disgusting guy.

After a lengthy, considered, difficult weighing up of many, many factors, I am voting:

NOT CRAP.

I am 'old school', and offer no waffle factor. The young people may do as they will. I don't know. In my day people made their decision and stuck with it...(fetches pipe)

Brett Eugene Ralph wrote:Side 1 of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is one of my favorite sides ever. I also adore Tumbleweed Connection, Elton and Bernie's rejoinder to The Band (especially "Burn Down the Mission" and "My Father's Gun"), "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," "Levon," and lots of album tracks, in particular "I've Seen the Saucers" from Caribou. I even like "Philadephia Freedom." I think these achievements more than make up for "I'm Still Standing."

Not crap.

can you elaborate upon the bit about Captain Fantastic being a rejoinder to The Band, mister Ralph? is it just heavily influenced by the band, or is there perhaps more to this story?

segerandpriest wrote:

Brett Eugene Ralph wrote:Side 1 of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is one of my favorite sides ever. I also adore Tumbleweed Connection, Elton and Bernie's rejoinder to The Band (especially "Burn Down the Mission" and "My Father's Gun"), "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," "Levon," and lots of album tracks, in particular "I've Seen the Saucers" from Caribou. I even like "Philadephia Freedom." I think these achievements more than make up for "I'm Still Standing."

Not crap.

can you elaborate upon the bit about Captain Fantastic being a rejoinder to The Band, mister Ralph? is it just heavily influenced by the band, or is there perhaps more to this story?

Not Captain Fantastic but Tumbleweed Connection is supposedly Elton and Bernie's attempt at a back-to-the-country, rootsy, pastoral record a la the first two Band records, which allegedly also inspired Beggars Banquet, Layla, John Barleycorn Must Die, and just about every other British rocker circa 1968-70. The most obvious connection would be Tumbleweed's "My Father's Gun," a Civil War saga akin to "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." "Burn Down the Mission" has that epic elegiac quality The Band does so well (the Manuel songs anyway), and the entire record reveals more of a Southern gospel feel than Elton had previously exhibited. And then there's the packaging--the same tans and siennas as The Band.

Of course, it's not nearly as good as The Band, but it's still pretty damn good.

I just wanna point out that this man right here, as of right now, has a NOT CRAP rating on the PRF

That picture revolted me enough to have me immediatly cast a crap vote at least moving the poll back onto the fence. Now let's bury that dandy. Sir Elton don't know math rock.

Bump.

I just heard "Burn Down The Mission" on the radio and thought, "you know, some Elton John ain't bad, but how would I rate him on C/NC?" I pulled up this thread and was surprised at the tally.

I don't hate all of his stuff, but come on . . . CRAP.

That about sums it up. If pressed I could come up with some Elton John songs I don't hate. CRAP. waffle factor of this performance of Rocket Man.

Elton and Bernie's first album, Empty Sky has a bit of a prog/King Crimson feel to it, not math rock but NOTHING like the rest of their seventies output.

The eighties stuff and his act now is pretty tired but the classic seventies records aren't bad at all. The lyrics are very good and Elton was a fine vocalist.

Elton also heads an AIDS education org that is very good, hats off for that.

Goddamnit, "Bennie and the Jets" is a great song. Yes, a lot of what he did was terrible, but the long "s" of "Jetsssssss" makes up for it. A fantastic song. "Rocket Man" too. And I'll second or third "Tumbleweed Connection". Yeah, I'll sit through it.

His flamboyance was entertaining. The video for "I'm Still Standing", horrible as the song is, was hilarious in it's over-the-topness (especially the chauffer with his hand out and the glitter). I would imagine that that video scared the hell out of lots of redneck folk. His turn in Tommy was the highlight of the film (except for Ann Margaret, but I digress).

Mmmm, Ann Margaret...

Also, what was already said about the charities. And, he called out Madonna. Not that I give a shit about Madonna but calling her ass out contributes to the not crapness.