You know when you're
on Youtube and you get those endless suggestions ranging from 'reaction' videos
to 'influencers' waffling on about something as interesting as the inside of a
burst balloon? Who knew so many bedrooms had so many cameras in them. And
that's just the legitimate sites...
...anyway, once in a
while something interesting does come along. Beyond interesting in fact. It may
be one of the finds of the year, so far. Chase cutting as quickly as we can
it's a treasure trove of gems. We're all paleontologists of Eltonism so this
would be like the bone hunters finding a bone yard not only labeled but dated.
It's as we've walked in, put our ear to the door and heard people of the past
with tools of the day in hand and expertly creating. But it's at a specific
point in the evolutionary timeline. One which we don't get to hear very often.
Before we drill down in to some of these latter day (insert another word for fossil)
let's lay out what we're dealing with.
Somebody, somewhere
has unearthed intermittent basic unfinished tracks from the period 1973-1976.
Incomplete songs before final mixing and overdubs had taken place. A mixture of
original and/or guide vocals. Hearing these tracks gives great insight in to
the thought processes that went through Gus Dudgeon's mind as to what, and most
importantly, where he wanted certain dressings added. The most striking thing
on first listen that people will notice are the trademark harmony vocals of the
day in absentia. This blog always champions them but where they are absent on
these early drafts certain (often unheard) elements are dusted off and revealed
to the light.
I don't want to go
through every track, we do live in an era of spoiler alerts after all. Every
listener will find something new (either bad or good) to take away. But I'll
give some quick comment on the tracks that by saying something less can still
say something more. Be aware too the sound quality might not be up to the
standard the ears of the 'streamers' are accustomed to but if you're familiar
with medium wave radio reception (one there for the younger readers to check
out) then you'll be on familiar ground. Sadly.
Only one track so far
is available from GYBR. But it's the title track so we've not been dealt a bad
hand. Devoid of backing vocals we see how they work not only as a counterpoint
to the music but as a counterpoint to the lyrics. It's as if a reversal of
fortune takes place, something which I took from some of the later examples too.
There's an underlying sadness present, always has been of course, but without
the tempering of the harmonies it's laid bare. Returning may not be seen to be
a good thing nor to be celebrated. The absence of the fanned out melody line
the orchestral arrangement expands upon delivers the music in a far more
enclosed package.
The first large bulk
comes from Caribou and are mostly at the same stage of embryonic development.
Devoid of backing vocals with basic tracks (most of which are not in their
final stage of mixing either). The Bitch Is Back though bucks the trend as it
is purely a backing track with no lead vocal, but backing voices are still in situ. What jumps right out is Elton's
piano. As we know on the final version it certainly has little or no role to
play. Only in concert are we made aware of the fact that it should be there.
But on this rough mix it helps the natural flow of the song, playing off very
well with the harsh guitars and brass. Certain guitar parts and vocal lines are
also a tad higher. We all know Elton is one of the very few who wrote
consistently at that tempo on piano so not to highlight it does verge on the
neglectful.
Like GYBR, Pinky in
this pared back form flips the impression we have been used to. A lament rather
than a rejoice. All songs are open to any interpretation but the marriage of
music and words, like a fine chemical balance, when docked cleanly is the true
result. Like a lot of the material we hear on this bunch docking has not yet
been completed. In space nobody can hear you scream…or sing.
I've Seen The Saucers
in its more basic construction has surprisingly more depth to it, more focus on
the words and music is attained. Same goes for Cold Highway, the pared back approach
has the dirty guitars more to the forefront.
The recent movie,
‘Yesterday’ envisioned a world where The Beatles did not exist. Shudder. A same
world where Ed Sheeran did exist. Multiple violent shudders. Using that premise
imagine a world where Paul Buckmaster had never existed.
Looking at couple of
the songs he arranged on Blue Moves that are presented here we get a sneak
preview of that nightmarish dystopian world. Arrangements that are as much part
of the song as music and words. As One Horse Town slowly builds up the tension,
with clock ticking, the explosion of the orchestra detonating never materialises.
No propellant, no driving force. But still a massive crater of a gap. I know
people will say the space is deliberately left clear for the orchestra to be
inserted, And they are right. But any space on an Elton song is precious and
luckily it was filled with a reciprocal insert in quality terms. Buckmaster
could never be described as being lush but the strings and brass in the style
he created are sorely missed. They’re the real dominant motivating part of the
song.
Crazy Water is
criminally cut short. Buckmaster’s truly thunderous arrangement, full of power
, glory and a sheer force of nature has been blanked out. Up until the after
the first chorus on the original it’s held back for maximum impact in delivery
terms but in this case the basic track can still hold its own throughout. The
backing vocals, intricately arranged and executed when missing show the effectiveness
they provide. The brutal truncation was not a happy ending.
Chameleon, like Crazy
Water, has its motif vocals yet to be added. Yet again we know that when they
were added it evolved the song in to something really special. An addition both
required and to be approved of.
However Bite Your Lip
is in a really rough state of unfinishedness. Some untouched parts should have
been left as found whilst others certainly needed some rethinking. The slide
and rhythm guitars are higher up in the mix, in the style of Rock Of The
Westies. Percussion is nonexistent that gives a more cleaner driving rock
sound. I was surprised that before it was added there was no variation either
in guitar or drums fills or solo’s from both. There’s enough opportunity to
have varied things up during the incessant repetitive fade out. It’s as if they
envisaged it as a straight ahead rocker but subsequent rethinks meant it swayed
towards a dancey disco vibe. The outro however cries out, nay has a tantrum for
the string arrangement. The synth line gives an early insight as to where
things would go. Thankfully James Newton Howard‘s arrangement was inventive and
full of fluctuating approaches.
I love this stuff. We
don’t have any demos from this period as they were simply never executed in the
same vein as earlier on in the decade. But to hear tracks broken down this way hovering
somewhere between waking and sleeping deceives the ear in the same way you hear
something when in that twilight state. There’s always some terrific layering on
an Elton track regardless of how many or how few are present. Comparing the ‘who’
though is another thought for another day…
I've created a Youtube playlist for all of the tracks I've mentioned plus those I haven't. You'll see on the Youtube channel of the uploader other rare tracks that have been widely available for many years.
Rough Mixes 73-76
