Music legend Elton John releases new studio album


Elton John is back and better than ever. For the 33rd time, the legend himself will be releasing a new studio album, Wonderful Crazy Night. The album is set to be released this Friday and the anticipation has been building since his last solo album, 2013’s The Diving Board.

The album features 10 tracks, while a deluxe version is available with an additional two tracks. If that doesn’t do the trick, there is also a “super deluxe” version featuring four more tracks, for a total of 14, as well as a 20-page book to accompany photographs and a set of lyrics.

With a rock inspiration and the producing talents of T Bone Burnett, John has it going on. Alongside longtime songwriter, lyricist and partner-in-crime, Bernie Taupin, who serves as a huge component to the foundation of the album, John’s voice perfectly parallels the instrumentals. To sum up the album, John described it as if it were “like Southern rock-‘n’-roll -— Little Feat and Canned Heat.” Many tracks feature that Southern rock sound with a few hints of blues throughout, making listeners feel as if they were taking a stroll down Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, the hometown of this mixture of Southern rock and blues. John is also makes a breakthrough with Wonderful Crazy Night and really delves into his older sounds, with some sounding similar to that of “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Crocodile Rock.”

The album primarily focuses on the central theme of love, a topic John never fails at vocalizing. Singles like “Wonderful Crazy Night” and “Looking Up” captivate his soul and are definitely a signature to his unforgettable sound. John features a versatility in his voice that’s rough yet enamoring, grasping and entrancing listeners. He successfully portrays this in one of four singles, “In The Name Of You,” consisting of a steady yet upbeat tempo and a stellar electric guitar riff.

John was said to have asked Taupin for a more upbeat sound, explaining that he was “not very good at writing up-tempo songs,” but wanted “the lyrics to be joyous,” avoiding any sadness in this record. With four singles already released, John has already done a good job of vocalizing his happiness -— that’ll hopefully be constant throughout the rest of the album.

It’s safe to assume he’ll sound just as happy, successful and raw live with a North American tour spread through the country, having already started last month in Las Vegas and ending in Las Vegas in April. John’s reputation will only be heightened with the release of this album, and he will probably be releasing another 33 studio albums sometime in the future.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Elton John’s last album was 2006’s The Captain and the Kid. It was 2013’s The Diving Board. The article also stated that there are 16 tracks on the “super deluxe” version of Wonderful Crazy Night. There are 14. The article has also been updated to correct the spelling of songwriter Bernie Taupin’s surname. The Daily Trojan regrets the errors. 

5 replies
  1. Sean Cartwright
    Sean Cartwright says:

    Elton’s last album was The Diving Board in 2013 and before that The Union in 2010…Best do some research beforehand in the future?

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