Right from the grandiose opener, Elton & Bernie certainly did their homework on the ways of a double album. "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" shows the influence of progressive rock on music of the time with its spacey synthesizer intro (not done by Elton) before leading into the piano-pounding rocker that details the end of a love affair in musical terms. Naturally, this had to have made one hell of an opener in Elton's concerts of this period & even when you just listen to it now, you can almost hear the possibilities for a stage performance of this song.

After that opening, ROAD takes the listener on many twists & turns through just about every conceivable genre of music that inspired Elton & Bernie throughout their careers up until that point. They namecheck reggae on "Jamaica Jerk-Off" (which sure is catchy, but not one you listen to a lot), R&B on the #1 hit "Bennie & The Jets" (it was also a hit on R&B stations, as well), Stones-based rock & misogyny on "Dirty Little Girl", more prog rock on the Yes-inspired "Grey Seal" & 1950s rock on "Your Sister Can't Twist [But She Can Rock & Roll]" (best when played as a segue to "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"). Occasionally, some songs sound better musically than lyrically, but you'd be a fool not to enjoy yourself either way.

But through all the genre experiments, there are still the perfect melodies & intelligent lyrics that have always been Elton & Bernie's fortes & ROAD still has plenty of those to spare. These include the #2 hit title track, the Marilyn Monroe tribute "Candle In The Wind" (a song that sounds good in both versions, believe it or not!), the heartbreaking closer "Harmony" (which has just that, beautiful harmonies equal to the Beach Boys) & cinematic epics like "I've Seen That Movie Too", "Ballad Of Danny Bailey [1909-34]" & "Roy Rogers".

Even with the hectic schedule Elton & Bernie put themselves on back in the 1970s, maybe a panoramic statement like GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD didn't seem all that impossible. But the fact it was Elton's second album of the year made it all the more astounding. With 3 major hit singles (the title track, "Bennie & The Jets" & "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting") & considerable airplay for about all the other songs on here, ROAD's runaway success was more than justified. While the follow-up would indicate maybe the duo had written themselves out, GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD still showed Elton John & Bernie Taupin at the top of their respective games & even today, it's something they should still be enormously proud of.


One Of Rock's Greatest Albums   October 19, 2001
Barry
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has to be the most quintessential Elton John album. It's the one mentioned and talked about the most. It should be. It is the best double album. Although, in today's world, this 17 song collection probably wouldn't be considered a double album. It starts off with one of the greatest album openers ever, "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding". A classic all the way. This album has a number of Elton's most recognized hits - "Bennie And The Jets", The great "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", and the original, and still best, version of "Candle In The Wind". There are more great tracks here that are just as good. You get "Sweet Painted Lady", which is about prostitutes. Then you have the storysong "The Ballad Of Danny Bailey", which you wish Elton would play in concert. You get a number of great rockers like "Dirty Little Girl", "All The Young Girls Love Alice", and "Your Sister Can't Twist(But She Can Rock And Roll)", among others. But, the crowning jewel, is the highly underrated and horribly overlooked gem, "Harmony". It's the closing track and, without a doubt, the greatest Elton John song that was never a single. That's a crime if ever there was one. It's a great piece of music. The album also includes the rousing up tempo number "Grey Seal". The silliest track is a song called "Jamaica Jerk Off". It's fun and catchy, but silly. There you have it. The perfect Elton John album. The perfect rock album. This is Elton's Sgt. Pepper. A classic in every sense of the word.


Elton's Best and one of the Best of all time!   June 7, 2000
Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

I bought this album when I was 10 years old, the day it was released. I have listened to it thousands of times since then and never get sick of it. This is Elton at his creative apex, and Bernie's lyrics are magical. There are many underrated gems on this album: "All the Young Girls Love Alice" (this rocks!), "Danny Bailey" (great piano work here) and "Your Sister Can't Rock but she can Rock and Roll."

For everyone born between 1960-1965, this was *the* album of our generation and it's held up beautifully. Elton never was as good as this again and this was his shining, brilliant moment.


One of my favorites   October 10, 2005
Lisa Shea
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

Elton John and his fantastic piano playing were already legend when he came out with the double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

You can tell right from the beginning that this is not your typical rock album. The music is more symphonic than rock, and is great to play on a high quality stereo, the sound filling the nooks and crannies of the room. It moves smoothly into "Love Lies Bleeding" to get you on your feet dancing, ready for the rest of the music.

Amazingly, the ride keeps going. "Candle in the Wind" is a song the entire world knows now - first as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, then redone as a tribute to Princess Diana. In both cases it is quite fitting and poignant.

I've always loved Bennie and the Jets, with its jazzy rhythm and rainstorm-like applause in the background. It's a great song for sitting on the back porch, sipping some wine.

And then, the ultimate. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" was a theme song of mine for a while - anybody stuck in a bad relationship can instantly relate to this song. You just want to get out, back to your own place. Elton hasn't created cookie cutter songs here - each one strikes its own chord.

The list goes on and on, with songs that are both well known and more obscure. Each one has the potential to hit that chord in you, if you take the time to listen. Highly recommended, and one of my treasured albums from this era.


That "Classic Years" tag is no hype!   June 29, 2001
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This album has incredible staying power after 28 years. First off, most of the songs here are some of John/Taupin's best--not just the hits, but less known stuff like "I've Seen That Movie, Too," "Roy Rogers," "Harmony" and "Your Sister Can't Twist." Second, this is a great ALBUM---the sequencing works perfectly, particularly when the primo songs are placed in such a way as to buoy up some of the lesser material (EXAMPLE: The title track and "Grey Seal" bracket the mediocre "This Song Has No Title" and this helps give that song more bite than it probably would have in a different place in this collection). Finally, it serves to remind people what a great rock musician Elton John was. Hard to believe when you hear his current output, but this guy got down with the best of them, whether in rockers or on ballads (Elton's terrific band with Davey Johnstone on guitar, Nigel Olsson on drums and the late Dee Murray on bass sure helped him, too!). If you want to be reminded that the pre-punk Sevenites really did have their moments of pop music glory, this album will do it!