A different kind of Elton John than the man he is in his older years? Well, surely he is as we all are, but it is refreshing to read his opinions from way back when…
Read on!
Chat-in with Elton John Part Two
From Martin K. Webb in Vancouver
DURING his current American tour, Elton John met NME’s Vancouver-man Martin K. Webb and, spurred on by intelligent questions, poured forth his pertinent feelings about things in the pop industry today. His frank answers make interesting and refreshing reading…
Rockn
roll
MW: I know that you have a rock and roll ending to your act, and so do a lot of other groups. Why do you find it necessary?
EJ: I don’t want to sit down and do slow things all night. I’d go to sleep. No really, I’ve been a rock and roll freak for a long time, but people seem to think that I have to do rock and roll just to prove that I’m a hip young man. Well I was brought up on rock and roll. I’ve always been into rock and roll. That’s my favourite sort of music. The Rolling Stones are my idols, and that’s it.
Rock ‘n’ roll music is the most important music to me. So I’m not going to sit there and sing all these boring songs. Everybody wants me to be like Randy Newman, which is a drag because Randy Newman is fantastic, and there’s only one Randy Newman, and that’s it.
There’s only one Elton John and there’s only one everybody. I know what you mean though, like Led Zeppelin and Procol Harum and Donnie and Balanie or whatever it is. It looks as if I’m jumping on the bandwagon, but I don’t care what they say because that’s the point in the show where all my energies spill out, and the audiences love it.
It’s just a release. I mean there’s nothing visual about me on stage, I just sit at the piano. Nigel is the most visual point. He has a huge drum kit, and all you can see is nothing. He’s got a new drum kit that’s so big you can’t see him.
More Moog
MW: Is your next album going to be similar to the two that we’ve had released over here?
EJ: It’ll be like an Elton John with more Moog Synthesizer… more freaked out. The songs will be more complex, they’ll be more in the line of the Elton John on Tumbleweed, they’re mostly slower type things.
Copying ELP?
MW: I can see that the next probable criticism in that case will be that you’re copying Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
EJ: Oh no, there’s quite a lot of Moog on “Elton John.” We used a lot of Moog on that. I won’t use it the same way as Emerson, Lake and Palmer do because that’s a completely different aspect of using the Moog, we just use it as a la “Abbey Road” really. I think that some of the best Moog stuff ever for pop music was on “Abbey Road.” Speaking of criticism though, we’re really getting criticized for the “Friends” album now.
We’ve got so much product coming out, it’s such a drag. But I mean when we did the “Friends” album we weren’t known. When we were contracted to do it we weren’t really known anywhere, and it’s come out now.
And we have a live album in three weeks, which is really good. That’s the one that we did in the radio station in New York. We’re doing very well in England… oh I don’t give a damn about criticism. I’ve got to learn to take it. Constructive criticism is helpful sometimes.
Some points I consider valid, like the Rolling Stone thing, about the orchestration. That’s a point of view which I think is constructive. Some people put you down and you learn to take it. I mean, I’ve been very lucky and I really can’t complain.
Press receptions
MW: Do you think big Press receptions like this are really worthwhile, or do you hate doing them?
EJ: Not really. I mean the first time we came over I shook hands with everybody, including the MCA cleaning staff which I, at the time, considered necessary. I like meeting people and I’m very aware of promotion and I don’t think it does an artist any harm to be polite. I’m quite interested in meeting people.
We know all our distributors in different cities and it’s quite fun, you get to know people, and I like that. I can’t say that I’ve been aware of a conscious hype. I think the Paramount album’s a bit of a hype. Not because of the album, I mean we did it as an Elton John soundtrack, but they sort of put Elton John on the album cover, and then soundtrack from “Friends” in small print.
That is a bit of a hype, but I can’t really blame the record company for doing it. I mean if I was in their position what would I have done? They said they could come up with a dynamic sleeve design that would completely flatten “Tumbleweed Connection” into a box, and when I saw the sleeve design I nearly threw up. I just think it’s funny. I mean the whole thing amuses me. I mean we got a review in “Rock” magazine which said that the album was a load of crap — which again ‘ amused me — and they said “Oh yeah, the film’s rotten too.”
I quite liked that, it brings you down to earth. I often wish that when I sit down to do an interview that people would say “Well listen, you’re a no-talented idiot, and you’re very lucky, and why? And I think you’re a bore.” And I really wish somebody would say that to me, but everyone’s so nice!
Custard pie
If someone came over right now and threw a custard pie in my face I’d probably be quite knocked out. I remember doing an interview with a college kid in New York, and he worked for just an ordinary college paper, and I said ” Yeah, I’ll do the interview” and he came in and said: “I really don’t like this, I think it’s crappy rubbish,” and it completely slayed me.
I said “What do you mean?” I got really annoyed and we got down to it and we fought like cat and dog through the whole interview, and I really enjoyed it, and we were great friends afterwards. I just think that people should say what they think sometimes. If they want to say that it’s awful I don’t really mind.
Got to do it
MW: In that case, I really can’t say that I dig going through all this Press reception crap just to get an interview.
EJ: I can’t help that, what power have I got over that? I have to do it. I can’t just walk in and do a moodie. If I came in and said “Ah bugger it fellows, forget it” that would be the big-star-ego-tripper, wouldn’t it? I can’t do that, I really can’t do that.
I know what you mean, half the guys here don’t know what’s going on. They’re here for the free sandwiches and a bit of wine. I saw the guy from the local underground paper, the “Georgia Straight,” and I knew I’d probably like to have a word with him because he criticised me last night in the paper, which got me interested straight away.
But you have to meet the local newspapermen, it’s part of selling yourself. If you want to sell records you have to do it. I want people to like me, it’s part of the necessary ego. I mean we’re here now and nobody’s bothering us so we’re sort of talking about the weather and all that scene.
MW: The Rolling Stones seem to have made it on an attitude of “I don’t give a damn.”
EJ: Oh yeah, I mean that’s Jagger, he can get away with it. Probably one day I might do it, but I’d probably feel terribly guilty about it later. They’re perfect. I mean Jagger is the perfect pop star. There’s nobody more perfect than Jagger. He’s rude, he’s ugly attractive, he’s brilliant. As I said earlier the Stones are the perfect pop group, they’ve got it all tied up.
They’ve beat the Beatles into a cocked hat in that category. The Beatles were a bit showbiz, but the Stones are just sort of “oh bugger off” and I love that. That’s why I love them so much, they don`t give a s——-
Not the Who
MW: Do you think that if it hadn’t been for the Stones, the Who would have made it in that category, as you call it?
ET: No, I mean Townshends all right, but Pete’s such a nice guy really, when you meet him. He’s not like a Jagger. Jagger is an ego-maniac I’m sure, but Townshend is down to earth. I thought he’d be an ego-maniac but he wasn’t; he was great.
I mean he has his moments when he’ll be doing his thing for the people, but that’s then. I mean I played with the Who when I was in a semi-professional group, and oh God they were arguing so much. I mean he’s controversial, but there’s nobody like Jagger… he’s a bitch, he really is!
MW: From “Tumbleweed Connection” people get the impression that the group is interested in United States old west culture. Are you?
EJ: I’m not, not at all. Bernie (Taupin) is. Again, all the songs were written at the same time as “Elton John” and it’s really a coincidence. You see, when we did the “Elton John” we had 24 songs, two albums worth of songs. And we fitted all the songs that could be lumped into an orchestration thing into one album.
First song
Like “Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun” was probably one of the first songs that Bernie and I ever wrote and people think that we really consciously put a theme of the wild west into “Tumbleweed,” but it is really coincidental. Looking back now it’s really strange that it happened on that album like that. And it’s funny because people get all these preconceived ideas about what happened.
“Son Of Your Father,” for example, was recorded by Spooky Tooth a year and a half ago. It’s just that Bernie’s very interested in the wild west. I get bored to tears by it all. If I see a western on TV I switch it off because I can’t stand it.
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