Madman Across The Water

Tiny Dancer heard to death but album lets one appreciate what an amazing talent Elton John (and Bernie Taupin) was (were) at the top of his (their) game

Я послушал и стал геем

Singles aside, this is a great set of “Elton John singing with his piano” songs. That might sound simple, but that isn’t a bad thing.

Næsten en lille smule gospel-agtigt det her album. Det er et nummer, hvor han er indianer, måske lidt cultural population, men et fuldstændig fantastisk album, jeg helt klart gerne vil høre igen.

So smooth.

Not a fan of Elton John at all. Boring pop. Doesn't interest me

Listened before?: only Tiny Dancer Tiny Dancer - 5/5 Levon - 4/5 Razor Face - 4/5 Madman Across the Water - 5/5 Indian Sunset - 4/5 Holiday Inn - 3/5 Rotten Peaches - 3/5 All the Nasties - 3/5 Goodbye - 3/5 Average score: 3.8/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

70s Pop-Rock. I can listen to it, I can have it as background music, or I can ignore it. There are songs that I like, but there isn't anything in either direction (It must be in my permanent rotation or I don't ever want to hear it again), that I feel exceptionally strongly about.

Early piano man. I remember Tiny Dancer, but not much else. Most of the album has the same vibe; it's nice to listen to while playing in the background.

I like some Elton John songs, but in general, I'm not much of a fan.

Nice young Elton

Gets four stars for tiny dancer and madman across the water alone, such masterful songs, for the song writing and for the way they build and release tension. The rest are in the same vein but not quite reaching those same heights.

I've heard this one before and I still don't get the fuss. It's okay, but not winning any new fans here.

Listened before : No Listen again : No   I came into this album as a fan of elton johns biggest hits, but I haven't really listened to much of his music beyond that. I feel tiny dancer sets the tone of the album pretty well, the whole thing feels like it would make a good gang show item. Sitar background of Holiday Inn worked for me and gave the track quite a joyful, nae whimsical feeling. Piano throughout is mint, but you would expect that.   Standouts: Tiny dancer (ofc), Holiday Inn, All The Nasties

Good

Tiny dancer, Indian Sunset and Rotten Peaches are my faves. I didn’t realise Ghetto Gospel was sampling Indian Sunset so that’s a fun discovery (I knew it was Elton John). I just wasn’t wowed like I thought I’d be so that’s why it’s a 3 for me.

Liked the first song, the rest was alright.

Starts off with the beautiful tiny dancer and nothing quite matches up to that. Its a very quiet melodic album. Better was to come as the decade wore on

Has one of the best intro songs to an album if not one of the best songs of all time at the top - Tiny Dancer. Beyond that, I appreciate John's stylings but this album peaks at the beginning for me.

Levon is one of my favorite songs of all time. But like most Elton albums, there are some absolute all timers and a TON of filler Best Song: Levon Rating: 7/10 Stars: 4

Piano man is a genre right? These are good songs well executed. Elton is a good singer and the production is nice if if it’s time . Would I listen to this album if someone played it for me , probably , but would I put it on myself - probably not. 2.5 /5 Apparently Tony Danza is Leaving - well at least that’s what it sounds like.

Buenísimo álbum, sin duda mis favoritas fueron tiny dancer y goodbye

One hit album funkar inte

Elton har en riktig sjuk streak med bra album i början av 70-talet. Tycker dock att för många låtar på den här skivan har för lik struktur och tempo, så det blir inte mer än 3/5. En stark trea!

Det är bra!

oh hey! tiny dancer!

Fun

bem... é um album do elton john + anos 70 + baladas. algumas são boas, outras são só OK

It doesn’t get bogged down length wise like yellow brick road. It stays fairly snappy and fun

The sprawling, chorus-less first half of "Tiny Dancer" sets the stage for an album full of lush piano and strings. By the time the chorus hits for the first time it's well-earned and acts as a fitting climax. The first half of the album follows in much of the same way, with the title track being another highlight. The strings get bigger on "Indian Sunset," which is well-intentioned but which hasn't aged too well. On the second half the big strings start to get tiring, as the album doesn't try too many new things; the building, flowing tension of "Tiny Dancer" has been replaced by more traditional pop songs. At the end, the closing song is a real letdown, a short unsatisfying conclusion. There are plenty of beautiful moments on this, but they're mostly on the first half and the album screams for something new by the end.

This sounded cinematic in nature. It’s like everything had its place, everything was intentional from the lyrics down to a simple beat of a drum. Great fucking music Sir Elton John, bravo!

Dangit deleted my review by pressing the wrong button, too lazy to go rewrite it. Good collections of songs minus the Indian one. Don't really think of it as a coherent album but also don't really care.

As much Elton John that I’ve listened to in my life, this is probably the first time I’ve sat down and actually listened to a whole album. Honestly, It’s hard not to be an Elton John fan

An excellent release and my favorite of his. One of the greatest singles ever. Tiny Dancer. Tapping n John at their apex together.

the real highlight here is the vocals, both writing and performing. the rest of it isn't particularly strong or varied

Excellent classic album Solid 5

Tony Dancer LP version excellent- the rest of the album was decent,

This is a tough one. It has good moments, but at other times it's kind of a bore. Maybe had I woken up on the other side of the bed today, I might give it a 4/5 instead.

još jedan sasvim neloš album eltona johna? ponovo do neke mjere progresiva. no ovaj me se nije toliko dojmio kao prethodno odslušan (»goodybe on yellow brick road«), neka su mjesta previše eh, stoga trojka. u svakom bih slučaju htio ponovo odslušati i ovaj i spomenuti album [odslušao i napisao 15/10/26]

A smooth theatrical album. Really unique lyrics, you sometimes feel as though you’re listening to a musical fairy tale, but it works.

7/10

An enjoyable album to listen to once but Elton John is not my thing

It’s Elton John. Great álbum though!

Tiny dancer my favourite Elton John song will guarantee a couple of stars but after that this album, like a lot of his, just falls into the OK box and thats not as bad as it sounds. Would I listen to this album if someone played it, maybe, but would I put it on myself - probably not.

I call this the Ramones theorem Tiny Dancer is a classic song, and obviously the highlight of this album. Elton John is a more than fine vocalist, and there’s plenty of talent in his band. I wouldn’t say there’s a single objectively bad moment in this one. Tried to pay attention to the lyrics and I gotta admit they’re not bad, I see what he’s going for The biggest problem with this one is that every. single. song just feels like it’s trying to be Tiny Dancer again, with varying results. It reminds me of the Ramones album where they knew Blitzkrieg Bop was awesome so they tried to make it 10 more times. Basically, the variety sucks on this one Considering a lot of Elton John’s most beloved songs are higher energy hits, it just kinda disappoints me that every track on this album is going for the exact same thing

I like Tiny Dancer just not enough to want to listen to it 9 times.

Classic Elton John

Strong openers. And it's Elton! Some are a bit dated (Indian Sunset) but overall a good album.

Fun. Weirdly christian

Review TBC, but I'm really not a fan of Elton and it was merely fine.

Pitkiä biisejä, tai ainakin ne tuntuvat pitkiltä. Elton John on ollut ehdottomasti maailmanluokan artisti. Ei yhtään erityisen tuttua biisiä entuudestaan eikä yhtään huonoa biisiä. Mutta jotenkin vähän raskas, vaatisi valtavasti keskittymistä saada tästä albumista ”kaikki irti”. 3/5

Found myself really grooving to this one.

Was so close to giving 5 but near the end it slightly fell off. This is an excellent album with almost no missed

Elton can do no wrong, even indy least favorite tracks there is a redeeming quantity or two. A master aong writer and a real hit maker. Elton John is a legend in every sense.

Turns out I'm more of a Goodbye Yellow Brick Road guy myself.

3,5 stars

I have no issues with Elton John’s music, but it also doesn’t nothing for me. It’s sounds fine and is cleanly produced, but I don’t really feel anything listening to it. I’m actually kind of surprised that I’ve been doing this project so long and this was my first Elton John. Maybe the next one will thrill me more.

1. Tiny Dancer - 8/10 2. Levon - 8/10 3. Razor Face - 6/10 4. Madman Across The Water - 7/10 5. Indian Sunset - 4/10 6. Holiday Inn - 6/10 7. Rotten Peaches - 5/10 8. All The Nasties - 4/10 9. Goodbye - 3/10 Overall - 5.6/10

Tiny Dancer is sehr cool, ansonsten nichts besonderes

Tiny Dancer natürlich fantastisch. Mag Elton John inzwischen sehr. 4 Sterne

pas le meilleur de elton

I like Elton up until around the mid 70s, this is certainly one of his best albums.

His most consistent album. His best album.

First off, no clue why people hear Tony Danza as an often misheard lyric. I was familiar with a few of the songs and can see that if this came on my music on random, I would probably not skip. The combination of Taupins lyrics and Elton’s voice and piano is easily recognizable. I did find myself enjoying the songs I had not heard. This is where I wish I could give half step ratings as this is really a 3.5 for me. Madman Across the Water was my favorite song and had elements of other genres with a hint of prog.

The first two songs are TOP NOTCH. I was getting a little annoyed after a while though "why does he sound like he's from the American south" *searches the internet*... he lived in Georgia for over 32 years. Makes sense.

"Tiny Dancer" might be the best of his many, many good songs. "Levon", "Holiday Inn", and the title track are all quite good. The rest is replacement-level Elton, which is a B+ in my book.

Good feeling with a groovy piano where you can recognize Elton John style. Nice instrumentals. Kinda have a country vibe also

I liked it added a couple songs to my playlist

really good!

elton john friend 8/10

Not bad. Tiny Dancer was great.

Fun and quirky

He is an amazing talent. I don’t love it as an album but there are some really good songs.

Bernie Taupin's lyrics are absolutely gonzo bordering on ridiculous (Indian Sunset), but damn Elton John can tickle some ivories. Some amazing arrangements and melodies, but some of it was soooo shmaltzy.

favs: tiny dancer razor face madman across the water rating 1.6/5

Nice.

Meer depri dan verwacht naar het einde

No one does theatrical bombast better than Elton. I can figure out what or whether Bernie is saying anything at all but Elton delivers his words with such conviction that I believe what he’s singing every single time. So that’s something. I love these boys.

Some great songs, mostly good, starts feeling repetitive.

Number: 273 Familiarity: Moderate (3) Rating: 3 ======= I'm giving it a 3, mostly because of Tiny Dancer (4) and Levon (5). All the rest were 2's and 3's, with more 2's than 3's.

Starts off white hot then kind of fades. "Indian Sunset" is a painful, but well-intended, listen. I'd probably pick it up out of the bargain crate.

Not on Apple Music. Rating based on other album.

- Quite like Tiny Dancer - Love Elton Johns voice - kinda gives me a bit of country vibes - love the instruments - kinda album i'd put on while having a warm candle-lit bath or in the car - not really my genre though but has great production - related to All the Nasties - nice ending Songs I liked: - Tiny Dancer - Rotten Peaches - All the Nasties

Classic album. Elton is such a good singer and writer. Heard many songs I had never heard before.

Primero el nombre del álbum es increíble. Pueden decir muchas cosas de Elton John pero este nombre me encantó, me recuerda a ziggy stardust. Ojalá fuese así de experimental como lo fue Bowie en años parecidos. Me parece muy interesante sus historias que giran en esa línea de los real y los sentimental. La repetición es un factor súper relevante para el en este álbum. Mientras se repite una frase la música es la que cambia y se atreve a generar otro sentido a la frase. Elton tiene un sonido seguro, no tiene que ser destructivo o desgarrador con su voz para hacer un punto. Es tan seguro de su estilo y de su mensaje que en la sencillez podemos ver la riqueza. Un verdadero sir.

meh

Great album. Tony Dancer starts it off so strong, but Levon is great, All The Nasties is great, really just such a good overall record. 9/10.

I really enjoyed this album and Tiny Dancer and Levon guarantee a high score. The rest of the tracks are all very strong except for Indian Sunset (wtf?).

Two or three songs on here - Tiny Dancer, Holiday Inn, Madman Across the Water - are about as good as songs get. Perhaps not a great song, but definitely worth mentioning, is All the Nasties, a song about "what would I do, and how would they react, if I told them about my secret" which, in hindsight, is about as open as Elton got back then about his sexuality. Elton's melodies and singing are very strong and Buckmasters arrangements are pretty stunning. The weak link in the chain for this, remarkably, is the usually solid Bernie Taupin, who let's his Americana thing run away with him and also indulges a tendency towards over writing. Goodbye, Levon and Rotten Peaches are prime examples - all symbolism and cowboys and self importance. Levon, however, is rescued by the brilliance of the music and the arrangement. And the less said about the cosplay of Indian Sunset the better.

Pre Listen: First Elton John album on here, neat! I got a couple of his main hits on my playlist, Rocket Man, Crocodile Rock, Yellow Brick Road, etc. I don't think I've listened to a full album of his other than Yellow Brick Road, and even that one was years ago. Higher expectations than usual. Notable Tracks: Tiny Dancer - One of those hits I already had on my playlist. It's a fun song, good sound to it. My favorite track of the album too, likely from pre-exposure bias though. Indian Sunset - Least favorite track due to the lyrical content. Just kinda feels like a weird thing for a pasty white dude to be yappin about. Post Listen: Very cinematic album, it feels like a cross between a rock album and a musical. There's a story somewhere along here, but I had trouble following it. I'm struggling to find a way to describe how I feel about this album. It's good, everything about it from a production perspective is really good. Elton's voice is great, and the stories each song conveys is good too. There's just something in it that's not bringing it up to a perfect 5 for me. I can't identify what that thing is, but I reckon it's just musical taste on a personal level. As a result, I don't really click with a lot of the songs here. It's a bit frustrating, because as I'm listening to it, my brain is telling me "You should really be liking these songs, this is wonderful" but my heart can only muster back a "meh". Maybe I'm just a Madman across the water from Elton, on the other side of the river. Regardless of how much I personally like the music, I think this album deserves praise, it is indisputably well done. 4/5

Elton sounds great. I'm not really a fan, but the guy's got this great, raw voice capable of some pretty impressive raving. But there are also songs which miss the mark considerably with a head scratching disconnect between vocals and lyrics, such as the very weak Levon, which is home to some of the worst and least compelling storytelling I’ve ever heard. But even vocals can't save that stupid song when he is a Native Ameri an sang as a white, British guy.

Tiny Dancer and Levon are some of my favorite Elton John songs (if not my two favorites). The other tracks on this album felt like they sounded very similar and got a little repetitive, but they weren't bad.

I just don't like Elton John. I mean for a guy who has been so consistently successful on the pop charts, this is one band where I really don't get how my tastes are so off from everyone else. And why is a British imperialist singing songs about Iroquoian struggles with fighting after a leader has died?!? And why is this being called prog rock?!? Just because you had Yes pianist in the background, does this mean Michael Jackson's thriller is heavy metal because Van Halen played the guitar solo? Anyway, I see how others may like his over the top presence and orchestration, and I understand how he's loved by so many, but that's only from an intellectual assessment. In my sole, he sucks me dry and leaves me begging for release.

Tiny dancer makes this an automatic 3

Never really had a lot of Elton in my life, but this album is awesome

This album was pretty good! I would give it a seven out of 10. A lot of it sounded the same, tiny dancer is the best song on the album.

Elton John at his mediocre is still better than many artists at their best. This album swells under its orchestral production but occasionally that, plus the length of most of the tracks, gives them a pretence of ‘earnest seriousness’ that isn’t always justified. Tiny Dancer is awesome. But as the first track, it causes many of the following songs to sound like variations of it, rather than alternatives. Still pretty good overall though.

Tiny Dancer is the best track. After that it's a bit meh..

Love Tiny Dancer, the rest is good but without anything catching my attention

Yep, that was bangin'. tapping my foot and bobbing my head during work listening to this. Absolutely lovely.