Elton John Album: “Honky Chateau”

This is where Elton's legendary string of hits began. "Honky Chateau" would become the first of 7 straight #1 albums to hit the charts between 1972-1975: a truly dizzying output of music given its overall popularity and quality. And to think, Elton was prepared to hang up his recording career if this album failed...

Davey Johnstone formally joined Dee and Nigel in Elton's band. Jean-Luc Ponty added his string arrangements and Gus Dudgeon acted as producer. They recorded this album in a castle in France named the Chateau d'Herouville. Curiously, the music that emanated from those session had nothing to do with the lofty orchestral arrangements of previous efforts like "Madman" or "Elton John". This album was a pure rocker, many of the tracks invested with a Southern rock feel, only more streamlined and radio-friendly.

Elton's piano work on "Honky Cat" is masterful. "I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself" is both comical and melodramatic as Elton's shifts between the sorrowful lament of the chorus to ragtime and tap-dancing. "Salvation" comes as close to an anthem as anything Elton's ever written. Then there are tremendous rock songs on here, like "Susie" and the powerful "Hercules". The bonus track of "Slave" invests the original laid-back country recording with pure fire on the piano.

But what most people will no doubt remember most on this album is the classic hit "Rocketman" and the lesser-known and absolutely beautiful "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters". This album was the emergence of Elton as the greatest singer/songwriter of his day.

If you are looking to buy your first Elton John album, there are two ways to go about it: Play it safe and get his first Greatest Hits album, which has most of his classic singles from 1970-1974. Or be a little braver, and snag this, his most tuneful and enjoyable session workout, released in 1972. It's pop music ear candy that's good for the soul.

"Honky Château" has a lot of fans, and no wonder. It contains two of Elton's most enduring hits, the playful "Honky Cat" and the affectively yearning "Rocket Man," along with 8 other tracks that hardly sag by way of comparison. I revere this album because it represents Elton John at his poppy best, the way I came to love him on the radio when I was growing up in the 1970s. Other great songs like "Mellow," "Hercules," and "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters" add to a rich blend of musical styles that make listening to the entire album a pleasant journey that never gets dull.

Listen to the way the piano kicks in on "Honky Cat," the opening track. Elton's keyboard passages bounce from one wall to another and back again in unpredictable but clever rhythmic patterns, while a banjo throws out odd notes to add to the mix. The aural dynamics continue with each of the songs that follow, never in a bombastic way, but a very accomplished and relaxed manner that testifies to Elton's zooming artistic growth.

Bernie Taupin's lyrics are funny and work either with or against the grain of the melody in each song in a way that adds to their signature diversity. "I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself" is a song that grabs attention for the wrong reason. It's actually about a self-dramatizing teen angry his parents won't let him use the car. His idea for suicide is laughable rather than horrific; he wants to hang around after he kills himself to see how everyone takes the bad news. If there's any lingering doubt about its seriousness, it's dispelled by the merry ragtime melody carrying it, complete with tap dancing. The song only works because the kid doesn't realize the gravity of what he's contemplating, because if he did he wouldn't be young and immature enough to think about doing it!

Elsewhere on the album are some of Taupin's most famous lines, about "trying to drink whiskey from a bottle of wine," "turn around and say good morning to the night," and most memorably, "Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids/In fact it's cold as hell." Man, did you think Taupin was writing that one about the street you were growing up on, too? Even when the lyrics are goofier, they still work, like his words to the nasty dreamwrecker "Amy": "You're far out, you're fab and insane/A woman of the world it's quite plain." Elton delivers that one with the right gravelly intonation, all sleazy and '70s glam, which along with the dire yet funky piano accompaniment makes "Amy" my call for Honky Chât's sleeper track.

The music is ultimately what makes the songs so good. Every song feels very unique, and none of it like filler. Filler is not a bad thing in and of itself; I define "filler" as being songs that either work or don't in the context of an album but not outside of it. But you can pull any one of these songs out on its own, and it won't wilt in isolation. "Slave" and "Salvation" may be my least favorite tracks, but both are solid tunes I can hum to myself days after last hearing them.

My favorite on this album has to be "Honky Cat," the sorta title track. I can listen to that forever. It really defines who Elton is on this album; carefree, amiable, willing to laugh at himself. I kind of picture him chained to a whorehouse piano playing that one, trying to make eye contact over his cokebottle glasses with all the wicked women because he wasn't out of the closet yet.

Other Elton albums may lay greater claim to being art, but this was Elton's best pop record, and his most enjoyable moment on wax. "Honky Château" is a gem worth having for your record collection.

Without question, "Honky Chateau" has to be regarded as one of Elton John's finest albums, even if it's not as good as his masterpiece "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". The first of several albums recorded in an old French chateau - hence the album's title - it is Elton John's and Bernie Taupin's last major foray into American folk rock. And it's an album where every tune still sounds as fresh and vibrant now; there's no obvious filler material here, though "Susie (Dramas)" and "Hercules" come close. Aside from the hits "Honky Chateau" and "Rocket Man", there are several great tunes which should be regarded as among the Elton's best, with great melodies and splendid lyrics from Bernie Taupin: "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters", "Mellow", "Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself" and "Slave". Jean Luc-Ponty's splendid electronic violin solo is heard in "Mellow", and is among the reasons why "Honky Chateau is an essential Elton John album. As an added bonus is an alternative version of "Slave", which valiantly tries to come across as Elton's rock and roll take on The Band's music. The album's original producer, Gus Dudgeon, and his team have done a fantastic job in remixing the album using the latest digital image bit technology.

Like most other reviewers have said this is a great album.

Although Rocket Man and Honky Cat were big singles, I actually prefer some of the album tracks. Mellow is a great gospel influenced track. Hercules is cracking rock 'n' roll song. Its a very happy album, and there isn't really a poor track on it.

For me probably only beaten by Tumbleweed and Yellow Brick Road. Its probably also a good buy for anyone new to Elton's music as well, as there isn't the darkness of some of the earlier albums (which are very good as well but more of an aquired taste), or the sometimes overly MOR later albums.

The first three Elton John albums found many pegging him as a singer/songwriter, and the more straightforward songs among "

," "

" and "

" were certainly easy to construe as such. But then came "Honky Chateau," where Elton's tentative steps into more rock territory found traction. Many of the trademarks of those early albums are still here (the naked emotionalism, the fascination with America's rural south), but he was also discovering the edge - like Jon Luc Ponty's violin solo on "Amy" -that concert goers had been buzzed with.

The first single, "Honky Cat," was the harbinger. Set more to a New Orleans piano roll than any previous song, it was poppier than any of his other singles. "Rocket Man" immediately raised the bar. Riding the same trail David Bowie and Major Tom did, "Rocket Man" followed a space oddity of an astronaut with job satisfaction issues; "It's just my job, five days a week." These two hits pushed Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin off and away from their past labels and moved then onto a fast lane towards rock stardom. Throughout the other songs on the album, Elton's strength for melodies was in full bloom and his confidence was growing, while Bernie's words were as oblique as ever (which was one of his strongest suites).

That motion was also significantly aided by the codification of Elton's band. Stalwarts Nigel Olsson, Dee Murray and Davey Johnston sounded terrific here, recording as Elton's backing for the first time. They matched Elton's flair, making songs like "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" and "I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself" spark. Gus Dudgeon obviously understood what Elton was aiming for and kept his production to a more minimal level than on the other albums. The result was the first Elton John album to reflect the personality that would come to dominate the public image of his showmanship. It also became the first of Elton's seven consecutive #1 albums.