Madman Across the Water - Elton John [MFSL UDCD 516] (1971)

Elton John - Madman Across the Water [MFSL UDCD 516] (1971)
EAC Image (WV+CUE+LOG) - 221 MB | Booklet & Covers (300 dpi) included
Genre: Rock

The magical period of 1970-1978 now known as Elton John's "Classic Years" yielded many wonderful albums in a short frame of time. Many people seem to single out "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" as his best. This may be because of the fact that Sir Elton was at his most popular by that time.
In my opinion, "Madman Across the Water" is his best. Recorded in 1971, it contains some of the most soulful songs Elton John and Bernie Taupin ever created.
Yes, it contains the commercial hits "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon" but unlike some of Elton's late 70s albums, this one goes a bit deeper than that. The title track is a haunting epic that evokes frightening images while leaving a melody in your head that urges to sing along. "All the Nasties" and "Goodbye" also stand out as favorites, but as a whole this album works better than any other EJ recording.

One major reason is the overall sound. On many of the songs, orchestration is used to intensify the emotional anthems to higher levels than a piano will allow. Also, the album gives some room to breathe between the more serious songs like "Indian Sunset" with transitions to more fun songs like "Razorface" and "Rotten Peaches", which are all great tunes in their own right.
This was the album that really got me rolling on my Elton John collection. I would also highly reccommend "Tumbleweed Connection", "Honky Chateau", and "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy". But start here. You won't stop.

1. Tiny Dancer (6:19)
2. Levon (5:21)
3. Razor Face (4:44)
4. Madman Across the Water (5:59)
5. Indian Sunset (6:46)
6. Holiday Inn (4:17)
7. Rotten Peaches (4:58)
8. All the Nasties (5:09)
9. Goodbye (1:46)

Elton John - piano, keyboard, vocals
Paul Buckmaster - conductor
Tony Burrows - vocals, background vocals
B.J. Cole - steel guitar
Roger Cook - vocals, background vocals
Ray Cooper - percussion, tambourine
Terry Cox - drums
Brian Dee - harmonium
Lesley Duncan - vocals, background vocals
Jack Emblow - accordion
Herbie Flowers - bass, electric bass
David Glover - bass
Sue Glover - vocals
Davey Johnstone - synthesizer, acoustic guitar, guitar, mandolin, sitar, vocals
David Katz - violin
Chris Laurence - bass, acoustic bass
Sunny Leslie - vocals
Diane Lewis-Steinberg - synthesizer
Barry Morgan - drums
Dee Murray - bass, background vocals
Brian Odgers - bass
Nigel Olsson - drums, background vocals
Alan Parker - guitar
Roger Pope - drums
Caleb Quaye - acoustic guitar, guitar, electric guitar
Barry St. John - vocals, background vocals
Chris Spedding - guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar
Terry Steele - vocals, background vocals
Liza Strike - vocals, background vocals
Sue & Sunny - background vocals
Sue - background vocals
Sunny - background vocals
Les Thatcher - acoustic guitar, guitar
Rick Wakeman - organ, keyboards