Elton John Album: “Made In England”

This is my absolute favorite Elton John CD... I listen to it beginning to end over and over. You don't need to skip tracks on this disc, regardless of your mood. Rockin' but not head rattling tunes. You can really turn up the volume and rock to such tracks as the title cut, or sit back and relax... this is just a great CD... easy to listen to at work, while studying or on a long drive. Excellent... sometimes mellow, but never boring. Thanks, Reg!

Wow, does this CD bring back memories.

1995.

We had just purchased our first PC: a sturdy Hewlett-Packard Multimedia 6100 (with an eye-popping 24K memory). To my utter delight, I could listen to CD's on this wonderful 'chine while I went through the Windows 3.1 tutorials.

My daughter gave me Elton John's MADE IN ENGLAND, which I listened to--endlessly--as I played with my new toy.

I became more enamored with the music than the PC. Having always been an Elton John fan, I was overwhelmed by the overall quality of this album. The tracks were clean, crisp, dynamic, powerful, haunting--compelling songs, including "Believe," "House," and the wonderful "Made in England."

Through the infinite peaks and valleys of Elton John's career, MADE IN ENGLAND is perhaps the best effort from this talented artist (and his partner in crime, Bernie Taupin). This is good stuff, and you don't have to buy a new PC to appreciate it.

I'll start by saying that I am 17 and a great fan of music in general, from the Beatles to Sting to Michael Jackson and Prince. But there is only one artist I can claim to be a favorite, Elton John, and that was confirmed with 1995's Made In England. I hold this CD in high regard along with the classics like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and more recent attempts like Big Picture and Songs From The West Coast. Two listens and I was hooked into this masterpiece.

Of 11 songs, all are of very good quality, my only occasional skips are "Pain" and "Lies". The work has a consistent mood, almost relaxing but not overly depressing. Songs like "Cold" and "Belfast" have an almost european sound to me and I love the atmosphere and tone of the single "Believe." The pianos guitars of the second single "Blessed" are soothing and the melodies perfect, making it my favorite song on the album. "House" is excellent also as well as the third single "Made In England", picking up the pace a little. Bernie Taupin contributes great lyrics that lend to this CD's charm and fit well with the melodies Elton masters. The simplicity and purity of the sound quality and production are just icing on the cake. So if you like music at all, I would call Made In England a most worthwhile purchase.

Those who say that Elton John's streak of great albums ended with "Captain Fantastic" should listen to "Made in England". Paul Buckmaster's superb orchestral arrangements are heard belatedly once more, after a long, long, time, most notably, in the classic "Believe"; which is just as memorable a song as "Candle in the Wind", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Bennie and the Jets", "Someone Saved My life Tonight", "I'm Still Standing", "Sad Songs (Say So Much)", "Sacrifice" or "The One". Percussionist Ray Cooper is back, along with guitarist Davey Johnstone, giving some of their best performances in their careers. For once Bernie Taupin has written an entire album of fine, witty - and at times, funny - lyrics, ranging from his musings on the Northern Irish troubles ("Belfast") to Tennessee Williams ("Lies"); there's not a single dud in the whole lot, though "Pain" comes perilously close to being filler. Elton has never sung with more sincerity as he has in the title track or in "Believe"; his vocals on the other songs sound equally convincing. Along with "The One" and "The Road to El Dorado" this has to rate as the best of Elton's work from the 1990's; indeed, I believe it will be remembered as a classic alongside his great albums from the 1970's.

Made In England finds Elton John and Bernie Taupin at their very best. Bernie's moving and intelligent lyrics are beautifully showcased by Elton's versatile compositions. 'Believe' has amazing depth for a pop song; 'House' and 'Belfast' are exquisite. After listening to the album over and over, I finally settled on 'Latitude' as my favorite -- though it was not an easy choice. The music is fabulous, making me wish Elton would do an instrumental album, though his exquisite voice is in top form. Highly, highly recommended.