'Madmen'

Over the years Elton has reworked some of his songs. Over the next while on the blog, I'm going to look at some of them and see if the try again mantra was better than the first success. In this first look, a pair of Madmen are looking at us...

Mick Ronson is a guitar legend. Bowie's Spiders to Mott The Hoople has made him such. He appeared on countless other recording by a number of artists, a session guitarist that went beyond that title. Because it was merely just a session that his part for the first attempt of the song was laid down on. Gus Dudgeon suggested Mick on electric and Michael Chapman on acoustic guitar. Filling out the sound was Nigel and Dee on their parts. On this version Elton's piano displays all the depth of that famous riff. His vocal has all the early hallmarks off the 'attitude' he could mix with the soft and easy. Listen to when you hear his vocal chords snarl. The lyrics as everyone knows are manically mad. So his delivery is spot on. Ronson's guitar is full on rock, the solo's screech, his rhythm riffs though aren't as clear cut as the later version parts. Nigel's drums are terrific, colossal fills with broken rhythms spattered through. Dee's bass with extra heavy effects making more hardened impact. The solo after the first chorus is painted with those colours, but they softly calm down as the mania is holstered back in. Elton's piano and Chapman's guitar gently restore calm. Then Elton's vocal kicks back in with Ronson's guitar coming earlier than it did at the start of the song. The final solo has Ronson throw every shape in the book out, twists, turns and dead ahead power. Elton's piano has great flashes and flurries, Nigel's drumming in incredible. His stop start parts and use of the percussive fills in the spaces keep the song hanging. Cymbals splashing like manic puddles. The return to where we came in, the riff being strummed is gently waved home after the hysterics of what went before. 

For the version that did actually end being the chosen cut, Gus used the session musicians that were summoned for the recording on the rest of the album. One of whom was Davey Johnstone of course. The song opens with him playing the same riff on acoustic guitar, except this time it sounds more precise and clear. It's bright and stands out. Elton's vocal however has been toned a lot since the earlier version, it's softer on the verse's. Herbie Flowers bass at the start is a well known motif of Elton songs, the bass coming in on it's own with the piano before the drums kick in. Drums which are softer and more controlled than Nigel's this time, the lead is the main focus. Chris Spedding on electric guitar is again more restrained than Ronson, his parts are more shapely defined rather than the loose feel of earlier. Elton's vocal starts to regain that attitude I mentioned earlier as the chorus draws closer, and when it does what a payoff. Because both Paul Buckmaster and Ray Cooper are all over it like a rash. Buckmaster suggested to Gus that he could do something with the song, an unlikely candidate for an orchestral arrangement. But he could do it like no other. A reviewer of the album at the time said Buckmaster was the only arranger who could make an orchestra sound like a Mellotron. Which is probably a back handed comment, as we hear the 60's instrument of choice for the progressive rocker, the Mellotron, being replaced by its successor, the ARP synthesizer, coated on top by Diana Lewis. The weird menace of it with it's beating rhythm. But filling it out to emphasise the demented lyrics tenfold is Ray Cooper with god knows what. The strings rise up and Elton's vocal goes all schizoid and far out, man. The strings dance and jump with the electric guitar riff relentlessly repeating the same line over and over like some demented fool. A fool with a hard tongue. The solo draws to a close much like the original, the acoustic strumming eventually becoming the lone voice. It all kicks back in this time with Rick Wakeman organs line whispering at the back. The chorus is terrific, a multitude of diverse sounds from orchestra, synth, percussion all pounding away. The final fade out has a dreamy intro to it, phasing in full swing. Almost like slipping in and out of consciousness. But the strings are the upper from the downer. The bassoon lightly to one side has a a friendly feel. The song just fades out in a complete contrast to the first version. There is seemingly no end to the character of the song's torment... 

To sum, which is the better one. Answer is easy here, neither are. They are both tremendous. Because they are so different, they can not be compared. The first version is just pure rock, there's no messing around. It's in your face, the music part dominates all aspects. The full, tough sound is uncompromising. Version two however takes a more subtle approach. Even thought there's more people playing on it, there seems to be more space. The lyrics are terrifically enhanced by those parts. Elton's vocal hits the right tone at the right places. The final result is complex yet straightforward. Gus Dudgeon gets a great word here. His production of the two versions, whilst retaining certain vital elements, are as diverse as you get. But it's very hard to say which job he did better. Which makes me suspect the all acoustic version with just Chapman must be incredible too...