Do you like ELTON JOHN?

[VinnieVincentsVag]

One of my all time favorites.

[ijwthstd]

Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding is up there with Achilles Last Stand and Locomotive as one of the all time great epics. I never willingly listened to much Elton John except I had Madman Across The Water since I was 10 years old (I inherited a bunch of records) and also FFAF would be on the annual Memorial Day countdown where the last 20 or so would take hours because it would be all the epics that would rarely make the playlists.

I remember going to see him at Staples Center 2014. Finally had a bit of money so I could go a little deeper than just the favorites and free shows. Until the farewell tour his tickets were relatively cheap. I got behind the stage right behind his piano out the window for $39.50 The lights went out and the thunderstorm started and the stage filled with smoke. OMG is he really opening with a 10 minute song? After that it was just hit after hit after hit. Probably the most I ever heard in a single show by anyone. And this is only from 1 album, 1 song and the rest I had just overheard here and there over the years

The only divergence was maybe 1 off the Leon Russell album and then a song about World War I inspired by a veteran's parade he saw as a child. That also resonated on an emotional level because it was the 100th anniversary of the start of the war and I had just read Boy Soldiers Of The Great War. No matter how much I read or how many documentaries I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the immense human tragedy in those 4 years.

Anyway love Elton John now and saw him 4 more times.

[DonJuanDeMarco]

Joel is a different level. Stellar albums from beginning to end. Loads of deep cuts. Elton John has some great hits.

These 2 guys get discussed together often but the only thing they really have in common is the piano. The singing style, songwriting and lyrics are all very different.

I agree that Billy has a much stronger catalog. Better "albums" where Elton has some great singles but I never got into his records. They both had a LOT of hits though! I think Billy literally has some top 40 songs that were not even on his Greatest Hits record, that's how many hits he has!

[jens]

I agree that Billy has a much stronger catalog. Better "albums" where Elton has some great singles but I never got into his records. They both had a LOT of hits though! I think Billy literally has some top 40 songs that were not even on his Greatest Hits record, that's how many hits he has!

Elton destroys him if you look at albums sales, top 10 hits, spotify stats and google trends. En plus, only Americans care about Joel (but still not as much as they do about EJ).
Gotta note that Billy Joel is probably better at being a miserable old prick.

https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/6zFYqv ... songs.html
https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/3PhoLp ... songs.html
https://trends.google.com/trends/explor ... joel&hl=nl

[Babydoll]

Oh yes! I'm 47 and I can remember as a kid I found "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" very comforting and I still do. So many great songs though. For almost 4 years I got into painting, mainly doing ones that have to do with songs and I'm currently doing one for "Yellow Brick Road". Down the line I want to do one for "Levon" but I'm still trying to visualize how to get what I'm feeling when I hear it down on paint.
There was a movie called "Music Within" staring Ron Stevenson which was about the man who started the Americans With Disabilities Act and there was this part where he is walking through a hotel for a speaking engagement. He passes by someone with a seeing eye dog and Elton's song "Mona Lisa & Mad Hatters" plays. I heard the song times before but in that context I found myself sobbing BIG time. Like damn Elton, what are you doing to me. I get emotional thinking about his song/video for "The Last Song" and "Empty Garden" which really hits when a friend passes. He gets me going with all the feelings=feeling more confident when listening to "I'm Still Standing".

[pieceofme]

Oh yes! I'm 47 and I can remember as a kid I found "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" very comforting and I still do. So many great songs though. For almost 4 years I got into painting, mainly doing ones that have to do with songs and I'm currently doing one for "Yellow Brick Road". Down the line I want to do one for "Levon" but I'm still trying to visualize how to get what I'm feeling when I hear it down on paint.
There was a movie called "Music Within" staring Ron Stevenson which was about the man who started the Americans With Disabilities Act and there was this part where he is walking through a hotel for a speaking engagement. He passes by someone with a seeing eye dog and Elton's song "Mona Lisa & Mad Hatters" plays. I heard the song times before but in that context I found myself sobbing BIG time. Like damn Elton, what are you doing to me. I get emotional thinking about his song/video for "The Last Song" and "Empty Garden" which really hits when a friend passes. He gets me going with all the feelings=feeling more confident when listening to "I'm Still Standing".

Good to see you posting again.

[DonJuanDeMarco]

Gotta note that Billy Joel is probably better at being a miserable old prick.

At that, I think Mellencamp has them both beat!

[LSD69]

Of course, I like Sir Elton. His music is just full of timeless classics.

Fuckin' A Right!

[NeonKnite]

Elton John had an amazing run from 1970 to 1976... and then the well ran pretty dry until he managed a handful of 80s songs that made the charts. I don't think much of anything he's done after 1985.

But that core 70s era gave him quite a catalog to live off of for the next 50 years.

[risingfarce]

Elton John had an amazing run from 1970 to 1976... and then the well ran pretty dry until he managed a handful of 80s songs that made the charts. I don't think much of anything he's done after 1985.

But that core 70s era gave him quite a catalog to live off of for the next 50 years.

Drugs and alcohol ruined him, his voice, and his creativity. Firing Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson, then having a split with Bernie Taupin, killed his great output. Too bad that the reunion of the Elton John Band in the '80s didn't last longer than just two lps.

[Nobodyspecial]

I like his music, but he comes off as a miserable old twat.

[keyofgee]

his music catalog is incredible. the 70's stuff, when one could write about anything and tell these long flowing stories, amazing. his "rocket Man" somewhat biopic, i have seen several times. Love it even if its a musical. As for the person, he seems to be a bitter and now bitter old flame.

[NeonKnite]

I like his music, but he comes off as a miserable old woman.

FTFY

[EuroJR]

For me his name is John Elton, not the other way around.

First the name and then the surname like all the others.

[Stinky McFister]

Do you mean like - like?

Seriously, Honky Chateau is pretty perfect and his hit catalog cannot be argued

Legend

[greengoblinrulz]

Never listened to an Elton album ever, but how can you argue the GH shows he does live
Saw him 2 yrs ago & it was an outstanding show so he gets my full respect

[Gibsonite]

Elton John's 70s run shits all over Billy Joel's schmaltzy glorified lounge act. Whenever that fucking "play me a song you're the piano man" bullshit comes on the radio I feel like stabbing someone with a fork..