Friday 17 July 2015

The Diving Board - Elton John

My first Elton album was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, which my folks bought me for Christmas way back in 1973. It's a phenomenal album, as I am sure most people who know it will agree, and it sparked quite a strong admiration for Elton and his works at that time.  I have to say, I could not be classed as a Number 1 Elton fan, as I do find there are albums of his that I've found difficult to get into, while others have become firm favourites and candidates for constant revisitation ever since.

His latest offering, The Diving Board, has become, gladly, one of the latter, and I find myself falling easily into reminiscence as I listen to it.  The sound overall is very reminiscent of his very early albums - I'm thinking Elton John and Tumbleweed Connection here - with a lot of tunes that bring up that nostalgia for those days of our youth.





And, let's be honest, this album is all about nostalgia and reminiscence. Songs like Home Again and Oceans Away are classic tales of looking back at how things used to be - or seemed to be? - and there is no one song on the album that talks to the future or to moving forward.  They are all about evaluating the value of what we have learned so far and how far we have come, and who or what we need to thank or reflect upon for getting us there. Of course, there are the ubiquitous tales of strange yet influential characters - Blind Tom, Oscar Wilde - that add that traditional storyteller atmosphere that Elton and Bernie assume so well, but, in the main, the album reeks of reflection.

Music is a salvation, Elton says, and this album is a balm with which to sooth a savaged soul, and a welcome return to form for Captain Fantastic.


 

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