“I had never heard such magical sounds”: The album Elton John thinks will last forever
Elton John knows a fair bit about timelessness. Before he took to the stage at Glastonbury in 2023, there were plenty of murmurs both in the crowd and from people watching at home about whether he was still capable of delivering a headline show at this point in his life. So, how did it go? The quick answer is that it went pretty bloody well.
No, he didn’t move about as much as he used to, and when he did get up to start walking, we all waited with bated breath, worried that he might topple. However, despite the limited mobility, his set was still flawless, and there are a few things we can put this down to: good guest appearances, great set design, but mainly, the fact that his songs are timeless.
It doesn’t matter whether Elton John is 28 or 78; those songs speak for themselves. When he sings something like ‘Yellow Brick Road’, ‘Rocketman’ or ‘Your Song’, it’s impossible not to feel moved, and that’s why that Glastonbury crowd of nearly 100,000 people and the millions watching at home were deeply captivated watching him that night. So, the man knows a thing or two about timelessness, but what does he consider timeless?
“Pet Sounds is a landmark album. For me to say that I was enthralled would be an understatement,” confessed John, adding, “I had never heard such magical sounds, so amazingly recorded. It undoubtedly changed the way that I, and countless others, approached recording. It is a timeless and amazing recording of incredible genius and beauty.”
You don’t need me to tell you how subjective the power of influence is. We are all moved by different forms of art, and that’s what makes art of any form so important. Because of this subjectivity, it’s rare we find a piece of music that we can all collectively point to and go, “Yes, that’s a very big deal”, but Pet Sounds is one of those rare albums. It didn’t just sound good, but the ripple effect it had on the recording process and the way other contemporary artists approached music at the time means that we can collectively appreciate that music today would likely look very different were it not for that record.
One of the most famous bands it influenced was The Beatles. Both the Fab Four and The Beach Boys had a friendly rivalry at the time, and they were both inspired by each other’s work to push harder in their own lanes. However, Paul McCartney found himself so moved by Pet Sounds that it led to the creation of one of his most significant pieces of music, ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’.
As such, when Elton John praises Pet Sounds and recognises it as a piece of music that will last forever, he isn’t just referring to its sound but also its influence. All of the indie and rock artists that you listen to today have some element of that album lingering over them, whether it’s in the way they construct melody, harmony or layer recordings. That album remains as important today as it was the moment they released it.
