elton, once you strip away the fact it's him, is just fine. It was quite boring really. He's got a cracking pair of lungs when he fancies it, but I think this just left my head as soon as it arrived.
Didn’t like this one
The "Tiny Dancer" opening is nice, but then after that you realize that every song sounds basically the same. It's like driving through Nebraska ... the corn is interesting at first but you quickly yearn for some variety.
This isn't my favorite album, in fact its pretty butt. I liked 2 songs in it.
I don't love Elton's music generally. Not horrible, but aside from a couple of songs, they're mostly meh to me. These are all folksy EJ.
Highlights: \"Levon,\" \"Madman Across the Water,\" \"Tiny Dancer\" The melodies are supposedly what carries Elton, but they're feeling samey for most songs here, even when the overall moods span far. Telling that it features a member of Yes, who suffers from the same problem in spite of all their skills. Maybe we could say he's pushing forward the blending of soul, rock, and showtunes, but it's hard to say how much of that was newer than The Beatles. Strong vocals, proficient sense of harmony, but baffling lyricism gets in the way more than it evokes something from the music, and his signature overwrites most of the distinct character between songs. It meanders and, as he says himself, wastes away.
Proof I am not an Elton man, I havent heard of the album. that is also how ignorant I am of the 70s. Does he rival the piano man for ballads, i hear you ask? its ok road music... is it telling a story I relate to like Billy Joel? its pleasant enough, and doesnt offend. I cant beleive there is a 3 disc 50th anniversary version to draw all this out though. Life must have been SO BORING and dry for this to ignite anything. Oh England in the 1970s was so awkward.
Elton John doesn't do it for me. I know a lot of his material from its incessant play on commercial radio, and I enjoyed the biopic, but I would never choose to put any of his records on the turntable. I would not buy one from a $1 bin. I don't change the radio station when one of his songs comes on (as compared to Billy Joel, whose music I actively despise), but neither do I respond with familiar enjoyment (as opposed to Fleetwood Mac, who I always enjoy when they come on the radio). I can no longer tell if his classic songs (and there is really only one on this album) are actually good songs, or just played so much that they are familiar. Like, just played so much that we confuse ubiquity for enjoyment. This is almost exactly the same review as I gave to Yellow Brick road. Except that this album doesn't have the same number of classic singles. Tiny Dancer is a pretty good song, although most of my fondness derives from its appearance in Almost Famous. I don't like Bernie Taupin's lyrics; I find them needlessly obtuse, and sometimes just downright silly. Elton can write and sing a good tune, but this album all seems pretty much the same (understandable, given that it was his third album of 1971). All the songs are a bit too long and over-orchestrated. I found this a real struggle to get through.
Thing is, there are some great songs on here, like Tiny Dancer. It's just that I would have to be in the right mood to put this on, and I'd rather listen to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
Partly heard before Saved 3/9 Top track: Tiny Dancer
C+ Tiny Dancer - 5 Levon - 3 Razor Face - 2 Madman Across the Water - 4 Indian Sunset - 2 Holiday Inn - 2 Rotten Peaches - 2 All the Nasties - 2 Goodbye - 3 Obviously, Hold Me Closer Tony Danza is a hit. Madman Across the Water, the song, was a welcome surprise. I've never been a huge Elton John fan. His music doesn't quite tickle my fancy, or my pickle for that matter.
Tiny Dancer is a legit banger. And the orchestration on this record is really top notch. But I was bored by a lot of this. Where are the hooks? Was this record a victim of 1970s one hit, and a bunch of filler? It kind of felt that way.
I wasn't a fan before, I'm still not one.
non è il mio genere
Never really cared for Elton, still don’t but I gave it a valiant effort.
Strong two? First song: 600 million listens, the rest, sub ten. That's a good indicator of stinky album. Tapped out at song 6
On here Elton tries really really hard to make his accent sound American, with over the top theatrics and exaggerated attempts at evoking nostalgia and cinematic grandiosity. In the words of Lisa Simpson, the whole thing smacks of effort, man! If I were awarding this work for authenticity, it would get a 0, but for being an inoffensive though try-hard assortment of songs, some of which (Madman, Sunset) do shine, I award it 2 gleeful madmen. 🤪🤪
Not terrible, but every song sounded the same.
jesus, he wants to go to venus
Ik vond het heel leuk beginnen met Tiny Dancer, maar de rest heb ik niet eigenlijk totaal niet opgeslagen tijdens het studeren oeps
I appreciated listening to it but it’s pretty dated and samey. The Indian song is especially cringy.
Not really an Elton John fan but as far as his stuff goes this one is decent. Not really my style at all but I wouldn't complain about it being on.
No sorry don't buy the whole he was credible in the early seventies. Yes there are songs here. But not songs I particularly like. Even Tiny Dancer.
Not that great.
Compositions bore me to tears
Pretty good album. Even though it's not exactly my cup of tea, I can understand what makes it great. I can appreciate the amount of work put into it and you can hear how much was poured into this album. Some of the highlights for me were: "Razor Face", "Holiday Inn" and the title track. My only criticism of it is that a lot of it feels the same. Kind of like one song that drags on and on. There wasn't much variation in beat and BPM, and the production was almost exactly similar on every song which made it somewhat boring for me. The good thing about listening to this album is that now I can totally hear the link between Elton John and the songs on The Lion King.
No fan
------1----
Not really my taste
Maudlin. Not horrible but never going to choose this.
Vähän väsynyttä Eltonia. Pakkohan tältä on olla useampi levy tällä listalla jos tääkin on täällä, koska aika outo valinta musta muuten. 2/5
A couple of standout tracks, but overall pretty uninteresting.
I prefer the greatest hits of Elton John
I like the chorus to Tiny Dancer and that's about it.
I’ve never been a fan of Elton John and this album didn’t change that. Every song sounded like a variation of Tiny Dancer. Thankful this was over in 45min.
It sounds pretty good, I dunno, ol' Elton just never struck a chord with me. My brain processes all the song as ballads which is a little unfair. But what can I say? I'm not excited by his work.
He is talented but its just not my jam.
Fine. Totally Fine. Will probably never listen again.
I dont get the inclusion of this album. It's not a great Elton John record. It has the classic Tiny Dancer but that's first and nothing that follows is anywhere near its level. Elton John is a talented man but swing and a miss here
Not one of his better ones.
This is one really good song and a load of nothingness. Elton John has a ridiculous back catalogue but not sure this belongs on here. 2/5, weaker than his best work by some way.
Definitely doesn't hit the heights as regularly as the previous Elton album we had, but is a lot more focused (and more like a normal album length at 45 minutes). On the flipside, each song is probably a bit longer than it needs to be; only the last track (which is more a vignette than a song) clocks in at under 4 minutes. Tiny Dancer is a wonderful song (although I need to keep listening to it more to cleanse the memory of that awful remix that was everywhere 11-12 years ago when I was at uni), but it's a bit weaker after that. Fun to discover Indian Sunset (that's the one 2pac used for Ghetto Gospel!), but there's not a huge amount of depth in quality. No songs other than Tiny Dancer that I'd go back to, so it's a 2/5 for me.
Прикольно, конечно. Но совсем не под настроение. Ничего не имею против Элтона, но сейчас не зашло.
i think elton john is moreso known for his hits rather than great all around albums and after listening to this i understand why. definitely not an awful album but also not great!
sorry but theres no reason for this to exist when david bowie is right there. tiny dancer is pretty good i guess though
piano pop
As ivory-tinklers go, Elton is of course up there with the very best. Just a shame this album is quite dreary, perfect for BBC Radio 2, which I don't consider a good thing
My rating will be based on how I felt while listening to the album. Did I like it?
According to legend, Elton John didn't originally need glasses. He took to wearing a pair to emulate Buddy Holly, but this caused his eyes to adjust, thus making them a necessity. Just thought I'd start with that. I haven't had an opinion on Elton John previously. I've never had any inclination to sit down and listen to any of his albums; my favourite music seemed to have little overlap with his music. Of course, Elton John has been bloody everywhere for all my life. I begrudge him that status only in that nobody should be bloody everywhere. So this album was oddly one I'd never heard which I'd assumed I already knew, clearly a mistake on my part. I tried to listen without preconception, and I think I did, and as an album it doesn't really work. The most obvious flaw is that Side B just meanders around, not really striking the listener. The songs, mostly 4+ minutes, can't really be called filler, so are they just a bit dull? So, we have a clearly toploaded album. How does the rest favour? I found the lyrics a touch overcooked, but curious enough to have some charm. Is the music emotional, mawkish, or insincere? I don't know. Maybe it's subjective. It may not be my bag, but I can understand other people going for it.
En muista vuorokautta myöhemmin biisin biisiä. Tais olla aika rankka paluu arkeen vai paska levy?
Onhan tää kaunista kamaa, mut toistaa aika paljon itseään. Ekan biisin perusteella 4, loppua kohden tippu
No conocía este disco ni ninguna de las canciones. Entretenido. Mucho piano (lógico) me ha recordado a Billy Joel. Me ha sorprendido que en 1971 ya consiguiera Elton John meter tanta gente y supongo que pasta en una grabación. El disco suena bien pero de ahí a ser imprescindible hay mucho. Lo mejor las 2 primeras canciones.
Nope
Tiny Dancer is the only good song
meh
Classic but not really my style.
Es una vieja cantando y tocando el piano
hold me closer tony danza this song actually drags on a bit, i know it's iconic but i'm not super into it lot of country and gospel influences i remember being into elton john for a while as a kid but i'm really not feeling this album yeah this is too country for me, idk
I don't think I am original when I say the best part of Madman Across The Water, is the opening track "Tiny Dancer", while "Levon" is decent. After listening to these, I find that this record adds nothing nearly as good in the remaining 7 tracks. Elton's vocals are sometimes annoyingly over the top, the effects can be laughably dramatic, and I have trouble remembering the differences between most songs. 2/5 is fair.
not a fan of elton john but i see why people enjoy his music
I like Eltons music and i didnt mind this album. But gave it a listens, would not chase it up again for another go though. 2 stars
It's alright, it's Elton John innit. Tiny Dancer tune. Also got the tune on here that he turned into the Ghetto Gospel Tupac tune. I respect the guys work but he ain't for me really. 2/5
One of the more mundane Elton albums. Pretty bland.
Tiny Dancer is 5* on its own. The rest is quite annoying.
It’s Elton John so you kinda know what to expect before listening. It’s what I call easy listening...exactly the same as my mother listens to. And that pretty much somes up Eltons audience. 2 Stars!
Tiny Dancer is obviously an incredible song, but it doesn't do quite enough to hold up the rest of the album, which pales after the first track. It's not quite a fair comparison, but this was underwhelming for me Saved: Madman Across The Water
Saved Prior: Tiny Dancer Off Rip: Madman Across The Water Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: All of Elton John's music that I've experienced so far has a certain theatricality to it that I don't know if i'm a particularly big fan of, but when it works it WORKS. Tiny Dancer is incredible, and I liked Madman Across The Water as well, but the others felt like knockoff versions of Tiny Dancer.
Second Elton John album we've had. Second Elton John album we've had that's not very good.
Goes downhill after the first song. Not his best
I really loved the classics on this album of course, but I did feel that the content about Indigenous peoples was really problematic.
Tiny Dancer only good song, new playlist from it.
I do not enjoy Elton John.
Yeah I guess if you like piano?
Not a big John Lennon fan
I can appreciate the story-telling in a lot of Elton's music, and "Tiny Dancer" is certainly a spectacle. It misses the mark for me in a lot of ways, but I like how each song felt more like a "mini-movie" as opposed to a simple song. But also yes, this album has "Indian Summer".
I hate Elton John so much. He’s so boring and so gay.
1000 albums website gave me two elton johns in one week. neither was lion king. i was a teenager when almost famous came out, i never need to hear tiny dancer ever again
Smug, whiny
The angry guy who sang at Princess Di's Funeral made albums as well as singles it seems. He's in serious mood here, trying to be Randy Newman or Neil Diamond, he mumbles his way through boring charachter sketches of uninteresting people.
The album cover for Madman Across the Water was embroidered over two weeks by Janis Larkham, wife of the album art director David Larkham. She used the back of an old Levi's jacket, and the original was gifted to Elton. There was no initial run of expensive album covers with similar embroidery, nor embossed versions; it was flat-printed - ie studio photographed - scanning was in its infancy, so everything was analogue, though it did include a lavish booklet. Janis chose to credit herself as "Yanis" for this artwork. (source-https://rachelandersontextiles.com/blogs/posts/seamstress-for-the-band) Normal whiny Elton John record inside some thoughtful packaging
Nothing special. At least for me.
Nice
I can't stand EJ and this album didn't help.
Aside from the hit, the rest of the album just felt like noise
this was actually painful by the end
Tiny Dancer is a bit of a guilty pleasure. As for the rest, I will at least say I preferred it to Billy Joel
Oh dear, obviously I’m conflicted given my feelings about WFC but do me a favour RGP this is absolutely dreadful…Tom.
not my thing
Awful. I was so disappointed when this popped up. I still gave it a chance but found myself shaking my head at how bad it is. The music is uninspired, the lyrics are either meaningless or offensive and the delivery, shrouded in this weird faux pathos is laughable. I hope I don't have to listen to Elton John ever again.
Tiny dancer stand out song so not great.
Лютый калл
Fucking awful
Pretty boring. Yet another artist whose only worthwhile albums are of the Greatest Hits variety. Elton's "deep cuts" are dreary as heck.
Did not grab me and maybe too slow for me. Not my cup of tea.
I did not appreciate the heavy production and unnecessary orchestra I was really just hoping the the man and the piano to be tugging at my heart-strings!
Ok so listen, I low-key hate elton john. This has not changed that, I could not even give you a good reason why I don't like him but I do not.
Pre-listening: Not thrilled here. Radio-friendly music without much to actually say. And no edge. But maybe I'll come around. Listening notes: -Tiny Dancer is at least Anthemic. Expansive in a Queen way, which isn't really a complement, but it doesn't overdo the drama like they do. -Madman across the water is a cool name for an anodyne song -All the Nasties sucks. So it goes. -Every song on this album seems to start calm, then rise to these exaggerated orchestral anthems. Does Levon really sound that different than Tiny Dancer? Tine Dancer was okay, but not really that special. And every other song on this album seems calibrated to copy its popularity. Snoozefest.
Rubbish!
Elton has much better albums
Bleh. Didn’t like Elton John before, nothing changed. To be fair, I didn’t even try to be open minded, but I really don’t care what I’m missing out on by not liking this album. Nothing very exciting anyway.
2/10 not good to me First song was okay-ish
Eh. Worst Song: Razor Face Best Song: Rotten Peaches Added to Liked Songs:
Noooooo. I loathe Elton John after he slatted the UK.
Just don’t get the appeal. Sorry
He's talented but this is not my thing.
21 maj 2025 Tiny Dancer - bra! tycker om Levon - nja inte riktigt min grej Razor Face - lite svängig igen favorit Madman Across The Water - börjar tro att elton john inte är nåt för mig Indian Sunset - okej den här var lite episk typ men inget jag hade lyssnat Holiday Inn - nej. Rotten Peaches - nej och börjar bli less. All The Nasties - nu är jag jätteless Goodbye - äntligen är det över jag var inget fan av det här albumet betyg: 1/5 favorit(er): tiny dancer
This shit sucks ass
I don't really get Elton John's thing, if I'm being honest. I don't know if I have ever really understood his thing. He's in a similar bucket to Billy Joel for me... I can tell he is beloved and people love his stuff but save for a few specific songs (CROCODILE ROCK!!!) I don't really hear what people are hearing. Sure, Tiny Dancer is catchy. The piano playing is very good. But... overall... the lyrics and music sound like the songs are intended for a mediocre musical in which I don't know the story. Maybe someday I will get it, but today was not that day and this album did nothing for me.
This album isss tttthheee zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzs...
Too long and it all sounds the same.
Tiny Dancer Levon Madman Across the Water
Good on
This is the forty ninth album I’m rating. The only Elton John knowledge I have is that movie and that he caused AIDS. Adding to my Playlist - Levon, Razor Face, Madman Across the Water Not Adding to my Playlist - Tiny Dancer, Indian Sunset, Holiday Inn, Rotten Peaches, All the Nasties, and Goodbye. Tiny Dancer - I’m sorry but this is just too boring. The chorus is cool but I feel absolutely nothing. All in all I liked 3/9 songs. I thought Elton John was good but this was just really boring.
Not the biggest fan, especially of the later slower songs.
Tiny Dancer - I just watched a doc that talked about the story of the song. Outside of that it really didn't have an affect on me musically or lyrically. Mad Man Across The Water - The music is what stood out for me. Final Review - Not an album I'll add to my collection.
no real notes. elton just aint my style
horrible
Seichter progressive Rock.
Overblown nonsense, it's just so boring. .Next......
I was so excited for Elton but I hateddddd this.
tiny dancer!
This rating is a double edged sword, with both edges pointing at Elton John. I am not a huge fan of his, and this album is just one song in nine different fashions.
Never been a fan.
meh, not interesting
Songs are moaning on
Found it to be boring as hell. Not cohesive, although some songs sounded the same, so I'm not sure how one manages to pull that off. "Indian Sunset" was probably my favorite, but I can't say I truly liked it. 1/5
Meh.
1. tiny dancer - 2 2. levon - 1 3. razor face - 0 4. madman - 0 5. indian zunzet - 0 6. holiday inn - 0 7. rotten peachez - 0 8. all the naztiez - 0 9. goodbye - 1.5
Elton John and Bernie Taupin write some great songs but this album contains none of them. Their romantic fascination with the Old American West is on full show, with John’s faux American singing accent dominating every song, like a crooner at an English working men’s club on a boozy singalong night, while Taupin tries to ape the Great American Songbook’s storytelling-in-song but never quite gets there. Too many themes and too little story. “Tiny Dancer”, for example, occasionally delights but is smothered in its wrapper of New Orleans piano pastiche. I can see why this was not popular in the UK and sold like hotcakes in the US.
I really like the first song - Tiny Dancer. The rest is meh
Great songwriting, great musicianship, great everything. Just not for me, anyone with a career that long at the top deserves a bit of grudging praise. I knew the first track, the rest? Nope. It was harmless and not very inspiring, so I do wonder why this album was chosen over some more famous ones. Unfortunately I now have a fucked up earworm which goes 'Im a tiny dancer, I dance all for money...' it's beginning to weird me out, so someone please put me down. Gets a middle of the road 1 because I expected a bit more than what I got in the way of his big songs.
Elton John, im sure hes a nice guy but his music sucks!
Pants
Tiny Dancer is great, so lovely; the rest are, well, shit.
I just don't get it. It's background music, yet people pay money to go and see it. Baffling.
literally what the fuck is this album about. outright bewildering. i have not a clue what this man is trying to tell me now i get why him and lana are friends. and honestly can anyone actually tolerate more than like ten minutes of elton john music at a time?
Tony Danza is an OK song, but I’m not too sure why this bland EJ offer is on the list.
God-damnit, I specifically checked the box, so I will not be recommended this type of music. I don't know, this must be more of a Pop, then a classic rock, and especially blues. Fix the recommendations, please. I am not saying Elton John's music is bad, this sort of music is just not for me. Way to relaxed and out of me.
I love lots of Elton John but I don't love this at all. Only one stand out song - Tiny Dancer - the rest a real struggle.
Cba
Either refined to the point of dullness or dulled to the point of refinement, this is a sluggish show of songwriting pomposity.
What’s on earth is this album about. I have no idea what are you thinking about any one of those songs and even if I got I did I couldn’t empathise with any of us totally boring
Really not enjoyable.
Nice songs, great singer but overall not really my cup of tea
Tiny dancer was the only song I liked. The rest of the album put me to sleep.
Tiny Dancer. Solo eso.
Ugh horrible saccharine garbage
o