#guy babylon

[mitjalovse]

I have to discuss a really important fact about the 90's career of Mr. Elton John despite me heavily ignoring that very same fact, i.e. he achieved a lot then thanks to a soundtrack for a Disney blockbuster and his tribute song to Diana. The latter remains one of the biggest selling singles, though I don't intend to discuss the piece, I'm more interested in the flipside of the record. Yes, the tune is from The Big Picture, which I already mentioned as one of his 90's LPs that continued with his development during the time. However, I fear the disc got lost in the shuffle thanks to the whole Diana business and I still don't think you hear the platter that much in the retrospectives of his work. Sadly, I might add, since the collection of tunes might be one of his more consistent ones.

[nigelolsson]

[mitjalovse]

You are quite correct, I shouldn't disparage the return to form albums, because they can manage to signify the possible resurgence of their players. Sleeping With The Past by Elton John might be one of the better case of that. I assume not many consider this to be the best record by Mr. John, yet the single from the LP became one of his greatest hits and the disc ended up a terrible period for him. Nonetheless, Sleeping With The Past does sound like Elton John by numbers, there's a certain yeah-whatever vibe from the entire platter that makes this sound like a collection of pieces that could have developed into something better. However, Elton John found his footing again with this comeback, he noticed his qualities again, which got more pronounced during his consequent work.

[mitjalovse]

Chris Thomas’ late 80’s and the 90’s somehow felt like a career retrospective at some points. I mean, he returned to so many he worked before as we’ve seen in the case of Elton John. Speaking of him, they also ended their collaboration during the 90’s on The Big Picture, even though I’m unsure on the why of this all. The record is, well, I think a review by Allmusic uses the word reliable and that’s what the LP is – you know what you get from Mr. Elton John and Chris Thomas nods in approval. Of course, nothing really points to any strife between them, but then again – Chris Thomas seems to be one of the most unintrusive producers around, so maybe Elton John just needed someone more direct at this point or something?

[mitjalovse]

Elton John went through a lot of ups and down in the 80’s as I have shown you in here, so eventually had to present he got better for his consequent triumphs. This might be a lengthy way of saying how Sleeping With The Past remains a better candidate for a return to form in the late 80’s. Still, the whole disc stays as a complete paradox, i.e. Elton John seems to be in his whatever-you-say mode, yet he doesn’t sound detached. You see, he’s there, he’s giving his best, though something doesn’t work well. However, I wouldn’t call the disc among his worst, the whole thing feels like 21 at 33 again, because you have a sense this is another transition to his next phase and the latter made him what he still is, though we shall talk of his on some other time.

[mitjalovse]

My discussions on Elton John after the late 90’s do not follow any reason nor rhyme, they resemble a strangely wielded web one can not comprehend that well. For instance, I’m really jumping through his noughts, though they were quite contradictory. On the one hand he was willing to confront the zeitgeist of the time, yet on the other his biggest hits from them were either the re-releases or the remixes of his earlier work. Then again, some of his albums from the noughts, such as Peachtree Road, found him in a certain easy-going professionalism mode, which fits him so well one forgets this quality remains hard to achieve. Still, while Elton John always make everything sound easy, you can observe he does care a lot.

[mitjalovse]

Charm School by Roxette belong to a special category of the comeback platters. These records remind people why they liked their musicians, since they achieve a lot of success thanks to such reminders. However, they are not usually good. Mind you, they're also not bad, but they point towards their players' heights without reaching them. Sleeping With The Past by Elton John might be one of the epitomes here. I've said this before – very few could consider this to be his greatest LP, though I would suggest he needed this record. Sure, his status was never in question, yet Elton John is at his best, when he converses with the pop scene at the time. This is him being all late 80's with all the latter period entails.

[mitjalovse]

Elton John's career during the 90's seems to be that something every veteran musician should be willing to strive for. I mean, he had many hits in the era and some of them are rightfully considered to be his classics. Moreover, his records sold back then, he didn't release them to have another best-of tour. The Big Picture, for instance, continues the vein of Made Of England – Elton John is in his elder statesman mode –, but he doesn't sleep on the LP. I'm actually surprised how much he cared in the 90's, though, to be honest, he always did and he still does. While his stature could've given him an incentive to go through the motions – check a multitude of his peers –, he continues to engage himself with the zeitgeist of any period.