Music Debate #92: Elton John

[Reed Rothchild | 9,504]

 

[TDIRunner | 2,721]

This is the type of music I've grown to appreciate as I've gotten older.  As a kid I didn't hate his music, but I just didn't really pay attention to it.  Whether you like his music or not, it's hard to ignore the impact he has had on the industry.  

 

[Richardhead | 2,813]

1

no talent ass clown... IMO.

I can’t say 0 because he helped Eminem get and stay sober. If that’s even true. 
 

[JamesRobot | 5,785]

He's pretty great.  Grew up with him in frequent rotation since my dad had a few albums.  Some seriously catchy tunes.  Plus he was the champ in Pinball Wizard.

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,504]

31 minutes ago, Richardhead said:

1

no talent ass clown... IMO.

I can’t say 0 because he helped Eminem get and stay sober. If that’s even true. 
 

I think I secretly do these threads just so we can get a glimpse into people's psyches 

[DefaultGen | 5,390]

I put 5, just not my style of music. He does have the second best version of Rocket Man though. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting is my favorite song of his.

 

[captmorgandrinker | 1,648]

Solid 8.

 

 HOLD ME CLOSER TONY DANZAAAAA

[captmorgandrinker | 1,648]

23 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting is my favorite song of his.

Have you heard the Nickelback featuring Slash version?   Not gonna lie, it's pretty badass.

[mbd39 | 2,017]

9/10 just for his 1970s output. I hate the Disney stuff.

 

[mbd39 | 2,017]

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,504]

1 hour ago, DefaultGen said:

I put 5, just not my style of music. He does have the second best version of Rocket Man though.

I was very close to adding that to the OP blockquote widget

[Hammerfestus | 3,817]

8.  Not something I put on often but dudes a legend.  Lot of good songs.

[Murray | 2,447]

4 hours ago, Richardhead said:

 

no talent ass clown... IMO.

 

I thought that was Michael Bolton? 

[Richardhead | 2,813]

23 minutes ago, Murray said:

I thought that was Michael Bolton? 

Was wondering where I got that from.

Thanks.

[Jeevan | 8,908]

9/10

Like most of his tunes!

[Kguillemette | 1,542]

Elton john has emerged to be one of my favorite artists of all time. Like someone else posted, he really grew on me

[RH | 4,889]

My dad got my brother a CD of his hits when we were kids.  This was the mid-90s, maybe? We didn't have a lot of CDs at the time, so we listened to it a fair amount, even though I couldn't really get into it.

But, as I got older and actually started listening to music, his music has grown on me considerably.  He's not a favorite artist but yes, his pre-Disney stuff is most definitely classic and really good.  He's also an artist who found that balance of making rather diverse music that also completely sounded like him.  I'm not sure that makes sense, but he's not an artist where every song sounds the same, but he's also not like other artists who's every other album sounds different.  He's capable of making unique music with a specific mode for any given story he's trying to tell and the emotions in his music is considerably diverse while always sounding 100% like "Elton".

And, I don't find the "Disney" stuff to be bad.  I think he only did The Lion King, but whomever used that term, I understand.  He kind of took a modern-pop sound which I assume is largely a ramp up in production and it's started to move in the direction of all sounding "samey".  Sameness can be ok, but it's not great.

Overall, I gave him an 8 of 10.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,648]

Probably one of the best instrumentals ever with "Song for Guy".   

Not sure if it was ever released, but it's the last song on the Simple Man record.

[a3quit4s | 4,090]

8/10. That queen/Elton John/Axl Rose rendition of bohemian rhapsody was awesome

Edited December 2, 2020 by a3quit4s

[RH | 4,889]

10 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

8/10. That queen/Elton John/Axl Rose rendition of bohemian rhapsody was awesome

Wait, what?!  How have I missed this!  I need to google that one and give it a listen.  It sounds amazing, for sure!

EDIT

That actually raises a good question, @Reed Rothchild, have we rated Guns & Roses?  I don't remember it. If so, I assume it was on NA?

Edited December 2, 2020 by RH

[Reed Rothchild | 9,504]

3 minutes ago, RH said:

Wait, what?!  How have I missed this!  I need to google that one and give it a listen.  It sounds amazing, for sure!

EDIT

That actually raises a good question, @Reed Rothchild, have we rated Guns & Roses?  I don't remember it. If so, I assume it was on NA?

Every artist is in the master thread.  Not that I've updated in a month or three.

[a3quit4s | 4,090]

Guns N Roses - 10/10

[RH | 4,889]

2 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

Guns N Roses - 10/10

I'd seriously have to debate this, but it's between a 9 or a 10 for me as well.  Not my favorite band as I'm not a metal head 90% of the time but my gosh, that was a band that's only flaw might have been that it had to much talent.  Yes... I think that was it's only flaw.

[fcgamer | 4,718]

Easy 10/10 for me, one of the greats. 

I used to listen to Elton quite a bit back when I was taking piano lessons. Although I had learnt to play the classics, such as Chopin and Beethoven, I also practiced and learnt to play Elton as well as Billy Joel, two of the greats imo for this sort of music.

I didn't listen to Elton for about twenty years, but last year my mother sent me his autobiography for Christmas and I read it, loved it, and for about the past two months have been listening to Elton again, non-stop.

Although my musical tastes have changed somewhat over the past twenty years, I still love his music, and some of my favourite songs of his have also changed over time.

His music for the film / theatre stuff is also amazing.

That puts Elton at 10/10 for me, there's so much talent to digest with this guy.

[fcgamer | 4,718]

Some songs I really like that haven't been listed:

Madman across the Water 

This is the superior version of the song, never was a huge fan during my first affair with Elton, but it's one of my top favourites the second time through.

Rotten Peaches

Love this one too.

Indian Sunset

Don't Let the Sun Go down on me

Greatest Discovery

Someone saved my life tonight

Bitch is Back

 

The list is endless for me.

Funeral for a friend / love lies bleeding is another one I really like, which is imo quite overlooked.