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Album Details

• Artist: Elton John
• Album: Songs From The West Coast
• Label: Universal
• Year of Release: 2001
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: gwhill on 2013-03-18

Amongst the musicians playing on this album are Elton's longtime cohorts Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson. Also joining him are such musical icons as Stevie Wonder, Rufus Wainwright, and Billy Preston. The disc is a great testament to the fact that there is still a lot of musical life left in Mr. John. The album finds him coming far closer the musical styles of his classic period than any release he has done in a long time. If you give this one a listen, I am sure you will find yourself frequently singing along.

On the opening track, (“The Emperor’s New Clothes) the album starts with a melody driven sound that feels much like something that could have come from EJ's Captain Fantastic album. It's good to have the old sound back in this building number. Based in a very funky sort of groove, “Dark Diamond” is an energetic piece. The texture of it feels a lot like the classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album. It certainly gains something from the presence of Stevie Wonder, especially his harmonica work. The only regret is that Wonder only appears as a musician and doesn't join Elton at least on the backing vocals, if not in a duet.

The intro to “Look Ma No Hands” feels just a little like Caribou's "Ticking", but once the vocals enter, all similarities end. It feels a bit country at times, but overall seems like a classic EJ mellow rocker with an interesting arrangement. With biting lyrics, “American Triangle” is a dramatic, and at times, rather haunting piece. It builds slowly based at first on just piano and vocals. The classic Elton sound is all over this one, and it features backing vocals by Rufus Wainwright. It is a very strong number.

Not of one of the stronger cuts on the disc, “Original Sin” is a competent, but somewhat forgettable, ballad. Starting with percussion, “Birds” is a bluesy, R & B tinged jam that's a lot of fun. It rocks out quite a bit as it continues building. The first single from the album, “I Want Love” has amongst its lineup the talents of Billy Preston. This has been all over the radio and MTV, but as a testament to the quality of this rock ballad, it still holds up.

Another that features Preston, “The Wasteland” is Elton John does the blues. It is a pretty potent cut, and you have to give points to any blues track that talks about Robert Johnson. A strong and poignant balladic number, the arrangement on “Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes” gets very lush and powerful. It is a great composition that just screams early Elton. It is one of the strongest pieces on the album.

“Love Her Like Me” is a fun track about someone who loves a woman in the dream world. The song is alright, but doesn't really hold up to the rest of the album. Another balladic one, “Mansfield” is a bit pedestrian. Still, even weak EJ is better than many artists' strong material, and this song does have its moments. The lyrics here are particularly strong, and the arrangement gets quite lush towards the end. Beginning with dramatic piano, “This Train Don't Stop There Anymore” drops to a somewhat bluesy sort of balladic style.

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