The 1973 album Elton John called his greatest work: “The height of our powers”
Elton John was never one to talk about how he was one of the greatest artists in the world all the time.
He was more than happy to be a working songwriter every single time he worked with Bernie Taupin, and even if they were making some of the biggest records of the 1970s, he felt that nothing could compare to what he heard out of true legends like Stevie Wonder when he picked up their records. In fact, John’s track record as one of the biggest stars was so overwhelming that it was almost a relief for him when he ended up making a record that wasn’t a smash hit.
Yeah, you’d think that an album not doing well would be at least a little bit crushing for a superstar like John, but when singles like ‘Grow Some Funk of Your Own’ didn’t make it to the top of the charts, he wasn’t too broken up. He had been slowly rising all throughout the 1970s, and even though Taupin was one to stay out of the limelight half the time, John could tell that being one of the biggest stars in the world was starting to get more than a little bit tedious for him whenever he performed.
But that didn’t mean that he would trade the massive hits he had on the charts, either. He was making some of the catchiest tunes that the world had ever known, and while every so often there would be a tune like ‘Crocodile Rock’ that would become an albatross around his neck, there’s no one in the world who couldn’t listen to a tune like ‘Your Song’ and feel just a little bit sentimental for those few minutes.
Somewhere around Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player, John started a run that’s usually only reserved for the biggest artists in the world. While some of the true legends have that one album that holds up as a true classic, everyone from The Rolling Stones to Stevie Wonder has had periods where they could do no wrong, and John’s run all the way up to Rock of the Westies would have been enough to make him a legend even if he never made a new record ever again.
At the same time, no one expected Goodbye Yellow Brick Road to do what it did. John didn’t even like the idea of making a double album of all new material, but even compared to the other massive double records of all time, like Electric Ladyland and Exile on Main St, John held his own next to all of his rock and roll heroes, with half of the track listing being made up of solid gold classics.
It was a massive headache trying to get everything working, but when they reached a chateau in France, John was cranking out the greatest tunes that anyone had ever heard. And as far as he could tell, this was the moment where everything came to a head, saying, “It was a time that we had no fear, nothing was beyond us. It’s a wonderful thing the young have when they get on a roll. We were running on momentum and adrenaline. And then if you’re a talented enough artist, you find your place within the playing field. And this was our example of being at the height of our creative powers.”
But even when they were at the top of the world, a lot of Taupin’s lyrics are still a lot more revealing than anyone would have thought. John was more than happy to have a ball being one of the biggest superstars of the time, but a song like the title track is almost a commentary on his life as it’s playing out, with Taupin wanting nothing more than to go back home and forget about the rock and roll lifestyle.
Then again, both he and John knew that was probably never going to happen. They had become two of the most well-respected songwriters of their generation, and they would do whatever they could to make sure that they were making the kinds of songs that would have made their idols proud.
