Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

THE REVIEW

Among the countless rare gems of Dream Theater's long and glorious career, "A Change Of Seasons" cannot be overlooked. It's a marvelous 23-minute and 9-second suite composed in 1989 and released in 1995 in the form of an EP, accompanied by four delightful live tributes to some of the great inspirations of Petrucci, Portnoy, LaBrie, and company: a Led Zeppelin medley, a "Big Medley" including sections from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Pink Floyd's "In The Flesh?", "Perfect Strangers" by Deep Purple, and especially "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" by such Elton John: a majestic, moving, and emotional funeral march that transforms into a compelling ride between rock and pop, both ingenious and catchy. All of this certainly couldn't leave my insatiable curiosity indifferent, and so, in one of my usual fits of madness, I decided to purchase this "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", without knowing if it would be the beginning of a new great love or if, after a listen or two, I would leave it to languish on a shelf like "Antichrist Superstar" by Marilena Mansoni or "Get A Grip" by Aerosmith.

Conclusion: it wasn't the start of a great love affair nor a dud to be offloaded as soon as possible: an album a bit too abundant (originally a double LP, and 17 songs are many, perhaps too many), but the pearls are there: the already mentioned "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding", which in its original version sounds more subdued, tense, and dirtier in the instrumental part, while in the sung part, good Elton, even though he delivers a good performance, cannot possibly compete with Jamie LaBrie. Our singer-pianist gives his best in absolutely magnificent ballads, the kind that give goosebumps like "Candle In The Wind", a tribute to Marilyn Monroe as well as a bitter reflection on the perverse mechanisms of celebrity, and especially in my favorite song of the album, where EJ truly offers the best of himself, the dreamy, melancholic, and sweet "Roy Rogers". Another episode deserving an A+ is certainly the title track, a pop song of truly excellent craftsmanship, practically perfect in every aspect: atmosphere, voice, arrangements, and lyrics, followed by another gem like the enigmatic and dreamlike "This Song Has No Title".

Beside these highlights, we find other respectable tracks: the carefree reggae experiment "Jamaica Jerk-Off", the whimsical and theatrical "Bennie And The Jets", "Grey Seal", a potential masterpiece ruined by a chorus that doesn't quite measure up, "Sweet Painted Lady", beautiful in its Mary Poppins-style atmosphere, and the final duo, composed of the cheerful march "Social Disease" and the short, bittersweet, and elusive "Harmony".

The ones I've mentioned are, in one way or another, all lovely songs to listen to, hum, or whistle with a certain regularity: for dreaming, for relaxing, for regaining good humor, or simply because they're good for your health, nevertheless, good Elton, in this very album, also gives us some duds of the caliber of "All The Girls Love Alice" or the more ""rock"" episodes like "Your Sister Can't etc etc..." or "Saturday Night etc etc..." which can't stand even with crutches, while "Dirty Little Girl", "I've Seen That Movie Too" and "The Ballad Of Danny Bailey" add an unnecessary supplement of boredom to an otherwise perfect album, thus lowering my rating by a full two stars (I'm sorry Elton...)

Overall, an album that I cherish with great affection, ennobled by some pop diamonds that never cease to be listenable, maybe it's not an indispensable masterpiece but surely a gem to have to embellish your collection, also because, as I already mentioned in one of my old reviews, making quality pop music is one of the most difficult things in the world, perhaps even more challenging than writing songs like "A Change Of Seasons"...

"And Roy Rogers is riding tonight, returning to our silver screens. Comic book characters never grow old, evergreen heroes whose stories were told. The great sequin cowboy who sing on the plans, of roundups and rustlers and home on the range, turn on the TV, shut out the lights, Roy Rogers is riding tonight..."