Elton John - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player

Classic Elton

This album includes a number of Elton's 45s that my mother and uncle listened to as kids. Good sound and quality. This is still early in Elton's career and it is interesting to see how much different he sounds in this album from more recent albums. Elton John fans should have this album. September 21, 2008

Elton's Best

I've always regarded this as Elton's best and I also think it has aged better than Yellow Brick Road. On this album, Elton had just come into his full creative powers as a songwriter and the album is near perfect. Elton was not especially regarded as a great singer up to this album and at this point, he started regularly writing great songs that were perfect for his voice. The two hits-"Daniel" and "Crocadile Rock"-are a little overplayed but within the context of the strong album material, I continue to include them on my MP3 player and I like listening to the album as a whole. I would even venture to say that "Teacher, I need you", "Eldeberry Wine", "Midnight Creeper" and "Blues for Baby and me" are some of my favorite Elton John songs. May 27, 2008

My first and favorite!

This was the first Elton John album I bought and it remains to this day my favorite. Yes, I had a vinyl album, and for some reason never moved to the cassette or CD. After buying this CD and singing along once again, I realized that it did indeed stand the test of time. Elton's melodies and piano-playing and Bernie Taupin's lyrics stand out. I know that "Honky Chateau" is considered by many to be a finer effort, but I just like every song on "Don't Shoot Me". In fact, several of the songs that weren't released as singles seem to me stronger efforts. April 5, 2008

Pure Pop!

Don't Shoot Me...I'm Only The Piano Player is the album that finally captured all of Elton's pop sensibilities and fused them together in a way no other album had done previously. The album before it, Honky Chateau, hinted at his pop leanings, but stayed in the middle ground of FM rock. He had been the darling of music critics until this release. Now a full fledge pop star, Elton broke out of the serious songwriter mode and found a new voice. And what a voice! This is simply a fun album that is full of many styles: 50's rock, country, ballads, R&B. Amazingly, this album had the exact same band as Honky Chateau but the feeling here is a lot more expressive.

The big hits of course are Daniel and Crocodile Rock. Much has been written about them so I'll leave 'em alone. But you'll discover great "lost gems" in the punchy Elderberry Wine and funky Midnight Creeper. The 50's flashback are evident in the aforementioned Crocodile Rock, but Teacher I Need You swings with the best of them as well. And I'm Gonnna Be A Teenage Idol has many interesting parts with a chorus that's simply too catchy for words.

But there are few high drama moments as well with two beautiful ballads in High Flying Bird and Blues For Baby And Me. While Have Mercy On The Criminal is a tightly arranged powerhouse that still catered to the FM audience at the time. Lastly, Texan Love Song is at last a Taupin lyric that doesn't romanticize the South, instead, acknowledging old world values and opinions. It's the only song that doesn't really fit in with the rest of the album.

Elton and Bernie were starting on their incredible roll here and you can see how this was easily a hint of what was to come with the next album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

You won't be disappointed with this one from Elton and Bernie. It's has stood the test of time well, as much as their other classic albums have as well.

Best Tracks: Daniel, Crocodile Rock, Elderberry Wine, High Flying Bird. March 22, 2008

don't shoot me, I want to hear this brilliant album

It's impossible to say Elton John had an underrated album. He was just too good at what he did back in the day to not have a consistently enjoyable career. A singer-songwriter that went WAY beyond what a normal human being can do.

The big hits like "Daniel" and "Crocodile Rock" don't hold a candle to the other songs, such as "Texas Love Song" and "High Flying Bird". In fact, every other song besides the big two are more enjoyable to me personally. That's not to say the hits are bad or anything- no way! I have a lot of memories connected to both "Daniel" and "Crocodile Rock" from my childhood and they immediately take me back to those days. So they are very important songs to me. Over time though, we realize the hits aren't the only worthwhile songs on an album, and this is a prime example of that. Pick it up today. March 19, 2008

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