Elton John
Wonderful Crazy Night

February 5, 2016. The big day arrives. Sir Reginald Dwight, known to everyone as Elton John, returns to the market with "Wonderful Crazy Night," his 32nd album of new material. The lead single was "Looking up," where Elton talks about his past, as he had already done in recent works, such as "The Captain and the Kid." A decidedly piano-rock track, demonstrating how Elton has not lost his distinctiveness after almost 50 years of career. The album instead begins with the title track, 3 minutes and 14 seconds that represent the calling card of the record, definitely more rock and energetic compared to his recent productions. Another standout track is the jewel of the album, and also in the opinion of the writer, the one that stands out above all the others, the one that gets stuck in your head as early as the second, if not the first listen: "Blue Wonderful," a piece even somewhat country that manages to perfectly blend romance and sweetness, without slipping into sadness, and where the choruses immediately bring to mind the Elton of the glorious Seventies. Musical tributes are not missing, this time it was the reverend Utah Smith who was honored in "I've got 2 wings." After five cheerful and rock pieces, as mentioned (including "In the name of you" and "Claw Hammer," which nonetheless seem to say little), comes the slow song, "A good heart," destined to find a place in the setlist of his upcoming concerts. Interesting is the mixture of piano and guitar atmospheres, and proof of this is the finale of "Guilty Pleasure," where after finishing the structure of the song space is left for the piano, giving the track added value. The end of the album perhaps loses a bit, with "Tambourine" and "The open chord," two pieces that both recall "Peachtree Road," the 2004 album. The first track vaguely recalls "I can't keep this from you," but it is the second that has an even sharper resemblance to "Too many tears," another track from "PR." However, the closing track in the chorus reaches a higher level, becoming overall one of the most appreciable of the tracklist. The work contains 10 songs in the standard version, 12 in the deluxe, 14 in the super deluxe with a photographic book and Long Playing. The Artist wanted to go big from this standpoint for his grand return, more than two years after the previous "The Diving Board," a work of great value but not adequately rewarded by sales. The same fate befell the even earlier "The Union," where Elton fulfilled the dream of collaborating with one of his childhood idols, Leon Russell. For this album, they returned to that pop-rock that has always characterized the pianist from Pinner, while more strongly appealing to the charts. Thus is born an energetic album where even the romantic episodes do not fall into sadness or excessive solemnity. Reg himself, in various interviews, has openly stated that he is going through a truly positive moment, both artistically and privately, and the spirit of this album reflects this moment. The band that accompanied him is comprised of historical musicians of Elton, such as Davey Johnstone, prodigious on guitar, Nigel Olsson, and Ray Cooper, percussionists of long standing, but also newer recruits like Matt Bissonette on bass, Kim Bullard on keyboards, and John Mahon also on percussion. The production was once again entrusted to T-Bone Burnett, who had also overseen the previous "The Diving Board." Elton with the musicians has stated that he has returned to the working methods of the Seventies, that is, rehearsing the songs a few times and then recording them immediately. The album was indeed recorded in just 17 days, including the outtakes, almost a song a day. Elton will participate in the upcoming imminent Sanremo Festival, 22 years after singing with Ru Paul and 27 years after his first participation, which led to the success of "A word in Spanish" in our country. We give "Wonderful Crazy Night" 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the greatness of the Composer and the Lyricist. Yes, that Bernie Taupin without whom almost half a century of great music would not have been possible.