Elton John – Think Bensonium

Day 390: Tiny Dancer, Elton John

Roderick Benson — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 23:00:54 +0000

This song always reminds me of the most amazing Elton John concert I attended with a good friend all the way back in 1986. This was a really special concert where Elton teamed up with the Melbourne Symphonic Orchestra. One of the songs that really stuck in my mind was this classic from the album Madman Across the Water. I was quite surprised to find an official music video for this song which appears to only be published in 2017. Anyway, the official video’s soundtrack is of the original recording although I assume it has been remastered to improve the audio quality.

Day 362: Crocodile Rock, Elton John

Roderick Benson — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 00:00:39 +0000

Countdown to the year anniversary of Covid Island Discs T -5

Like the song Daniel (Covid Island Discs Day 134), Crocodile Rock was a song that also was in that Hydro Majestic hotel’s Jukebox and one that my brother and I played over again and again as we played the pinball machines which were also in the same little room that was designed to keep the children of the hotel guests amused.

Yet this song also holds another memory for me and that is I took this tune and wrote my own words to the song about what it was like to be a pupil of St Andrews Cathedral School which at the time was an all boys school in Sydney. This song was of course designed to get laughs and a group of us performed it at my year 12 formal with Grae McWhirter on piano.

The chorus of my silly song, which I guess today might be considered inappropriate, although in its context, it was having a go at the narrow Australian male stereotype rather than being in any way homophobic went: “St Andrews you taught how to tell the difference between good and bad, difference between boys and girls and between mums and dads, PD* classes with Mr May, taught how sport prevented gays, wonder what year 7 learn today?“

*PD stood for Personal Development

Day 281: Cold as Christmas, Elton John

Roderick Benson — Sat, 26 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Back to rock star Christmas theme songs which I think deserve to be in Covid Island Discs. This song brings back some good memories for me as I went to see Elton John in concert at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney just after he released the album Too Low for Zero. Cold as Christmas was one of the songs on this album. I always remember that boater hat he wore for this concert because I went to a school where the uniform bizarrely included a boater hat.

Day 254: Rocket Man, Elton John

Roderick Benson — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Another song from the piano man, Rocket Man. This is such a great version of this wonderful song when the young Elton John still had his voice. The piano in this video is also just wonderful.

Day 253: Song for Guy, Elton John

Roderick Benson — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I remember falling in love with this piece by Elton John when I first heard it as a child (released in 1978). I just love the piano chord progression with the clever use of synthesizer and the gentle castanet percussion sound. This is not an entirely musical piece for it ends with the single and simple line “Life isn’t everything”. Amen to that.

Interestingly, my youngest daughter absolutely loves this song.

Day 228: In the end nobody wins, Elton John

Roderick Benson — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This song always reminds me of my parents marriage which was far from happy. Yet somehow despite all the fights breakups and tears they somehow stayed together until the end of their lives.

Day 197: Your Song by Elton John

Roderick Benson — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 23:00:00 +0000

Yep time for some more Elton John. I think this is one of his most prettiest songs and this clip is recorded before his voice was destroyed by singer’s node in the 80s.

Day 135: Pinball Wizard

Roderick Benson — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 16:42:20 +0000

OK so yesterday I mentioned the song the pinball wizard which in the musical Tommy was performed by Elton John (see yesterday’s post). However, this is the Who’s version of the same song with Roger Daltrey singing. Of course in the musical Tommy (where this song comes from) Roger Daltrey plays Tommy the pinball wizard who defeats his opponent who laments his defeat by singing this song. I guess that is why they needed Elton John to perform this number in the musical Tommy which I have also put in this post. I personally think the Elton John version is better.

Pinball Wizard performed by the Who

Pinball Wizard performed by Elton John

Day 134: Daniel, Elton John

Roderick Benson — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 16:30:34 +0000

Time for some more Elton John. This song reminds me of a holiday we had when I was about 5 years old at the Hydro Majestic in the Blue mountains, Australia.

In that hotel there was a jukebox and this was one of the songs that you could select. My brother Mark and I used to spend the evening putting 10 cent coins into the jukebox and playing various songs including this one. The other thing they had in the hotel were some really cool pinball machines, which reminds me of another song by Elton John (see tomorrow’s post).

Day 5: Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, Elton John

Rbenson — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 20:42:43 +0000

From one piano man to another. His voice is shot after singer nodes in the 80s but boy this is still a good arrangement of this timeless classic. Really worth watching to the very end as the piano and guitar playing get pretty intense.