By Ian Lockwood
Staff Writer
Elton John returns with his dreamy soft rock album, “Wonderful Crazy Night. “
The album is filled with soulful and R&B style instrumentals, joyful lyrics, and an overall dreamy but upbeat funk atmosphere.
Elton John is a world renowned pop musician, who has released 32 studio albums, a various live and compilation albums. John is best known for his soft and classic rock style of music. John is especially known for his popular singles “Rocket Man” and “Your Song.”
The executive producer on the album is T-Bone Burnett, who has worked with John before on his last release, “The Diving Board.”, When the two collaborate together, they are known to create unique and creative music. For this release, John brought back his original band that he worked with in the 60s and 70s, and on his 2006 release, “The Captain & the Kid.”
The album’s instrumentals are soulful and sounds similar to gospel, but have an upbeat 70s pop vibe. The soul and gospel influence is noticeable on the tracks such as “Looking Up” and “Free and Easy.” The slow paced drums, rhythmic organ solos and deep vocals create bright and relaxing songs, making the music pleasant to listen to.
Something noticeable on the album is evoked feeling of lightheartedness in the lyrics. On the opening track “Wonderful Crazy Night,” John is singing about a memorable night that he could never forget.Throughout out the album he seems to have an extremely positive outlook by looking for the happiness in his experiences. This positivity put into the music makes the album inspiring to listen to.
The track, “Looking Up” is a impressive example of the album’s stimulating piano solos. John is known for his incredibly long and exciting piano solos that are evident throughout this album. The piano solos are a delight to listen to and liven up every track on the album.
Every time an old famous rock star decides to do a release of music now, it’s expected not to be the greatest piece of music they’ve worked on. But John never seems to fail and his music always is unique and enjoyable.
Although most of the album is impressive to, the songs are sometimes repetitive. The melody, progressions, and vocals often sound as if they are on a loop. Although the constant repetition is boring at times, the album’s lyrics and upbeat instrumentals make up for it.
“Wonderful Crazy Night,” was not the craziest or most exciting of John’s work but was more than satisfying to listen to. The album is highly recommended for people who enjoys John’s piano solos, joyous lyrics, and soul and R&B style instrumentals.
The album was released on February 5, 2016. The album is available for digital download on iTunes and Amazon Music for $11.99
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