Track Listing

1. Honky Cat
2. Mellow
3. I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself
4. Susie (Dramas)
5. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time)
6. Salvation
7. Slave
8. Amy
9. Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
10. Hercules
11. Slave

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2760 in Music
• Released on: 1995-07-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 48 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
By 1972, Elton John was already a star, although most casual listeners still identified him as part of the singer/songwriter explosion, thanks to the success of "Your Song" and "Levon". Honky Château changed all that, beginning with the success of "Honky Cat", a rousing New Orleans-ish R & B powerhouse that kicks off this terrific collection of songs. This was the album that first revealed John as a pure-pop craftsman, and he's all over the musical map on this set, moving from country-ish rock to blues-based rockers. But the best things here still might be two gorgeous ballads: "Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters" (displaying the young vocalist at his best) and the hit single "Rocket Man" (which had many rock fans debating which was the better space odyssey of the day--this or Bowie's). And lyricist Bernie Taupin was revealing a new, slightly darker side here with tunes like "I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself". --Bill Holdship

CD Description
By the time Elton John went to France to cut HONKY CHATEAU in 1972, he had already become the first act since the Beatles to land four albums in the American Top 10 simultaneously. Up to that point, John had performed in a trio rounded outby bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson. The addition of guitarist Davey Johnstone on HONKY CHATEAU added another dimension to the overall sound. The results were successful, as the nonsensical "Honky Cat" and the Bowie-inspired "Rocket Man" became John's first Top 10 hits since the release of "Your Song" two years prior.
John and co. reined in the lengthy, moody excesses of MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER, turning in a highly focused collection of beautifully crafted pop.The rollicking "I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself", the sassy "Susie (Dramas)", and the stirring "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters" are all standouts. The John/Bernie Taupin partnership also yielded a number of songs with vivid imagery, including the Civil War-era American South of "Slave" and a front-row pew before a gospel choir in the inspirational "Salvation". Pound for pound, HONKY CHATEAU may be one the strongest, most consistent, and most pleasurable records in the mammoth Johndiscography.

Customer Reviews

Elton metamorphosing into a pop star
Although a confirmed fan of Elton's work in its first, and probably best, phase (1970 - 76) this has never been one of my favourite EJ albums. Issued in 1972, it marked the transition from the moody, heavily orchestrated music of 'Madman across the water' to the very commercial 'Don't shoot me....' from early 1973, and was the first album featuring the quartet of Elton, Davey Johnstone, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson (with occasional guest appearances) throughout. Whilst 'Honky chateau' contains two quite excellent singles 'Honky cat' and 'Rocket man' (the latter one of my most favourite Elton songs), I have never felt that the rest of it matched the standard set by these two tracks. This may be due less to the actual songs as to the arrangements, which are very sparse compared with the preceding 'trilogy' of albums lavishly orchestrated by Paul Buckmaster, and have not yet developed into the polished pop-rock of the 'Goodbye yellow brick road' era. With the exception of the synthesizers in 'Rocket man', no orchestration is used on this album, and the electric violin soloing of the then-trendy Jean-Luc Ponty on some tracks I find quite jarring. Generally the mood of the songs is more upbeat than in the previous albums (witness the use of tap dancing on the ironically cheery 'I think I'm going to kill myself'), and for the above reasons 'Honky chateau' appeals to me somewhat less than Elton's more sombre work. The punky alternate take of 'Slave' which has been included in this reissue is of only passing interest and contributes nothing of value to the original album. However, notwithstanding the above comments, I would not wish to devalue this album, as almost all of Elton's early work is of very high quality and streets ahead of most British pop at the time.

Honky Chateau
in my opinion this is Elton at his very best. If I could be added to, I'd add Levon to the album and that would make it complete. A truly ecletic mix of classic Elton during the wonderful transition period of a music genre encapsulating county, folk, rock and roll all the way to bowie-esque popular music.

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, a song Elton refuses to play live is truly awesome, both versions of Slave are outstanding and compliment each other.

In short, an album for every mood of the day, and season of the year.

He's a rocket, man!
Full, jam-packed and bursting at the seams with some of the happiest, poppiest songs Elton ever recorded. Every song feels full of swish and vigour even the two ballads, 'Rocket Man' and 'Mona Lisas...' are bound with some kind of energy! If you're after an Elton John album to play in the car or to listen to whilst doing the housework: this one's it! The guy's a genius!