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Post by BiteUrLip on Apr 2, 2018 23:45:36 GMT
Elton's finest soundtrack to me. Unfortunately also the first album to lack a top 40 US hit (ES doesn't count).
First we have "El Dorado". That's a happy song full of hope. I think it's my favorite here, a wonderful song, although the lyrical content I don't like that much, because it reminds of greediness of humans. After that comes "Someday Out Of The Blue", which should have been the top 40 hit, but it wasn't. That song isn't as effective as the opener, and I dislike the outro. "Without Question" is the next song, and quality again drops. It's still a great song though. First problematic song is "Friends Never Say Goodbye". I think the music doesn't match the lyrics, because it should be a happy sounding song, like "That's What Friends Are For" or "Friends Will Be Friends", but no. "The Trail We Blaze" is a return back to great songs. It is even better in the cast recording cd. The next song, "16th Century Man", is somewhat a rocking attempt. It's quite good, but again the quality drops. Then we have "The Panic In Me". That's an interesting one, having a minor key chorus after major key verses, and it works quite well. But then comes "It's Too Tough To Be A God", the worst song of the set. It goes quite low cause the music really irritates and I don't like the lyrics. Thankfully "Trust Me" is a return to high quality songs. I've always had some kind of a guilty pleasure with that song. Then comes "My Heart Dances" which is a melancholic, but beautiful song. "Queen Of Cities" ends the Elton part, and that's probably the 2nd best song of the set.
No comments on non-Elton songs.
1. El Dorado *****+ 2. Someday Out Of The Blue ***** 3. Without Question ***** 4. Friends Never Say Goodbye ****½ 5. The Trail We Blaze ***** 6. 16th Century Man ***** 7. The Panic In Me ***** 8. It's Tough To Be A God (Duet With Randy Newman) ** 9. Trust Me *****+ 10. My Heart Dances ***** 11. Queen Of Cities *****+ 12. Cheldorado ***½ 13. The Brig ***½ 14. Welcome To The New World *****
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Post by dougs on Apr 3, 2018 3:43:35 GMT
ROAD TO EL DORADO:
This was Elton's 2nd major attempt at writing for a what was hoped to be a major animated motion picture. THE LION KING had proven to be a major commercial success for Elton selling over 10 million units in the USA alone, going #1 in several countries, and generating major hit singles. Backed again by lyricist Tim Rice and primary producer Patrick Leonard, the ROAD TO EL DORADO did surprisingly poorly. The film itself did badly; generating less box office sales than the actual film budget. The very popular Backstreet Boys were used as guest vocalists and EJ used a wide number of musicians including Davey Johnstone and Bob Birch on a few songs plus Curt Bisquera and producer Patrick Leonard (keyboards) on several songs.
Results? Commercially, Elton's soundtrack did as poorly as the film itself. After the millions and millions of THE LION KING copies sold, ROAD TO EL DORADO barely charted. One of the only countries to see it chart was the USA at a disappointing #63 peak. The album did not chart in the UK and didn't make a dent anywhere else. The album produced two singles; "Someday Out Of The Blue" and "Friends Never Say Goodbye" with the Backstreet Boys. Elton promoted "Someday Out Of The Blue" with lots of TV appearances yet the song hit only #49 on the USA charts (#5 on the AC Chart). It barely charted anywhere else. The second single, "Friends Never Say Goodbye" didn't chart on the main USA charts but at least secured the #21 position on the AC chart. Very disappointing sales. Elton had by now lost his new music radio airplay (except Adult Contemporary stations) and his singles no longer sold like they used to. The critical reviews for the soundtrack were mixed to poor for Elton & Tim.
Elton seemed enthusiastic about the record. He said that when he wrote the title track that he just knew that he had done it; written a really really good song - a hit. I do quite like the track "El Dorado" and find that there are other substantial songs like "Someday Out Of The Blue" and "The Trail We Blaze" and "16th Century Man" and "Trust Me." These are all well written tracks. "Trust Me" should be noted for the fact that Elton stepped "outside of the box" musically on this one by writing an electronically-influenced song. The other tracks were far more familiar in terms of musical style so it was good to see Elton push the envelope a bit with "Trust Me."
The songs, after the initial promotional push, mostly disappeared. Elton did play four songs from the ROAD TO EL DORADO in a promotional 12-song concert performed in San Francisco in February of 2000. The band was interesting; it included Davey, Bob Birch on bass, John Jorgenson on guitar, Curt Bisquera on drums, John Mahon, Billy Trudel on backing vocals and the return of Nigel Olsson - to backing vocals only at this point. The songs sounded good live but this was really the end of them when the soundtrack failed to sell or chart.
The ROAD TO EL DORADO really feels much better than the sales it generated. The critics didn't like it much, it didn't sell, yet it has many decent songs and seems like it deserved to do a better.
Doug
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Post by AGR82 on Apr 3, 2018 4:28:28 GMT
A very underrated album. I like a lot...A LOT! Also very good production...The sound of this album (along with SFTWC) is one of the best of all his catalogue...
I really miss Patrick Leonard on production...We could have got a better Peachtree Road with him on controls...
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latitude
Big Man In A Little Suit
Posts: 133
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Post by latitude on Apr 3, 2018 11:29:31 GMT
My special album. I love it SO much. Even after 18 years it's still very special every time I play it. 5++ stars.
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Post by dougs on Apr 3, 2018 15:54:03 GMT
Latitude:
What are your favourite songs from THE ROAD TO EL DORADO?
My top two are "El Dorado" and "Trust Me."
Too bad this album kind of "got lost" because it is better than it sold, so-to-speak; lots of variety and quality.
Doug
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latitude
Big Man In A Little Suit
Posts: 133
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Post by latitude on Apr 3, 2018 16:10:27 GMT
I especially love the songs 'Someday Out of the Blue', 'The Panic in Me', and 'Cheldorado' (from Hans Zimmer). Many of the other songs are right up there for me.
Yea, I felt bad about how the album did. I think a lot of people must have thought of it as just a low level cartoony album. For one thing that cartoon did lousy at the box office. I saw it twice. *I* thought it was good.
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Post by dougs on Apr 3, 2018 16:50:39 GMT
Latitude:
Yeah, "Someday Out Of The Blue" is a good one and EJ did it well live on TV when he was promoting the song & album & film.
Doug
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Post by rocketman on Apr 3, 2018 20:46:57 GMT
1. El Dorado 4.25 2. Someday Out Of The Blue 3.75 3. Without Question 4.25 4. Friends Never Say Goodbye 4 5. The Trail We Blaze 4.25 6. 16th Century Man 4.25 7. The Panic In Me 4.5 8. It's Tough To Be A God (Duet With Randy Newman) 4 9. Trust Me 5 10. My Heart Dances 3.75 11. Queen Of Cities 5 12. Cheldorado 4 13. The Brig 4 14. Welcome To The New World 4 Bonus Tracks 1. Hey Armadillo 3.5 2. Perfect Love 4.25
Now that we're through the soundtrack and show albums, it's back to regular Elton John albums...oh, wait, this is a soundtrack album too. Even so, I consider it to be, at least in some respects, a regular Elton John album.
For one thing, the song arrangement is, unlike The Lion King, not interrupted by the instrumentals. They're saved for the end, and wisely so. This lends itself to more of an album, and less of a soundtrack, feel. Secondly, and again, unlike The Lion King, the versions here are all sung by Elton and some are altered from how they were heard in the film. Lastly, the songs are on par with what one would expect from a good album. There's not really any filler; each song contributes something. And if one does want to listen to the instrumentals, they're actually pretty decent.
In terms of individual ratings, there are two five-star songs and a couple more that approach that level - not bad at all, for any album. I do think that it was a mistake though to release Someday Out Of The Blue as the album's primary single, since its melody and arrangement do not lend well to consumption as a single. Indeed, it did not place well at all, though it did peak at #5 AC in the US, but only #49 among the Billboard Hot 100. The album itself fared no better, peaking at a meager #63.
Moribund sales aside, this is a good album, and deserved a better fate. It's better than the multi-platinum The Lion King, but alas, the film it was attached to didn't do well either, which surely didn't help.
Production, by Patrick Leonard, is first-rate, with a robust, full sound. Leonard would of course go on to produce Songs From The West Coast, and from a personal standpoint, his production values are as good as any other producer of an Elton John album, save for Gus Dudgeon's 70's work.
I own the two bonus tracks, which at the time were available if the album was purchased at Best Buy. Notably, Perfect Love is about as good as anything on the main album with a catchy chorus - considerably more engaging than the album's first single.
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Post by AGR82 on Apr 4, 2018 7:13:59 GMT
The two bonus songs were also available in the Australian Someday Out Of The Blue CD Sigle.
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Post by BiteUrLip on Apr 4, 2018 7:36:42 GMT
I forgot the two bonus songs! I'd give them:
15. Hey Armadillo ***** 16. Perfect Love ****½
"Hey Armadillo" is pretty interesting, but PL is generic.
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Post by dougs on Apr 4, 2018 12:19:04 GMT
re: "Hey Armadillo" bonus track:
I just listened to this song for the first time. It is a surprisingly good track. I really like the music in it. It could actually be a really decent instrumental.
Good one.
Doug
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Post by Commodore Orpington on Apr 5, 2018 13:09:01 GMT
This is another example of Elton taking a genre I have a lot of resistance to (in this case, love ballady, radio friendly Adult Contemporary), and doing it so well that I love the songs, despite myself.
Almost all the songs have that magical "spark" to them. The standouts are Panic In Me, and Trust Me. The others have a bit of that "ta da", overly precious, self impressed quality, but it's not undeserved.
If anything had commercial potential, this did. Maybe AC was experiencing a backlash by this point? Or nobody promoted it.
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Post by kissybissy on May 5, 2018 22:49:08 GMT
I would go 4,5 stars.
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Post by nix on Aug 10, 2019 10:52:32 GMT
Album rating: ****
1. El Dorado **** 2. Someday Out Of The Blue ***** 3. Without Question ***½ 4. Friends Never Say Goodbye ****½ 5. The Trail We Blaze ***½ 6. 16th Century Man **** 7. The Panic In Me **** 8. It's Tough To Be A God (Duet With Randy Newman) ****½ 9. Trust Me **½ 10. My Heart Dances ***½ 11. Queen Of Cities *** 12. Cheldorado ***** 13. The Brig **** 14. Welcome To The New World *****
15. Hey Armadillo **** 16. Perfect Love ****½
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