Elton John

For his first album in two years, Elton John's wiped the slate clean and exchanged longtime
collaborator Bernie Taupin for War of the Worlds lyricist Gary Osborne. Instead of
recording with a set band and producer Gus Dudgeon, John's coproduced himself and
used studio musicians to turn out his sparest LP since Honky Chateau. But this move toward
simplicity is a step into emptiness, since A Single Man is nothing more than a colle... More >

Like the homophilophile I am, I'm rooting for Elton, but though this isn't as lugubrious as Blue Moves, it comes close, and the flat banalities of new lyricist Gary Osborne make Bernie Taupin's intricate ones sound like Cole Porter. Personal to Reg Dwight: Rock and roll those blues away. (Grade: C)