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I feel in love with Elton's music in the mid 70's. This CD has some of his best songs that you never hear on the radio.
There are many other excellent songs on this album including Texan love song. The two singles both made the top three , with Crocodile rock (a look back at the rock'n'roll era) giving Elton his first American number one single hit.
Four bonus tracks have been added to this re-issue but (unlike some of Elton's other re-issues) none of the bonus tracks were A-side singles. Some people may now remember this album as the one before Goodbye yellow brick road, but this was an important album that remains one of Elton's best.
As originally released, the main album became Elton's second chart-topping album. In fact, they were all originally released as B-sides, one of them being a re-recording of Skyline pigeon, originally released on Empty sky.
The re-recording features Elton playing piano instead of harpsichord. The other single, Daniel, was originally written about a Vietnam war veteran but, like many great songs, it can be interpreted to mean a lot of different things.
Other excellent songs include Blues for my baby and me, Midnight creeper , I'm going to be a teenage idol and High flying bird.
The piano version of Skyline Pigeon is good, as is Screw You (Young Man's Blues) is also, but Jack Rabbit is a throwaway song and Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again) is mediocre at best. Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player - (1973) 14 tracks (4 Bonus) **** (56:25)The Don't Shoot Me album is another great 70's era Elton John album with many excellent 5 star songs, including Daniel, Blues for My Baby and Me, Have Mercy On the Criminal, and one of my favorites, High Flying Bird, and many other really good tracks you may not have ever heard before. This album contains many very good songs that you probably have never heard on the radio because they are not "hits", but, none the less, are very good songs. In rating this album it would have scored higher if not for the mixed bag of the bonus tracks on the re-master. Over all, they did not help the album. In fact, minus the bonus tracks, this album is filled with nothing but 4 and 5 star songs and would easily end up in the top 5 of 70's era Elton John albums. It comes in just behind Captain Fantastic on my list.
Again, Don't Shoot Me. Not only was that when Don't Shoot Me.
This landmark release encapsules what would be Elton's very first Top 5 singles, including the #2 Daniel and what would be Reggie Dwight's first chart-topper, namely the unforgettable Crocodile Rock.Besides being a disc that contained what were then Elton's biggest hits, it included some interesting tunes that received their share of airplay on FM radio, including Teacher, I Need You, Elderberry Wine, and High Flying Bird. Released between the progressive Honky Chateau and the all-time classic double-LP, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, is the often overlooked and underrated Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player.
Arguably, the energy emanated ideally reflects what many fondly remember about 1973. These songs were intertwined with other tracks that would shed light on an Elton John who was carefree when necessary and yet was somber in the same respect.I would not say that Don't Shoot Me.
is Elton's very best, but if any particular work of art ever showcased an Elton John who seemed to let loose and enjoy life after having heavy burdens lifted, then that was it. was released, but it was also a time when, for millions, several days, months, and years of perpetual worry and stress over domestic and international affairs, including wartime combat, were finally coming to a close.
is probably the release that perfectly highlighted Elton's lighthearted and serious sides, with the first part serving as a continuation of the humor nicely put forth in Honky Chateau and the second part, which would pave the way for pensive songs that would come to summarize the first phase of Elton's career and thus complete the first volume of his greatest hits, including Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me.
That's possible - Elton once recorded a duet with Tammy Wynette and later covered Stand by your man, for in her memorial album, so he has shown some interest in country music - but I'm not sure if it's true.Other excellent songs include Blues for my baby and me, Midnight creeper (with its references to Tina Turner), I'm going to be a teenage idol and High flying bird. The two singles both made the top three there, with Crocodile rock (a look back at the rock'n'roll era) giving Elton his first American number one single hit.
Four bonus tracks have been added to this re-issue but (unlike some of Elton's other re-issues) none of the bonus tracks were A-side singles. In fact, they were all originally released as B-sides, one of them being a re-recording of Skyline pigeon, originally released on Empty sky.
Some people may now remember this album as the one before Goodbye yellow brick road, but this was an important album that remains one of Elton's best. In America, this was Elton's second chart-topping album.
The re-recording features Elton playing piano instead of harpsichord.As originally released, the main album became the first Elton John album to top the British album charts. It was also the first album to spawn two British top five singles hits.
The other single, Daniel, was originally written about a Vietnam war veteran but, like many great songs, it can be interpreted to mean a lot of different things.There are many other excellent songs on this album including Texan love song, which the writer of the liner notes suggests may be some kind of tribute to country singer Merle Haggard (never mind that the Hag is Californian). This has always been one of my favorite Elton John albums and remains so.
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