Elton's
first fully-fledged album after "A Single Man" in 1978, "21 at 33" was
issued in May of 1980 and, though not necessarily a "landmark" album in
terms of overall Elton chronology, it WAS a milestone release in
several
ways. If you count all the compilation discs and "The Thom Bell
Sessions"
up to that point, Elton (who had recently turned 33 at the time) was
indeed
up to his 21st LP! It was also his last release on MCA until the latter
part of the decade, with his next six records appearing on Geffen
Records
in the US. One other notable point about this album, as CD reissue
veteran
sleeve writer John Tobler points out in his liner notes, is that Bernie
Taupin's words once again appear on an Elton studio album, Taupin's
first
contribution since "Blue Moves". Bernie did, however, write the lyrics
to Elton's much underappreciated "Ego" single in 1978... and though
they
wrote and recorded several songs that would end up as b-sides during
this
time, Bernie's songs were absent upon the final assembly of "A Single
Man".
The songs that would eventually make up what was to become "21 at 33"
were
all written, along with material that would end up on "The Fox" and
flipsides
of singles during the previous August, with recording beginning in
earnest
in February of 1980. For this album, as with the session for "A Single
Man", Elton and Clive Franks handled the production chores and while
the
record isn't as focused as "A Single Man", it's also nowhere near as
DARK!
"21 at 33" is a "happier" album, at least happier sounding than Elton
had
been in a while. Technologically, it was state of the art for the day
and
actually didn't sound too bad to begin with. and the remaster, while
not
dramatically improving the overall dynamics, has engineer Gary Moore
getting
a more defined and cleaner sound. There are no bonus tracks, which is
unfortunate
since several were recorded during this period... at least a couple
that
would have at least made fun bits of fluff to tack onto the end of the
album program! But, what we do have is a fine Elton album that's quite
enjoyable, even if it's not "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" or "Too Low For
Zero". Recorded with a diverse group of musicians ranging from Dee
Murray
and Nigel Olsson to guest vocals from Peter Noone and The Eagles, there
are some stellar names on the credit list. Session vets Alvin Taylor
and
Reggie McBride on drums and bass, James Newton Howard, members of Toto
including David Paitch & Steve Lukather, Richie Cannata on sax
from
Billy Joel's band. Then there's Jim Horn, Jerry Hey, Bill Reichenbach
and
Chuck Findley who backed A&M jazz superstar Chuck Mangione on
several
recordings, Victor Feldman and Lenny Castro on percussion, David
Foster's
signature string arrangements which were very in demand at the time,
and
"Blue Moves" fans will recognize the familiar backing vocals of Bruce
Johnston
and Toni Tennille along with John Joyce, Joe Chemay and Curt Becher.
Pretty
good company all around! Elton signals Bernie's return by leading off
the
album with "Chasing The Crown", easily the most aggressive track on the
collection. Bernie wrote 3 of the record's tracks, including the
superlative,
snappy and aptly named biographical "Two Rooms At The End Of The
World",
with the remastering really paying off during the big horn section
finish
that was in 1980 the closer for Side 1. Other writers of course were
the
order of the day for the next couple of records and Gary Osborne is
naturally
part of the fold. He contribues one of his very best lyrics ever in the
warmly romantic "Little Jeannie", the album's #3 charting single that
became
Elton's first major hit since "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". Elton's
knack
for a catchy verse/chorus/hook combination is in full-effect on this
song,
and his vocal is instantly ear-catching in classic Elton tradition,
making
for perhaps the album's best all-around moments. Singer/songwriter Tom
Robinson makes his Elton album debut with "Sartorial Eloquence", a very
touching ballad and a highlight of the disc and also contributes "Never
Gonna Fall In Love Again", a sweet if somewhat cheeky ballad that has
one
or two humorous self-parodying lyrics... see if you can pick them out!
And Elton's generosity is not lost on Rocket Records prodigy Judie
Tzuke
co-authored the album's closer, "Give Me The Love", which is a nice
song
that regrettably suffers from too much "David Foster" in the overall
production
and a strange vocal rendering from Elton, that is fine, but ultimately
could have and probably SHOULD have been better. Cynical moments are
few
on the album, with "Dear God" being the standout, and even it is a far
cry from the very pessimistic "If There's A God In Heaven (What's He
Waiting
For?)". Even the jovial "Take Me Back", with it's decidedly country
arrangement
complete with Byron Berline's fiddle solo plays like it's a sad song,
but
actually does so with the song's lyrical tongue planted firmly in
cheek,
not unlike the b-side "Can't Get Over Getting Over Losing You" There
wasn't
much actually to the original album artwork beyond lyrics, credits and
disembodied hands with cards and poker chips, but the remaster's
booklet
has improved on all that by incorporating pictures of Elton, another
Elton
signature sample (there's also one on "Victim Of Love"), playing card
backgrounds
behind the lyrics and credits, and photos of some memorabilia which
once
again includes the sleeves to the 7" singles released at the time. "21
at 33" was if nothing else an album Elton had to do, not only for
contractual
reasons, but to get himself back into the studio and prove he could get
back on the musical horse. That he charted a hit single proved his
relevance
in the record/radio marketplace and gave him the confidence he may have
needed to once again head out on the road and even play Central Park.
The
September, 1980 concert that would be a monumental event in Elton's
career
and a determining factor of whether or not his future days as a world
pop
music leader were numbered. Not only did he hit a home run, he batted
the
ball out of the "park" and proved that not only was he a leader, he was
relevant, entertaining and, when a half-million fans cheered him on
while
he rocked out as Donald Duck, he was still every bit at the top of his
showstopping form. With "21 at 33", the Bitch was sending out notice
that
he was Back... and this was just the beginning.
Andy
Geisel - 22nd Row 2003
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