The good news, of course, was Elton's arrival as a full-fledged pop star came with some terrific music, still very enjoyable more than a quarter century later. Actually, his pop leanings were in evidence in 1972 with the release of "Honky Chateau," but this time the gloves are off, and his aim is clearly Casey Kasem country. The result was his first two top-five singles in the U.S., the chart-topping "Crocodile Rock" and #2 hit, "Daniel." "Don't Shoot Me" reached the top of the charts, too, just as "Honky Chateau" did.

If you like "Honky Chateau," chances are good you will like "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player," which in many ways feels like a sequel. The title, for instance, sounds like something the singer in "Honky Cat" might have said if offered an extra chorus. "Crocodile Rock" deals with a faithless girlfriend named Susie, while someone with the same name and inclinations also appears in a song named after her on "Honky Chateau."

The two hits on "Don't Shoot Me," painful as it is to say, aren't as enduring as the hits on "Honky Chateau." Frankly, both "Daniel" and "Crocodile Rock" suffer from radio overplay in a way "Honky Cat" and "Rocket Man" don't. That's not to say they aren't great songs, just less enduring. Elton works in some interesting keyboard tones with "Daniel" and plays to the '50s nostalgia craze (quoting Pat Boone, ye gads!) with "Croc Rock," a song I grooved to as a youngster when it first came out and dearly love today. Yet when it comes on my stereo, my focus sometimes wanders a bit.

What makes "Don't Shoot Me" a vital chunk of Eltonia is the rest of the album. People deride pop music, and often for the right reasons, but this is pop of an especially high order. "Teacher I Need You," "Elderberry Wine," and "Blues For My Baby And Me" all sound like how-to clinics on making enduring post-Beatles pop, clever and engaging and affecting, each in a different way. If they played these tunes on the radio as much as "Crocodile," I'd probably tire of them, too, but they don't and I'm grateful for that when I get to groove to them today.

The rest of the album showcases Elton's diversity. "I'm Gonna Be A Teenage Idol" has fun with the notion Elton was becoming just that, working off a charming melodic underpinning and a solid rhythmic undertow which Elton was indeed becoming a star by using to great effect while other singer-songwriters of his day faded off into obscurity with their bell-bottom Birkenstock blues about the polluted environment or not having a date for the prom. "High Flying Bird" shows Elton's winning sentimental side, while "Have Mercy On The Criminal" revisits "Madman" waters with a better result than most of the songs off that earlier album.

Many people rag on "Texas Love Song," but to me it shows lyricist Bernie Taupin was aware of his overromanticizing the South and Western regions of the U.S. and wanted to acknowledge what one of the more narrow-minded denizens of those parts might think of him if they ever met. Sure, the protagonist comes off like Michael Rooker in "Mississippi Burning," but where does it say pop music narrators all have to be nice and sweet? It's a challenging song lyrically, while the music is suitably low-key and rather more authentic-feeling than most of Elton's (otherwise brilliant) country-rock excursions.

Especially cool is the inclusion in the remastered CD of four bonus B-sides, three of which ("Screw You," "Jack Rabbit," and "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" being every bit as good as the "Don't Shoot Me" album cuts, and forcing me to give this a solid five-star rating despite not being crazy about "Midnight Creeper." Really, if you like anything Elton ever recorded for public consumption, you will like this solid gem of a record even better on CD.


The Lesser Known Tracks Make it Elton's Best!   June 16, 2002
John A. Jeffery (Virginia USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

"Don't Shoot Me" is Elton's best not for the overplayed and tired "Daniel" and "Crocodile Rock," but for the lesser-known gems that went undeservedly unnoticed by the radio program managers.

If you haven't heard this record in its entirety, you're truly in for a treat. Songs like "Texan Love Song" and "High Flying Bird," rarely played on FM radio, still hold up well and are arguably themselves worth the price of the CD.

The surprising "Texan Love Song" is unlike anything else Elton has ever recorded and brilliantly captures the social tension of the period with its "us vs. them" commentary and excellent acoustic accompaniment.

"High Flying Bird" is so beautiful you'll wonder why it never received the acclaim it deserved.

I think this album, like no other by Elton, truly stands the test of time not for its hits, but for its "throwaways."

Strongly recommended!


One of Elton John's Definitive Albums   June 3, 2001
John Kwok (New York, NY USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

"Don't Shoot Me..." is where Elton John finally hit his stride as a 1970's pop sensation, after his gradual evolution from a folk rock singing pianist. Along with "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", it's probably the best album he recorded at the "Chateau", Strawberry Studios in France. Bernie Taupin's fine lyrics celebrate 1950's and Western American innocence on songs as diverse as "Teacher I Need You", "Blues For Baby And Me", "High Flying Bird", and Elton's first number one hit, "Crocodile Rock". Producer Gus Dudgeon and his team have remastered an album that sounds cleaner and crisper than my old LP. As for Elton John's singing, he shows some of his finest range during his early "Greatest Hits" period. The bonus tracks, most notably the piano version of "Skyline Pigeon" are fine additions. Without a doubt, this is an essential Elton John CD.

(EDITORIAL NOTE 12/18/2006: "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player" was the last Elton John album to feature composer Paul Buckmaster's superb orchestral arrangements until the 1995 album "Made in England". I'm especially impressed with his string arrangements for "Have Mercy on the Criminal" and "Blues For Baby And Me"; the latter one of his most stirring ballads, and one which should have been a hit single - but was never released - from this album. And I am still amazed with just how good "Texas Love Song" is as the John/Taupin songwriting team's first great effort in country music, which would yield eventually such great hits as "Sad Songs (Say So Much" and "Something About The Way You Look Tonight".).


Elton at his Apex   June 26, 2000
Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

The young Elton at his zenith. I still think that the three songs that open this album are among the greatest songs Elton ever recorded: Daniel ( a classic, of course), Teacher I Need You (little known but fantastic) and Elderberry Wine, one of Elton's most underrated gems. The piano work on this song alone makes it worth your while to purchase this album.

In addition, Crocodlie Rock is as good as it was 28 years ago, when this was released. It's still impossible to listen to this album and not have a smile on your face and feel happy. Elton and Bernie produced some of the great songs of the 70's and four of them are on this record.

If you are trying to decide which Elton albums to sample, this and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" should be at the top of your list.


A Pretty Good Player   January 18, 2001
Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player expands on the pop sensibilities of Honky Chateau and contains some of the catchiest songs Elton John has ever recorded. "Daniel" is pure AM radio gold as is his first number one song "Crocodile Rock". You can't help but sing along with the La-La-La chorus. "Teacher I Need You" bounces along and Mr. John conveys all the feelings of a schoolboy crush. "Elderberry Wine" is another great song as is the tongue in cheek "I'm Gonna Be A Teenage Idol". The album was the second consecutive number one for Mr. John and continued his winning streak.