Archives for December 2015

Certain Songs #398: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Radio Radio”

December 18, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: This Year’s Model (U.S.)
Year: 1978

As it turns out, the first time I ever heard Elvis Costello was exactly 38 years ago today.

By late 1977, Saturday Night Live was pretty much my favorite thing in the universe, so damn straight I was watching live (or “live” since I’m on the best coast) when Elvis Costello did his infamous Lorne Michaels-pissing-off stunt of stopping “Less That Zero” and launching into “Radio, Radio.”

I’d read about Elvis, whose debut album My Aim Is True had just come out in the U.S., but of course in 1977, I didn’t believe that anybody who looked like he did in his pictures could actually, you know, rock.

Rock stars looked like Steven Tyler, not some dude who wore big glasses.

Certain Songs #397: Elvis Costello – “Watching The Detectives”

December 17, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: My Aim is True (U.S.)
Year: 1977

While the rest of the world regards My Aim is True as a stellar debut album, to me, it’s really just a warm-up for the glories to come. Even the rockers sound a bit thin to me.

That said, while it’s not on the U.K. version of My Aim Is True, “Watching The Detectives” seems like the first time that Elvis Costello broke free of the “wow, I’m recording an album here” mode and stumbled into something darker and heavier.

And we can thank Steve Nieve for that.

Certain Songs #396: Elton John – “Pinball Wizard”

December 16, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Tommy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Year: 1975

You know how they’ll do something like cast Britney Spears in a film in order to get all of her teenybopper fans to go see that film? Well, that’s pretty much the same thing that happened with me and Elton John and Tommy.

When Tommy debuted in Fresno in early 1975 — downtown at the Crest theatre — I somehow convinced my parents to let me go.

Certain Songs #395: Elton John – “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me”

December 15, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Caribou
Year: 1974

If I’ve been naturally concentrating on the more uptempo Elton John singles, it must be said that he was also an absolute auteur of the big piano ballad.

While his first big single was “Your Song’; “Tiny Dancer” figured prominently in Almost Famous and “Candle in the Wind” somehow became a standard, I prefer 1974’s “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me.”

Certain Songs #394: Elton John – “The Bitch is Back”

December 14, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Caribou
Year: 1974

If the beer-drinking, bar-fighting slob that Elton pretended to be was clearly a fantasy, then its companion piece, “The Bitch is Back” clearly seemed to be a lyric that Bernie Taupin wrote specifically for him.

And even if it wasn’t, it doesn’t even matter, because “The Bitch is Back” was exactly the slightly (in that the word “bitch” was controversial) (even when referring to himself) transgressive single that Elton needed as he started to flamboyantize his image.

Certain Songs #393: Elton John – “Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding”

December 13, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Year: 1973

In late 1973, with money that I either got for my birthday or Christmas, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road became the first album I bought at Tower Records.

I remember thinking that Tower seemed a bit overwhelming and scary. Unlike Rudy’s or White Front, it wasn’t a big store that had a record department, but rather, it was a big store that sold nothing but records! Whaaaaat?!?

Certain Songs #392: Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”

December 12, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Year: 1973

So, there’s something that’s always bothered me about the album cover of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. If he’s really saying “goodbye,” then why does the cover depict him stepping on to the Yellow Brick Road?

It never made any damn sense to me. Like how effete, glasses-wearing Elton pulled off this wonderful yobbo drinking song.

Certain Songs #391: Elton John – “Daniel”

December 11, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player
Year: 1973

Another massive world-wide hit for Elton, but arguably one of his major hits that’s aged the poorest. That said, there’s no way I could possibly ignore it for this project for one simple fact: this is the first 45 I ever bought.

The weird thing, I’m not entirely sure where I bought it. But I’m going to take a guess and say that it was at Rudy’s, the discount drug and variety store that was next to the Headliner Foodland at the corner of First & Barstow.

Certain Songs #390: Elton John – “Rocket Man”

December 10, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Honky Chateau
Year: 1972

Well, yeah, “Rocket Man.” First off, this is the greatest song that Elton John & Bernie Taupin ever wrote. And, of course, it was a massive hit single around the world.

As I’ve pointed out previously, songs about SPACE were prevalent in the early 1970s, and “Rocket Man” could have easily been a novelty song instead of a timeless classic.

Certain Songs #389: Elton John – “Honky Cat”

December 9, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Honky Chateau
Year: 1972

My first “favorite artist” was Elton John. I don’t know why, exactly. Probably because his singles were ubiquitous just as I was discovering the radio. But so a lot of people’s singles, so why 10-year-old Jim fixated on Elton John is somewhat of a mystery.

So I’m going to guess that it was three things: his voice, which still sounds like noone else’s; his melodic sense, which was peaking out at just that point, and his musical eclecticism.

None of Elton’s singles sounded like the other ones.