I've probably devoted waaaaaaaay too
much thought to this.
Because the lilacs haven't yet fully
bloomed here in Marquette (although a few are out enough for you to
try & sniff them), I have all this mental processing power
available, brainpower I had planned to devote to smelling the
greatest blooms on the face of the planet. So while walking to work
yesterday (and trying to sublimate the disappointment I felt when my
favorite lilac tree STILL hasn't fully budded yet) I thought back to
something I babbled about on the air a few weeks ago, something to which I could devote that unused brain power.
After playing Elton John's
“Philadelphia Freedom”, I off-handedly mentioned that it was (at
least in my opinion) one of the five best Elton John songs ever. I
don't know why, but the off-handed comment stuck with me, and since
my brain can't yet go gaga over the sniffing of lilacs, it has gone
gaga over that comment, forcing me to sit down and figure out what I
think are the best five Elton John songs ever.
And now you get subjected to them, in
chronological order--
YOUR SONG--
This song was released when I was in
grade school and too young to really understand music, but even then
I knew there was something special about it. All these decades
later, and my opinion has not changed one bit.
LEVON--
I'm a sucker for really good string
arrangements. There's nothing else to say about that.
DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME--
See the comment I made about “Levon”.
And then add in the fact that 60 percent of The Beach Boys and 50 percent of The Captain and Tennille sing background vocals on the tune, and
it turns into this big melange of 70's pop culture. Besides, I think
it was the only Elton John song that was remade into a number one
tune for someone else, all while still featuring Elton John singing
on it--
PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM--
Like I said, the song that started this
whole stupid mental exercise. I grew up listening to Philly Soul,
and this homage to that particular musical style has been one of my
favorites for 40 years now.
Finally...
MAMA CAN'T BUY YOU LOVE--
You know how I said I grew up listening
to Philly Soul? Elton John was obviously a fan as well, as he
recruited Philly Soul writer and arranger Thom Bell to produce the
song, who then brought Philly Soul legends The Spinners to sing
background vocals on it. I'm sure everyone else would disagree with
me on it, and I'm the first to admit that I'm certainly biased, but
this tune vies with “Your Song” as the one song that I would say
is Elton John's best.
There you go. Now let's just hope that
the lilacs start blooming soon. Otherwise, tomorrow you may have to
put up with another totally random and bizarre top five list (the top
five all time best colors for Frisbees?), and NO ONE deserves that!
8-)
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