Elton John Album: “Too Low For Zero [Remaster]”

The 80's weren't always kind to Elton John. Once he jumped from MCA to Geffen, the hits slowed down. He and Bernie Taupin had gone their separate ways, and his core band had been gone since "

." "Too Low For Zero" changed all that. For the first time since "

," Elton and Bernie co-wrote the songs. Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray were back, and so was the alchemy.

That was apparent from the first single, the defiant "I'm Still Standing." From the uptempo beat to the forceful lyric, it is the best Elton song since the glory days. "Kiss The Bride" follows in the same vein, about an ex who sees his dreamgirl slipping away as she walks down the aisle. But it was the ballad "I Guess That's Why They Call it The Blues" that blasted away the logjam. "Blues," with its great Stevie Wonder harmonica solo, became Elton's first top ten single in three years and the first since "Little Jeannie" from "

."

The most important part of this comeback is the rest of the album. "Too Low For Zero" was not just the home of three top 40 singles, but the remaining cuts had depth. The disintegrating family of "Cold as Christmas" is prime Elton, and the title track could have easily been a fourth single. The falsettoed ballad that closed the original album, "One More Arrow," is exquisite and a departure for Elton. "Too Low For Zero" marked the first time since "Blue Moves" that the entire album held together as a whole, and signalled the rebound for Elton that would continue through to "

."

After flirting with his fans for years, Elton John delivered his most consistent and solid collection of songs since 1975's Captain Fantastic.

At the insistence of long time lyricist, Bernie Taupin, Elton decided to go back to basics and work with Taupin full time since 1976's Blue Moves. And, just as important, Elton reunited with the core of his backing band of the early 70s: Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone. This dynamic trio never sounded so good and they easily capture the romance and aura of the sound that made so many of Elton's early albums classics. Bernie Taupin also wrote lyrics with meaning and depth. He and Elton have always been better together than writing with other artists.

From the opening chords of the first track, Cold As Christmas, listeners are in for a treat. Elton's haunting vocal, coupled with the incredible backing vocals of the band, take the listener on a story of an elderly couple whose romantic flame as burned out. Then, as if on cue, Elton cuts right to the next song, I'm Still Standing and you can almost hear him saying: "Liked the first song? I knew you would. I'm back so take notice!" The transition is a bit jarring, but hey, he was feeling frisky and that's a great thing.

From there, the album slowly builds. The synthesizers are heavy (it's 1983 afterall) but they never intrude. They supplement the melody and reinforce Elton staying with the times. The title track should have been a single as it went over big on the tour that followed. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues remains an instant Elton classic with it's overtly sentimental lyric about pining for a love one. Stevie Wonder's express and sweet harmonic solo only add to the songs' nice touches. Elton and the band deliver a rock solid effort on this one. And speaking of rock, the "rock" songs on the album are also worthy of mentioning. Kiss The Bride and Whipping Boy are fun, yet throwaways that, taken in the context of the album, fit in just fine. Crystal relies on a drum machine and is clearly an experimental effort that again, would have made a great choice for a single. Saint and One More Arrow round out the ballads and are equally satisfying primarily on the strength of Elton's vocals. The only song here that feels out of place is Religion. An obvious attempt to mimic a country-rock feel and would have been better suited on a b-side. Though Taupin's lyric is full of great imagery and sly humor.

Too Low For Zero had three hits in the USA: I'm Still Standing amazingly just missed the Top 10; I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues peaked at #4; and the third single, Kiss The Bride, made the Top 40. It's also no secret that the videos that accompanied the singles helped reshape Elton's image for the decade.

Longtime fans waited for this one. Elton and Bernie delivered and this one is remembered as a true return to form.

After spending the first three years of the 1980s' looking for a place to fit in, Elton finally found his niche and recaptured the magic of his 1970s' heyday with his 1983 release, "Too Low For Zero." By bringing back Bernie Taupin to pen all of the lyrics for the first time since 1976's "Blue Moves" and reuniting his original (and best) band of Davey Johnstone on guitar, Dee Murray on bass, Nigel Olsson on drums, and Ray Cooper providing occasional percussion. The result was his best release in almost 10 years.

"Too Low For Zero" is best remembered for the smash singles it generated. The first was the explosive rocker, "I'm Still Standing," an anthem of resilliance and self preservation that has long since become Elton's battle cry in the face of public adversity and private turmoil. With its bouncy lyrical cadence and singalong chorus, it's one of Elton's most infectious recordings and a beloved concert favorite to this day.

The other major hit was the gorgeous ballad "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues." This longing, romantic composition is one of Elton's best love songs, buoyued by Elton's rollicking piano chords and soulful vocals and Dee Murray's driving bass moving it along at locomotive rhythm, perfectly emulating the thunder rolling under the covers mentioned in the song's memorable chorus. Stevie Wonder's harmonica solo is the icing on the cake on this already perfect musical confection.

The third single, the less successful but well remembered "Kiss The Bride" is one of Elton's best rockers, with a singalong proclemation in the chorus that has Elton shouting with mock anger mixed in with triumphant glee.

The rest of the album is equally appealing to the listener, starting off with its haunting, atmospheric ballad detailing a marriage in peril, "Cold As Christmas (In The Middle Of The Year)," which boasts a great melody and a clever Taupin lyric.

The title track is a dramatic, fast paced number reflecting the hyper kenetic lifestyle of its disillusioned protagonist. Elton's vocal perfectly reflects the lyrics, depicting another sleepless night of someone far too ahead of themselves, as his voice has a raspy, crackly quality that lends itself well. The quirky keyboard effects are especially notweworthy, and Elton's piano solo is a spindly web of melodic nirvana.

"Religion" is a satircal jab at hypocrtical evangelists who rose to prominence in the 1980s', such as Robertson, Falwell, Swaggart, Anita Bryant, and others. Elton, never shy about his negative views on organized religion, creates a stingingly funny tale about a gambler and a hooker who find God in the most unlikely of places yet to continue their sinful lifestyles under the false vibe that it's okay because they now believe.

"Crystal" is a catchy, synth driven rocker about a friend who loses the love of his life gracefully to his best friend, and is one my favorite rockers that he's ever done. It's similar melodically to "I'm Still Standing," as Elton sings in the same fast pace, almost breathless cadence he uses on the aforementioned more popular number, and should've been just as big a hit.

"Whipping Boy" is a repetitive rocker and gets annoying but still boasts some clever lyrical touches and in the long run does nothing to diminish the rest of the album.

The gorgeous, ethereal "Saint" features great synth work by James Newton Howard, touching lyrics and a soaring Elton vocal. Aside from "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," it's probably my favorite track on the album.

"Too Low For Zero" closes with the chilling "One More Arrow," a loving tribute by a son to a deceased father. Like "Skyline Pigeon" and "Candle In The Wind," as well as the lesser known "Cage The Songbird" from "Blue Moves," takes an almost hymnlike aura, bolstered by Elton's hauntingly beautiful, piercing falsetto, which soars to Heaven and brings a tear to even the most hardened heart. It helped me appreciate my father a little more than I already do, if that's any indication of how well Elton captures the song's sentiments.

"Too Low For Zero" is one of Elton's best album and is, along with "Reg Strikes Back" and "Sleeping With The Past," his finest studio output of the 1980s'. 26 years, it's still standing with the most essential of his recorded output.

This is without doubt Elton's best album from 80'es. It's the best Elton's album since 1973 and it's just great. "I guess that's why they call it the blues" is probably the best song on the album and one of the best Elton's songs. Other songs are also great especially I'm still standing, Crystal and Kiss the bride. If you like Elton, you must have this album then. Great pop/rock masterpiece.

Elton John in the 1980's was no doubt worse than the lton John of the early 70's, but that doesn't mean that his material in the 80's was not very good in its own right. He released several albums in the 80's that are classics, and Too Low For Zero is one of the standouts on that list.

This album is very different from anything he did in the 70's because it has much more of a pop aura to it. It's hard to think of the Elton John of the 70's singing songs like "I'm Still Standing" and "Saint" and "Crystal". I think the songs from "Cold As Christmas" through "Crystal" are the best ones on that album. Basically the only song on the album I dislike is "Whipping Boy", which is very cheesy and corny, but songs like the slow ballad "One More Arrow" (not sure who it's about), the upbeat and optimistic "I'm Still Standing", the old-school Elton slow rocker "Religion", the title track that is catchy and sedative, the slow rocke "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues", and upbeat rock song "Kiss the Bride" more than compensate for that. A must-have for Elton fans because it's a classic and yielded four hits in the UK, and three in the US.