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List Price: $17.98 | | Label: Polygram Records
Salesrank: 56995
Released: October 25, 1990 |
| Our Price: $9.85 |
| Used Price: $1.99 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Track Listing:
1. Funeral for a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding)
2. Candle in the Wind
3. Bennie and the Jets
4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
5. This Song Has No Title
6. Grey Seal
7. Jamaica Jerk Off
8. I've Seen That Movie Too
9. Sweet Painted Lady
10. The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-1934)
11. Dirty Little Girl
12. All the Girls Love Alice
13. Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n Roll)
14. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
15. Roy Rogers
16. Social Disease
17. Harmony
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Reviews:
A damn fine album 
2008-06-01 - Nothing succeeds like excess, right? That's probably the principle Elton's lived his whole life by, it's even more likely that those exact words were pinned on the studio wall during the recording of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the apex of Elton's glam period.. It's a hedonistic, eclectic, hit-filled double-album, and is probably the album to start with if you're looking for a definitive picture of Elton John. The aforementioned hits? Oh, there's plenty, the biggest of them the campy, stuttering, hilarious "Bennie and the Jets", which reached the top of the charts. The Princess Diana tribute "Candle in the Wind" was also a big hit, and it stands as one of Elton's most touching ballads; the title track, with soaring vocal hooks, also was a smash, as was "Saturday Night's All Right (For Fighting)", Elton's loudest, most raucous rocker - it almost reaches Who-level intensity. The progressive epic "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding", "Madman Across the Water" taken to the extreme, also got a lot of radio airplay. So was "All the Young Girls Love Alice", arguably the weakest song on the album - it's immaturely, irrationally homophobic, displaying all the knowledge of lesbian culture that, I don't know, a middle-schooler may have. It's songs like this that make me kind of leery to call this Elton's best album, despite its enduring popularity: Taupin's vile, uncalled-for, painfully sincere chauvinism dominates and henceforth spoils several songs ("Sweet Painted Lady"; "Dirty Little Girl"), as well as some racism ("Jamaica Jerk-Off", an awful take on reggae even without the lyrics). Still, some of these songs have staying power: the incoherent but energetic "Grey Seal", a remake of an older b-side; the oddly arranged "This Song Has No Title"; "I've Seen That Movie Too", Elton's take on jazz; "The Ballad of Danny Bailey" has all the melodramatic pomp of his classic material, and all the melody; "Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock `n' Roll)" is a ridiculous but nonetheless amusing retro exercise; "Social Disease" is entertaining but slightly obnoxious country; "Harmony" is a wonderful orchestrated ballad. I'd hesitate to call this the best Elton John album, or the place to start, but it's a great buy.
Yellow Brick Classic 
2005-05-05 - This album is more than one of Elton's best recordings; it is also one of the best rock albums of all time. The production is excellent, the music is played nearly flawlessly, the lyrics are some of the best Taupin ever wrote, and the music was consistently some of the best Elton has written.
This album starts off with a beautiful instrumental, "Funeral for a Friend", which segues into "Love Lies Bleeding." "Funeral for a Friend" should be experienced rather than described. I plan to have "Funeral for a Friend" played at my funeral, which will hopefully be very far away.
Everyone knows "Candle in the Wind." This version is the original, and is a moving tribute to Marilyn Monroe.
"Bennie and the Jets;" the song is pretty good, but didn't come off quite as well as Elton wanted it to. The crowd participated less than Elton had intended. Regardless, the lyrics and music are wonderful, and a bit of insider commentary on pop musicians and their fans.
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is a 70s pop/rock anthem. Every greatest hits of the 70s list always includes this song. Played heavily on top 40 radio for several years and now frequently on classic rock stations, this song was an instant classic.
The next two songs are underappreciated and are very good. "This Song Has No Title" and "Grey Seal" are both very good songs. There is a serious undertone to "Grey Seal" that hints at perceptions and feelings, and perhaps the difficulty of being an individual in modern society. "Grey Seal" was re-done for "Yellow Brick Road," having been previously recorded in a style more like "Empty Sky." The original version can be found on the "Rare Masters" CD. I prefer this version, which is more polished.
"Jamaica Jerk-off" is a silly song. However, someone did their homework because while the song is a bit annoying at times, it fits well where it was positioned on the CD.
"I've Seen That Movie Too" is a bluesy song that is mellow and moving, and relates life to, what else, the movies. If you like soft rock with a touch of heavy, this is a good song. "Sweet Painted Lady" laments the life of prostitutes, and is sad rather than condescending. "The Ballad of Danny Bailey" should be part of a soundtrack to a movie. It feels like it came from a soundtrack. The song contains a fictional story that draws imagery from the fictionalized accounts of characters such as Bonnie and Clyde. This song just as easily could have been the ballad of Clyde Barrow. The song well executed song provides enjoyable listening.
"Dirty Little Girl" is lyrically a bit of a puzzler for me. I was unable to definitely divine Taupin's point. On the surface the lyrics appear to be about someone physically dirty needing a bath. With the reference to social worker, likely someone who is poor. But is there a point to the lyrics? Regardless, this song is one of the rocking songs on this CD, along with two others that appear right after "All the Girls Love Alice," which is a sorrowful song about a young female lesbian.
Two back-to-back rockers that follow are the fastest songs on the CD, "Your Sister Can't Dance" and "Saturday Night's alright for Fighting." These are songs to play at that party you were planning, along with "Dirty Little Girl." Elton John can rock when he chooses.
The last three songs cluster nicely since all three deal with different topics. The first song, "Roy Rogers," I really enjoy, though it gives me a strong feeling of nostalgia every time I listen to it. Not really a tribute to Roy Rogers so much as a tribute to old movies and TV shows, the feeling they give you, and memories of days gone by.
"Social Disease" is a mixture of thoughts, but the theme seems to be borderline alcohol abuse. I say borderline because the principal character seems to like his life. Perhaps that is an understatement. The principal character seems to revel in his life.
The last song on this CD is one of Elton's beautiful ballads, "Harmony." As happens so often with some songs, this song is flawed in that it could have been twice as long and even then it might not have been long enough. This song is very beautiful, though there seems to be two themes intertwined that may be aspects of the same theme. One theme is that of love by someone who is on the verge of obsession. The other is a musical question; will I continue to be able to sing well in the future, and for how long? Listening to the song I was unable to pick up on the second theme, but reading the lyrics I realized that the song could be interpreted in the second way.
If you like Elton's music, then you must be reading this review for curiosity, because you already have "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". If you like pop/rock from the 70s, then you already have "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." If you have heard music from the 70s and want to find the better music from that era, you have hit one of the best. I believe that while the music sounds a little dated in spots, I believe that released today it would still sell songs. Perhaps it might even influence younger artists.
Go buy this CD if you have yet to do so. It is one of pop-rock's greats!
Elton's greatest album
2004-04-09 - This album is one of the all-time favorites and the new technology showcased here will bring you to your knees. I've listened to all of these songs for over thirty years, but the sound quality displayed is beyond awesome, it's like listening to the record for the very first time. I almost had tears in my eyes when I heard the remixed (and improved) version of "All the Young Girls Love Alice," one of Elton's all-time greatest underrated songs.
I bought this album when I was 10 years old, the day it was released. I have listened to it thousands of times since then and never get sick of it. This is Elton at his creative apex, and Bernie's lyrics are magical. There are many underrated gems on this album: "All the Young Girls Love Alice" (this rocks!), "Danny Bailey" (great piano work here) and "Your Sister Can't Rock but she can Rock and Roll."
For everyone born between 1960-1965, this was *the* album of our generation and it's held up beautifully. Elton never was as good as this again and this was his shining, brilliant moment. The sound here goes above and beyond what you've heard on the original vinyl or CD versions. Highly recommended.
