Elton John
Too Low for Zero

Choosing an Elton John LP from the '80s is like reaching into a glass bowl full of colorful balls and randomly drawing one out; there's no guarantee the chosen color will be to one's liking. Generally, those who publish a lot tend to be scattered and often watered down. As someone who isn't a big Elton John fan but often needs a bit of pop song, I reached into the glass bowl and pulled out "Too Low For Zero," from 1983. Remembering the kitsch cover of the previous "Jump Up!" I find a more sober cover, a white cardboard with four holes in the middle, symbolically representing the album's title, from which the colors generated by the blotch reproduced on the inner sleeve shine through. A sober packaging for an at times inspired album that invites repeated listening. Recorded in Montserrat under the production of Chris Thomas, it reunites for the first time in a while the historical team of the British musician with lyrics by Taupin; it opens with the warm ballad, contrary to the title, "Cold As Christmas," a subdued beginning that anticipates the '80s classic "I'm Still Standing." The title track is an icy song, cold in rhythm and singing, in contrast to livelier tracks like the amusing "Kiss The Bride" or the dynamic "Religion," "One More Arrow" is the poignant ballad that closes the album.

"Too Low For Zero" is a good pop-toned album, perhaps the best from Elton John in the '80s from this perspective. Encouraged, I timidly drew the ball of "Breaking Hearts" from 1984 as the next listen, and it did not evoke the same pleasant sensations.