Elton John: Madman Across the Water (Hybrid SACD, Multichannel/Stereo SACD) HiRES 96/24 2004 Release Date: 11/9/2004


Trading the cinematic aspirations of Tumbleweed Connection for a tentative stab at prog rock, Elton John and Bernie Taupin delivered another excellent collection of songs with Madman Across the Water. Like its two predecessors, Madman Across the Water is driven by the sweeping string arrangements of Paul Buckmaster, who gives the songs here a richly dark and haunting edge.

 And these are songs that benefit from grandiose treatments. With most songs clocking in around five minutes, the record feels like a major work, and in many ways it is. While it's not as adventurous as Tumbleweed Connection, the overall quality of the record is very high, particularly on character sketches "Levon" and "Razor Face," as well as the melodramatic "Tiny Dancer" and the paranoid title track. Madman Across the Water begins to fall apart toward the end, but the record remains an ambitious and rewarding work, and John never attained its darkly introspective atmosphere again. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Track Listing

  Track # Title
1 Tiny Dancer
2 Levon
3 Razor Face
4 Madman Across the Water
5 Indian Sunset
6 Holiday Inn
7 Rotten Peaches
8 All the Nasties
9 Goodbye

Product Reviews

Trading the cinematic aspirations of Tumbleweed Connection for a tentative stab at prog rock, Elton John and Bernie Taupin delivered another excellent collection of songs with Madman Across the Water. Like its two predecessors, Madman Across the Water is driven by the sweeping string arrangements of Paul Buckmaster, who gives the songs here a richly dark and haunting edge. And these are songs that benefit from grandiose treatments. With most songs clocking in around five minutes, the record feels like a major work, and in many ways it is. While it's not as adventurous as Tumbleweed Connection, the overall quality of the record is very high, particularly on character sketches "Levon" and "Razor Face," as well as the melodramatic "Tiny Dancer" and the paranoid title track. Madman Across the Water begins to fall apart toward the end, but the record remains an ambitious and rewarding work, and John never attained its darkly introspective atmosphere again. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Details

Elton John
Madman Across the Water
Pop
Drum & Bass Collections
9 November 2004
Unknown
SACD SACD ~ Discs:1 ~ Country:USA
USA
Umgd/Mercury ( POL )
SACD
602498240298
E: Super Audio CD

Unavailable

Sold Out