Elton John Album: “Madman Across the Water [Remaster]”

In my opinion, Madman Across the Water stands nobly as one of the greatest albums ever recorded. This album, produced at the height of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin frenzy during the early 1970's, is nothing short of a masterpiece. Although this album went platinum, it has not received the same level of historical attention as other Elton John albums. The reason for that escapes me, but suffice it to say that those who own Madman Across the Water have discovered the secret treasures of this album.

This album includes two Elton John hits that you may still hear occasionally on adult radio stations: "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon". While these songs are excellent, they are only the beginning, the first two tracks, on this incredible CD. This album contains what could be my favorite song ever: "Indian Sunset" is an epic, soaring, affective song about the Native American Indian at the time of colonization, and it's unforgettable. The title track is a mesmerizing journey led masterfully by Elton's haunting, intense vocals. (I like this version of "Madman" better than the one on the remastered Tumbleweed Connection because of the embellished instrumentation.) "All The Nasties" and "Goodbye" are equally compelling and representative of how marvelously Elton presents brooding, melancholy, thoughtful melodies. "Holiday Inn", "Razor Face", and "Rotten Peaches" are more upbeat and up tempo, but they follow the pattern of interesting lyrics from Taupin and infectious music and vocals from Elton.

At their peak, Elton John and Bernie Taupin were an unstoppable combination in writing extraordinary music. Madman Across the Water contains some of the best contemporary songwriting ever, and Elton's vocal performance on this disc is superb. For me this album has truly stood the test of time; I like it just as much now as I did when I initially heard it so many years ago. Don't overlook Madman Across the Water; it undoubtedly deserves to be a part of your CD collection.

If you read the reviews for this and other Elton John albums you will notice a definite split in reviewer's opinions. Many people seem to consider Yellow Brick Road his finest work, while others prefer his earlier albums. I place myself firmly in the latter camp. I was a huge fan of Elton John ever since his first major single, "Your Song". I can remember seeing him performing it live on the Andy Williams Show on TV. Originally his music was entirely serious, with none of the outrageous costumes and clowning that later became a trademark of his work.

It was only after being savaged by the critics that he eventually turned into a pop-star parody. His music suffered as a result. In my opinion his early albums, Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across the Water and Honky Chateau were the only 'serious' albums he ever made (with a few exceptions.. sprinkled in over the past 30 years, but they don't compare in quality to those early works.)

There isn't a single weak song on this album. Tiny Dancer, Levon and the Title track are classics. This album has perhaps the most beautiful string arrangements of any of his albums (something that the critics of the time took particular delight in attacking as "pretentious"). If you like beautiful melodies, haunting intelligent lyrics and superbly crafted songs, then give this one a try. His later 'pop-star' phase produced some wonderful music as well, but they lacked the artistic integrity and heartfelt passion of his early masterpieces.

Peteyspambucket has pretty well summed up what John has done with this 5.1 mix in more detail than I ever could. I can only add on songs when John uses an orchestra, the sound level of his vocals seem more realistic in relation to the size of orchestra.

John has set the blueprint for what a 5.1 SACD should be. It is simply amazing. Perfect separation and clarity without being gimmicky. While other 5.1 mixes may simply use the rear channels for echo or effect, John perfectly places instruments in each giving a true surround sound effect. John truly shows the potential for SACD 5.1 when in the right hands. Like Peteyspamucket, I too wonder what it would sound like if Greg Penny who did the 5.1 mix on this and Tumbleweed Connection would get his hands on the master tapes for other artists. Imagine a Hendrix, or period Beatles or Stones, it boggles the mind.

Elton continued his winning streak with this classic album, and this time around, the strings were put to good use. In my opinion, Tiny Dancer, Levon and Indian Sunset are pure brilliance, but it's a fairly short album, and the last three songs are below average, that's why I don't give five stars. As I said, this time, the strings almost define the songs, the powerfully dramatic Levon, the passionate Tiny Dancer, the moving Indian Sunset(the way the strings/percussion make you feel the anguish of this situation, extraordinary) and the sweet sensation of life on the road, Holiday Inn. While I think the title track is a decent song, it never has been one of my personal favorites, and I much prefer the guitar version on Rare Masters, and now Tumbleweed Connection. Another winning track is Razor Face, that is just classic, and should have received more attention. This album is a must, and probably about the third one you should get, after Don't Shoot Me, and Yellow Brick Road. I will end this with what I consider to be some of the finest Taupin lyrics to date: Jesus, he wants to go to venus, leaving Levon far behind, take a balloon, and go sailing, while Levon, Levon slowly dies...

"Madman Across The Water" is one of my favorite Elton John albums. There's definitely not one bad song here. Paul Buckmaster writes some of his finest orchestral arrangements; most notably for the ballad "Levon" - one of my top ten favorite Elton John tunes - "Tiny Dancer", another favorite, and the title track. Like his earlier albums, Elton used primarily studio musicians, though two of them, drummer Roger Pope and guitarist Caleb Quaye, would later join his band in 1975, contributing their talents to "Rock Of The Westies" and "Blue Moves". Original band mates bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson appear only on one song, "All The Nasties"; starting with "Honky Chateau" through "Captain Fantastic", they would remain the rhythm section for the Elton John band. Davey Johnstone appears as a guest musician, with some excellent mandolin solos for "Madman Across The Water" (Incidentally, contrary to one popular rumor, "Madman..." isn't about American president Richard M. Nixon and the Watergate affair.). Aside from "Levon", my favorite song is "Tiny Dancer"; both are early pop masterpieces from the John/Taupin team. Yet another memorable song is "Holiday Inn". The sound quality is exceptional, thanks to excellent digital image-bit remastering done by Gus Dudgeon, the original album producer, and his team. Without question, "Madman Across The Water" is an essential Elton John recording.