Not every song by an artist is destined to be a hit. Even if they are willing to put all the blood, sweat, and tears they can muster into the final product, there will always be those few projects that have many more weak points than others, often considered the fan favorites rather than as something spectacular. Although Elton John may have had his ups and downs as a songwriter, his writing partner had a certain disdain for any of their later works.
Then again, any good Elton John project was bound to succeed if Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics. First meeting after being rejected by a record company, John and Taupin were a musically perfect pair, with John transforming Taupin’s every lyric into sublime musical exercises like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Tiny Dancer.”
Although the partnership could have lasted for decades, John had expressed a desire to work with others throughout his career, leading him and Taupin to take a break from each other. another in the late 1970s. Despite success with albums like A single man, John remembers being a little jealous to see his musical soul mate out in the wild with other songwriters, and feeling hurt when Taupin’s work with Alice Cooper began to soar.
While Taupin returned to work with John intermittently over the years, the magic still appeared on the tape, with songs like “I’m Still Standing” becoming defining moments in John’s career once Taupin returned to the fold. After years of working together, the duo’s reunion in the mid-1990s resulted in what the lyricist considered to be the worst tracks they had ever created.
After working on the soundtracks of films like The Lion King, John had teamed up with Taupin to work on the album Made in England. While things were going well for their debut album, John remembered that Taupin wanted nothing to do with their 1997 album, The big picture.
In his memoirs, ME, John remembers Taupin tearing the album into pieces, explaining: “He hated everything: the songs, the lyrics, the production, the fact that we recorded it in England and he had to travel from the United States . The end result, he said, was a bunch of clinical, boring, half-assed bullshit.
Although John admitted that some parts of the production were dated to listen to, it was only a matter of time before they rekindled the creative flame. Inspired by the work of songwriters like Ryan Adams, John would eventually work with Taupin again on the album. West Coast Songs.
After a messy divorce, the lyrics seemed to come directly from Taupin’s broken heart, with the song “I Want Love” sounding like a man desperately wondering if he would ever find someone who would understand him again. Although Taupin had to refine some elements of his personal life at the time, his years of reflection led him to return home stronger than ever.
