one of the lines glam walked — enormously excitingly at the time, even if only semi-understood then — was the one between rocklad come-as-you-are everyman dressing-down and ultra-diva the-show’s-the-thing (and-the-exclusive-party-afterwards) dressing UP… the latter being seriously out of fashion popwise from c.68-73 except in the slightly dislocated regions of supperclub soul and full-on wizards-cape prog (and haha lizaminelli-land)

what was exciting at the time was the sense of permeability glam created, i think: “anyone can dare to be fabulous”) (“even fubsy old elton”)

I have heard them now, and yes: It’s Nick Drake done pub-singer style.

I’d forgotten Tom’s dislike of EJ’s voice – which I sympathise with (if I don’t like a voice I find it hard to get beyond too). Still this has been enjoyable to sit through the four times of TOTP76. And not just cos he’s my homeboy now.

Anyhow, DGBMH is an easy 7+ record in my view. It’s not one of the top ten best things EJ ever did, maybe not in his top 20 (it’s a definite disco genre piece, almost a novelty records for him after all – it’s not an automatic 10 the way things like Benny and the Jets are) but that’s just to state the obvious: EJ had a ton of amazing songs and records in the ’70s. You don’t *become* an EJ-level figure (esp. not while looking the way EJ does) without having the goods somewhere.

I was Gilbert’s girl in my early teens, and bought Wings at the Speed of Sound on release, so would love to hear the thinking.

When I was locked in the wills vault or – worse – retrieving dispositions and retrocessions from the dusty graveyard that was the title deeds safe this seemed always to be on the radio and immensely cheering it was too, as I thought about great matters like whether to have a cheese and tomato or a ham roll for elevenses,and whether lunch was to be a sausage roll or a bridie from the next door Greggs.

There’s a sort of angularity – a jabbing quality to the strings in this – that just wakes me up. It’s like an aural spongebath with Original Source Tea Tree and Mint shower gel, Makes me sort of shudder, but in a good way.

I was clearly on another planet, and oblivious to all this ‘why punk had to happen’ angst. Apart from the countrified parodies I think this has been a sound year. In fact, I wonder if I will ever enjoy (chart) music so much again (though if I remember aright the impact of punk on the Popular concept is less than its cheerleaders would have us believe)?

Sam: Kermit,about this Elton John. I have seen some weird guests on this show but this Elton John is beyond the revolutionary.
Kermit: Sam, Elton John is one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
Sam: Then why does he dress up like a stolen car?

Although I am not a fan of Mid-Atlantic accents (as epitomised by Radio 1 & especially Radio Luxembourg DJ’s) I didn’t actually mind Elton’s. His sounds less forced and (almost) natural whereas the hideous monster that is R Williams has the most unnatural, forced & fake singing accent I think I have ever heard & deserves thoroughly to be blasted into space (with his alien buddies).

Sheesh.

“I also blame him for popularising that huffing mid-Atlantic style British pop stars keep falling back on…”

I’ve seen the term “mid-Atlantic” now and then over the years, including here. I know what it means in American terms – roughly, the area on the Atlantic coast around Delaware and Rhode Island – but I don’t know what it means, either geographically or stylistically, in British terms.

I was interested to see what you had to say about the annoying aspects of his singing. For me, I think he has a pleasant vocal timbre – or he did, before drugs, age, and over-use hardened the tone – but the way he enunciates the syllables has always bothered me. Reading your post, a possible reason finally occurred to me. Elton is a (sincere, I think) fan of American rhythm and blues – he, for example, has spoken ardently about the superiority of Erma Franklin’s original version of “Piece of My Heart.” In his early, scuffling days, he recorded demo versions of American hits, for consideration by British acts. One of these was in fact “Piece of My Heart.” I was thinking of this after reading your comments, and it suddenly occurred to me that if I pictured the young, very English Reg Dwight doing his fervent best to replicate Erma Franklin’s pronunciation of the lyrics on “Piece of My Heart,” it would sound almost exactly like Elton John’s pronunciation of lyrics on just about everything he’s ever recorded. Mick Jagger wound up creating his style in a similar way, with the huge difference being that he made it his own, while Reg-into-Elton-via-Erma never quite made that leap. Jagger’s affectation became a means of personal expression, while Elton’s remained mere affection.

That’s my theory, anyway.

xpost obv

…This song is happy, but I think it’s an exaggeration to call it ‘jolly’ – the happiness jumps and bounds along as the music does, but it’s a nervous, even anxious happiness. One person’s heart clearly has been broken – that’s why he’s been ‘down’…broken so badly that he needs to be reassured (again and again) that no, she won’t break his heart. The joy of the song is tempered by that worry – and the music does its best to zigzag perpetually between him and her (it never rests or pauses)…because it’s in a major key and their singing is so clearly warm, that anxiousness is kind of masked…I don’t hear any smugness in the song because of that vulnerability, that worry…that this affair will be real, genuine and lasting…

Oh, and this was a transatlantic #1…the first one in some time…

Basically, you’re a great big, silly old Marcello!

I had a thing for Zsa-Zsa, btw…

http://jeff-worrell.livejournal.com/57933.html

You don’t want the Muppets making records?? Goodness me, I had some of my most pleasurable listening in the 70s thanks to the Muppets. Indeed, I think I spent much of 1977/78 listening to the first two cast albums from the TV shows and also their rare and unusual EP of Music Hall songs. A splendid way to end my first decade on earth.

Agreed, that may have been unusually good preparation for listening to Elton John.