Summer should be a time for floating in a pool, enjoying a game
\nof basketball with some friends and enjoying a book outside. It
\nshould not force one to spend the entire day inside because it’s 95
\nfreaking degrees out. Seeing as how that was the situation today
\nhere in the lovely state of Wisconsin, I figured why not do
\nsomething productive and listen to Elton John?<\/p>\n
By 1983, Elton John was nowhere near the giant he had been in
\nthe early and mid ’70s. His records still sold reasonably well, and
\nJohn managed to get at least one single into the Top 40 every year
\nafter his fall from the top. That is what made
\nToo Low For Zero<\/i> such a surprising return to form. This is
\nnot only Elton’s best album of the 1980s, but when speaking in
\nterms of his entire canon, it holds its own.<\/p>\n
When one looks at an Elton John album with a critical eye, they
\nusually look at the singles. If they are inspired, the rest of the
\nalbum usually follows suit. This is most certainly the case with
\nToo Low for Zero<\/i>, with the two big hits, “I’m Still
\nStanding,” and “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues,” easily
\ntopping anything Elton had put out in the preceding years.<\/p>\n
The former track finds Elton in rare rocker form, as he spits
\nout rapid-fire lyrics to match the driving beat. If it’s ballads
\nyou’re looking for, “\u2026Blues” delivers handily. Elton really
\nshows off his keyboard skills, putting forth a fluid, bluesy
\nperformance while the protagonist of the song mourns over his
\nseparation from his love.<\/p>\n
While I enjoy the singles from
\nToo Low For Zero<\/i>, it is the album tracks that make the
\ndifference between this being an average work, as opposed to a good
\none. The delicate synthesizers and guitar licks of “Crystal” echo
\nthe sentiment of the main character, who wishes his former lover
\nnothing but the best as she leaves him. The follow up track, “Kiss
\nThe Bride,” seems to conflict with message of “Crystal,” and while
\nI enjoy the track as is, with its pulsating keyboards and a strong
\nperformance from Nigel Olsen, the mood should be more subdued given
\nthe subject material.<\/p>\n
Special note should be made of Elton’s vocal performance on
\nToo Low For Zero<\/i>. At this point in time, his range had
\nincreased dramatically. It’s a pleasure to hear him slide
\neffortlessly from the baritone-tinged vocals on the tile track to
\nhis gorgeous falsetto on “Saint.” However, that falsetto fails him
\non “One More Arrow.” While the song is obviously supposed to be
\n“pretty,” the effect is that the vocals come off as wimpy and
\nsaccharine. Elton’s falsetto was always more effective when used
\nsparingly, as opposed to being used on the entire song.<\/p>\n
The three bonus tracks on the latest reissue of
\nToo Low For Zero<\/i> are real treats and worthy of being
\nincluded on the disc. “Earn While You Learn,” is a fun
\ninstrumental; it sounds like Elton and the band were just screwing
\naround in the studio and laid the track down. “Dreamboat” may be a
\nlittle too long at seven-plus minutes, but given the pleasant,
\nbreezy nature of the track and some gospel-inspired backing vocals,
\nit’s an enjoyable listen. “The Retreat” is a song that could have
\nbeen taken straight off of
\nTumbleweed Connection<\/i>, in subject matter and musically
\nspeaking as well. I love the use of the organ on this track, it
\nreally adds to the quasi-spiritual nature of lyrics.<\/p>\n
\nToo Low For Zero<\/i> is one of the few albums in the ’80s that
\nwould find Elton John and Bernie Taupin on the same page.
\nMelodically and lyrically, this is a reminder of how good the pair
\ncould be when they got it together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":27153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5678],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-38497","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-elton-john","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38497"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}