Elton John - Jump Up! (1982) Album Score: 10

Nothing's better than Elton John at his peak. While this is still pretty far removed from his heyday, this '80s album is rather entertaining. Naturally, Elton is sticking with his age old '70s formula, but injecting some life in it that seemed to be absent in his previous album The Fox.

The unfortunate thing about Elton John, though, is this lack of diversity. All of his albums, especially by this point in this discography, seem to just be rewrites of themselves. Whenever he tried something different (the entire Victim of Love album and that cinematic track in The Fox) they turn out to be pretty disappointing. Could it be that Elton John is a formula artist who should just stick with that formula? .......... I guess. But I can't be surprised that he loses his edge over it as time progresses.

Let's talk about the good stuff, though, because I do think this easily beats out all of his albums since Rock of the Westies or perhaps even Captain Fantastic itself. "Legal Boys" is an exciting ballad, and certainly his best for quite some time. It's tuneful and even sounds a bit exotic ... like Elton John was back on top of his game just for a brief and glorious moment. "I Am Your Robot" is absolutely fun. It nods the current trends of pop music (with those goofy synths) but slips confortably into an above average, tuneful and upbeat melody.

Another great ballad is the closing track "All Quiet on the Western Front." Maybe it could have been better, but I enjoy listening to that one tremendously. He's getting interesting with the instrumentation there. Those towering organ chords seem to rule mercilessly.

So this is a lovely album. There's no way you're going to put this along side his classics such as Honky Chateau and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, but at least it's entertaining and gives you a nice reason why you're a fan of his in the first place!

TRACKS

Dear John 8/10

And this work begins with this retro rockability tune, but from Elton John, it's all we really needed. (You know since he's not changing his style much to fit the '80s except for a halfhearted use of a synthesizer, he'd might as well be retro and proud of it.) This is a rather tuneful song although mostly forgettable. But for an at-the-moment way to get the toe-tapping, this might just be all you need!

Spiteful Child 7.5/10

This is another upbeat song but it's fairly dull otherwise. The melody doesn't seem to be as hooky as it ought to have been --- nothing about this track is particularly memorable. Plus, the melody seems to be repeated way too much. At least it's upbeat and pretty well-performed. There's some nice bits of instrumentation in here...

Ball and Chain 8/10

This here be the third, happy upbeat song in a row. Where are his famous ballads? Hey, I like it though. It has a nice beat, and a melody that's actually OK. He's still pretty far removed from his songwriting peak (obviously) but this isn't cheesy or difficult for me to sit through. That's the best compliment I can give Elton John at this point.

Legal Boys 10/10

It was only a matter of time before he would get to a ballad. But this was certainly well worth it! It's probably even arguable if this is a ballad, because it's still pretty upbeat... But it's soaring! The melody is very good, it's quite complex and even the harmonies are absolutely delicious ... Let me be the first to welcome Elton John, responsible for about 8 billion great melodies in the '70s, back to his songwriting high ... even if it's for a single glorious moment.

I Am Your Robot 9/10

Elton John begins this with some calculator synthesizers presumably to prove to everyone that he can cope with the times. But then he goes into another bouncy pop song that sounds like it was left on the cutting room floor for Captain Fantastic. Oh well, this is good old Elton John ... and this would have been a very good song that he left on the cutting room floor! I think he repeats that hook "I am your roooooooobot" about eight times too many, but that's just a small point it seems. This is a fun track with lovely catchiness!

Blue Eyes 7.5/10

This is now a real and unarguable ballad. It was well written though the melody isn't up to snuff ... for some weird reason, John's vocals remind me a lot of Paul McCartney! This is a little boring though hardly offensive...

Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) 8.5/10

This one is a nicely done ballad. I don't know why he's grouping up his ballads like this, but ... whatever. I do enjoy this one. The instrumentation is nicely done ... he peppers up his signature ballad style with a few '80s synths to produce a nice effect. The melody is decidedly just *good* as opposed to *great* but that all we've been hoping from this guy in the '80s.

Princess 6.5/10

A mediocre ballad ... and quite bland ... The harmonies are about as interesting as watching a dead fish! The melody is lucid though without hooks... Meh. But at least for the worst song of the album, this isn't too shabby.

Where Have All the Good Times Gone 8/10

And yay! It's back to the upbeat songs and this is also very catchy. He's doing well with the chord progressions again here ... this one seems almost menacing in a way. This is a very appealing track!

All Quiet on the Western Front 9/10

This is a pretty neat song. It's another Elton John ballad except the melody is actually pretty dang catchy. The harmonies seem pretty average to me, but I guess that's a minor point if you like the melody. The part where this huge organ comes in and delivers these thundering chords really makes this song for me... yum!!