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In 1972 I was 13 years old, and my scope of music had yet to extend beyond the limitations of my AM transistor radio. Prior to this album, I did not know who Elton John was, nor was I aware of any music outside the Top 40. All I knew was that “Rocket Man” sounded like something I never heard before, and when it played, it would have taken a crowbar to pull my ear away from my transistor.
Shortly afterward I felt the same way about “Honky Cat,” a New Orleans-like song about a young man headed straight from the farm to the big city. This is the song that always made me wish I could play the piano, and it was the one that made me realize there was something special about this singer called Elton John.
As young as I was, I wasn’t alone in my assessment, as Honky Chateau, named for its French recording studio, was the first of Elton John’s number one albums. It’s the one that took him from a hard to classify singer/songwriter to a full-fledged rock star. That may have been because this was the first album to fully feature the joint efforts of musicians Nigel Olsen, Dee Murray, and Davey Johnstone, who became key fixtures of the Elton John Band. This is where it came together and where the hits started rolling in; and for me it was the album that put Elton John on the map.
Naturally I was thrilled to find both “Rocket Man” and “Honky Cat” on one musical production, but this was also the album where I learned there is more to life than just the hits, as the other eight songs also had a fresh and interesting appeal. Varied as they were, I wouldn’t classify any as fillers.
“I Think I am Going to Kill Myself,” is similar to “Crippled Inside,” from John Lennon’s Imagine album. Both are catchy tunes about a serious topic, and while Lennon’s saloon-like piano song sounds like a tap dance, Elton’s song actually features a tap dance. That’s not typical for a suicidal mind-frame; but the song reflects the theatrics of teenage boredom rather than the grim aspects of actual suicide.
One of Elton John’s more underrated songs is “Salvation,” which would have made a great theme song for the Salvation Army and could have easily been another hit to emerge from the era of peace, love, and brotherhood. The sensitivity of this song flows easily into “Slave,” which would also have fit in well on the prior Tumbleweed Connection album. In later years the CD version of Honky Chateau contained a bonus track of a speedier “Slave”; but the gentler recording is more riveting and the right choice for the original album.
More powerful yet is “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” a rather dark interpretation of New York City and the need to form strong personal connections to rise above it all. This remains among the best of Bernie Taupin’s lyrics, which says a lot considering he contributes half the success to the prolific John/Taupin songwriting team.
Honky Chateau ends with “Hercules,” originally slated to be the third single from this album, but likely set aside to give way to all the other hits that rapidly followed. For Elton John, this was a definite turning point in his career, and for me, it was a turning point for my music preferences. It took Elton from the obscurity of critically acclaimed but under played albums to the hit parade and me from top 40 singles to the depths of full-length albums.
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