Elton John - Madman Across The Water (1971) Album Score: 11

Well, I can't say that I'm incredibly happy with the direction that Elton John took for this album, although it's certainly more in line with his commonly known piano-pop formula. In that respect, this closely resembles Elton John. The main difference is that Madman Across the Water is more bombastic. I've seen Madman compared to progressive rock, and it's easy to see why. Instead of the usual four or five minute pop song, many of these tracks are stretched past six minutes! Yeouch!! All things considered, I do prefer this flashier approach to the bleak approach; more than anything else, Elton John has more opportunities to flash around his amazing vocal chops, which always seem to soar at the choruses.

But for some reason, Madman Across the Water comes off as so plain, especially toward the end. This is nothing like his previous studio effort Tumbleweed Connection, which had an oaky country-western flavor, and it wasn't afraid to rock out every once in awhile. Madman Across the Water just filled with a lot of piano-led power ballads. That said, lest we forget, there are three songs here that clearly rank among the best power ballads ever written. Yup, “Tiny Dancer” is one of them.

“Tiny Dancer” is best-known as the ditty everyone sings in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. It starts out as a normal ballad with just singing and a piano, and then a beautiful slide guitar and drums come in later to keep it flowing. Of course, those pop-hooks in the melody are amazing... especially in the chorus when Elton John delivers one of those beautiful, soaring performances that he does. That is a six-minute song, which is pushing it for a piano ballad, but when the song comes to a close, I'm not totally ready for it to have ended. There's something I don't say about every six-minute pop song! As good as that was, “Levon” is even better. The drama is upped another notch (Elton sings as passionately as he possibly good), and the pop-hooks are slightly more coaxing. That's followed up by “Razor Face,” a fine piano ballad, but forgettable overall. And then there was the title track, which closes out the album's first half on a stirring note. I'd probably place it behind “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon” but it isn't too far behind. The reason for that is because it doesn't have one of those stirring choruses, but it does have some incredibly dramatic string orchestrations from Paul Buckmaster. He probably went a little overboard, but they do pack a punch.

The album's second half begins with “Indian Sunset,” the longest track of the album and the most uneventful. This is where Elton John's ultra-dramatic mindset starts to become really tiresome. I actually get a bit tired of the song in its first 10 seconds ...he sings something incredibly serious about the Indians without instruments. I dislike a cappella singing in pop music, because it's usually very pretentious, and this is no exception. Of course, it isn't too long before the orchestration builds up, but apart from a few brief orchestral swellings, it never really gets interesting. That said, “All the Nasties” gains distinction as the most boring song of the album, because even the orchestral swellings don't work. Instead of strings, there's a choir ... but instead of giving the song an added 'umph' like they were designed to, they make it drag. Bleh!

“Holiday Inn” and “Rotten Peaches” are OK ditties from the album's second half... The first one has a cool texture created with some mandolins, the latter actually exhibits a good use of the choir. While these are fine, they don't get anywhere close to recapturing the magic of the album's first half. Sure, they're done in the exact same style pretty much, but they don't catch fire. They don't have the mojo, or something! The two-minute “Goodbye” closes the album on a bleak note... Such a weak ending!

I once thought this was a substantial improvement over Tumbleweed Connection, but I was almost certainly ignoring the second half. I tend to listen to Tumbleweed in its entirety, and I don't get much inspiration to listen to Madman past the first half. I just did it now, because I'm reviewing the disc! Sure, three songs on Madman Across the Water are complete classics and it's worth getting just for those, but the album, as a whole, leaves something to be desired. It's too bland. Too serious. Everything is a piano ballad. Grrrrrrahhhhhhhh!!!

TRACKS

Tiny Dancer A

Ah yes... You almost can't get more vintage Elton John than this song, which endures in popularity today thanks to a popular film (Almost Famous) showcasing it. This is a good example of Elton John's knack of being able to write these remarkably passionate and sentimental ballads without sounding schmaltzy in the least bit. The beginning of the song makes an incredible use of the slide guitar (despite that there's nothing country about this). The chorus comes in and it beckons you to sing along with it! It's six minutes long (a bit on the lengthy side), but I never quite feel like I'm ready for it to end!

Levon A+

Here is another Elton John classic! It's a lot like the previous track except slightly better... The song is more compact, it's more dramatic and I think the melody is slightly better. Elton John is giving an amazingly expressive vocal performance... If that doesn't stop you in your tracks, then nothing will! Paul Buckmaster's string arrangements continue to brilliantly work together with the piano, drums and guitars to create one crispy mix. This is a gorgeous, exciting song.

Razor Face B+

This is very good, but it doesn't pack nearly the same amount of punch that the previous two songs did! The melody doesn't seem that great to me, and the instrumentation is more or less straightforward. But surely, this is still a good song, and the instrumentation seems wonderfully organic to me... as all of this early Elton John music does!

Madman Across the Water A

We saw this track earlier in the bonus tracks of Tumbleweed Connection. This was a great song to begin with, and the vocal hooks are plentiful and golden. This is a completely revamped version an elaborate (without going overboard) instrumentation from Paul Buckmaster, although we do miss Mick Ronson's glammy guitar! Oh well... it's a fair trade I think. Once again, Elton John gives one of his soaring vocal performances that's on-par with “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon.”

Indian Sunset B-

For the first time, I get the bad feeling that Elton John finally overdid it. It starts out a cappella (which is something that gives me a negative reaction right from the start ... 99 percent of the time I hear a cappella in a pop album, it's very pretentious). As the instrumentation picks up, it's surprisingly not much less flat than the a cappella part! Elton John sings with a bit of a snarl in his voice ... and it's an ultra-serious snarl, which ain't the good kind. This thing goes on for nearly seven minutes long. The melody is OK, but not nearly as hook heavy as the stuff on Tumbleweed Connection. Meh.

Holiday Inn B+

Well, this is better than “Indian Sunset” certainly, because it's shorter and he gives us a slightly better melody. This is very close to country-western, and even John's vocal performance has that twang to it. The instrumentation uniquely features a prominent use of a mandolin, which is new. The orchestral build-up in the middle of the song was nice although probably a tad on the 'overblown' side.

Rotten Peaches B+

It seems that Elton John is succeeding all the time because he has to ... I mean, there's nothing incredible about this song's melody or anything, but it's really wondrous when that gospel-esque chorus breaks out! Of course, he continues to have this remarkable energy in his voice that it's pretty much impossible to not feel the slightest bit moved by it. I suppose the melody could have been more memorable... but this is a real blast to listen to!

All the Nasties C+

This is even more boring than “Indian Sunset” (and at least that one had goofy lyrics). It's pretty bland, sort of reminding me of what his career would turn to permanently through the '80s! Well, the piano-ness of this track is nice to sit through. The choir bit in the middle wasn't as great of an idea as it was on other tracks. It just serves to bog the whole thing down when they were much more uplifting earlier. When is he going to start using the buzz-synth?

Goodbye B-