O encontro musical de Elton John e Leon Russell

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Por Kid Vinil . 13.10.10 - 17h40

O encontro musical de Elton John e Leon Russell

http://colunistas.yahoo.net/posts/5658.html

Sai na semana que vem o tão aguardado disco de Elton John com o cultuado  pianista e compositor  americano Leon Russell. O álbum leva o titulo de “The Union” e também resgata as parcerias de Elton John com o grande letrista Bernie Taupin.

Acima a capa  do disco “The Union”.  Leon Russell  hoje visualmente lembra uma mistura de um vovozinho com carinha de Papai  Noel  e o grande Hermeto Paschoal, mas por trás desse visual se esconde um dos maiores músicos da década de 70.
Falar sobre Elton John para alguns roqueiros deve soar estranho, pois muitos jovens só o conhecem pelos seus sucessos mais comerciais e dificilmente vão pesquisar em seu passado glorioso nos início dos anos 70. Foi nessa época que tomei conhecimento de seu trabalho.
O primeiro LP que eu comprei de Elton John foi o álbum “Honky Chateau”, de 1972. Meu irmão mais velho pra variar me emprestou a grana e corri para o Museu do Disco ( a loja importadora de LPs naquela época) e peguei minha cópia importada. Ao chegar em casa, tirei o lacre e qual não foi minha surpresa ao retirar o disco da capa e ver um disco de Olivia Newton John. Fiquei  revoltado, como alguém cometeria  esse engano ao embalar um disco? Corri pra loja e troquei por outra cópia e o vendedor até brincou comigo, dizendo: “chegou perto, ela também tem John no seu sobrenome”.
Esses erros são raros, mas acontecem, embalagens erradas, discos trocados, não foi a primeira vez que isso ocorreu na  minha vida. Independente do engano, voltei pra casa com o disco correto de Elton John e me deliciei com canções maravilhosas como “Rocket Man”  e “Honky Cat”.  Essa fase do início dos anos 70, começando pelo álbum “Elton John”, depois com “Tumbleweed Connection”, passando por “Madman Across the Water”, de 1971, até chegar nos clássicos “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the  Piano Player”, de 73,  “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, do mesno ano, e “Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy”, de 75, fazem parte de uma discoteca básica pra quem quer conhecer o pique criativo de Elton John . E foi justamente pensando  nessa extraordinária fase de sua carreira que Elton resolveu convidar o pianista, compositor e interprete Leon Russell  para realizarem essa parceria.
Leon Russel não é um cara tão famoso como Elton John, mas desfruta de um respeito por parte da crítica e dos músicos de várias gerações. Lembro que quando assisti pela primeira vez um show da banda americana  The Black Crowes , na Brixton Academy em Londres, em 1992, fiquei curioso ao ver estampado no fundo do palco uma projeção enorme com uma foto de Leon Russell  nos anos 70. Aquilo me intrigou e alguns anos depois numa entrevista que fiz com Chris Robinson (vocalista do Black Crowes) perguntei a ele a razão daquela foto de Leon Russell naquele show de lançamento do álbum “The Southern Harmony ad  Musical Companion”. Chris me disse: “é muito simples, no meu quarto tenho um pôster gigante da tour de Joe Cocker nos anos 70 “ Mad Dogs &  English Man”, onde Leon Russell era o pianista e maestro daquela super banda, e esse é um dos discos da minha vida”.
Esqueci de dizer pro Chris Robinson que esse também é um dos  meus discos ao vivo favoritos de todos os tempos. Tenho duas versões diferentes  dele em vinil, três em CD e duas em DVD. Preciso falar mais alguma coisa? Sim, é necessário dizer que essa é a performance definitiva da carreira de Joe Cocker , depois do sucesso no Festival de Woodstock em 1969. Esse é outro cara que muita gente despreza em função de seu sucesso comercial e descartável a partir dos anos 80, mas, se você quiser conhecer o verdadeiro Joe Cocker, experimente “Mad Dogs & Englishmen”. Abaixo, a performance de “Cry Me a River”. O cara cabeludo e barbudo  de cartola no piano é Leon Russell regendo a big band.
Graças a essa participação na excursão de Joe Cocker em 1970 e ao filme da tour lançado no ano seguinte, Leon Russel ganhou projeção internacional e acabou sendo convidado por George Harrison  para participar do Concerto para Bangladesh, em agosto de 1971. Ao mesmo tempo, Leon Russell garantia seu status com seu disco de 1970 onde aparecia a canção “Delta Lady”,  que também entrou no repertório de Joe Cocker. Em 1971, ele lança o álbum “Leon Russell and the Shelter People”, e em 1972 o  seu  disco “Carney” torna-se um dos mais vendidos de sua carreira. Ainda em 73, lança o sensacional “Hank Wilson’s  Is Back”, um disco de country rock altamente recomendado. No mesmo ano, o álbum triplo “Leon Live” o consagra como um dos melhores performers daquela  época.
A carreira de Leon Russel continua até os dias de hoje, mas evidentemente seu brilho ficou naquela primeira metade dos anos 70. Pouco importa se ele não conseguiu manter o sucesso comercial que Elton John conquistou ao longo de sua carreira. Indiferente a isso, Leon Russell se preocupou muito mais em dar sequência ao seu trabalho que hoje desfruta do respeito de antigas e novas gerações, como nosso amiguinho do Black Crowes.
É por essas e outras que Elton John resolveu se unir a  Leon Russel  para essa empreitada, que ele mesmo define como um disco com sabor de anos de 70, mas voltado para os dias de hoje. As gravações do álbum “The Union” começaram  em Los Angeles no início deste ano, e o disco foi produzido pela lendário T Bone Burnett .  Além das parcerias de Elton John com Leon Russell  e as letras de Bernie Taupin, o disco traz ainda convidados muito especiais como Neil Young, Brian Wilson e Don Was. Uma edição especial vem com um DVD onde o cineasta Cameron Crowe registrou as sessões de gravações desse encontro, digamos, inusitado.
No vídeo abaixo, Elton John descreve ( em inglês) os detalhes desse encontro, a admiração por Leon Russell,  alternado com  imagens de arquivo:

Piano players: a união de Elton e Leon

http://wp.clicrbs.com.br/grings/2010/10/13/piano-players-a-uniao-de-elton-e-leon/?topo=52,1,1,,219,e165

Divulgação Decca

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Os cantores Elton John e Leon Russell lançam no próximo dia 19 de outubro, nos EUA, um novo álbum em parceria. The Union foi produzido pot T-Bone Burnett (Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, Jakob Dylan e Roy Orbison), que conta prêmios Oscar e Grammy no currículo. O 1° single – If It Wasn’t For Bad – foi liberado mês passado e você pode ouvir agora aqui no blog.



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Nos idos dos anos 70, os dois por várias vezes se cruzaram em turnês, gravações de discos e se tornaram camaradas. The Union sela essa amizade com chave de ouro. Entre as participações no CD, além do velho parceiro de Elton, o letrista Bernie Taupin, também há participações de Neil Young e Brian Wilson. Abaixo, um pequeno documentário dirigo por Cameron Crowe (Quase Famosos, Vanilla Sky) relatando a admiração de Elton pelo trabalho de Leon, e detalhes sobre a nova produção (sem legendas).
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The Union soa como um tributo à música americana (soul, blues e country), sendo que tanto Leon, quanto Elton são pianistas de mão cheia, portanto, o piano quase sempre está na linha de frente dos temas. Pra quem não sabe, além de uma carreira solo de respeito (ele lançou + de 20 álbuns) , O  norte-americano Leon Russell foi um requisitado músico de estúdio que trabalhou com a mais variada cepa de artistas (de Jerry Lee Lewis a Frank Sinatra). Seu último álbum solo – Angel in Disguise - foi lançado em 2007. Já Elton John… Bom… Ele é o Elton John. Ponto.
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‘The Union’

Elton John & Leon Russell

             Elton perdeu a chance de encerrar sua carreira em estúdio ainda em 2006. Ainda mais depois do fantástico show de seu sexagésimo aniversário em 2007. Mas ele insistiu em continuar...

‘The Union’, em parceria com o veterano e respeitadíssimo músico Leon Russell (que liderou com Joe Cocker a lendária banda Mad Dogs & Englishmen nos idos 70) não é um grande trabalho, e sim no máximo um disco razoável, que certamente ficará esquecido assim como ‘Peachtree Road’ de 2004. Várias canções com introduções longas, e um coral gospel sem sal, dão o tom da obra. A união é louvável, dois mestres do piano, mas soa muito mais como uma reunião entre bons amigos do passado do que um disco memorável. Para se ter uma ideia, uma das únicas faixas interessantes: ‘The Best Part Of The Day’ - é bem parecida com ‘Wouldn’t Have You Any Other Way (NYC)’do álbum anterior ‘The Captain And The Kid’. Elton parece já ter criado as ‘infinitas’ possibilidades musicais de seu estilo. Nem mesmo um time poderoso de convidados como Neil Young e  Brian Wilson consegue abrilhantar o disco. ‘The Union’ talvez seria interessante como turnê, assim como a ‘Face To Face’ ao lado de Billy Joel. E é claro, desfilando somente os clássicos...

Demétrio Barros

Outubro de 2010

LEON RUSSELL SE UNE A ELTON JOHN EM DISCO NOVO

http://www.laboratoriopop.com.br/temporeal/leon-russel-se-une-a-elton-john-em-disco-novo/3828

Conhecido sideman, cantor e compositor inglês (e autor do célebre disco Carney, de 1972, clássico lá fora e pouco conhecido no Brasil), Leon Russell se junta ao velho amigo Elton John no disco The Union, que sai em 25 de outubro. É a primeira vez que os dois cantores dividem um palco desde 1970. O álbum tem produção do grammyado e oscarizado produtor e compositor T Bone Burnett e traz 16 músicas, todas escritas pela dupla Elton John e Bernie Taupin. Entre as participações confirmadas estão Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Booker T e um coral gospel de 10 integrantes. Russel disse ao site Gigwise ter sido procurado pessoalmente por Elton. "Ele me perguntou se queria gravar um disco em dueto com ele e fiquei muito feliz de ele ter me escolhido para isso", afirma.
The union, disse Elton há algumas semanas à Billboard, é um disco diferente do pop que marcou sua carreira, e ganha uma sonoridade adulta, pouco acessível - e Russell, com sua longa carreira que inclui colaborações com bandas de rock (como Byrds e Beach Boys) e até alguns jazzistas (Herb Alpert entre eles), parece ser o cara certo para ladeá-lo na tarefa. "É um passo novo na minha carreira. Não preciso fazer mais discos pop. Pensei comigo mesmo: o mundo não está desesperado por um novo disco meu, nem eu mesmo estou precisando fazer um novo álbum se não for para soar diferente", delimita o autor de Your song. "Entre os anos 70 e 90, as gravadoras sempre diziam que tínhamos que ter um single, e acho que já enchi linguiça o suficiente. Aos 63, não vou estar com frequência nas paradas de singles, mesmo. Para mim, o que interessa é escrever discos e soar maduro".
Como Russell está desaparecido do mercado há bastante tempo - ele vem gravando desde os anos 70, mas sem a mesma divulgação - Elton admite que o principal é pôr os holofotes em seu trabalho. "Quero que ele esteja bem financeiramente, que sua vida melhore um pouco".

sábado, 16 de outubro de 2010

O MELHOR DE ELTON JOHN

http://ex-vermelho1.blogspot.com/2010/10/o-melhor-de-elton-john.html

Elton John nasceu em Londres, Inglaterra, no dia 25/03/1947. Elton John começou a tocar piano com 3 anos de idade e dentro de 1 ano foi selecionado para o "The Skater's Waltz" de Winifred Atwell. Elton John logo contava com uma rotina agitada de tocar em festas e reuniões de família e começou seus estudos de música aos 7 anos. Elton se tornou um aluno de destaque nas escolas onde estudou música, sendo comparado com Jerry Lee Lewis por seus colegas de classe. Aos 14 anos, Elton John conseguiu uma bolsa de estudos para a Royal Academy of Music, até hoje uma das instituições musicais mais respeitadas do Reino Unido. Ainda na adolescência, integrou o grupo de blues Bluesology. Em 1967 estabeleceu parceria com o letrista Bernie Taupin, com o qual lançou grande parte de sua obra musical, mantendo-se a parceria até os dias de hoje. Apesar de ter lançado o disco Empty Sky em 1969, que não trazia em seu repertório algum imediato sucesso , a guinada de sua carreira ocorreu com o lançamento do disco Elton John, de 1970, que o lançou como cantor de sucesso nos Estados Unidos e trouxe ao público um de seus maiores sucessos, a canção "Your Song". Dentre seus discos de maior sucesso, destacam-se Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) e Captain Fantastic and The Brow Dirt Cowboy (1975). São também os seus discos mais bem colocados no ranking de melhores discos do século XX, elaborado pela revista Rolling Stone. É o único artista que até hoje conseguiu obter seis lançamentos consecutivos no primeiro lugar da Billboard, sendo detentor, ademais, do recorde de single de maior vendagem da história, com a adaptação feita em 1997 da canção Candle in the Wind, em homenagem à amiga pessoal, a princesa Diana, totalizando um total de quarenta milhões de cópias vendidas. Elton John manteve-se em evidência na década de 1980, época em que lançou um álbum inédito por ano, levando ao público hits como I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, I'm Still Standing, Sacrifice, Nikita e diversos outros. Embora tenha diminuído o ritmo de lançamento de novos discos, Elton John permaneceu em evidência na década de 1990, lançando canções de sucesso como Can You Feel The Love Tonight, The One, Something About The Way You Look Tonight, Blessed. É considerado um dos maiores e mais influentes artistas da atualidade, lançando novos trabalhos regularmente, o que faz com que sua carreira atravesse a quarta década de ininterrupto sucesso. Clique nos títulos das músicas e acompanhe os principais hits que pontuaram a carreira de Sir Elton John, escolhido pela Billboard, em 2008, como o cantor solo de maior sucesso da história da indústria fonográfica:

Believe / Benny And The Jets / Blessed / Blue eyes / Can you feel the love tonight / Candle In The Wind / Can You Feel The Love Tonight / Circle of Life / Crocodile Rock / Daniel / Daniel (Acústico) / Don'T Go Breaking My Heart / Don't let the sun go down on me / Eletricity / Empty Garden / Funeral For A Friend / Ghetto Gospel / Goodbye Yellow Brick Road / I Guess Thats Why Call It The Blues / Litlle Jeanne / Nikita / Philadelphia Freedom / Please / Recover your soul / Rocket Man / Sacrifice / Sad Songs / Skyline Pigeon / Someone Saved My Life Tonight / Song for Guy / Sorry Seems To Be Hardest Word / The One / Tiny Dancer / True love / Why They Call It The Blues / You Gotta Love Someone / Your Song

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Elton John and Leon Russell: “The Union”

http://thehurstreview.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/elton-john-and-leon-russell-the-union/

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Josh Hurst

There’s a lot of love on this one– not only does Sir Elton sound like he’s trying harder than he has in years, generally speaking, but he’s pulling out all the stops not for the sake of his ego, but his idol. The story goes that the impetus for The Union was for John to use his celebrity to restore his all-time musical hero, Leon Russell, to the public eye, but what those noble ambitions rolled into is a full-blown duet album, complete with dueling pianos and trade-offs on vocal and songwriting duty (the latter is also split with Benie Taupin).
John’s taking this one seriously, and his ambitions– for this to be a monstrously successful album, mostly for Leon’s sake– haven’t been very veiled. His vision of the project extends to his choice of producer; he put in a call to T-Bone Burnett, despite having never worked with the man before, simply out of the hope that this record might blossom into something as high-profile and celebrated as Raising Sand. Burnett’s not a bad choice for this rootsy, country-infused, but still very mainstream affair, though I’m inclined to say that, for the next go-around, Joe Henry or Buddy Miller might make for favorable alternatives. The good news: It isn’t as sleepy as Raising Sand. The bad news is that T-Bone is in a bit of a rut as of late, and The Union carries with it all the baggage that a T-Bone production entails in 2010. The edges of this thing are so rounded, the atmosphere so hazy, that nothing here really pops, sonically speaking– something that’s a little bit of a problem when you come to a rocker like “Hey Ahab,” which never catches fire the way recent John bangers like “Just Like Noah’s Ark” did, or when you realize that the blazing inferno of Robert Randolph‘s steel guitar cameo is somewhat lost in the mix. It’s also a rather overlong project– 14 songs, which is about two ballads too many– though in truth, I’d rather this one be a little on the lengthy side: It’s a good omen that this creative rejuvenation, for both Russell and John, isn’t a minor or a temporary thing.
And it is– make no mistake of this– a creative rejuvenation; it’s not an all-cylinders-firing masterpiece on the level of, say, a Love & Theft, not as daring as Paul Simon’s Surprise or as vital as Neil Young’s Le Noise, offering not new contexts so much as reminders of why the old stuff was so good. It is, in other words, very much a wheelhouse album, sounding like the common ground between Russell’s 70s albums and John in his country/Western mode, as per Tumbleweed Connection. The distance between those two isn’t that far, so the feeling of this record is one of comfort, but not of complacency. Both men are writing, singing, and playing with vigor. T-Bone’s production emphasizes the country leanings with steel guitar and gospel choirs; his obtrusive touch can do nothing to sand down the grit or dampen the warmth that comes from the chemistry between the two musicians, the the simple joy they’re obviously finding in playing together, their mutual respect and affection making this feel like a perfectly gracious, generous collaboration. It’s a comeback for Russel by simple virtue of the fact that he’s making vital music for what will probably be a respectable audience, after literally decades of being lost in the woods. For John, it at least equals, and perhaps slightly bests, his own excellent, albeit minor, comeback album from 2006, The Captain and the Kid.
The record’s greatest charms come from how laid-back and low-key it is; the album never calls attention to the fact that it’s actually the most varied thing John has been involved with in quite some time, nor does it play up the bluesier aspects of “The Best Part of the Day” the way that the more cinematic Tumbleweed may have. Really, that song could almost pass as a ballad from John’s more adult contemporary days, its country-ish melody being the thing that saves it and makes it fit here. The low-intensity vibe of this thing means that some of the best songs take some time to really distinguish themselves– I’m thinking, in particular, of the steel-drenched country shuffle “Jimmie Rodgers’ Dream,” the jaunty handclap beat of “A Dream Come True,” the minor-key, metaphysical blues tune “There’s No Tomorrow.” It also means that some of the most addictive material here is also the least flashy; the two most durable cuts on the album, it seems to me, are a pair of sturdy country-rockers– “If It Wasn’t For Bad” and “I Should Have Sent Roses”– which impress with their sheer craft, the gentle propulsion and forward momentum implicit to the music and the lyrics.
What else? Neil Young stops by to cameo in “Gone to Shiloh,” a ghostly Civil War ballad in which he, Russell, and John each take a verse. “When Love is Dying”– which hits even closer to John’s AC days than “Best Part of the Day” does– is nevertheless winsome for its totally low-key sincerity, and for the nice, natural vocal trade-offs from the two singers. “Monkey Suit,” drenched in horns, is a welcome chance for John to rock out a bit. And even if it’s no “Noah’s Ark,” I do rather like “Hey Ahab,” its lyrical concerns of obsession and failure sounding like a nice metaphor for the artistic life and the pursuit of the muse– good, slightly meta- themes for an album like this.
Other than that, the only direct references to The Union‘s origins are in “Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes,” a handsome little ballad on the bluesy tip. John sings it, and its lyric is one of admiration for a man who was once heralded as a visionary, but was all but forgotten while he was still in his prime. As a reverent, affectionate nod to Russell, it’s fairly obvious, but no less touching because of it. It’s a modest and heartfelt moment, perfectly befitting a record of this sort– one that isn’t perfect, but is certainly warm, charming, and easy to embrace.

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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Rolling Stone Give the Union 5 Stars

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/45342/218714

The Union is a rare gesture in a dying business: an act of gratitude. Elton John repays a long-standing debt of inspiration to Leon Russell — particularly the rowdy merger of soul, country and gospel rapture Russell perfected as a writer, pianist and arranger on 1969 and '70 albums by Joe Cocker and Delaney and Bonnie — by putting Russell in front of a classy big band, on his first major-label album in a decade. "Your songs have all the hooks/You're seven wonders rolled into one," John sings, ever the fan, in "Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes."


The song, actually about grand entrances and past glories, is almost Russell's story in miniature. It could be about John too. Both men are a long way from their early flamboyance, when Russell ran the R&B big band on Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and John was leaping from clubs to arenas in oversize glasses.The Union often feels like a conversation: the two trading sober and grateful reflections, in songs like "The Best Part of the Day" and "A Dream Come True," on the costs and prizes of a life at the top.


That exchange runs through the music. Singing in a strong, elastic growl and matching John's piano work with low-end rolls and top-note sparkle, Russell jars the younger man from his routine sheen, back to the natural fiber and grandeur of 1970's Elton John and Tumbleweed Connection. On The Union, produced by T Bone Burnett, John and Russell share the resurrection. Each goes back to what he first did best. Then they do it together.


As a songwriter, Russell is as eccentric as his voice. His love songs hurt far more than they show at first. "If It Wasn't for Bad" is finely tuned deception: pop strut, Sunday-service glow and mounting bitterness in that gnarled drawl. Bernie Taupin wrote the words to the Stax-heartbreak shuffle "I Should Have Sent Roses," but the chewy vocal agony is Russell's. When he and John trade lines in "When Love Is Dying," against a choral arrangement by Brian Wilson, John goes for the wrenching high notes. Russell sticks to his odd gritty register, heavy with turmoil.

Russell first became famous for his sharp mischief inside the churn on those Cocker and Delaney and Bonnie LPs, and he works for John the same way: salting the vocal choruses and piano-funk exchanges in "Hey Ahab"; ringing John's earnest rounded tenor with gravelly warmth in the dusky country song "Jimmie Rodgers' Dream." John, in turn, drives this alliance like the eager version of himself that first played with Russell on a 1970 tour. The Civil War tale and Band hommage "Gone to Shiloh" could have come fromTumbleweed Connection; the brassy romp "Monkey Suit" would have fit on 1972's Honky Château.

There is an urgency here too, as if John and Russell know they almost waited too long to bond. "There's No Tomorrow" is built, with new words, on a 1966 grim blues march, "Hymn No. 5" by the Mighty Hannibal. John takes the sober verses; a pedal steel guitar lines the track like gilt on a coffin. But Russell brings the light and common sense. "There's no tomorrow/There's only today," he sings in that rough, eerie voice, just in front of the choir, like a man back from the brink and glad to be at work.

- Rolling Stone

SIRIUS XM will launch a seven-day long, commercial-free music channel featuring music, interviews and special guest DJ sessions celebrating the release of Elton John and Leon Russell's new album, The Union.

The limited-run channel called Elton! will launch on Friday, October 15 at 3:00 pm and will run until Friday, October 22 at 3:00 am on SIRIUS channel 33 and XM channel 27.

Academy Award winning director Cameron Crowe discusses the making of The Union, scheduled to be released October 19, and highlights from John and Russell’s storied careers. Producer T Bone Burnett and long-time Elton John collaborator, Bernie Taupin will also be featured.

The special guest DJ sessions will feature actor Robert Downey Jr. and tennis superstar Andy Roddick. The two will play their favorite Elton John music and share stories about individual songs.

- Examiner.com

Elton John: America is in a horrible place

Sir Elton John has condemned a spate of anti-gay slurs in America.

http://www.musicrooms.net/showbiz/17647-elton-john-america-is-in-a-horrible-place.html

The 63-year-old British singer spends a great deal of time in the country, and is dismayed about recent incidents of homophobia and gay suicides that have occurred there.
The suicide of gay student Tyler Clementi, who studied in New Jersey, has caused a host of stars to get involved in an anti-bullying campaign. Tyler was reportedly picked on because of his sexuality, and Elton said that this kind of attitude towards gay people was not the America he knows and loves.
"People were saying gays should be beaten up, we're not part of God's universe. What kind of mentality is this?” he asked USA Today. “When I first came here, it was such a loving country. It's never been in a more horrible place. This is not the America I love."
Elton, who is in a civil partnership with David Furnish, is currently promoting his new duet album with Leon Russell.
But the talented pianist has decided to use press opportunities to campaign for more tolerance towards gay people in America.
"We've come so far, with a black president, it's mystifying that this can still be going on," Elton said. "Jesus Christ taught tolerance. That's the example we should follow. We should forgive, understand, be compassionate. We're not all the same. Thank God! It would be so boring."
Elton works hard to benefit AIDS charities, such as his own, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and has referred to himself as "probably the most gay man in the world".
He believes that opposing political parties in the US should stop trying to score points from each other and exchange concepts on how to stop homophobic bullying.

October 13, 2010

Report on The Union Listening Party
http://www.eltonjohn.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101013&contentid=15611136

Rocket members went to New York for The Union

By Liz Rosenthal

A Rocket member reports on The Union Listening Party.

"My husband and I had a wonderful time last week at the eltonjohn.com-sponsored Listening Party for The Union. First of all, it was great to see so many familiar faces, friends from many years of Elton Fandom. The gathering was small, but the minimal crowd was to our benefit, because we felt that much more special. If everyone had attended who had signed up for this event, perhaps some of us might have gotten 'lost in the sauce.' (All I have to say to those who didn't come due to the weather is, "WIMPS!")
"The Piano Room at Yamaha, which boasts the swank address of 689 Fifth Avenue, is even more impressive than it appears on the Yamaha web site. Not only is there a gorgeous black grand piano poised onstage for another tinkling, plus, of course, seats for 150, but also many more grands behind the seats, pointing in various directions. It was just the sort of atmosphere you would expect for an Elton John album listening party! Before taking our seats, however, we were handed our own little 'kits', housed inside a plastic blue or pink folder, complete with (Xeroxed) note from Elton thanking us for attending the event, a pen, a booklet of lyrics for all 16 songs, including the two bonus tunes, the deluxe CD's back cover art, and a couple of pages of foolscap on which to write our impressions of the songs. The Editor told us that she was going to be Xeroxing our notes/impressions for Elton.
"She described the circumstances behind Elton's idea of working with Leon - a story that many are familiar with, given the number of articles on the Internet that have appeared over the last few months recounting the circumstances: it was January, and Elton and his partner David were on safari in South Africa. The lions roared, the elephants trumpeted, the plovers fluttered, and the native grasses bent in the wind. (Okay, that last sentence I just made up, although it might have happened!) David was listening to Leon Russell on his iPod, Elton found out, and immediately began weeping about the old days, when Leon was such a huge influence on him. The Editor aptly observed at this point that whenever Elton cries, it means great things are ahead. One need only think of Billy Elliot!
"John Higgins gave us a little background on the recording process, fresh from his conversation with T Bone Burnett, the album's producer. Most interesting was the fact that Elton decided they should divide the piano-playing duties with Elton tackling the rhythm parts and Leon the melodic parts. Apparently, Elton very generously wanted to give Leon every opportunity to shine. However, I'm sure there was a little overlap in duties here and there - due to my impression from listening to the right speaker for the first go-round and the left speaker for the second. (I accomplished this through the delicate process of sitting on the right side of the room for the first listening and the left side for the second listening. Not an easy task to perform, but I managed it!)
Here are the songwriting credits for each track:
If it Wasn't for Bad: Leon Russell
Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes: Elton John/Bernie Taupin
Hey Ahab: Elton John/Bernie Taupin
Gone to Shiloh: Elton John/Bernie Taupin
Hearts Have Turned to Stone: Leon Russell
Jimmie Rodgers' Dream: Elton John/Bernie Taupin/T Bone Burnett
There's No Tomorrow: Elton John/Leon Russell/James Timothy Shaw/T Bone Burnett
Monkey Suit: Elton John/Bernie Taupin
The Best Part of the Day: Elton John/Bernie Taupin
A Dream Come True: Elton John/Leon Russell
I Should Have Sent Roses: Leon Russell/Bernie Taupin
When Love is Dying: Elton John/Bernie Taupin
My Kind of Hell: Elton John/Bernie Taupin
Mandalay Again: Elton John/Bernie Taupin
Never Too Old: Elton John/Bernie Taupin
In the Hands of Angels: Leon Russell
"My overall impression of the album, after hearing it twice through, is that, at different times, it's rootsy, folksy, rockin', melancholy, irreverent, funky, romantic, bluesy, gospelly, and a pleasure through-and-through. People should be aware that Elton and Leon are on all the tracks, regardless of who wrote the song. Sometimes they trade off verses, other times one may provide harmony and/or backing vocals. Both play piano on most, if not all, of the tracks.
"Leon's vocals are a lot better than one would have expected after seeing a bit of a recent live performance of his on YouTube. In fact, he sings pretty well, suggesting in tone and technique an unpolished Willie Nelson. As for Elton's vocals, it's impossible to say enough good things about them, but I'll try: WOW! HOLY COW! GEEZE-O-MIGHTY! PINCH ME, I MUST BE DREAMING! OMIGOD! To be a little more specific, I think that the quality of Elton's vocals keeps reaching new levels of beauty and interpretive versatility, and that this is obvious on The Union.
"Russell's songs are excellent - Elton and Leon really are more compatible than a lot of Elton's fans might have thought - and two of Leon's tunes book-end the album, If It Wasn't For Bad, which is terrifically catchy and perfect for radio, and In the Hands of Angels, which is a gospelly thanks to Elton for inviting him to write and record the album and (I assume) tour together.
"The rock tracks are foot-tappingly, head-bangingly, good - Hey Ahab, Monkey Suit and A Dream Come True, the last of which really channels Fats Domino. The first two are intense, funky numbers that grab you by the viscera and don't let go. With these and many of the other songs, Elton, Leon and the rest of the musicians get to stretch out toward the end and keep the groove going for quite a while, not in a Bite Your Lip kind of way but perhaps in a way that suggests a bit of the Grateful Dead. Just a little - don't worry. (In case anyone might be worried.)
Gone to Shiloh is an automatic standard, as is Never Too Old, live versions of which numerous Elton fans have heard many times via the official Simfy recordings and live radio feeds. The first is an account of one Northern soldier's experience in the U.S. Civil War during the Battle of Shiloh, an early but exceedingly bloody Union victory. Sherman was one of the Union officers leading the troops; he later was promoted to general, and, as some may be aware, led a "scorched earth" campaign through Georgia and South Carolina during the latter stages of the war. Hence the lyric, "Heaven help the South" - not that a belligerent at Shiloh in April 1862 could have foreseen what would happen in late 1864, early 1865, but Taupin the Narrator is permitted a little poetic license here.
"To return to Gone To Shiloh and Never Too Old, both work about as well on record as in live performance and are gorgeous, emotive songs. You can tell that Taupin had nothing to do with There's No Tomorrow, because most of the lyrics read thusly: "There's no tomorrow/There's no tomorrow/There's no tomorrow/There's only today." But it's a gripping song, nonetheless; the pessimism of the subject matter lessens with the heroic vocal delivery of the singers. Everyone should like it.
"When Love is Dying may become the most addictive of the songs on The Union. It comes close to being a 'power ballad' along the lines of The One, but without the drum machine, the synths, or the positive outlook. I'm disappointed to find that Mandalay Again is only a bonus track, as it's one of my favorites. (The other bonus is My Kind of Hell. These two tracks will only be included on the deluxe CD version of the album.) While listening to Mandalay Again, I couldn't quite put my finger on what was different about it, but it's just come to me. With its folksy, jazz-tinged melody and arrangement, it would be right at home on a Joni Mitchell album! Come to think of it, the song's got hints of Diana Krall, too.
"This album is chock full of appealing, vivid Bernie Taupin couplets: "Now I pop a top and stay up late with Gideon/And fall asleep to visions of Meridian" (Jimmie Rodgers' Dream), "Every pose you strike/Every frame they shoot/Shows you dressed to kill/In your monkey suit" (Monkey Suit), "There's a canyon where an echo hangs/Like the ancient bells of Notre Dame" (The Best Part of the Day), "I should have sent roses/When you crossed my mind/For no other reason/Than the fact you were mine" (I Should Have Sent Roses), "We just go round and round/Like a dull thud in a bell" (My Kind of Hell).
"During the break between the first album listen and the second, we were all offered refreshments, including sandwiches, cookies, fruit, cheese and a variety of beverages. One of the eltonjohn.com team mentioned as we munched away that there are plans to keep the album alive through next year with the release of a full-length version of Cameron Crowe's documentary about The Union. (A short version will be included in the deluxe CD release.) There is always something to look forward to in the World of Elton!"

Music Review: Elton John and Leon Russell - The Union

http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-elton-john-and-leon/

Leon Russell has been missed! 
Elton John must have voiced a similar sentiment when he 
sought him out for this wondrous collaborative effort. 

A bit of history here:  way back in the early ‘70s, 
he was Leon Russell's opening act.
Leon was his hero and Elton's never lost his admiration 

and respect for him. Fast forward to 2010. 
Sixty-eight-year-old Leon hadn’t been in the limelight for many years.


Poor health had kept him from actively keeping up with his career.  
After he recovered from a brain operation,  
Elton (who has always been an advocate for underappreciated artists

new and old) thought it would be an excellent time to get the great man 
recording again.
The Union is an even better effort than their fans might have hoped for.

Both men sound assured, energized and, yes, young again. 
Despite all he’s been through, Leon’s voice hasn’t changed. 

That gritty drawl is unmistakable and as vital as ever. 
He rocks the upbeat “Hearts Have Turned To Stone.”   

Horns wail in the background, a soulful chorus providing the backup, 
along with Elton’s enthusiastic "yeah, yeah, yeahs." 

The ballad “Gone To Shiloh” tells the story of a Northern soldier 
going off to fight in the Civil War–nice to see that lyricist 
Bernie Taupin still holds a fascination with Americana after all 

these years. Neil Young lends a hand with the vocals, which is a 
fine treat. With its wails and moans, the dirge-like ballad 
“There’s No Tomorrow” sounds like the melancholy opening of a 
New Orleans funeral march. The rocker “Monkey Suit” sounds 

suspiciously like an outtake from Elton’s last studio album, 
The Captain and the Kid.  
The same holds true for "The Best Part of the Day," a song of a 

Longtime friendship (“You’re my best friend/You shared my crazy ways"). 
But there is nothing wrong with that. 
Kid was one of Elton and Bernie’s best efforts, 
and these songs are as good as anything on that record.

Probably my favorite cuts on The Union are the gorgeous “When Love Is Dying” 
and the chug-a-long rocker, 
“A Dream Come True,” where Elton and Leon trade verses and piano licks, 

backed again by a gospel choir. 
It’s a rollicking, joyful piece, which harkens back to those touring 
days of their youth.  It is no surprise they wrote it together.

The album was produced by T-Bone Burnett and features Jim Keltner on drums,
 Jim Thompson 
on tenor sax, Marc Ribot on guitars, Robert Randolph on steel guitar, along 

with contributions 

from Brian Wilson, Don Was, and Booker T. Jones.  It marks the first time 
since his late seventies 
disco fiasco,Victim of Love, that Elton has recorded an album without his 
band. The end result here is 

monumentally better than that old disco snoozer.

The final song on The Union,“The Hands of Angels,” is Leon’s thanks to those 

who helped him return to the business 

of making music:

“Johnny and the Governor came and brought me to my senses/They made me 
feel just 
like a king/Made me lose all my bad defenses.”

Thank you, Leon. And welcome back.

The Union is on Decca Records. It will be available on Oct.19th

Elton John Defends His Performance At Rush Limbaugh’s Wedding

http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-elton-john-defends-performing-at-rush-limbaughs-wedding/

 

“I said, ‘I suppose you’re wondering what the f**k I’m doing here,’ and they collapsed in laughter. It took the heat off. I said, ‘I’m probably the most famous gay man in the world. I’m coming in peace. Please, let’s not say people are horrible because they’re different. That’s not acceptable in this day and age.’ It was a good audience. ... [Limbaugh and I] talked a lot before I did it, and I was surprised how much I liked (him). If I had done it just for the money, I could have seen 40 years of my reputation go down the tube. As a gay man, I felt it my duty to find out what this guy thought. I did that before I played there. I felt there was a real reason for me going. There’s much more of a person in there than the public knows. I believe dialogue is a way forward. Come on, what era are we living in?”

— Elton John defends his performance at conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh‘s wedding this summer.
Lots of us scratched our heads that the gayest musician alive (who’s in a civil partnership) with another man would celebrate the nuptials of a man who opposes gay marriage, although we shouldn’t have been so surprised considering he has performed with gay-mocking rapper Eminem in the past. Apparently, Rush and Elton could also overcome their differences for a night of fourth marriages and good tunes. Elton even says the two are email pen pals now. [USA Today]

Elton John decries recent rash of anti-gay bullying, suicides
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2010-10-13-eltonjohn13_ST_N.htm

By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

BURBANK, Calif. — When Elton John saw the online trailer for the upcoming movie The Dilemma, he was as offended by posted comments as by actor Vince Vaughn's controversial crack that "electric cars are gay."

The hateful anonymous slurs "shocked me," the singer said during an interview to promote The Union, his upcoming duets album with Leon Russell. "People were saying gays should be beaten up, we're not part of God's universe. What kind of mentality is this? When I first came here, it was such a loving country. It's never been in a more horrible place. This is not the America I love."
He's dismayed by the recent rash of gay bullying and suicides, especially the three men brutalized by Bronx gang members and the college student who jumped off a bridge in New York after his gay sexual encounter was secretly filmed and posted online.
"We've come so far, with a black president, it's mystifying that this can still be going on," John says. "Jesus Christ taught tolerance. That's the example we should follow. We should forgive, understand, be compassionate. We're not all the same. Thank God! It would be so boring."
If opposing parties stopped hurling epithets from rooftops and learned to exchange ideas, the rancor might subside, John says.
That's why John, who is in a civil partnership with David Furnish, agreed to sing at the June wedding of Rush Limbaugh, who opposes gay marriage.
"We talked a lot before I did it, and I was surprised how much I liked (him)," John says. "If I had done it just for the money, I could have seen 40 years of my reputation go down the tube. As a gay man, I felt it my duty to find out what this guy thought. I did that before I played there. I felt there was a real reason for me going."
At the reception in Palm Beach, Fla., John took the stage before 400 mostly Republican guests.
"I said, 'I suppose you're wondering what the (expletive) I'm doing here,' and they collapsed in laughter. It took the heat off. I said, 'I'm probably the most famous gay man in the world. I'm coming in peace. Please, let's not say people are horrible because they're different. That's not acceptable in this day and age.' It was a good audience."
John and Limbaugh still communicate by e-mail.
"There's much more of a person in there than the public knows," John says. "I believe dialogue is a way forward. Come on, what era are we living in?"

Elton John and Leon Russell The Union Review

Album. Released 25 October 2010.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/rnzb

BBC Review

A sincere collaboration between artists who complement each other well.

Paul Whitelaw 2010-10-15

When musicians of a certain age collaborate on a duets album, the results often reek of creative stagnation and the sound of mutual back-slapping. Not so with The Union, a sincere collaboration between Elton John and an artist to whom he owes an avowed debt, Leon Russell.
Their relationship stretches back 40 years, to when Russell attended Elton’s (calling him ‘John’ feels wrong) first US solo show. A veteran session player for legends such as Phil Spector and Bob Dylan, by 1970 Russell was an established solo star and bandleader for Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour. His raspy fusion of piano-based gospel, blues, country, rock and pop influenced Elton’s breakthrough albums.
Since engineering a return to his earlier sound with 2001’s Songs from the West Coast, Elton has focused on restoring his reputation as a craftsman of ersatz Americana. Working alongside Russell – making his first major label recording in a decade – brings him full circle.
Recorded live in the studio with acclaimed producer T Bone Burnett, the album radiates a kind of arid warmth; two old timers trading hard-won lessons in the dying sunlight. Burnett’s barebones arrangements are garnished only with a ten-piece gospel choir and a barely noticeable choral arrangement from Brian Wilson on the melancholy When Love is Dying.
Elton and Russell’s vocals and piano playing complement each other, neither overcooking the stew. The timbre of their voices is so similar it’s often difficult to tell them apart. They don’t harmonise, they duet, swapping chops and verses conversationally, Russell supplying hoodoo trills to Elton’s country honk.
Most of the songs are written by Elton and long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin, with occasional contributions from Russell and Burnett. Russell’s funky fingerprints are legible on the Stones-clad boogie of Monkey Suit and the antsy stomp of Hey Ahab. Other standouts include the funereal gospel of There’s No Tomorrow, the unabashed train-whistle rockabilly, A Dream Come True, and the haunting, Band-esque Gone to Shiloh, a Civil War lament featuring a vocal cameo from Neil Young.
But the strength of these tracks highlights the album’s weaknesses: too many mid-tempo ballads, too many generic melodies. At 14 tracks stretched just over an hour, it’s simply too long; shorn of its more forgettable songs, it could’ve been a glancing contender.
As it stands, The Union is a blot on neither man’s legacy, just a mature bout with flashes of former glory.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Elton John and Leon Russell - The Union (2010)

http://www.somethingelsereviews.com/2010/10/elton-john-and-leon-russell-union-2010.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+somethingelsereviews%2FJjnG+%28SOMETHING+ELSE!%29

by Nick Deriso

Elton John's long and often dispiriting journey back to his 1970s muse led him to an early idol, Leon Russell. The result is "The Union," a sturdy new collaboration full of spiralling soul and timeless revelations about starting over.

Produced by T Bone Burnett and set for issue by Decca on Oct. 19, the album refurbishes John's tattered legacy even as it restores the legend of Russell -- a consummate musician who saw his career stalled by a stubburn refusal to play to expectations.

"I want his name written in stone," John has said of Russell. "I want him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I want his name to be on everybody's lips again, like it used to be."

That sense of passage is underscored throughout "The Union," an often-loud record with its share of quiet truths -- like thundering boxcars sweeping past lonesome prairies.

They talk about good times and bad, about a lover's bruising departure, about history's hard-won truths, about the end. Maybe their time has come and gone.

But what a time it was.

The Band-influenced Civil War-era lament "Gone To Shiloh," also featuring Neil Young, sounds like a leftover track from John's brilliant "Tumbleweed Connection." "If It Wasn't For Bad" shambles out with a popping gospel groove and Russell's oddly affectionate yowl -- deftly recalling his best "Carny"-era work. "Monkey Suit," this brass-driven romp written by John and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, is like "Honky Chateau" redux.

John, who first met Russell in 1970 and later opened for him on tour, has called the legendary songwriter and pianist one of his greatest influences -- and he sounds every bit the true fan on "Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes": "Your songs have all the hooks," John sings. "You're seven wonders rolled into one."

Together, they have produced an album that feels like an honest collaboration, rather than a one-off gimmick. Listen to "Hey Ahab," which has the sway and sass of a country church-service hymn. Russell adds a just-right greasy accompaniment to John's bracing, gritty vocal.



"When Love Is Dying," bolstered by a soaring choral arrangement by Brian Wilson, could have been a radio staple for Elton John in a different time. (That is to say, in the time of sparkly jumpsuits and oversized sunglasses.) Russell finds a similar symmetry with his own deliciously snarky hitmaking past on "I Should Have Sent Roses," a collaboration with Taupin: "Well if I were you," Russell sings, "I'd throw rocks at the moon -- and I'd say, 'Damn you, wherever you are.'"

But even as they deftly recapture the atmosphere and nerve of their best early 1970s work, there is a newfound sense of last-act perspective -- and an emotional turmoil so often missing in Elton's glossy modern period.

Credit Russell, who reportedly underwent brain surgery just weeks before recording commenced on "The Union." He adds a dangerous grandeur to tracks like "Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody), "The Hands of Angels" and, most particularly, on the majestically grim "There's No Tomorrow," inspired by an old blues march.

Evenings spent with old friends, even in happy times, are often built around a sweet sense of loss -- and this one is no different.

Fuse presents “Elton John and Leon Russell Live From the Beacon Theatre” Oct. 19

http://www.channelguidemagblog.com/index.php/2010/10/15/fuse-presents-elton-john-and-leon-russell-live-from-the-beacon-theatre-oct-19/

Posted on October 15th, 2010

By Ryan Berenz
Music network Fuse will air another installment of its excellent Fuse Presents concert series, this time with Fuse Presents: Elton John and Leon Russell Live From the Beacon Theatre on Oct. 19 at 8pm ET. The concert takes place on the same day as Elton John and Leon Russell release their joint album project, The Union. Full press release from Fuse below. For more info and features about the concert, visit fuse.tv.
ELTON JOHN AND LEON RUSSELL LIVE FROM THE BEACON THEATRE
Presented By Coca-Cola
Tuesday, October 19 at 8PM ET
Fuse To Broadcast Live Elton John and Leon Russell Concert Featuring Songs from Their Latest Collaborative Album, The Union
Elton John and Leon Russell will appear in concert together at the legendary Beacon Theatre in New York City to showcase their new studio album, The Union, on October 19th at 8pm ET.  The much-anticipated performance will air live on Fuse, Madison Square Garden’s national music television network.  The two legends will take the stage for Fuse Presents: Elton John and Leon Russell Live From the Beacon Theatre, which will be available to fans across the U.S. with limited commercial interruptions.
The show will feature songs from The Union, which hits stores the same day, as well as a selection of classics and hits from their individual careers.  For this concert, Elton and Leon will be accompanied by musicians from The Union studio sessions, including Jay Bellerose on drums, Russ Paul on the pedal steel guitar, Marc Ribot on guitar,  Jackson Smith on guitar, Keefus Ciancia on keyboards, Mike Compton on mandolin and Dennis Crouch on bass.
Recorded live in the studio, The Union was produced by T Bone Burnett and features a variety of musical genres from R&B, soul, gospel, country, pop and rock.  Icons Neil Young and Brian Wilson provide guest vocals on the 14-track record along with legendary R&B organist Booker T. Jones, steel guitarist Robert Randolph and a 10-piece gospel choir.   The Union will be released October 19th on Decca.
“Fuse feels privileged to be part of this legendary performance by Elton John and Leon Russell, celebrating the duo’s new album release,” said Mike Bair, president, MSG Media. “We are pleased that we can continue to bring once-in-a-lifetime experiences to music fans nationwide through our ‘Fuse Presents’ series.  This is just another example of how we can provide our viewers with magical performances from our iconic venues showcasing a variety of influential artists.”

Elton John and Leon Russell a pair of honky cats

By Des Sampson 7:00 AM Saturday Oct 16, 2010
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10680787

Doing an album with his piano-playing hero Leon Russell was a dream project for Elton John. He tells Des Sampson why the change is going to do him good.

Elton John and Leon Russell discovered their collaboration would be a labour of love and that their styles worked well together. Photo / Supplied

Across a remarkable 40-year career, Elton John has been depicted - at his worst - as a tetchy, tiara-throwing diva who's flash, brash and crass, or - at his show-stopping best - as an outrageously flamboyant entertainer. But he's rarely been portrayed as modest or mellow - until recently. So, what's changed?
It isn't because he's nearing pensionable age, insists John. Instead, it was collaborating with his lifelong idol, Leon Russell, on The Union, a gospel-driven collection of honky-tonk rock 'n' roll and powerful, piano-based blues that has given him a new perspective on fortune, fame and fate.
"Of all the great piano players, Leon Russell was the one I respected the most," reveals John. "He was a giant in his prime. In the late 60s and early 70s, he worked with all the greats, like the Beach Boys, Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones. But then, in the mid-70s, he just fell off the radar. I don't know if it was his management, alcohol or drugs, but he just disappeared."
If it hadn't have been for John, Russell would have remained lost - just a footnote in musical history, despite writing masterpieces like This Masquerade and Song for You.

That's because John called him up, out of the blue, after his partner, David Furnish, had played one of Russell's albums, while they were on holiday.
"We were on safari, in Africa, and when he put it on during lunch, I just thought, 'wow, what great songs'. So I called Leon up - I hadn't talked to him for 37 years - and asked what he'd been up to," explains John.
"It turns out he'd been driving around America for 30 years in an old, battered bus, playing small venues, just to try and make ends meet. I was really shocked and didn't know what to say. It made me realise how many great musicians fall by the wayside and that my success was really just a matter of luck - of being in the right place at the right time - because Leon could quite easily have had my career and vice versa.
"So, I asked Leon, 'do you want to do a record with me?' and he said 'do you think I can still play and sing?' That's how down he was."
When they teamed up in the studio with producer T-Bone Burnett, it was soon evident that Russell hadn't lost his knack for knocking out great tunes, like the sentimental You're Never Too Old or There's No Tomorrow, a joyous, gospel romp built around the chorus of the majestic Hymn #5, by The Mighty Hannibal. Russell even penned a song, especially for John.
"Apparently he asked his wife, 'what can I get Elton, who has everything already, for giving me a second chance? I know, I'll write him a song.' So that's what he did," says John, smiling.
"When he first played it, he looked me straight in the eye and said, 'thank you for saving my life'. That's probably the most moving thing that's ever happened to me. I got so emotional that I rushed outside for a cry before continuing.
"You know, before we started, we weren't sure if the two of us playing pianos together on a record would work, but from that moment we realised that it was going be a real labour of love," John enthuses. "Our styles worked so well together."
Those emotions and their mutual admiration infuse The Union with its raw passion, heartfelt soul and boundless energy. What's more, being recorded "live", without overdubs, it also has a freer, edgier feel to it than John's last few albums.
"Yeah, it does because most of the tracks were done in two takes with live musicians, which I haven't done for a long time. In fact, Monkey Suit was the original piano track Leon and I put down. That's how live it was," reveals John, smirking. "Some of it isn't in perfect time or is a little rough around the edges, because recording live makes the song looser and stretches it out. But that's its charm, I think."
John admits that recording The Union has left a lasting legacy, making him reappraise his priorities and also changing his views about songwriting.
"I'll always want to make music. It's just what kind of music I'm going to make now. That's why making this album has been good for me, because it made me realise I don't want to make pop albums anymore.
"Don't get me wrong, I love pop and writing for the Scissor Sisters, or appearing on a Tupac record - those little side-projects are the icing on the cake - but I'm 63 now, so I'm not interested in the singles' chart anymore," he admits.
"I just want to make records, like this one, which fit the piano-playing style I have and are appropriate for someone my age.
"Working with Leon on this, I've found the path I want to take for the rest of my life - to make records where I'm using great musicians, playing live and writing the best songs I can possibly write," he surmises. "But I had to go back to go forward. I had to return to making records that were done live, like I used to - to realise that's how I want to make records now."
Collaborating with his hero has also altered John's outlook on his own life and livelihood, because of the hardships Russell's endured in the last 30 years.
"If you forget about the music, this is an incredible human story of someone - Leon - quite literally coming back to life," John stresses. "Before we started recording Leon was seriously ill and had to have a five-and-a-half hour operation, because he had spinal fluid coming out his nose. But since he's been back, he's become a different person: he's healthier, funnier and more confident because he's been given his dues and got a lot of love from people like Stevie Nicks, Ringo Starr and Grace Jones, who all visited the studio to pay homage.
"That's why I think this is a special album and a special story," asserts John. "It's not just about the music but also the story behind the music.
"I just want Leon to enjoy the accolades he's finally receiving, I want him to be comfortable and, most of all, for him to live with his lovely wife Jan and not have to worry about where his next dollar is coming from or have to go out and play in small clubs three or four nights a week just to survive.
"If this album allows that to happen, then that's all I can ask for..."
LOWDOWN
Who: Sir Elton John
What: New album The Union, a collaboration with fellow pianist Leon Russell
When: Released November 2
-TimeOut
By Des Sampson

All-star blast

T Bone Burnett’s ‘Speaking Clock Revue’ gets by with a lot of help from his friends

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2010/10/15/t_bone_burnetts_speaking_clock_revue_benefit_gets_by_with_a_lot_of_help_from_his_friends/

T Bone Burnett (pictured), John Mellencamp, Elvis Costello, and the Secret Sisters are among the musicians performing in Burnett’s “Speaking Clock Revue’’ to benefit arts education in public schools. (Jesse Dylan)

By Sarah Rodman Globe Staff / October 15, 2010
T Bone Burnett does not keep the Oscar he won earlier this year for his musical contribution to “Crazy Heart’’ out on display. Nor does he have a showcase for any of the 10 Grammy awards he’s amassed over the years for his work on the “Walk the Line’’ and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?’’ soundtracks or on albums by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant and others.
“First of all, that Oscar takes up the whole room. You can’t put that in a room where it’s not the only thing you look at,’’ he says with a laugh on the phone from San Francisco, where he’s appearing at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. “Also, as happy as I am to have gotten in the way of all those awards, when I’m working in my everyday life I don’t want to think about ’em all day long.’’

It’s a miracle he has time to think about much of anything other than the task at hand, given the pace the highly sought-after producer keeps in the studio. This year alone, the man born Joseph Henry Burnett has produced albums for Willie Nelson, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, John Mellencamp, his “Crazy Heart’’ collaborator Ryan Bingham, Elton John and Leon Russell — whose collaborative album “The Union’’ comes out on Tuesday — and Elvis Costello’s forthcoming “National Ransom,’’ out Nov. 2. And this list is a mere thumbnail in a 40-year discography that includes work with artists as varied as B.B. King, Cassandra Wilson, Jakob Dylan, Roy Orbison, the Counting Crows, and ex-wife Sam Phillips, among many others.

His latest venture takes Burnett out of the studio and involves many of those famous names.

Saturday night at the Citi Wang Theatre, Burnett presents the first in what he hopes will be a series of live concerts to benefit arts education in public schools via the Participant Foundation, the charitable arm of the film company releasing the acclaimed new education documentary “Waiting for ‘Superman.’ ’’

Backed by a crack house band of Burnett studio regulars, the show will feature performances by Mellencamp, John, Russell, Costello, “Crazy Heart’’ star Jeff Bridges, Gregg Allman, Ralph Stanley, the Punch Brothers, Karen Elson, Neko Case, and newcomers the Secret Sisters. The format will be akin to Burnett’s “Down From the Mountain’’ trek which followed the success of the “O Brother’’ soundtrack, with each artist performing solo and in combination with other acts on the bill. “Everybody’s being incredibly generous to do it,’’ says Burnett.

The Fort Worth-bred Burnett was inspired to assemble “Speaking Clock’’ after seeing “Superman’’ at legendary TV producer Norman Lear’s house in LA. “I met with the guys who did the film, and we were talking about what we could do to help and I said, ‘Why don’t we do a tour?’ ’’

Those words were music to the ears of many of the artists with whom Burnett works and often want to hit the road with his stable of players, including guitarist Marc Ribot and drummer Jim Keltner.

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T BONE BURNETT PRESENTS “THE SPEAKING CLOCK REVUE’’
With Elton John and Leon Russell, John Mellencamp, Elvis Costello, Gregg Allman, and others
At: Citi Wang Theatre, tomorrow, 7:30 p.m. $45-$125. 800-432-7250 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              800-432-7250      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              800-432-7250      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, www.telecharge.com

“Everybody always says, ‘Let’s take this out on the road,’ ’’ says Burnett, 62. “I’ve had a lot of fun with these kinds of collaborative shows in the past, so at some point it reached a critical mass, as they say.’’

The show also gives Burnett a chance to play some of his own solo material, a rare occurrence for the infrequently touring producer who nonetheless has more than a half-dozen albums to his credit.

“I’m not as comfortable onstage as other people are but I do enjoy doing it occasionally,’’ he says. “I don’t see doing it that many more times in my life. But I must say I do enjoy putting on these shows. The ‘Down From the Mountain’ shows were some of the greatest experiences of my life.’’

For close-harmonizing, retro-country duo the Secret Sisters, whose Burnett-polished debut was released this week, the opportunity to share the stage with many of their heroes, especially John, is a dream come true. “Obviously the goal of everyone on this tour is to partner up with Elton and get behind a microphone,’’ says Lydia Rogers, with a laugh. “But just sharing the same bill with him is enough.’’

“It’s intimidating,’’ says older sister Laura. “We don’t really know what songs we’re going to be singing, we just know that it’s going to be one big party.’’

Burnett hopes that many of the younger acts like the Secret Sisters, Elson, and the Punch Brothers will get a nice bounce from the shows. “One of the functions of this concern as we go forward is to be able to introduce new people,’’ he says. “Strangely enough, the Internet creates scarcity. It’s supposed to do the opposite, but when you have 6 million bands on MySpace or whatever, you might as well have no bands on MySpace. How do you sort it out?’’

After the Boston show and a performance next Wednesday in New York City, Burnett hopes to relaunch the concept next spring. “I envision it as having a rotating cast,’’ he says, citing other possible participants like Plant and Krauss, Dylan, and Bingham. “Since these same musicians play with everybody, people can drop in and out easily.’’

And it’s likely they will given the respect that Burnett commands.

“There’s a lot to that guy,’’ says Bingham, who shared Burnett’s Oscar win. “He’s such a musicologist. One of the coolest things about working with him is the atmosphere he creates. He really creates a vibe that makes you comfortable in your own skin without a lot of distractions. Musicians love working with him for that.’’

And he loves them and the life that working with them has led to, nearly fulfilling his childhood dreams.

“When I was a kid I thought I would be Burt Bacharach when I grew up. I thought that was the greatest life in the world: write songs for movies and live in Hollywood and be married to Angie Dickinson.’’

Two out of three — plus an Oscar — ain’t bad.

Staff writer James Reed contributed to this report. Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com

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