Elton John - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Elton JohnEdition: Music CD
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1996-02-20
Music Label: Island
Soundtracks:
- Daniel
- Teacher I Need You
- Elderberry Wine
- Blues For My Baby And Me
- Midnight Creeper
- Have Mercy On The Criminal
- I'm Gonna Be A Teenage Idol
- Texan Love Song
- Crocodile Rock
- High Flying Bird
- Screw You (Young Man's Blues)
- Jack Rabbit
- Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)
- Skyline Pigeon (Piano Version)
Free Music Notes for Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
Free Music Review: Forget The Singles & Check Out The Gems.
Hit: 5 Stars
Following the popular appeal of HONKY CHATEAU, Elton scored big comericially and critically with this album. It yielded two huge hits: DANIEL and CROCODILE ROCK but this is an album where most of the the other tracks are of a much higher quality.
I remember buying the LP in the 70s and the one nagging problem I had was the playing order of Side 1. I always felt that MIDNIGHT CREEPER should have been the opening song and then follow with the four remaining songs so that Side 1 would close with the more effective BLUES FOR MY BABY AND ME. In fact it was one of the few Elton albums that seemed to start off in a mundane way and only got better towards the end. But that is a small gripe. Also make sure you have your reading glasses to read the minutely small lyrics!
The cd comes with four extra songs; three of high quality and one that is just a piece of fun! There are also some very helpful liner notes by John Tobler including how a converstaion EJ had with Groucho Marx helped create the album's title.
Tracks listed below with my personal rating of 1 to 5 stars.
1. DANIEL. ** (3.53)
Oh Boy, nothing like a controversial start! This is my least favourite song and it is a very dreary way to start off a terrific album. I am amazed that it was selected as a single and also amazed that it became so popular. Has a great story that is woefully undeveloped and ultimately goes nowhere. How people think that Daniel's "scars that won't heal" is about Vietnam is beyond me. There is a rumour that Bernie had a third verse but would not include it. So for me the song has no closure and seems very pointless. There I've said it!
2. TEACHER I NEED YOU **** (4.10)
Schoolkid-teacher infatuation. Rather light-hearted but at least the album is getting upbeat and it is quite an infectious bouncy song.
3. ELDERBERRY WINE **** (3.34)
Getting more hard edged and nothing wrong with that. Almost like a forerunner to SOCIAL DISEASE on the Yellow Brick Road album. I am not sure if his wife in the song has left him or if she died but it looked like they lived in a drunken stupor for most of their married life.
4. BLUES FOR MY BABY AND ME ***** (5.39)
A truly great song. It is actually one of my favourite Elton and Bernie compositions. A song about leaving it all behind and crossing the USA on a Greyhound bus with the girlfriend, no not to find America a la Simon and Garfunkel but to sart a new life together on the west coast. Features some very nice sitar accompaniment from Davey Johnstone and an understated orchestral arrangement from Paul Buckmaster.
5. MIDNIGHT CREEPER *** (3.52)
Not too bad. Another rocker but not too memorable. Like I said earlier, it might be more noticed if it opened the album. Following on from the previous track, it sounds rather slight.
6. HAVE MERCY ON THE CRIMINAL **** (5.58)
Over the top, bombastic and garish and the longest song on the album. The one song on the album that is a throwback to the MADMAN days. Heavy use of the orchestra again provided by Paul Buckmaster and the song tends to ram home its message more than is neccessary. But great lyrics and Elton turns in a powerful vocal performance.
7. I'M GONNA BE A TEENAGE IDOL ***** (3.54)
This song is so much fun with a wonderful brass arrangement. It may not be very deep but it puts a smile on my face when I listen to it as there were so many teen idols that came and went so fast in the 70s. I always wonder if Elton and Bernie wrote it about themselves, fearing their fame would die out soon.
8. TEXAN LOVE SONG ***** (3.34)
Another favourite. Very funny and hits the nail on the head emphasizing the cultural differences in the USA between the liberal city folk and the rural conservatives. Another rare song where acoustic guitar and mandolin by Davey are prominent and Elton on harmonium is more in the background.
9. CROCODILE ROCK **** (3.58)
Can't really add anything about this chestnut. It is fluff, pure pop and I do not mind it at all. As far away from MADMAN as they could get! BUt it is much better than the overwrought DANIEL any day.
10. HIGH FLYING BIRD ***** (4.12)
A lovely, tender song to fininsh the original album. Very tender although it contains the uncomfortable lyric: " But I could never shoot down my high flying bird". Nice backing harmonies from the band. I did notice however with this song that Nigel Olsson's drumming started to get very wayward and it continued through the next albums until Elton fired him after Captain Fantastic.
The following four songs are bonus cd tracks:
11. SCREW YOU (YOUNG MAN"S BLUES) **** *(4.43)
Original B-side to the single: GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD. Pure Vitriol but pretty good.. Just check out the lyrics on Google. However it is out of place on this fun, pop album and it would have been better to add it as a bonus track to the GYBR album which had more controversial songs. It was called Screw You in the U.K. but that title was too dangerous for the USA so somehow the ridiculous title of Young Man's Blues was created.
12. JACK RABBIT *** (1.50)
Sounds like it was a ditty conjured up in the studio but it is harmless fun and it sucseeds mainly thanks to the musicianship of Davey .
13. WHENEVER YOU'RE READY (WE'LL GO STEADY AGAIN) **** (2.51)
Big title for a rather short song. This was left off the GYBR album but it is a fast paced rocker and could easily have benn released as a single. Sounds a little like Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting and maybe that is why it was left off the album.
14. SKYLINE PIGEON (Piano Version)**** (3.53)
A remake of a song from the Empty Sky album and a much better version. The original was mainly harpsichord and a tinny vocal by Elton. Here it is more lush, maybe a little schmaltzy but Elton's voice is deeper and the band is better. Simple lyrics but as with most of Bernie's lyrics, I am sure there is a deeper meaning.
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player Poster
Japanese-only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) paper sleeve pressing of this classic album from the British singer/songwriter and entertainer, originally released in 1973. SHM-CDs can be played on any audio player and delivers unbelievably high-quality sound. You won't believe it's the same CD! Includes four bonus tracks. Universal. 2008.One of the best entries from Elton John and Bernie Taupin's remarkably successful mid-'70s run, this album still holds up well over a quarter of a century after its release. Even casual fans will recognize "Daniel," "Elderberry Wine," and "Crocodile Rock," but "Teacher I Need You," "Have Mercy on the Criminal" and "I'm Going to Be a Teenage Idol" are equally good. Elton's backing band at the time (guitarist Davey Johnstone, bassist Dee Murray, and drummer Nigel Olsson) was easily his best, and producer Gus Dudgeon and orchestral arranger Paul Buckmaster bathed the tracks in a warm and enticing glow. The only complaint is that, due to its size, the CD reissue doesn't remotely do justice to the colorful packaging of the original album. --Dan Epstein
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