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Post by BiteUrLip on Oct 21, 2020 22:33:13 GMT
Music: Elton John
Lyrics: Bernie Taupin
Six o'clock alarm
I get the wake up call
Let that sucker jingle-jangle
Ring right off the wall
I'm too low for zero
I'm too tired to work
Tied one on with a friend last night
And wound up losing my shirt
I'm too low for zero
I'm on a losing streak
I got myself in a bad patch lately
I can't seem to get much sleep
I'm too low for zero
I wind up counting sheep
Nothing seems to make much sense
It's all just Greek to me
You know I'm too low, too low, too low for zero
You know I'm too low, too low, too low for zero
Cutting out cups of coffee
Switching off the late night news
Putting the cat out two hours early
It isn't any use
I'm too low for zero
Insomnia attacks
Watching flies with my eyes till sunrise
It's daylight when I hit the sack
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Post by dougs on Oct 22, 2020 5:28:05 GMT
"Too Low For Zero" from TOO LOW FOR ZERO:
In September of 1982 Elton returned to the studio (Montserrat) to record his first album with his "classic years" band (Nigel, Dee, and Davey) since 1975's CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY. It was also the first time Elton & Bernie were essentially fully reunited since 1976's BLUE MOVES album. Between 1978 and 1982 EJ typically would use 3 or 4 lyricists for many albums plus a host of musicians in some cases. TOO LOW FOR ZERO was a return of the team (minus producer Gus Dudgeon) responsible for so much success in the 70s. The result was a good record produced by Chris Thomas with a number of solid successful singles and a few solid album tracks. "Too Low For Zero" was a single (select couple of countries) but for most of the world it remained a very strong album track.
Bernie's lyrics for this title track song have been described by writer Elizabeth Rosenthal as "a prime example of Bernie's masterful combination of rhythm, rhyming, colloquialisms, and simple imagery." Elton called the song "atmospheric." The song had a tremendously relevant and contemporary sound for the time; EJ used his ever more present synth plus piano over a drum machine rhythm. Elton offers a strong piano solo later in the song. Live in 1984 Elton featured the song late in the set as they headed for the homestretch. Nigel would come out centre-stage to provide backing vocals and tambourine while Dee played bass and bv, Davey played acoustic guitar and bv, and new member Fred Mandel added keyboards. It proved itself a more than solid track. Almost a year after the release of "I'm Still Standing" from the album, "Too Low For Zero" charted as a single in Australia. Elton continued the song live in 1989 for a short stint and, unfortunately, withdrew it from the setlist ever since. "Too Low For Zero" found itself on EJ's 1987 GREATEST HITS VOLUME III. It is a pleasure to see that Elton has brought the song back into his new JEWEL BOX on the "Deep Cuts 1" disc.
Listening to "Too Low For Zero" now certainly connects it to that era of 80s drum machines BUT it was, for the time, a song that saw Elton writing & performing music that was truly contemporary and capable of attracting a new audience. Combining it with "Crystal" and "I'm Still Standing" there was a contemporary renaissance in Elton's work. The TOO LOW FOR ZERO album became the #7 selling album of the 80s (!) in Australia. It would have been nice to see EJ tap into this electronic feel featured on "Too Low For Zero" more often that proved so successful on this album. It still sounds great today.
Rating: 5 stars
Doug
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Post by BiteUrLip on Oct 22, 2020 18:39:27 GMT
Sometimes this song pleases me, sometimes not. It's a sad sounding song that feels beautiful but it's too full of sorrow to my taste.
4 stars.
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Post by rocketman on Oct 29, 2020 18:16:54 GMT
4 stars...Informative post, as usual, DougS, and I mostly concur, though I do rate the song a bit lower. For the time, it was indeed a contemporary sound, and having the band back together with Bernie at the helm lyrically did certainly mark a return to at least some semblance of 1970's success.
Lyrically, Ive always enjoyed this song. It captures the exhaustion of an insomniac, and/or perhaps that of a drug addict. The lyric "Watching flies with my eyes till sunrise" is a clever rhyme of three words in the same sentence, and the overall mood, though somewhat dour, is still fun.
Musically, it's a solid song but there's a slight bit of monotony to it, largely due to the drum track. not until the piano solos by Elton does the song take off a bit musically, with the mid-song instrumental exchange between Elton and Davey a highlight.
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Post by newloneranger on Oct 31, 2020 11:03:21 GMT
I like that live version about a half star higher. Cool show, saw it in L.A. I've grown to like this version.
4 1/2 stars
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Post by Commodore Orpington on Nov 2, 2020 21:31:49 GMT
I have the German 45 (with Religion as the B), and it's slightly different with a more abrupt start and faster fade out, I think. ------------- While it uses synthesizer, he doesn't hit you over the head with it. In spirit, the album is a return to 70s depth and priorities, and so, this song is a more subtle mood piece, not a fashionable electronic noise barrage. --------------- What keeps it from being great is the fact that it's sad, but it's lighter, more superficial, rock-and-roll sad, not dark, morose sadness. Bernie doesn't say what's the matter, emotionally... it's more about being strung out and the physical effects. It's sort of macho sadness... He's having too much fun with his snappy wordplay for me to feel for him! In that sense, maybe it is pretty '80s...
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