Elton John - Wonderful Crazy Night

Elton John
Wonderful Crazy Night
2016
Spotify

They don't just let you make 32 albums, often they make sure it doesn't happen. However in 2016 here we are with a fresh batch of music from the icon himself Elton John. Wonderful Crazy Night was written in 17 days and from that statement you might think it would feel thrown together and unrefined. You would be wrong. When you are such a sheer talent like Sir Elton is, and the pool of talented individulas he surrounds himself with, writing quickly gives your music a loose feel like one of the best jam sessions you've ever heard yet there is still plenty of structure. Just like the title suggests the music on Wonderful Crazy Night is light and fun taking a look back at the best that Elton has offered but not dwelling there to long. This record doesn't have the ballad strength like "Candle in the Wind" or even the raw power of "Benny and the Jets" but it gets a lot of it's swagger from playing ability and a comfort with these songs that only a lifetime career can bring. There is such a maturity in knowing just when to add a horn flourish, or change the pace slightly to keep the song moving and it is simply masterful on this record, both on the production and actual playing side.

There is however a fair amount of cheese on the record as well. "Claw Hammer" which is basically a song of the worker's struggle sounds laughable coming from the opulent John. "I've Got 2 Wings" suffers a similar fate lyrically, but the swing country music sounds sublime. Also if you are looking for some edge or risk in an album from Elton John you have come to the wrong place. For the most part the record is straight down the middle almost of retrospective of all the good work He has done in the past. At this point in his career there is a sound that fans expect from Elton John and He is more than happy to give them exactly what they want on Wonderful Crazy Night. The lyrics in the end bring the album down the most. The life well lived theme is so surface throughout the album that it feels trite. It is almost as if, which is likely the case, John and Taupin are just telling you about something they heard about rather than really connecting a message from the heart. At time a celebration and at others a bit of a downer Wonderful Crazy Night tows the line between great and mediocre, but in the end it's new music from Elton John so who's complaining?

7.5 out of 10