I’m sorry but the fact we passed over Caribou without mentioning Ticking is beyond me! It’s single handedly one of the best examples of Bernie Taupin as a song-writer and Elton as a pianist. Probably the most underrated song in Elton’s catalog.
Right here is mine. I haven't got all albums so ranking the ones i have got These will surprise people im sure but we all have different tastes don't we and we won't all agree . There will also be some arrogant dotes who will say im not a friend like they have done with john (love your revised john) so those people they can get stuffed. The first time i heard elton was in 1986 when my aunt played me a single man and the first album i owned was leather jackets so naturally i have a soft spot for those 1. Too low for zero 2. Sleeping with the past 3. Honky chateau 4. A single man 5. Leather jackets 6. Goodbye yellow brick road 7. Elton John 8. Don't shoot me I'm only the piano player 9. Rock of the Westies 10. Caribou 11. Captain fantastic and the Brown dirt cowboy 12. Jump up 13. Tumbleweed connection 14. The big picture 15. Ice on fire 16. Breaking hearts 17. The one 18. Songs from the west coast 19. Made in England. 20. Reg strikes back 21. Blue moves 22. Empty sky 23. The fox 24. 21 at 33 25. Madman across the water 26. Victim of love 27. Wonderful crazy night
Thanks for ranking Elton's ( and Bernie's) albums, great job. These are my top ten (1) GBYBR (2) Madman Across the Water (3) Captain Fantastic (4) Tumbleweed (5) Don't Shoot Me (6) Blue Moves (7) The One (8) Sleeping With the Past (9) Elton John (10) Caribou and honorable mention "Empty Sky".
@@MIkeFreiley Yeah, i agree. Blue Moves is Elton's most mature and experimental album. A very unique album. It really expanded my musical tastes when I bought it as a kid and I am so grateful for that. A challenging album.
Thank you, that was awesome, I just bought "Tumbleweed" on cd from a charity fair and it has blown my mind , then I watched your review and you rated it #1 , mind is blown twice !!
I just saw elton live last last week in new york. The show got me jazzed up to go back deeper into his catalogue and listen further. I’ve thouroughly enjoyed watching your album reviews as a companion guide to his discography. Great channel!
(1)Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; (2)Captain Fantastic and the Browndirt Cowboy; (3)Honky Chateau; (4)Madman Across the Water; (5)Tumbleweed Connection; (6)Elton John; (7)Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player; (8)Rock of the Westies; (9)Caribou; (10)Blue Moves; (11)Empty Sky (12) A Single Man; (13)Too Low for Zero; (14)The One; (15)The Union; (16)The Diving Board; (17)Wonderful Crazy Night; (18)Sleeping with the Past; (19)21 at 33; (20)The Fox (21)Jump Up; (22)Breaking Hearts; (23)Ice on Fire; (24)Reg Strikes Back; (25)Peachtree Road; (26)Friends; (27)Duets; (28)Captain and the Kid; (29)Songs from the West Coast; (30)The Big Picture; (31)Made in England; (32)Leather Jackets; (33)Victim of Love; (34)Lockdown Sessions
My top ten would probably be: (1) Blue Moves (2) GYBR (3) Don't Shoot me (4) Madman Across the Water (5) Elton John (6) Captain Fantastic (7)Songs From the West Coast (8) Rock of the Westies (9) The Complete Thom Bell Sessions (10) Honky Chateau Honorable mentions: Victim of Love, 21 at 33, Leather Jackets, Tumbleweed, The Diving Board, The Fox and A Single Man. The worst one for me is by far Sleeping With the Past Only need to get The Lockdown Sessions and The Union to complete his discography
Always look forward to your very well thought-out reviews. Thank you for motivating me to pull out some old vinyls and listen to the soundtrack of my life. My top 10: 1. Tumbleweed Connection (not a filler in the bunch - a masterpiece from start to finish) 2. Captain Fantastic and the Brown DIrt Cowboy (tremendous vocals from Elton on every cut) 3. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (if this had been a single album I think it might be considered one of the top 10 albums of all time) 4. Honky Chateau (Rocket Man, Mona Lisas... what more can you say) 5. Madman Across the Water (happy 50th birthday - seems to get better with age) 6. Elton John (contains some of the beautiful songs he's ever recorded) 7. The Diving Board (not everyone's favorite, but a mature work that contains some of Bernie's finest lyrics) 8. Songs From the West Coast (Elton going back to being Elton - a welcome return to form) 9. Don't Shoot Me... (any album that contains High Flying Bird and Blues for Baby and Me has to be in the top 10) 10. The Union (touching tribute to Leon and a classy collection of songs)
@@eltonmusicfan I would take off the following four tracks to start: 1) Jamaica Jerk-Off; 2) Dirty Little Girl;; 3) Your Sister Can't Twist; 4) Social Disease. If I had to take away another two: 1) Grey Seal and 2) This Song Has No Title. That would leave eleven tracks (twelve if you count FFF/LLB as two tracks).
It’s always been my favorite…I’ve fallen in love with many of his other albums but always come back to Tumbleweed Connection. It’s currently the only EJ “Album” I have
What a great job. I dropped out of music in the 80's. It seems I have a lot of catching up to do. Also, I enjoy "solar prestige". I have nothing to back this up with, but I always imagine Bernie handing the lyrics to Elton and saying "Go ahead, you think your so great, write music to this". It is Elton just having a laugh
You are really underestimating two albums here, "Rock of the Westies" and "Caribou" which should be included in the top ten count. I personally seem to be re-playing both of these albums today even after 48 years later as opposed to other Elton's albums.
Well fair enough but which two are you removing from my top ten? Maybe A Single Man? I think Caribou is the stronger of those two but lacks a bit of consistency.
Here it is, my infamous ranking! 37. Victim of Love 36. Friends 35. Regimental Sgt. Zippo 34. Wonderful Crazy Night 33. Rock of the Westies 32. Leather Jackets 31. The Complete Thom Bell 30. Empty Sky 29. The Diving Board 28. The Lockdown Sessions 27. Blue Moves 26. 21 at 33 25. Jump Up 24. Peachtree Road 23. Duets 22. Ice on Fire 21. A Single Man 20. Captain Fantastic & BDC 19. Breaking Hearts 18. The Road to El Dorado 17. The Fox 16. Reg Strikes Back 15. Caribou 14. Tumbleweed Connection 13. The Union 12. Songs from the West Coast 11. Don't Shoot Me 10. Madman Across the Water 9. Honky Chateau 8. The Captain and the Kid 7. Sleeping With the Past 6. Too Low for Zero 5. Elton John 4. The One 3. Made in England 2. The Big Picture 1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
I'm working on Zippo and I don't even have El Dorado yet. A bit surprised to see The Big Picture so high but several of my favourites on that. You'll get some stick for that Captain Fantastic rating!
Hello my friend. If I sent you a similar comment, 😮 I don't remember. I enjoy watching all of your reviews and agree with almost all of them. Hope you give new reviews some. Peace and safety. 👍
First I want to say thank you for all of the excellent Elton John album reviews. As a piano player and music director, I have been an Elton fan for over twenty years, but I learned so many new facts from your videos. Keep up the excellent work! I highly commend your method, and I hope you keep using that method for all upcoming album rankings. Here is my Elton John album ranking, and I am using a '1 STAR (WORST)' to '10 STAR (BEST)' ranking. 1.) Tumbleweed Connection - 10 stars 2.) Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - 9.5 stars 3.) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - 9.5 stars 4.) Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player - 9 stars 5.) Madman Across the Water - 9 stars 6.) Honky Chateau - 8.5 stars 7.) Elton John - 8.5 stars 8.) Sleeping With the Past - 8 stars 9.) Too Low For Zero - 8 stars 10.) Blue Moves - 7.5 stars 11.) Made in England - 7 stars 12.) The Union - 7 stars 13.) Songs From the West Coast - 7 stars 14.) The Diving Board - 7 stars 15.) The Captain and the Kid - 6.5 stars 16.) The Fox - 6.5 stars 17.) The One - 6.5 stars 18.) A Single Man - 6 stars 19.) Caribou - 5.5 stars 20.) Peachtree Road - 5.5 stars 21.) Breaking Hearts - 5.5 stars 22.) The Big Picture - 5.5 stars 23.) Reg Strikes Back - 5 stars 24.) 21 at 33 - 5 stars 25.) Ice on Fire - 5 stars 26.) Wonderful Crazy Night - 4.5 stars 27.) Rock of the Westies - 4 stars 28.) Duets - 4 stars 29.) Empty Sky - 3.5 stars 30.) The Lockdown Sessions - 3 stars 31.) 'Friends' Soundtrack - 2.5 stars 32.) Jump Up! - 2 stars 33.) Leather Jackets - 2 stars 34.) Victim of Love - 1 star
Thanks. Brilliant list. By the way, as a pianist, what do you make of Todd Feldman's versions on Facebook. I think he's pretty good and makes interesting choices. facebook.com/todd.feldman.71/videos/977955536213763
Top 10 is close to mine. However, I bought Jump UP! when it came out and Blue Eyes in of itself (to me) way up the list as well as Empty Garden. I bought Rock of the Westies when it was first release. I have always thought it was fun and would have it much higher.
Always interesting to hear other fans’ opinions especially when they contrast quite a bit from your own. In order by release date, my top ten are: Elton John Tumbleweed Honky Chateau Don’t Shoot Me GYBR Captain Fantastic Blue Moves The Fox Breaking Hearts Sleeping With The Past Note: I don’t own anything after Made in England so I’m not considering anything after ‘95.
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 2. Don't Shoot Me... 3. Elton John 4. Made In England 5. The One 6. Breaking Hearts 7. Honky Chateau 8. Madman Across The Water 9. The Big Picture 10. Songs From The West Coast
First, I commend you for your dedication to Elton, and by extension to us fans. I really have always agreed with your # 1, and a good bit of your top 5. That you can choose The Cap'n/Kid or Diving Board over Caribou and Jump Up still shocks me, but hey, to each his own.
Wow!! Hi John, we both use to piano playing and we both like pianistic album!! So I I enjoied your video even if I put Blue moves N° 3 . All good choises, expecially for Captain fantastic, The Diving board and Sleeping with the past. One more thing I can tell you is that" Me Elton" is an incredible and interesting book! You can hear Elton 's voice speaking!! O yes...L' m a huge fan !! Thank's for the video!!
Blue Moves is a favourite of mine. Just so much competition. In a way, it is his most creative album - so many different styles. They don't all come off, but it is so interesting to listen to. More videos to come on the Me book.
Hi John I would probably agree with your rankings except " Honky Chateau " I would rank in his top 5 . My own top 10 ones at the very top are Madman Across The water , Captain Fantastic , Tumbleweed Connection , Elton John, Honky Chateau , Goodbye Yellow Brick Road , The Captain & The Kid, A Single Man Blue Moves , Songs From The West Coast
You’ve just gotta love Elton, my top 6 albums in no particular order is Elton John, Captain fantastic, GYBR, Madman across the water, Don’t shoot me I’m only the piano player and definitely tumbleweed connection!!
What do you think of the new farewell setlist?, with have mercy on the criminal, mona Lisa’s and mad hatters, and all the girls love Alice being added in?
I like the inclusion of all three of these tracks, but I'm not generally a fan of these greatest hits track listings. I've done a video on my fantasy set list which hardly includes any hits. Have Mercy is a great choice - but I would also go for Blues for Baby and Me, and High Flying Bird from the superb Don't Shoot Me. What do you think?
Imo, GYBR at 1 Dont Shoot me at 2 Capt Fantastic at 3…so not much different from yours John. Special mention to the double album..Live with the Melb Symphony Orchestra from the mid 80’s - superb collection of tracks
Nice job! I love the first 5 80s albums and not too much of anything past 1990 except Songs from the West Coast and Wonderful Crazy Night. 1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 2. Don't Shoot Me 3. Captain Fantastic 4. Breaking Hearts 5. Jump Up 6. Rock of the Westies 7. The Fox 8. 21 at 33 9. Too Low for Zero 10. Honky Chateau Honorable Mention: Reg strikes Back, Songs from the West Coast,
Good list, I'd probably bump Madman up to #3 and Tumbleweed at #2 and GBYBR at #1. Hard to really choose between them because they're all so good. Agree to put Victim of Love in last place. Our dear Elton John did not need to be singing disco cover songs and putting out entire albums of material that he had no part in writing. However, by 1979, I think Elton was feeling burnout and you can at least admire the attempt to keep things fresh and different as opposed to letting things get stale. I think even doing some writing with other lyricists was a good change of pace and it turned out to be only temporary. If anything, it helped both Elton and Bernie realize just what a special songwriting partnership they had.
Some of my favorite Elton John recordings are not on albums they are: "into the Old man;s shoes", Grey Seal (original version), "It's Me That You Need" and "Bad Side of the Moon".
I've done my top 34 before, and now I have to find where I left that list! But I want to compile a bunch of YT Elton Album rankings into a spreadsheet and come up with a final, definitive ranking from maybe 50-100 YT'ers. I think that'd be interesting. I'm an Elton Connoisseur - so these are my top 10 favorite albums. 1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 2. Caribou (this album is SO underrated. The quirkiness and odd sequence of the album make it SHINE - and I LOVE Solar Prestige A Gammon! ALL the tracks are winners, and they take me back to my early childhood days listening to the album on 8-track while going to sleep at night. 3. Tumbleweed Connection 4. Captain Fantastic (the album title song is my FAVORITE SONG of ALL TIME, despite artist. Absolutely amazing!) 5. Made In England 6. Sleeping With the Past 7. Breaking Hearts 8. Honky Chateau 9. The Fox 10. The Captain & the Kid
I would say you missed the boat on Caribou, that one is definitely in the top 10. Bitch is Back on htat one was great. Also Rock of the Westies is much better than you give him credit for. I would say that Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is definitely his best. not No. 2 Hits growing out of his ears on virtually all of the tracks. It has his best song, Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding. I would put his album Here and There up there in the top 10. Tumbleweed Connection would be my No. 2 choice and Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player is my No. 3. Captain Fantastic, not close to a top 10 pick in my humble opinion. It had the most hype before it was released. By the Way Friends is a good soundtrack and in the top 15, not 22. Agreements. Certainly Honky Chateau is in the Top 10 certainly. Madman Across the Water is very good I agree. I also agree with your choice of Blue Moves as one of his best, at least top 15. The One is very good I agree.
I (20 years old) managed to pick up an old vinyl of Yellow Brick Road, in pretty decent condition, a while back. Finally cleaned it up and plan to give it a spin for a first listen!
My top 10 1 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 2 Regimental Sgt Zippo 3 Madman Across the Water 4 Don't Shoot me I'm just the piano player 5 Captain Fantastic 6 Elton John 7 Caribou 8 Tumbleweed 9 The One 10 Empty Sky
You're only two days away from the official CD release of Regimental Sgt Zippo the album - you may have to do a small video update, in reply to this, and squeeze it in somewhere. I expect it will sit somewhere near Empty Sky though, maybe a little higher.
I have been listening to it and trying to work out how much is on The Jewel Box. Almost all of it, but some are piano demos. Have you done an analysis of that?
@@eltonmusicfan No, I've just listened to it a good few times. They're mostly different mixes on the RSZ album itself, or non demos in comparison to those on Jewel Box, apart about from about 3 of the tracks. I think it has a bit of a week start, builds fairly nicely, but then goes a little limp towards the end. I'm curious to see if you would do what you did with Reg Strikes Back and Leather Jackets, for an alternative album, in this case combining RSZ and Empty Sky.
Thanks for your comment. I love all his albums, just some more than others. There are always at least three or four great tracks to enjoy. Which is your favourite?
I also didn't care much for Rock of the Westies, though I have friends who loved it. Agree with your top six, although would've included Honky Chateau in there. That music from 69-75 set a high bar. You talked about several albums I didn't even know about. I'll have to check out The Captain and the Kid - sounds interesting!Also the Leon Russell
Big Elton fan and am pausing at 31 for some comments. I bought Victim of Love for a friend of mine in college (the one who really got me into Elton's deeper cuts). It was the one Elton album he didn't have and the CD was in the clearance bin. It was an intentional gag gift. We were kind of surprised to find that, while not great, it wasn't as awful as its reputation. Empty Sky is clearly showing growing pains as they chase the psychedelic sound. Skyline Pigeon was improved markedly when re-recorded a few years later (also benefitting from Elton's more mature voice) and I have to wonder how well some of these other tracks would hold up with a different arrangement. Jump Up! is one of my least liked albums with songs like I Am Your Robot and Ball and Chain just being too cheesy, but Empty Garden is absolutely one of his very best. I actually love the Duets album. Not all the tracks are great, but they are listenable. Glad you singled out The Power, but True Love with Kiki Dee (released as a single), Teardrops (kd lang), Born to Lose (Leonard Cohen), Old Friend (Nik Kershaw), and Love Letters (Bonnie Raitt) struck a chord with me too.
I Agree with your top six (though not necessarily in the same order) - the only six Elton John albums most people will ever need........in mu opinion.👍
You can’t rank leather jackets above Caribou. Caribou is nearly as good as don’t shoot me. Also made in England needs to be up much higher in the ranking above big picture at least
Like you did with Captain Fantastic, I wonder if MIE and Caribou might also deserve a re-review. 21at33 is far too high on here, in my opinion! Also, Single Man - nope nope nope!!!
Yellow Brick Road would not make my top 10. It's bloated with plenty of filla songs and seriously, I don't need to hear grating songs like Candle In The Wind and the dreadful Benny & The Jets ever again!
Leather Jackets and Ice on Fire better than Rock of the Westies and Caribou? Jeez. That said, I agree with your top two selections. Tumbleweed Connection and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (which I think was his SGT. Peppers moment.
You are out of your mind, if you can rank 2 low for 0 above both Rock/Westies and Caribou your music tastes are pretty messed up. Also the original release of Caribou DID NOT INCLUDE the Bitch is Back. There isn't ONE album post 1976 that was better than pre 76. The critiquing should be left to those who were there at the beginning imo.
You're stupid if you think post 2000s elton albums dont beat caribou lmao even made in england beats caribou and westies and the original elton john album
I’m sorry but the fact we passed over Caribou without mentioning Ticking is beyond me! It’s single handedly one of the best examples of Bernie Taupin as a song-writer and Elton as a pianist. Probably the most underrated song in Elton’s catalog.
Completely agree.
COULD NOT AGREE MORE!!!!
He's not much of a fan for sure
agree
the outro with that arp synthesiser fading out scrumptious
x for you
Right here is mine. I haven't got all albums so ranking the ones i have got
These will surprise people im sure but we all have different tastes don't we and we won't all agree . There will also be some arrogant dotes who will say im not a friend like they have done with john (love your revised john) so those people they can get stuffed.
The first time i heard elton was in 1986 when my aunt played me a single man and the first album i owned was leather jackets so naturally i have a soft spot for those
1. Too low for zero
2. Sleeping with the past
3. Honky chateau
4. A single man
5. Leather jackets
6. Goodbye yellow brick road
7. Elton John
8. Don't shoot me I'm only the piano player
9. Rock of the Westies
10. Caribou
11. Captain fantastic and the Brown dirt cowboy
12. Jump up
13. Tumbleweed connection
14. The big picture
15. Ice on fire
16. Breaking hearts
17. The one
18. Songs from the west coast
19. Made in England.
20. Reg strikes back
21. Blue moves
22. Empty sky
23. The fox
24. 21 at 33
25. Madman across the water
26. Victim of love
27. Wonderful crazy night
The Caribou album has the song “Ticking,” which is in my opinion one of his best songs of all time.
Thanks for ranking Elton's ( and Bernie's) albums, great job.
These are my top ten
(1) GBYBR
(2) Madman Across the Water
(3) Captain Fantastic
(4) Tumbleweed
(5) Don't Shoot Me
(6) Blue Moves
(7) The One
(8) Sleeping With the Past
(9) Elton John
(10) Caribou
and honorable mention "Empty Sky".
Nice man! I like that you put Blue Moves in this top ten, his most underrated record in my opinion, just very brilliant and beautiful!!
I agree. For me GBYBR is Elton's greatest album.
@@MIkeFreiley Yeah, i agree. Blue Moves is Elton's most mature and experimental album. A very unique album. It really expanded my musical tastes when I bought it as a kid and I am so grateful for that. A challenging album.
Thank you, that was awesome, I just bought "Tumbleweed" on cd from a charity fair and it has blown my mind , then I watched your review and you rated it #1 , mind is blown twice !!
I just saw elton live last last week in new york. The show got me jazzed up to go back deeper into his catalogue and listen further. I’ve thouroughly enjoyed watching your album reviews as a companion guide to his discography. Great channel!
Thanks. I appreciate your feedback. Lucky you to see him live. Which was your favourite song live?
(1)Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; (2)Captain Fantastic and the Browndirt Cowboy; (3)Honky Chateau; (4)Madman Across the Water; (5)Tumbleweed Connection; (6)Elton John; (7)Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player; (8)Rock of the Westies; (9)Caribou; (10)Blue Moves; (11)Empty Sky (12) A Single Man; (13)Too Low for Zero; (14)The One; (15)The Union; (16)The Diving Board; (17)Wonderful Crazy Night; (18)Sleeping with the Past; (19)21 at 33; (20)The Fox (21)Jump Up; (22)Breaking Hearts; (23)Ice on Fire; (24)Reg Strikes Back; (25)Peachtree Road; (26)Friends; (27)Duets; (28)Captain and the Kid; (29)Songs from the West Coast; (30)The Big Picture; (31)Made in England; (32)Leather Jackets; (33)Victim of Love; (34)Lockdown Sessions
My top ten would probably be:
(1) Blue Moves
(2) GYBR
(3) Don't Shoot me
(4) Madman Across the Water
(5) Elton John
(6) Captain Fantastic
(7)Songs From the West Coast
(8) Rock of the Westies
(9) The Complete Thom Bell Sessions
(10) Honky Chateau
Honorable mentions: Victim of Love, 21 at 33, Leather Jackets, Tumbleweed, The Diving Board, The Fox and A Single Man.
The worst one for me is by far Sleeping With the Past
Only need to get The Lockdown Sessions and The Union to complete his discography
Always look forward to your very well thought-out reviews. Thank you for motivating me to pull out some old vinyls and listen to the soundtrack of my life. My top 10:
1. Tumbleweed Connection (not a filler in the bunch - a masterpiece from start to finish)
2. Captain Fantastic and the Brown DIrt Cowboy (tremendous vocals from Elton on every cut)
3. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (if this had been a single album I think it might be considered one of the top 10 albums of all time)
4. Honky Chateau (Rocket Man, Mona Lisas... what more can you say)
5. Madman Across the Water (happy 50th birthday - seems to get better with age)
6. Elton John (contains some of the beautiful songs he's ever recorded)
7. The Diving Board (not everyone's favorite, but a mature work that contains some of Bernie's finest lyrics)
8. Songs From the West Coast (Elton going back to being Elton - a welcome return to form)
9. Don't Shoot Me... (any album that contains High Flying Bird and Blues for Baby and Me has to be in the top 10)
10. The Union (touching tribute to Leon and a classy collection of songs)
I like your idea of GYBR single album. That might make a video. Which ten or 12 songs would you put on that?
@@eltonmusicfan I would take off the following four tracks to start: 1) Jamaica Jerk-Off; 2) Dirty Little Girl;; 3) Your Sister Can't Twist; 4) Social Disease. If I had to take away another two: 1) Grey Seal and 2) This Song Has No Title. That would leave eleven tracks (twelve if you count FFF/LLB as two tracks).
Good list. Agree with top 3 for sure.
Every true EJ fan has Tumbleweed near number 1.
A great album though I find a wide variety are people's favourites. I've never heard of Victim of Love being number one though.
It’s always been my favorite…I’ve fallen in love with many of his other albums but always come back to Tumbleweed Connection. It’s currently the only EJ “Album” I have
What a great job. I dropped out of music in the 80's. It seems I have a lot of catching up to do. Also, I enjoy "solar prestige". I have nothing to back this up with, but I always imagine Bernie handing the lyrics to Elton and saying "Go ahead, you think your so great, write music to this". It is Elton just having a laugh
They were both having a laugh with us over Solar. Plenty of good Elton stuff from the 80s and 90s.
I really LOVE the Caribou album all the way through.
You are really underestimating two albums here, "Rock of the Westies" and "Caribou" which should be included in the top ten count. I personally seem to be re-playing both of these albums today even after 48 years later as opposed to other Elton's albums.
Well fair enough but which two are you removing from my top ten? Maybe A Single Man? I think Caribou is the stronger of those two but lacks a bit of consistency.
I so agree!!
Glad to find this video. I still have a few more of his classics to buy, better get a move on! Cheers!
Here it is, my infamous ranking!
37. Victim of Love
36. Friends
35. Regimental Sgt. Zippo
34. Wonderful Crazy Night
33. Rock of the Westies
32. Leather Jackets
31. The Complete Thom Bell
30. Empty Sky
29. The Diving Board
28. The Lockdown Sessions
27. Blue Moves
26. 21 at 33
25. Jump Up
24. Peachtree Road
23. Duets
22. Ice on Fire
21. A Single Man
20. Captain Fantastic & BDC
19. Breaking Hearts
18. The Road to El Dorado
17. The Fox
16. Reg Strikes Back
15. Caribou
14. Tumbleweed Connection
13. The Union
12. Songs from the West Coast
11. Don't Shoot Me
10. Madman Across the Water
9. Honky Chateau
8. The Captain and the Kid
7. Sleeping With the Past
6. Too Low for Zero
5. Elton John
4. The One
3. Made in England
2. The Big Picture
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
I'm working on Zippo and I don't even have El Dorado yet. A bit surprised to see The Big Picture so high but several of my favourites on that. You'll get some stick for that Captain Fantastic rating!
Tumbleweed is WAY too low.
@@1largelaw 14th place ain't that bad out of 37, but that's why it's called "infamous" ranking ;)
Hello my friend. If I sent you a similar comment, 😮 I don't remember. I enjoy watching all of your reviews and agree with almost all of them. Hope you give new reviews some. Peace and safety. 👍
You nailed it with your #1. The only Elton album I never get tired of hearing, especially Come Down In Time, Amoreena, and Where To Now St Peter
Any particular reason "The Thom Bell Sessions" or "Two Rooms" are not mentioned?
Madman Across the Water is my favorite, followed by Goodbye Yellow, Don't Shoot Me, Tumbleweed, EJ, and Honky. Albums 2-7 are pure gold.
First I want to say thank you for all of the excellent Elton John album reviews. As a piano player and music director, I have been an Elton fan for over twenty years, but I learned so many new facts from your videos. Keep up the excellent work! I highly commend your method, and I hope you keep using that method for all upcoming album rankings. Here is my Elton John album ranking, and I am using a '1 STAR (WORST)' to '10 STAR (BEST)' ranking.
1.) Tumbleweed Connection - 10 stars
2.) Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - 9.5 stars
3.) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - 9.5 stars
4.) Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player - 9 stars
5.) Madman Across the Water - 9 stars
6.) Honky Chateau - 8.5 stars
7.) Elton John - 8.5 stars
8.) Sleeping With the Past - 8 stars
9.) Too Low For Zero - 8 stars
10.) Blue Moves - 7.5 stars
11.) Made in England - 7 stars
12.) The Union - 7 stars
13.) Songs From the West Coast - 7 stars
14.) The Diving Board - 7 stars
15.) The Captain and the Kid - 6.5 stars
16.) The Fox - 6.5 stars
17.) The One - 6.5 stars
18.) A Single Man - 6 stars
19.) Caribou - 5.5 stars
20.) Peachtree Road - 5.5 stars
21.) Breaking Hearts - 5.5 stars
22.) The Big Picture - 5.5 stars
23.) Reg Strikes Back - 5 stars
24.) 21 at 33 - 5 stars
25.) Ice on Fire - 5 stars
26.) Wonderful Crazy Night - 4.5 stars
27.) Rock of the Westies - 4 stars
28.) Duets - 4 stars
29.) Empty Sky - 3.5 stars
30.) The Lockdown Sessions - 3 stars
31.) 'Friends' Soundtrack - 2.5 stars
32.) Jump Up! - 2 stars
33.) Leather Jackets - 2 stars
34.) Victim of Love - 1 star
Thanks. Brilliant list.
By the way, as a pianist, what do you make of Todd Feldman's versions on Facebook. I think he's pretty good and makes interesting choices. facebook.com/todd.feldman.71/videos/977955536213763
Top 10 is close to mine. However, I bought Jump UP! when it came out and Blue Eyes in of itself (to me) way up the list as well as Empty Garden. I bought Rock of the Westies when it was first release. I have always thought it was fun and would have it much higher.
Always interesting to hear other fans’ opinions especially when they contrast quite a bit from your own. In order by release date, my top ten are:
Elton John
Tumbleweed
Honky Chateau
Don’t Shoot Me
GYBR
Captain Fantastic
Blue Moves
The Fox
Breaking Hearts
Sleeping With The Past
Note: I don’t own anything after Made in England so I’m not considering anything after ‘95.
Is Elton John your favorite artist?
In a word, yes. But McCartney is definitely in second place.
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
2. Don't Shoot Me...
3. Elton John
4. Made In England
5. The One
6. Breaking Hearts
7. Honky Chateau
8. Madman Across The Water
9. The Big Picture
10. Songs From The West Coast
Thanks for this. I'll be doing a round-up video shortly. Nice to see Breaking Hearts getting a mention.
First, I commend you for your dedication to Elton, and by extension to us fans. I really have always agreed with your # 1, and a good bit of your top 5. That you can choose The Cap'n/Kid or Diving Board over Caribou and Jump Up still shocks me, but hey, to each his own.
Maybe Caribou needs another visit. I still like Jump Up but the first side is a bit weak, maybe?
I just noticed this but, why does 'In Neon' sound so much like George Harrisons' 'Behind that locked door'?
Interesting observation. I have listed to both recently and didn't pick up on it.
Wow!! Hi John, we both use to piano playing and we both like pianistic album!! So I I enjoied your video even if I put Blue moves N° 3 . All good choises, expecially for Captain fantastic, The Diving board and Sleeping with the past. One more thing I can tell you is that" Me Elton" is an incredible and interesting book! You can hear Elton 's voice speaking!! O yes...L' m a huge fan !! Thank's for the video!!
Blue Moves is a favourite of mine. Just so much competition. In a way, it is his most creative album - so many different styles. They don't all come off, but it is so interesting to listen to. More videos to come on the Me book.
Excellent job! Thank you for this list!
My favorite song of Elton John is I need you to turn to. It’s so good
That's a beautiful song. I once ruined it by singing it at a concert!
Hi John I would probably agree with your rankings except " Honky Chateau " I would rank in his top 5 . My own top 10 ones at the very top are Madman Across The water , Captain Fantastic , Tumbleweed Connection , Elton John, Honky Chateau , Goodbye Yellow Brick Road , The Captain & The Kid, A Single Man Blue Moves , Songs From The West Coast
A great top ten. So difficult to rank those top five or six.
You’ve just gotta love Elton, my top 6 albums in no particular order is Elton John, Captain fantastic, GYBR, Madman across the water, Don’t shoot me I’m only the piano player and definitely tumbleweed connection!!
I agree it's a magnificent run of albums bettered by no one. The ones after that weren't bad either!
Rock of the Westies is Top 3.
Feed Me is a great underrated song.
What do you think of the new farewell setlist?, with have mercy on the criminal, mona Lisa’s and mad hatters, and all the girls love Alice being added in?
I like the inclusion of all three of these tracks, but I'm not generally a fan of these greatest hits track listings. I've done a video on my fantasy set list which hardly includes any hits. Have Mercy is a great choice - but I would also go for Blues for Baby and Me, and High Flying Bird from the superb Don't Shoot Me. What do you think?
@@eltonmusicfan I would like to see songs like the king must die, harmony as well as the re inclusion of believe and I want love
Blues for baby and me is #1 for me right now.
Imo, GYBR at 1
Dont Shoot me at 2
Capt Fantastic at 3…so not much different from yours John.
Special mention to the double album..Live with the Melb Symphony Orchestra from the mid 80’s - superb collection of tracks
Nice job! I love the first 5 80s albums and not too much of anything past 1990 except Songs from the West Coast and Wonderful Crazy Night.
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
2. Don't Shoot Me
3. Captain Fantastic
4. Breaking Hearts
5. Jump Up
6. Rock of the Westies
7. The Fox
8. 21 at 33
9. Too Low for Zero
10. Honky Chateau
Honorable Mention: Reg strikes Back, Songs from the West Coast,
Good list, I'd probably bump Madman up to #3 and Tumbleweed at #2 and GBYBR at #1. Hard to really choose between them because they're all so good. Agree to put Victim of Love in last place. Our dear Elton John did not need to be singing disco cover songs and putting out entire albums of material that he had no part in writing. However, by 1979, I think Elton was feeling burnout and you can at least admire the attempt to keep things fresh and different as opposed to letting things get stale. I think even doing some writing with other lyricists was a good change of pace and it turned out to be only temporary. If anything, it helped both Elton and Bernie realize just what a special songwriting partnership they had.
Some of my favorite Elton John recordings are not on albums they are: "into the Old man;s shoes", Grey Seal (original version),
"It's Me That You Need" and "Bad Side of the Moon".
I've done my top 34 before, and now I have to find where I left that list! But I want to compile a bunch of YT Elton Album rankings into a spreadsheet and come up with a final, definitive ranking from maybe 50-100 YT'ers. I think that'd be interesting.
I'm an Elton Connoisseur - so these are my top 10 favorite albums.
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
2. Caribou (this album is SO underrated. The quirkiness and odd sequence of the album make it SHINE - and I LOVE Solar Prestige A Gammon! ALL the tracks are winners, and they take me back to my early childhood days listening to the album on 8-track while going to sleep at night.
3. Tumbleweed Connection
4. Captain Fantastic (the album title song is my FAVORITE SONG of ALL TIME, despite artist. Absolutely amazing!)
5. Made In England
6. Sleeping With the Past
7. Breaking Hearts
8. Honky Chateau
9. The Fox
10. The Captain & the Kid
I would say you missed the boat on Caribou, that one is definitely in the top 10. Bitch is Back on htat one was great. Also Rock of the Westies is much better than you give him credit for. I would say that Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is definitely his best. not No. 2 Hits growing out of his ears on virtually all of the tracks. It has his best song, Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding. I would put his album Here and There up there in the top 10. Tumbleweed Connection would be my No. 2 choice and Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player is my No. 3. Captain Fantastic, not close to a top 10 pick in my humble opinion. It had the most hype before it was released. By the Way Friends is a good soundtrack and in the top 15, not 22. Agreements. Certainly Honky Chateau is in the Top 10 certainly. Madman Across the Water is very good I agree. I also agree with your choice of Blue Moves as one of his best, at least top 15. The One is very good I agree.
I (20 years old) managed to pick up an old vinyl of Yellow Brick Road, in pretty decent condition, a while back. Finally cleaned it up and plan to give it a spin for a first listen!
My top 10
1 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
2 Regimental Sgt Zippo
3 Madman Across the Water
4 Don't Shoot me I'm just the piano player
5 Captain Fantastic
6 Elton John
7 Caribou
8 Tumbleweed
9 The One
10 Empty Sky
Thanks for your comment. I respond in my video th-cam.com/video/HxFoMZhXRj0/w-d-xo.html
Okay, you lost me be saying "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" is a great pop song. I think it's his worst song ever-by a landslide.
You're only two days away from the official CD release of Regimental Sgt Zippo the album - you may have to do a small video update, in reply to this, and squeeze it in somewhere. I expect it will sit somewhere near Empty Sky though, maybe a little higher.
I have been listening to it and trying to work out how much is on The Jewel Box. Almost all of it, but some are piano demos. Have you done an analysis of that?
@@eltonmusicfan No, I've just listened to it a good few times. They're mostly different mixes on the RSZ album itself, or non demos in comparison to those on Jewel Box, apart about from about 3 of the tracks. I think it has a bit of a week start, builds fairly nicely, but then goes a little limp towards the end. I'm curious to see if you would do what you did with Reg Strikes Back and Leather Jackets, for an alternative album, in this case combining RSZ and Empty Sky.
The Road To El Dorado was a full Elton John album. It wasn't like the Lion King. You should have included it on your list.
Madman is my favorite and one of the best albums ever from anyone.
You say you love your 3rd least favorite by him! Shows how big of fan you are!!💪💪🙌. Yessir
Thanks for your comment. I love all his albums, just some more than others. There are always at least three or four great tracks to enjoy. Which is your favourite?
@@eltonmusicfan Hey man. My top three albums by him, from least to most favorite, is Honkey Chatue, Blue Moves, and Don't shoot me...!
I also didn't care much for Rock of the Westies, though I have friends who loved it. Agree with your top six, although would've included Honky Chateau in there. That music from 69-75 set a high bar. You talked about several albums I didn't even know about. I'll have to check out The Captain and the Kid - sounds interesting!Also the Leon Russell
Feed Me is very underrated listening to it now.
at 10.27 the "Blue Moves" tracks are not under rated !!! where did you think they were under rated ? (yourself )
Big Elton fan and am pausing at 31 for some comments.
I bought Victim of Love for a friend of mine in college (the one who really got me into Elton's deeper cuts). It was the one Elton album he didn't have and the CD was in the clearance bin. It was an intentional gag gift. We were kind of surprised to find that, while not great, it wasn't as awful as its reputation.
Empty Sky is clearly showing growing pains as they chase the psychedelic sound. Skyline Pigeon was improved markedly when re-recorded a few years later (also benefitting from Elton's more mature voice) and I have to wonder how well some of these other tracks would hold up with a different arrangement.
Jump Up! is one of my least liked albums with songs like I Am Your Robot and Ball and Chain just being too cheesy, but Empty Garden is absolutely one of his very best.
I actually love the Duets album. Not all the tracks are great, but they are listenable. Glad you singled out The Power, but True Love with Kiki Dee (released as a single), Teardrops (kd lang), Born to Lose (Leonard Cohen), Old Friend (Nik Kershaw), and Love Letters (Bonnie Raitt) struck a chord with me too.
This was an absolute, horrible ranking of Elton John albums. I turned it off after he rated Caribou, as one of the worst albums. Goodbye
I Agree with your top six (though not necessarily in the same order) - the only six Elton John albums most people will ever need........in mu opinion.👍
Hey John!:)) love your ranking! Thanks for everything you do, love ya!!
ROTW, & Caribou deserve a much higher placing
rock of the westies deserves the top ten man !
Let's just say we shouldn't have an Elton listening party.
Yes! Tumbleweed Connection #1…I couldn’t agree more. I was afraid you’d left that one out….
A work of genius which still delivers and surprises 50 years on.
You can’t rank leather jackets above Caribou. Caribou is nearly as good as don’t shoot me. Also made in England needs to be up much higher in the ranking above big picture at least
Tumbleweed is a great album, but to put it over GBYBR and Don't Shoot Me... Is crazy. ...but to each his own.
Your top 6 is good!
You can’t rank leather jackets above Caribou. Caribou is nearly as good as don’t shoot me.
Actually, bernie taupin also thinks 2 low for zero is better than caribou.
Captain Fantastic number one. The others are a matter of opinion 😉
Street kids, feed me, and yes, "bullet" made Rock of the Westies" top 10...easy.
All albums until 1978ish top 10... all others, not purchased.
Like you did with Captain Fantastic, I wonder if MIE and Caribou might also deserve a re-review. 21at33 is far too high on here, in my opinion! Also, Single Man - nope nope nope!!!
I realise not everyone is A Single Man fan! Some of the middle tracks on Caribou - Pinky and Grimsby - could get an upvote. Solar Prestige - no way.
@@eltonmusicfan Well yes, Solar Prestige isn't worth anybody's time!
Athlete should be no elton John album in the 10 after 1976
Nothing good since blue moves.
Just churned it out after that
Yellow Brick Road would not make my top 10. It's bloated with plenty of filla songs and seriously, I don't need to hear grating songs like Candle In The Wind and the dreadful Benny & The Jets ever again!
Leather Jackets and Ice on Fire better than Rock of the Westies and Caribou? Jeez. That said, I agree with your top two selections. Tumbleweed Connection and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (which I think was his SGT. Peppers moment.
You are out of your mind, if you can rank 2 low for 0 above both Rock/Westies and Caribou your music tastes are pretty messed up. Also the original release of Caribou DID NOT INCLUDE the Bitch is Back. There isn't ONE album post 1976 that was better than pre 76. The critiquing should be left to those who were there at the beginning imo.
You're stupid if you think post 2000s elton albums dont beat caribou lmao even made in england beats caribou and westies and the original elton john album
Bitch is back was first song on caribou from the beginning.
Bitch is back was always the first track in caribou album.