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

Hits are stron Songs too lon Patience gon Elton John

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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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.

"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 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.

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

This just opened my eyes to how talented he is. What a voice

‘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.

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

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.

i feel like this is not my vibe rn but tiny dancer is cute i would like it if i was in a specific mood (white girl mood)

Did that white boy just sing - in the first person - a song about being Native American? Yes, yes he did.

Any album that opens with Tiny Dancer has to be a 5. Such an incredible listen.

Elton John has so many albums that I've mostly only listened to greatest hits albums out of sheer laziness. So glad this was recommended because I didn't even know about this one.

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 won't say a massive amount about this album but I will say this; if you asked me to pick two and only two albums by the titan of the industry that is Elton John I would not pick this album. While this seems to be the album that made him "Elton John" where he refined his sound and found his groove and proved he could write timeless classics like Tiny Dancer, the other album chosen for this list is absolutely correct (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road) but a far FAR better showing of Elton would've been Honky Chateau. Hell even "Don't Shoot Me I'm Just the Piano Player", even if being a little longer would've been a better showing. Hell I might even pick Captain Fantastic to better show how bombastic and ambitious a man Elton can be. Alright enough about the actual album choice. This album is solid? Maybe even good but each song is maybe 30 seconds to a minute too long and across 9 songs that adds up. The song writing itself and the sound are absolutely great because of course they are. I am genuinely unsure where I could slot this because I think I actually like this album as a whole but the parts and not doing the sum many favours. But how can I say that when across 9 songs I had to check when my current song was ending maybe 4 times? This is one of those rare instances where maybe less would've been more, because as we will see eventually my favourite Elton John song is like 12 minutes long because it's constantly doing something different whereas many of these songs feel like they could've ended a little earlier each and made the album almost instantly more digestible and cohesive. Best songs: Tiny Dancer, and it's not close. Worst songs: N/A Rank compared to everything else so far: 24/32 (below Let's Get it On, above Daydream Nation)

hOLd me ClOsEr TiNy DAncEr

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

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

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

Heard Before? Only "Tiny Dancer" and, oddly enough, "Rotten Peaches". I know the greatest hits album, but I've always been too snobby to really dive in. Notes: - I'm not always a lyrics person, so my first impression was that every song is too long and wordy, except the charming and mandolin-featuring "Holiday Inn". - but on my second listen, I was with my partner, who danced and sang along to every song. this greatly increased my appreciation. although we both agreed that "Indian Sunset" is a must-skip for obvious reasons. - the mix is servicable, wisely foregrounding the vocals and compressing the orchestra far to the back. - arrangements are busy and often overcooked, but i can tolerate the gooey cheese. - the proggy title track is worth extra listens just to let it soak in. Verdict: Appropriately piano-heavy campy storytelling from the master of such things. Theatrical! Unlike many famous-for-one-hit records on this list, the deep cuts are worth it. Listen Again? Maybe I need to give Sir Elton a better chance.

Fine, but I can't really get into Elton John. Every song sounds the same to me

I think I can probably stick to the singles when it comes to Elton John. He's an amazing performer and the songwriting team with Taupin is undeniable great, but what he does strung out and watered down over a whole album is a bit lost on me. 3*

Really tried liking this bold move, and I thought I was going to give this a 4 after the first listen, but Elton John just can’t pull off folk music ideology within his style. As a result, I couldn’t make it through a second listen.

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.

is this really the Elton John record I should hear before I die?

I got most of the way through the first song (Tiny Dancer), found out that that song is considered to be the best from the album, and immediately shut it off. I cannot stand this guy's voice and singing style. 1/5

Not for me - give me Hunky Dory instead!

Wow, this was not good. Definitely sang like a number of B sides after the songs Tony Dancer and Levon. A weird country twang, inconsistent and forgettable songs and a weird reflection on folks who are Native American from an englishman? Really disappointing album put here for the singles. 1/5

Geen hits. 5 sterren!

Genius

Great great album. Elton (and Bernie) really is one of the best

Project 1001 ABID #7 Pre thoughts: Love Eltons hits so very interested to see what an acclaimed album sounds like. Post thoughts: it’s wild that Tiny dancer isn’t even in the top 5 of this album

Elton’s best work !!!

Definite classic. Starts with "Tiny Dancer" and never comes down.

Who doesn't love Elton John? I'm glad to have finally listened to the album that Tiny Dancer comes from.

If I'm nitpicking, there are too many long songs and not enough variety in tempo, but the performances mix and master are all sublime! There's so much dynamic range and the arrangements really are stellar.

Loved it

brilliant.

Perfected album

Wow. I’ve avoided Elton John to be honest over my music listening and collecting history. Too much new stuff to explore and the legacy stuff, of which there is loads, has always prioritised other people first. Sure I know some songs and new there were some great tunes but I also knew there were over played and over bombastic stuff that I wasn’t really keen to add to the collection. I wouldn’t have known where to start. This album might now be a gateway drug. Fantastic songs, fantastic playing and not the showboating I was expecting. Such was the enjoyment I had that after I finished listening I started some of the tracks on the super deluxe edition and started looking on line to see if there was a deal. This is a find for me, hiding in plain sight, and I imagine an influence for Father John Misty

Indian Sunset is a masterpiece

Luv EJ

fav track: honestly liked a lot of the tracks!! fav maybe rotten peaches?? so great!! cohesive but keeps it interesting well done elton

Послушать пластинку Элтона Джона по своей воле, или же по велению рандома на сайте - это значит гарантированно хорошо провести время. Легкий, воздушный альбом клавишные Джона пронизывают и сопровождают тебя на протяжении всех треков. Также, обратил внимание что в достаточно большом количестве текстов частенько, пусть и довольно абстрактно, но затрагиваются темы религии и веры. Интересно о чем думал Берни Топин, когда писал эти тексты. Вощем, приятная, отличная запись, а разве могло быть по другому, будучи с Tiny Dancer'ом в трек-листе?

Another 70’s-80’s superstar. Great showman. Good vocals, and music. Can’t go wrong with Elton’s music.

5 for Tiny Dancer and Levon.

music is love

Buenissimo

my favorite elton john record. "indian sunset" is still pretty cringe, especially as sir reginald still doesn't think it is or ever was. still, a great, great record

A velvet-caped ambush. I came expecting dated 70s glam theatrics and instead got piano majesty, heartbreak, and choruses large enough to rent their own ZIP code. By the time Tiny Dancer hit full stride, the fifth star was inevitable.

I like Elton but never listened to this album before. Fantastic album, I loved every song.

It's not as great as "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", but I have a lot of love for this album.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- Albumet är pampigt, dramatiskt och fullt av ballader och öppnar stark med en av världens bästa, Tiny Dancer. Eltons röst är fantastisk och produktionen och instrumenteringen är topp, där pianot lägger grunden och sen andra instrument som stråkar och blås som glider in och ut utan att kännas för mycket. Ett konsekvent album som är enkelt att luta sig tillbaka till och bara absorbera. Får en svag 5a eftersom det kanske hade behövt någon wow-låt till. Bäst är Tiny Dancer, Levon, Madman across the water, All the nasties och Goodbye.

Ótimo album pra ouvir enquanto lava a cozinha, o sabão facilita a performance Elton Johniana.

Amazing

Its elton john, obviously slaps

I truly love Elton Johns music, I always grew up listening to it and tiny dancer is one of my all time favourite songs

Peak Elton

I really like it - Indian summer though eek

magnificent!

Loved it

Outstanding Album. One of his best.

Beautiful album, really made me appreciate Elton John much more. Great variety of songs too

Elton John is the man

Classic

i like elton and this was an album i had never listened to but genuinely blew me away

Er ikke fan av refrenget på Levon. Ellers er denne plata fullkommen. Noen andre som bare måtte høre Ghetto Gospel?

Life changing. Fantastic start. Can't bring myself to put the reasons or circumstances into words but if my future self ever sees this he'll know.

This was a fantastic album! every song was very good (albeit, fairly similar.), obviously Tiny Dancer and Levon were the hits, but Indian Sunset, All the Nasties, and Goodbye were all great. All the other songs were also nice though.

Tiny Dancer Alone

Obviously 5 stars just for Tiny Dancer but I also really loved Holiday Inn.