Elton John Album: “Jump Up!”

Elton made it clear he was going to be a force to reckon with on Jump Up. Yielding two top 15 singles, Blue Eyes and the John Lennon tribute Empty Garden, Jump Up! is Elton's most consistent effort since Captain Fantastic in 1975.

Jump Up is a great sounding album with a variety of great songs. Spiteful Child and I am your Robot are punkish rockers; Princess and Empty Garden are classic Elton ballads; Blue Eyes is a Frank Sinatra-esque tune; Dear John is a bouncy rocker; Where have all the good times gone? is a great philly-soul sounding song. There aren't any bad songs here and the album has a bouyant, energetic and polished feel to it. In my opinion, it is one Elton's best of the 1980s.

Having bought the record (vinyl) when this first came out, and then the CD, it would take bonus tracks to entice me to buy it again. The same goes for the album Breaking Hearts. I know that there was a lot of other stuff by Elton at this time (extended version of Red shoes), a live version of Grape Vine etc. These things should have been included as bonus tracks.

"Jump Up!" was one of Elton John's best albums from the 1980s, and I think it still holds up quite well today. It was Elton's first album with producer Chris Thomas, who would produce most of Elton's 1980s and 1990s albums, and the last album featuring songs co-written with lyricist Gary Osborne. Recorded on the West Indian island of Montserrat, "Jump Up!" truly captures Elton at one of his happiest moments in the 1980s, backed ably by a fine studio band which included long-time associate, bassist Dee Murray, and legendary studio session drummer Jeff Porcaro, best known for his work with his band Toto and of course, with Michael Jackson too. The album harkens back to Elton's early to mid 1970s sound, with an eclectic range of pop ballads and uptempo rockers. The two songs which most listeners will recognize are the Elton John/Gary Osborne ballad "Blue Eyes", which was recorded later by none other than Frank Sinatra, and the Elton John/Bernie Taupin ballad "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)", which is Elton's bittersweet homage to the late John Lennon; both songs still rank as among the finest ballads ever composed by Elton in his nearly forty-year long career. And yet these aren't the only fine songs on "Jump Up!"; even the song which I regard as the weakest on the album, the Elton John/Bernie Taupin ballad "All Quiet On The Western Front" - the songwriting team's musical tribute to World War One's Western Front - I'd regard as one of their most memorable compositions. In other words, "Jump Up!" is that rarity among Elton John albums, one which truly doesn't have a lackluster song on it (My other favorites include the Elton John/Gary Osborne ballad "Princess", the Elton John/Bernie Taupin Philly Soul tribute rocker "Where Have All the Good Times Gone", the Elton John/Gary Osborne rocker "Dear John" (It features a fine guitar solo from none other than Pete Townshend of The Who!), the Elton John/Tim Rice ballad "Legal Boys" (their very first collaboration, long before Disney's "The Lion King"), and last, but not least, the Elton John/Bernie Taupin cyberpunkish rocker "I Am Your Robot".). Without question, I would regard "Jump Up!" as an essential Elton John album that should be acquired by both diehard fans and others interested in his music.

Jump Up was recorded and released during Elton's relationship with Geffen Records. While the albums that came during that period were not the monster hits of his 70s work (Captain Fantastic, Rock of the Westies), there is still some strong performances included.

The opening cut, Dear John, features guitar work from none other than Pete Townshend. Legal Boys has words from Tim Rice, who Elton later collaborated with on the Lion King Soundtrack.

A misnomer from this period is that there was some type of seperation between John and longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin. Not true -- in fact, one of the duos most meaningful works appears on Jump Up -- Empty Garden (Hey, Hey Johnny), a tribute to John Lennon at the time of his murder.

Gary Osborne is the other writer on the disc and teams with John for the hit Blue Eyes, a ballad that still stands strong.

For Elton enthusiasts, the album is a must for a complete collection. For others, it's still a worthy listen.

Elton found himself floundering by the end of the 70's--"Victim Of Love" and "The Thom Bell Sessions" were critical and commercial disasters. 1979's "Single Man" revealed Elton--now openly gay-- staring down the world. Gone were the glasses and the feather boas that were his trademark--replaced by contacts and songs like "Big Dipper," a tossed gauntlet to even the most open-minded of homophobes. Elton was not happy and the music reflected that.

Suddenly in 1980, "Jump Up" appears and we can all breathe a sigh of relief. The album opens with "Dear John," a rolicking ode to failed love where Elton sounds very much like his old ass-kicking self. "Empty Garden," a tribute to his friend John Lennon sets a sobering but beautiful mood which feels very Beatlesque. Other highlights on the record are "Legal Boys," a stark confessional both poingiant and lyrically powerful and "All Quite On The Western Front."

"Where Have All the Good Times Gone?" gets a solid C plus and "Princess" has an engaging chorus amid it's slight R&B feel. It's new territory for Elton but he makes it work.

What doesn't work are the silly and very forgettable tracks like "I Am Your Robot" and "Ball and Chain" which was a total rip-off of "Queen of Hearts." "Blue Eyes" is a pretty song but it sounds like Elton was a runner-up in the Elvis impersonation contest and the production is a bit too much Nelson Riddle.

Overall, without question, there are only two albums from Elton in the Eighties worth having, Jump Up and Too Low. Get em both.