Songs From the West Coast Review

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(More customer reviews)Wow. Who would have thought that Elton, at this late date, still had this in him. As a long time fan, I've been dismayed with his 90's (and most of his '80's) output, and had pretty much given up hope.
But here's Songs From The West Coast and suddenly, Elton sounds vital again. The album opens on a stunning note: "The Emperor's New Clothes" starts off with a great piano intro and then Elton's voice kicks in; the chorus finds '70's stalwarts Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsen joining in on backing vocals with cymbal brushes from drummer Olsen, and you find yourself wondering what decade it is. Only the deeper register of Elton's voice gives it away. But Elton sounds fine on this album, with his most soulful and nuanced singing in years. And Lyricist Bernie Taupin gives him plenty of quality stuff to wrap his pipes around. There are plenty of standout tracks: "Original Sin" is one of the most beautiful ballads he's ever written. The country-ish "Birds" harkens back to the Tumbleweed days and sounds like it was recorded on somebody's back porch. "The Wasteland" is a gospel blues that invokes delta bluesman Robert Johnson and rocks convincingly. "I Want Love", the first single, is Lennonesque. "The Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes" sounds like something from the Madman sessions. "This Train Don't stop There Anymore", the wistful album closer, would feel right at home on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
Producer Patrick Leonard also does a fine job, finding a nice balance between modern recording and the backwards-looking quality of this music. The shlock of most of his '90's recordings is gone.
Songs From The West Coast goes a long ways towards restoring a reputation damaged by too many Disney projects and not enough attention to his music. On Songs From The West Coast, Elton John has rediscovered himself.
It's about time.

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Australian exclusive tour edition. Housed in a deluxecommemorative souvenir digipak.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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