The word you need to understand here is “magnum opus.” It refers to an artist’s masterpiece, the work that becomes synonymous with the artist themselves, like Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Beethoven’s 9th Sympthony, or Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. For Sir Elton John, this work is Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
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Record #149: Elton John – Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973)
There is only one Elton John. Even when he is mimicking Bobby Vee (Crocodile Rock) or Van Morrison (High Flying Bird) or T-Rex (I’m Gonna Be a Teenage Idol), there is no mistaking his pounding piano chords or his smooth-as-smoke singing voice. Even between the hard rock of Midnight Creeper, the Caribbean opener Daniel, and the over-the-top symphonic blues of Have Mercy on the Criminal, every track is distinctly Sir Elton, even on an album that pushes the limits of what “distinctily Elton” means.
Record #148: Elton John – Honky Château (1972)
The legend’s fifth album, Honkey Château sees Elton John moving away from his soft rock singer songwriter phase that brought us songs like Tiny Dancer and Your Song and towards the high glam rock of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.