Nothing reflects the paradox evident in the mid-70s rock world domination of Elton John than these differing perceptions of his sprawling double album BLUE MOVES (October 1976).
‘I’m very proud of it‘, reflected the artist in ‘Me‘, his 2019 autobiography, ‘the music was complex and hard to play, quite experimental and jazz influenced. It’s mood was sombre and reflective.’
Going back in time, however, to the month of release would be to read a Rolling Stone verdict of ‘Blue Moves wobbles with self-doubt, self-pity and self-hatred. But worst of all, its boring.’ Reviews were no less damning in his U.K. homeland where Elton found his latest offering dismissed as ‘Fitful at best’ by the New Musical Express.
That 29-year-old Elton John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, Middlesex, England, 25/3/1947) was the most prolific and successful rock act of the era had long since been established. While his 1969 debut set ‘Empty Sky‘ barely created a ripple, the nine studio albums, one of which was a double, he had released since – particularly from ‘Honky Chateau‘ (1972) onward – were bought insatiably by an enormous worldwide fan base.
The variable quality of these records had no effect on gargantuan sales, his generally engaging mix of piano balladry and lightweight rock songs, all of which were written in conjunction with long-standing lyricist Bernie Taupin, had brought a ceaseless run of chart-topping L.P’s. In turn they had generated enormous wealth for their creator, whose extravagant stage costumes and lavish lifestyle had made him the the most instantly recognizable pop star on the planet.
Even by his unrelenting standards of the time, the 18 months prior to release of ‘Blue Moves‘ were perpetual motion. In May 1975 John had put out ‘Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy‘, an autobiographical set recalling the early days of he and Taupin as a songwriting duo. Prior interest in the record reached such a level it was guaranteed a gold disc on the strength of pre-orders alone, the album then spending seven weeks at number one on the U.S. album chart.
While a section of the music press were ambivalent in regard to the content of an L.P. that sold over a million copies within four days of appearing, his legion of followers embraced it warmly and were only kept waiting four months for a follow-up – ‘Rock of the Westies‘ (October 1975) repeating the feat of its predecessor in entering the U.S. album listings at number one. This nine-track collection was the work of a larger, looser Elton John band after stalwarts Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olsson (drums) had been dispensed with a few months earlier.
Once again a wave of distinctly mixed reviews had no effect on commercial success or lofty chart placings. The constant demand for new Elton John product through this period was satisfied with the live set ‘Here and There‘ (March 1976), by which time sessions had already begun in relation to his next studio offering, plans also in place for a lengthy schedule of U.K./U.S. tour dates through the late spring and summer of 1976.
This run of 62 sold-out performances culminated with an unprecedented run of seven shows at Madison Square Garden, New York in August. But through all the concerts John resisted playing any material from his impending album, (which due to the number of songs cut had been extended to a double), Elton still mindful that playing ‘Captain Fantastic‘ in its entirety at a Wembley Stadium (London) gig the previous summer, before the record hit the shops, had nonplussed a vast audience gathered to hear his hits.
In the event John issued ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart‘ a standalone single where he duetted with Kiki Dee, which gave the pair a worldwide 1976 number one. This genial pop affair was far from representative of the tracks that would constitute ‘Blue Moves‘ – where across four sides and almost 85 minutes of music an assortment of styles come into play.
Not that a lack of variety had been an issue on previous Elton John albums, although in the past sheer exuberance had generally been able to carry the day no matter how uneven it sounded as an entity. On ‘Blue Moves‘ however, John appears to over compensate for the often morose musings of Taupin, adopting elaborate arrangements which offer more in the way of force than they do in finesse.
Through an 18-track collection containing three instrumentals and a running time of over five minutes for half of the songs, there is a recurring sense not a thing has been left on the cutting room floor, irrespective of the merits, or not, of the track in question. Whether due to Elton wanting to make a statement with a first release on his own Rocket label or an intent to showcase the virtuosity of an accomplished six piece backing troupe, either way things would have better served by a judicious whittling down process to a final cut of 12 tracks, rather than what stands as the finished article.
‘Blue Moves‘ could still have offered an array of styles in displaying the versatility of his support ensemble, the jettison of at least half a dozen numbers and trimmed down versions of some that remain likely to have created a more digestible affair, less in this case potentially more.
Following the departures of Olsson and Murray at conclusion of the ‘Captain Fantastic‘ sessions, Elton retained Davey Johnstone (guitars) and Ray Cooper (percussion) as the basis of an extended backing band that now also included Kenny Passarelli (bass), James Newton Howard (keyboards), along with Caleb Quaye (guitars) and Roger Pope drums, the latter pair having played on a couple of John’s early albums.
Despite being presented with some mediocre John-Taupin compositions, the new unit had acquitted themselves well on ‘Rock of the Westies‘. Their quickly found cohesion is again to the fore across ‘Blue Moves‘, turning their hands comfortably to whatever styling, be it rock, ballads, boogie or funk, John presents them with – the synthesiser motifs of Newton Howard creating an ambience closer to prog-rock than the piano-based pop for which Elton had gained renown.
Opening track ‘Your Starter For‘ as 84-second instrumental piece written by Quaye contains prog-folk overtones that would not have been out of place on a Yes album from the early-70s, particularly when the keyboard decoration from Newton Howard appears. The opening years of the decade are then evoked by John himself as string-laden ballad ‘Tonight‘ could easily be imagined on his heavily orchestrated 1971 ‘Madman Across the Water‘ L.P.
At almost eight minutes, such is the drama of the score that when the downbeat lyrics, depicting a faltering relationship (a repeated lyrical theme of the album) finally arrive, they are something of an anti-climax. There is no doubting the conviction Elton finds for couplets such as ‘Tonight/Just let the curtains close in silence/Tonight/Why not approach with less defiance‘, yet in general the words fail to match an intense backdrop where the London Symphony Orchestra are making their presence felt.
For the first uptempo number the band are all accounted for, contributing an energetic performance to ‘One Horse Town‘ where Taupin presents an unflattering picture of downhome Southern life:
‘It sure is hell living in a one horse town/There’s half a mile of Alabama mud bed ground/Nothing much doing of an afternoon/ Unless you’re sitting in a rocking chair just picking a tune.’
Fattened up with prominent keyboard input from Newton Howard (who receives a co-write credit) and striking work from the two guitarists, the sweeping background strings could have been omitted to no great detriment, the group quite capable of carrying this agreeable track by themselves, Pope also heard in resounding form when Elton asserts:
‘And they ain’t too well acquainted with the Stars and Stripes/But if you wanna hear Susanna then they’ll pick all night/They’ll pick all night.’
Recorded initially at the ‘Rock of the Westies‘ sessions and in the interim offered to The Beach Boys, who demurred, side one closer ‘Chameleon‘ is a wistful, mid-tempo ballad that finds Taupin reflecting on a romance that distance and disengagement has brought an end to:
‘The last I heard of you/You were somewhere on a cruise in Mediterranean/So imagine my surprise/To see you very much alive in the English rain again.’
John couches this collection of memories from happier times (‘I remember still those lazy summer days/We’d kill out hunting danger’), in a smooth, light rock framework and while there is little to dislike about the body of an pleasant track, a running time of almost six minutes smacks of overindulgence – Elton here succumbing to unnecessary elaboration having made every second count on his previous double-album, the superb ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road‘ of 1973.
Offering variety by way of funk-rock inflections, but in truth little in terms of creative merit, side two opener ‘Boogie Pilgrim‘ is an ode to the pleasure to be gained from dancing. Incorporating a horn section and gospel choir into a fusion of sound Little Feat were currently pursuing, only with far greater aplomb, in single album circumstances it stands as an effort to be left on the shelf for future b-side purposes.
In contrast, however, acoustic guitar ballad ‘Cage the Songbird‘ is concerted reminder of just how effectively John and Taupin could combine.
One of the rare Elton John tracks (guitarist Johnstone receiving another co-write credit), not to feature keyboards of any description, Bernie conjures scenes from the life of French singer Edith Piaf (1915-1963), the lyric every bit as emotive as when he evoked actress Marilynne Monroe in ‘Candle in the Wind‘:
‘And you can cage the songbird/But you can’t make her sing/And you can trap the free bird/But you’ll have to clip her wings/’Cause she’ll soar like a hawk when she flies/But she’ll dive like an eagle when she dies.‘
Accompanied by the pristine harmonies of David Crosby and Graham Nash, which provide the nuance of a superior L.A. folk-rock offering of the era, along with previously overlooked gems on the Elton/Bernie roster such as ‘Mona Lisa’s and Mad Hatters‘ and ‘Harmony‘ it deserves far greater recognition than it receives – Taupin writing in candid detail when bringing the piece to a poignant conclusion:
‘Let down before the final curtain/A shallow heart that left her cold/She left in rouge upon the mirror/A circled kiss oh, to the faithful fans who’d miss her‘.
More energetic in tone and infused with a Philly-soul vibe, ‘Crazy Water‘ conveys the dangers faced by fishermen when they set out to sea, while also ruminating on the fears of the ones they leave behind on shore:
‘Tangled lives, lonely wives/Shoreline widows pray for the souls of missing whalers/Endless nights on an endless sea where nothing lives between us/Just the breakers on the ocean/Separating you and me.’
Propelled by sprightly piano lines and the rhythmic congas of Cooper, left to run for almost six minutes it does eventually outstay its welcome, although that should not detract too much from an inventive arrangement that allows the band plenty of scope to assert themselves.
The creative juices of John and Taupin are also found flowing in the right direction of side two closer ‘Shoulder Holster.’
While Taupin had previously written pursuit of errant character scenarios, most notably through Elton’s 1970 ‘Tumbleweed Connection‘ album, there is no less cinematic imagery in this fast moving narrative bolstered by a strident brass section.
Central figure Dolly Summers has been wronged by a hustler named Candyfloss, who she sets out to track down after he and a new lover had left town on a midnight train, ‘She put a pistol in her Shoulder Holster/She took her car up from Santa Fe/Yesterday morning she was washing dishes/Now she’s hunting down a runaway.’
Through a fine example of just how vivid he could be when writing in a direct manner, Taupin moves skillfully from one scene to the next, (‘With daggers drawn for her fallen man/And venom in her heart/It was nearly dawn when she caught them up/Making out in a picnic park), Elton in his confident vocal sounds to be enjoying the tale as much as anyone else. In the end, however, when it comes to confronting her deceitful husband, Dolly feels ambivalent rather than angry, Bernie giving the story a rueful, if surprising, final twist:
‘But the thing that shook her rigid/As she fumbled for her gun/Was the state of the man that she’d married once/And thought of as the only one/And as she looked back on the chances/That she’d passed up at home/Well she quietly dumped her pistol in a ditch/And she headed home alone.‘
The best known track to emerge from the album, side three opener ‘Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word‘ has become one of his most recognisable songs.
Featuring a rare attempt by John of writing lyrics, (according to his autobiography he wrote the opening couplet), Taupin then adds the rest, fleshing out the piece with some despairing couplets depicting a love affair to have fallen on such hard times the end feels close:
‘What do I do to make you want me?/What do I got to do to be heard?/What do I say when it’s all over?/Sorry seems to be the hardest word.’
The downcast mood is accentuated by atmospheric strings and vibes, an affecting accordion contribution from Carl Fortina completing the melancholic mood. Nevertheless, this resonant cut reached the top ten on both sides of the Atlantic (U.K. 9/U.S. 6) when issued as a single.
The fast-paced, six minute instrumental ‘Out of the Blue‘ brings immediate increase to the energy level in underlining the musical prowess of Elton and his band, although it seems a shame Taupin was not asked to come up with a telling lyric for such an invigorating piece. The third and final musical passage, ‘Theme From a Non-Existent TV Series‘ appears on the next side, this brief interlude (80 seconds), rushing past on the wings of urgent percussion and a chattering synthesiser.
Included on side three are two more tracks reflecting the faltering marriage of Taupin (he and wife Maxine would divorce the following year). The first ‘Between Seventeen and Twenty‘ – the respective ages of Maxine and Bernie when they met – has gentle reggae incisions around a lyric that ponders where things went wrong, (‘So out of choice I chose rock and roll/But it pushed me to the limit everyday/It turned me into a gypsy, kept me away from home/From there on, there seemed no use for you/For you to stay’), but for all the earnest intent is far too ponderous to make a lasting impression.
On the latter, ‘The Wide Eyed and Laughing‘, John conjures a Middle Eastern effect through the sitar work of Johnstone, who receives a co-write accreditation on both. Taupin continues in maudlin mood (‘I never condemned you, I only consoled you/When candlelight made me a king’), the song while undoubtedly unorthodox another to merely serve the double album dynamic.
The air of despondency is even more pronounced on side three closing cut ‘Someone’s Final Song‘, which amounts to the suicide note of a lovelorn figure at his lowest ebb.
With the opening lines Taupin conjures the heart-rendering scene of the protagonist writing a last note before dying at his own hand, ‘He died when the house was empty/When the maid had gone/He put a pen to paper/For one final song‘.
Gripped by feelings of despair that will not relent, (‘And I don’t know what the time is/Or what the next line is/Or how you’re gonna take the news‘), a combination of piano, vibes and sympathetic synthesiser create a tasteful backdrop in preventing this well crafted track from becoming too mawkish.
Taupin is more oblique in his intentions for ‘Where’s the Shoorah?’, the Gospel-infused piece that opens the final side.
Another track originally cut for ‘Rock of the Westies‘, where it would have sounded out of place amongst the mainly forceful material on that album, the lyrics describe, as far as can be said, an independent, if enigmatic woman, (‘She grows, she’s grown like pampas/Tall in the wind, she’s simple and spiteful‘). The hymn-like connotations are furthered by the massed vocals of the Southern California Community Choir and Elton on harmonium, the serene melody offsetting some of the more abstract wordplay.
The inferences found in the lyrics of ‘If There’s a God in Heaven‘ (What’s He Waiting For), are easier to define, Taupin railing against injustice by taking up the cause of those manipulated by self-serving industrialists, ‘There’s so many big men, they’re out making millions/When poverty’s profit, just blame the children.’
Set against an easy going soft-rock melody, in making a rare foray into politics Taupin offers a lyric that while having its heart in the right place is often too simplistic to be entirely convincing.
Given there are countless double albums in the rock field littered with inconsistency, it is perhaps no surprise to find the standard of this one rising again with ‘Idol‘, a sultry, light-jazz affair that ruminates on the fast-fading glory of a ’50s pop icon.
Accompanied by a deft horn arrangement and subtle sax work from David Sanborn, Elton produces a suitably expressive vocal especially when drawing allusion to the subject of the song, ‘Cause the fifties shifted out of gear/He was an idol then, now he’s an idol here/But his face has changed, he’s not the same no more/And I have to say that I like the way his music sounded before.’
If more clues were required in regard to where Taupin had set his gaze, he later comes up with the line ‘You went from lame suits right down to tennis shoes’ the song, sadly, prophetically ironic as Elvis Presley would pass away ten months after this track appeared.
For the album to end in upbeat manner, ‘Bite Your Lip‘ (Get Up and Dance!) is sequenced as the last number, Taupin extolling the virtues of living in the moment and dancing away life’s troubles.
Fast and fun, with no intention to be anything else, there are references to the preferred night life of many mid-70s revelers, ( ‘Strobe light on funky feet/Soul children in the disco heat‘), the lyric in time honoured fashion namechecking a number of U.S. cities in this call to arms, or to be more precise, call to the dance floor. While perfectly acceptable as a rousing closer, the track is somewhat overdone by continuing for nigh-on seven minutes.
The feeling of the final track staying around too long was mirrored in critical negativity toward ‘Blue Moves‘ – so much Elton at this stage of the game amounting to excess where many reviewers were concerned.
In his damning review in Village Voice noted New York rock scribe Robert Christgau bestowed a C grade from his A-D rating scale, describing the album as ‘Excessive and impossibly weepy‘. In quantifying their ‘fitful at best‘ summation, the N.M.E also stated, ‘Contains nowhere near enough good songs to justify the extended length‘ and referred to ‘inevitable fatigue‘ after Elton had reached a level of productivity through recent times no other major rock artist could hope to match.
Indeed, ‘Blue Moves‘ marked the end of a chapter in the career of Elton John and while sales, along with chart placings remained high (peaking at 3 in both the U.K. and U.S.), the artist subsequently took a step back from recording and touring commitments.
His next album would not appear for another 25 months and when it did John was working (for the time being at least) with a different lyricist in Gary Osborne, while Gus Dudgeon, who had produced ten Elton John studio albums in a row, was replaced at the control panel by Clive Franks.
Entitled ‘A Single Man‘ it was released on October 27 1978, this in the same week as new albums from Blondie, Wire and XTC – the music scene altogether different to the one that greeted ‘Blue Moves‘ two years before.
ELTON JOHN – BLUE MOVES (Released October 22 1976):
Your Starter For/Tonight/One Horse Town/Chameleon/Boogie Pilgrim/Crazy Water/Cage the Songbird/Shoulder Holster/Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word/Out of the Blue/Between Seventeen and Twenty/The Wide Eyed and Laughing/Someone’s Final Song/Where’s the Shoorah?/If There’s a God in Heaven (What’s He Waiting For)/Idol/Theme From a Non-Existent TV Series/Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance!);
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