Customer Reviews

Classic Albums - Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have the Classic Albums video of "Aja" by Steely Dan, so I expected the Elton John DVD to stick to the same formula - which it did. Contemporary interviews are interspersed with archival footage of the recording sessions. Elton discusses various aspects of the songwriting process, and which songs should or should not have been released as singles. At the time, he fought against "Bennie And The Jets" being released as a single, but thankfully the record company prevailed and it became a #1 hit. He regrets that by the time "Harmony" would have been issued as a 45, "Caribou" had been released and "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" was issued as the next single to promote that album. Bernie Taupin talks about the inspiration and meaning of his lyrics. He reveals that "Candle In The Wind" wasn't just about Marilyn Monroe but is representative of anyone who dies young and at the peak of their career, mentioning James Dean and Jim Morrison as examples. The core Elton John band members finally get their due. Nigel Olsson discusses not only his drumming duties but his background singing as well. As he admits, his voice was so loud that he sometimes had to sing with his back to the microphone! Davey Johnstone demonstrates some excellent guitar riffs. He mentions that he came up with the classic, rocking intro to "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting." Dee Murray, Elton's bass player, unfortunately passed away, but is fondly remembered. It's interesting to examine all of the elements that went into the making of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," one of the few double albums to reach number one in both the American and English charts.

This DVD is interspersed with archival footage (much of it from Bryan Forbe's 1973 documentary Elton John & Bernie Taupin Say Goodbye To Norma Jean & Other things) and modern interviews with Gus Dugfeon, Del Neuman, Nigel Olsen, Davey Johnstone, Tim Rice, Bernie Taupin, and Sir Elton himself to offer a look into this classic album.

Footage of a 1973 Elton seemlessly blends into the Elton of today as he sits at his piano and performs Funeral For A Friend.

I couldn't get enough of this DVD which only runs around 90 minutes. Now if they would only release the original Bryan Forbes documentary on DVD!

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road introduced a lot of people to Elton John in 1973; it was his first really successful album (though it wasn't the first to hit number one). It propelled him into superstardom, and this DVD is a great "Behind-the-Scenes" look at it. It provides interviews from everyone involved with this album, including Elton John himself, lyricist Bernie Taupin, guitarist Dave Johnstone, drummer Nigel Olsson, Producer Gus Dudgeon, and string arranger Del Newman. They all discuss what was going on at the time of recording some songs; they even discuss some of the songs themselves, such as "Funeral For a Friend" and "The Ballad of Danny Bailey". It helps me appreciate the album more because of all the musicianship that was dedicated to it (great string arrangements, backing vocals, etc.). I really recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" or Elton John; it says much more than the liner notes of the album and provides great information as to the atmosphere and way of life the Elton John Band was undergoing in 1973.

This is my first purchase in the "Classic Albums" series. This installment makes me want to see more of them now. Elton John is one of my favorite artists and even I learned a lot from watching this. We have heard Elton and Bernie talk about the music for years, so it was refreshing and insightful to hear the comments and memories of Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone. Also, I am a sucker for hearing the songs broken down and separated into parts in the studio, as Gus Dudgeon skillfully does. I highly recommend this to all Elton John fans, as well as anyone who is a fan of classic music.

Don't miss this opportunity to explore the songwriting process of what became a landmark pop album of the '70s. Elton John and Bernie Taupin were truly at their creative peak when this double album was released. Song by song, these tunes should be required listening for anyone remotely interested in pop music.

Not only have these songs stood the test of time but continue to be the bench mark upon all future releases the dynamic duo would be judged. Hey, they almost pulled it off again two years later with '75's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. But the latter was less commercial in it's approach and told a more personal story of their humble beginnings.

Wanna know why Elton John is important? Buy this dvd and see. And hear. Together with virtually everyone involved (excluding bassist Dee Murray who died of cancer in '92), you won't miss a single detail about how this album was crafted. This "music factory" was basically, Elton, Taupin, the band and producer Gus Dudgeon (who also has died since this was taped). Together they were responsible for the string of classic Elton John albums and singles from 1970-1975.

From Elton's ability to easily craft melodies from Taupin's story book lyrics, the deft hand of Gus Dudgeon guiding the process, and the incredible band that took each song to new heights (not to mention the soaring backing vocals), you'll find yourself buying the cd immediately if you don't already own it.

This is a documentary of how album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" was created and recorded (it is not a music DVD). If you are an Elton John fan, you will get vintage footage of Elton and the band, along with new footage and interviews.
However, even if you are not a big fan of EJ, it contains a fascinating post-mortem and explanation of how the album was recorded, mixed, and arranged by the original guys who did it: Gus Dudgeon and David Hentschel, while in a recording studio, take us through the mixing and engineering of the songs, and Del Newman explains his arrangements. Davey Jonestone plays and explains some of his guitar riffs he used in EJs songs which is pretty cool if you play the guitar, ... Dee Murray is no longer with us, but Gus analyzes his bass playing for us...And of course, there is the analysis of Elton's piano playing and vocals...and Bernie explains some of his lyrics.
To be 5 stars, we should have got Nigel to disect some of his drum playing...and we should have got something on how the wonderful art work for the original vinyl double album was created...Still, a very enjoyable and recommended DVD.

Classic album DVD's are a real delight and this one is no exception. Not only does Elton give ample time to explain the escapades of recording in England, Jamaica and France, but also we hear a lot from Bernie Taupin on his songwriting. Producer Gus Dudgeon does many analyses of songs by showing how each track was laid out separately giving an entirely new meaning to the creation of a song through his mixer. Davey Johnstone does great famous riffs from the album and it is interspersed with the actual song with neat segues. The concert footage is a bit fuzzy, but the showmanship and the songs are displayed with great affection. Some fans might complain that only about a half-dozen songs are analyzed with a back-up story, but it is well worth hearing these tales. The DVD bonus interviews are priceless. Buy this entire album on DVD sound if you have the system!

An excellent DVD; I highly recommend it. It has some footage from the early 70's and a lot of interviews interspersed with some of the music from the album. My only criticisms would be 1. They did not really play any song all the way through. I would have liked that and I would have liked to see some of them played live with vintage concert footage. And 2. Although Davey Johnstone talked at length about his guitar work on the album (and played some, too), they barely mentioned the late Dee Murray's bass guitar work. And although there were some brief shots of Nigel Olsson playing in concert, they were not long and certainly not close-up, and they never showed him playing now. I realize the DVD is not primarily about the band, but I feel that they were a big part of how it turned out. Nigel's drumming on the album was wonderful and he should have had the air time that Davey was given to show his playing. Otherwise, it really is an interesting DVD. Just remember that it's not a "music video" but rather a documentary about how a classic album was created.

The music of the 1970's has brought out some of the most dynamic and universal records ever. It was much harder though for double albums to be as univeral masterpieces than, as much as it is now. Although there are few that stand out like Pink Floyd's The Wall, Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Volumes I & II, and The Beatles White Album. For a living legend like Elton John, he has had so many different double albums from Blue Moves in 1976, and Here & There in 1975. Although those records have shined, his masterpiece Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is still the prime record of his career. Although he has made so many, this was the breakthrough one, that still remains his highest-selling one.

Classic Albums: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, is a comprehensive documentary describing the highs and lows of what made Elton's 1973 classic, a standard in music today. This documentary highlights the hindrances, and achievements with footage from Elton through his live performances from his career from his classic landmark show at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, to his intimate rendition of Candle In The Wind from his 1986 Live In Austrailia conert, with each track shown in reminicing stories. This documentary shows how sessions inspired tracks from Jamaican Jerk-off, to Bennie & The Jets, and the somber Roy Rogers which songwriter Bernie Taupin claimed as a childhood hero. You also see the late Gus Dudgeon, who sadly was killed in a car accident in 2003, and how he fused each track, and even early versions of tracks such as Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding and Harmony. The documentary is very gripping, and makes you wonder why very few artists have really made the achievement and magic appeal Elton John and Bernie Taupin accomplished.

All in all, Classic Albums: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is a very detailed documentary that is not just enjoyable, it captures the imagination of one of the best recorded and definitive albums ever. I loved watching this documentary recently on the VH1 Classic channel, and it was just a real treat. If you haven't seen this one, you realy don't know what you are missing. I recommend this for any die hard fan of Elton's, and a owner of the yellow brick road.

DVD Cover: B

Price: B

Mastering: A

Extras: B-

Overall: B 1/2+

I was a little apprehensive of purchasing this DVD, thinking that it might be some critic's assessment of an Elton album, done from a third-person approach. Boy, was I wrong.
This is an in-depth look at the making of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", using vintage clips of Elton and band in the studio and newer interviews from the same to have them recollect their memories of the making of that album. From the new interviews, Elton plays little snippets of songs to show how they came together, and guitarist Davey Johnstone plays some of his guitar parts solo and does some analysis of them. Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin describe their songwriting process. Many individual songs from GYBR are discussed.
The aspect of this DVD I enjoyed the most was having the master tapes being played in the studio and having them dissected to our ears. The engineer will solo track the backing vocals to a particular song to show you exactly what was being done there....will pull only Nigel's drums up to spotlight them, etc. You see how a now-famous song came together.
On top of this, we hear from many of those involved why this recording was a pinnacle in Elton's career, being more of a landmark than many of his other recordings. I LOVE this DVD!