We look at Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973) one of the most important and influential albums of the modern rock period. An album with serious lyrics, tight ensemble playing from the band, and cover art as good as it gets, this album marks a high point for Elton John. In his career of over 50 years, he may have matched, but never bettered, this album.
We also look at the 80’s, which get a bit of a bum rap from many people for “manufactured bands and music”. This is perhaps unfair, with a lot of great music, Live Aid, the Berlin Wall coming down and the arty New Romantic style following a direct line from punk right at the start of the decade!
Spandau Ballet, along with ABC, Visage, Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, Boy George / Culture Club were at the vanguard of a style that owed a lot to the simplification and availability of keyboards/synthesisers. Simple songs, no virtuoso playing but heaps of fun. From the burbling keyboards of “To Cut a Long Story Short” through to the blue-eyed soul of “True” and “Gold”, they provided a glamorous soundtrack for a new decade that still stands up today.
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References: Gus Dudgeon, Elton John, Nigel Olsson, Dee Murray, Davey Johnstone, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, “Candle in the Wind”, Paul Buckmaster, 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die”, Robert Dimery, double albums, Spandau Ballet, New Romantics, Blitz, Bowie, Pierrot costume, Rick Wakeman, Tony Hadley, Journeys to Glory, “Soul Boys of the Western World”, “True”, “The Wedding Singer”, Steve Buscemi