Other Mixes By Rob Conroy
CD
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Single Artist
CD
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Mixed Genre
CD
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Mixed Genre
Cassette
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Single Artist
Rose trees never grow in New York City (2 CDs)
| Side A | ||
| Artist | Song | |
| Elton John | Border Song | |
| Elton John | Your Song | |
| Elton John | Take Me to the Pilot | |
| Elton John | Sixty Years On | |
| Elton John | Ballad of a Well-Known Gun | |
| Elton John | Come Down in Time | |
| Elton John | Country Comfort | |
| Elton John | Where to Now St. Peter? | |
| Elton John | Love Song | |
| Elton John | Amoreena | |
| Elton John | Burn Down the Mission | |
| Elton John | Tiny Dancer | |
| Elton John | Levon | |
| Elton John | Razor Face | |
| Elton John | Madman Across the Water | |
| Elton John | Holiday Inn | |
| Elton John | Rotten Peaches | |
| Side B | ||
| Artist | Song | Buy |
| Elton John | Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time) | |
| Elton John | Susie (Dramas) | |
| Elton John | Honky Cat | |
| Elton John | I Think I'm Going to K ill Myself | |
| Elton John | Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters | |
| Elton John | Daniel | |
| Elton John | Skyline Pigeon [piano version] | |
| Elton John | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | |
| Elton John | Love Lies Bleeding | |
| Elton John | Bennie and the Jets | |
| Elton John | Grey Seal | |
| Elton John | Harmony | |
| Elton John | Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me | |
| Elton John | The Bitch is Back | |
| Elton John | Philadelphia Freedom | |
| Elton John | Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy | |
| Elton John | Someone Saved My Life Tonight | |
Comment:
It's really depressing to me now, in a way, that Elton John was one of the most formative artists in my musical world. I wore out the grooves on my "Philadelphia Freedom" and "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" 45s at the te nder age of four (when they were released in 1975). When I did the original single-disc version of this mix seven years ago, he was an absolutely talent-free cliche pandering to the middle-aged-housewife/Oprah set. Since then, he's appeared in some music documentaries again reminding the public that he is actually a music geek (he apparently owns thousands and thousands of records is kind of a minor-league rock/blues encyclopedia), a welcome rarity in the entertainment world, and has attempted to make at least one album invoking the spirit of his old style, although it was not nearly as good as the old days. Thirty-three years ago, he was a damned fine pop tunesmith, and the run of records that he released between 1970 and 1975 is genuinely impressive (I'll even grant him three later guilty pleasures in "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word," "Empty Garden" and "Little Jeannie," although I couldn't in good conscience displace any of the tracks that I included here with any of them).Feedback:
Hey, are you Darth Doowad? Extremely productive these days, Mr. Conroy.Bennie and the Jets is the only one of his that I really don't like of the group here. I always liked Tiny Dancer too (glad to see it here), and that one he did lately "That Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore". John Lennon's judgement wasn't the greatest, but I think he had it right with Elton. And it is to Elton's credit that while he "competed" more head on with McCartney as a hit machine, he fell on the John side of the debate.So, will Reo be next? The suspense is kil ling us...
One of those dispiriting things about certain fri*nds is their poor taste in music. We were at a fri*nd's house recently and on came mid-eighties Elton. It made me think of another fri*nd who loved early Elton but abhorred anything from the late seventies onward.
I find much of his work dire but am fairly unfamiliar with his earlier work. I trust your judgement on Elton.
I find much of his work dire but am fairly unfamiliar with his earlier work. I trust your judgement on Elton.
YES - all great! It's weird that Elton became so lame. I mean, he was so freakin cool in the 70s. I guess there was just SO much money to be made singing Lion King songs. Every major single from this period - "Goodbye yellow brick road", especially - genius.
Love Philadelphia Freedom and don't go breaking my heart.
I'll work on my Dr. BLT retrospective first.
But Marc may beat us both to that punch...
I was thinking about that Pet Shop Boys remark I made when you posted the New Order mix... and looking at this made me, somehow, think of Phil Collins... but then, the PSB had some talent!
i actually quite liked songs from the west coast, i thought it was a real return-to-form with some great rolling pop tunes, especially - as derek mentioned - "this train don't stop there anymore." my appreciation for his work does stop, excluding that record, after 1976 (i think blue moves is a pretty great album) though. have to say my favorites of his are "someone saved my life tonight" & "amoreena," both included, so no complaints here.
This is the soundtrack to my college, romance and early (first) marriage years. My only addition would be "Can I Put You On," from his underappreciated Fri*nds Soundtrack. Excellent job, Rob. And I don't even need a link.
For me... 1970-1973. Seven great albums in that short period but stopped listening to anything after that. Caught him in concert a couple of times during that period too. Great shows.
Extra props for "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun" as Dusty Springfield sings backing vocals. Tumbleweed Connection is one of my favorite road trip albums. Another excellent compilation, Rob.
Looks interesting all the way. Have to take a listen.
This is a great choice for a retrospective mix. I do often feel like Elton is underappreciated and he's an artist that I definitely need to listen to more.
you're right, Rob, he was one fine tunesmith (back then).
I'm so much on the fence that my arse has splinters. I love a third of this Rob but dislike the person.
Overall, I have to agree with you here: Sir Reggie Dwight has some stellar songs from the days of my youth, which you've more than covered here. Saw him in concert in '92 or '93 and the highlights were the songs from the 70's. Nice work, Rob.
I still have my 4 disc mix of EJ. I still recall hearing Funeral For A Freind/Loves Lies Bleeding for the first time. My fave versions of 60 years on and TMTTP are on 11/17/70.
Oh, and re: EJ's becoming less of an artist... did he? Or was he more like Supertramp, and just continued making the same type of noise while the rest of the world rolled past?
There's some fantastic tunes on this mix. He made a lot of money doing something he was good at ( fact, not opinion ) and now he enjoys life to the max. I can't quite understand what peoples problem with him is. He owes us fuck all..