Thinking About Elton’s New Album
It’s always exciting to hear about another Elton John record, isn’t it?
The singer plans to go into the studio in April with producer Andrew Watt. He told Variety that he received seven new lyrics from Bernie Taupin.
That sounds kind of short for an album. So it’s likely Bernie will send along more lyrics . . . or perhaps there will be another contributor?
Since Elton is seeking a more commercial sound, he might go with a relative newcomer. He knows all about contemporary music, having championed the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, and Channel Tres.
Another is Yungblud. Bernie likes him, too, although he’s not familiar with his music. On his Instagram page, Bernie wrote that he appreciates the entertainer’s ”joyous presence.”
If Elton opts for a more experienced songwriter, why not Gary Osborne, as his track record includes Little Jeannie and Blue Eyes?
Another successful collaborator was Tim Rice, although they mostly worked on musicals together. In fact, Tim brought up Aida in a recent interview with Playbill. He’d like to see a revival, as it’s one of his favourite projects. Tim called it ”the great ignored show of all time,” even though it ran for over 1,800 performances and earned four Tony awards, including Best Original Score.
Whatever h appens, the Elton Blog would prefer upbeat new tunes
. . . certainly more than When This Old World Is Done With Me, on Who Believes in Angels?
Elton told Graham Norton that he realised the song was about his mortality and ”being washed out to sea,” which made him cry. So it’s good he managed to do it in one take! He could have used some ”Healing Ha nds,” and encouraging lines like: ”You gotta wade into the water, you gotta learn to live again.”
It’s hard, too, not to think of the Made In England track, Pain . . . actually a misleading title as it’s one of Elton’s most energetic performances.
Speaking of performances, Elton will be playing Rock in Rio on 7 September. So here’s hoping the show includes a preview of the new album!
