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Post by BiteUrLip on Mar 15, 2021 9:07:04 GMT
Music: Elton John
Lyrics: Gary Osborne
I'm still in love with you oh shooting star
And when I start to wonder where you are
There you are, there you are, shooting star
You may have seen me at the early show
I sat and watched you from the second row
Oh you were mine long ago way back when
Even then we both knew you'd go far oh shooting star
And with the spotlight shining in your eyes
It's sometimes hard to find your way
But maybe some night you might
Think of me, shooting star
And when that moment comes at last
And you remember who you are
Here I'll be, shooting star, shooting star
Here I'll be, shooting star, shooting star, shooting star
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Post by BiteUrLip on Mar 15, 2021 9:07:52 GMT
It is certainly a very unique song in Elton's catalog, musically. It sounds mysterious, but also a bit weird and boring.
2½ stars.
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Post by dougs on Mar 15, 2021 10:55:24 GMT
"Shooting Star" from A SINGLE MAN:
"Shooting Star" is an interesting jazz-infused ballad featuring Elton on Fender Rhodes electric piano, Herbie Flowers on the upright bass, and John Crocker on tenor sax. By the way, Herbie Flowers was making his first appearance on an Elton record since the early days (TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION and MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER); it would also be his last-ever appearance on an Elton record. This is an atmospheric number that comes in at a short (by Elton standards) 2 minutes and 44 seconds.
The song was apparently inspired by a trip that Elton and friend Rod Stewart took to Rio de Janeiro for Carnivale. Elton has stated that "Shooting Star" was one of his favourites from this particular era of songwriting. Clearly, Elton had managed to continue his jazz-influenced writing with success which had made a distinct appearance in "Idol" from BLUE MOVES and continued in "Chloe" on THE FOX. As some fans know, Elton showed off his jazz talents much earlier in his career on "Hay Chewed" from EMPTY SKY and "Come Down in Time" from TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION (including the recently released for the first time full-on jazz version). "Shooting Star" fits in nicely with these efforts.
Lyrically, we can't be sure how much of "A Shooting Star" is from Gary Osborne and how much is from Elton; this was the era when the music came first and the lyrics and/or title were totally or partly Elton's. Osborne did some lyrics on A SINGLE MAN but also finished several of Elton's ideas and lyrics.
Despite Elton's love of the song "Shooting Star" it was rarely played live. It did get at least three promotional appearances in October of 1978 and the "Old Grey Whistle Test" version remains on YouTube for our dancing & dining pleasure! This version sees Elton perform it solo on piano (not electric).
The song strikes a chord with me musically, not so much lyrically, and occasionally in terms of the vocals...
Rating: 4 stars
Doug
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Post by rocketman on Mar 19, 2021 17:16:40 GMT
4.5 stars...as Doug implied, the music for Shooting Star outshines the lyrics; I particularly like Herbie Flowers' bass in this song, and the fact that it's an acoustic upright gives it a unique sonic character.
But the song itself overall is very good, and to me actually represents a bit of a 'break', one might say, from the pure pop flavor of the rest of the record. In some ways, it's a jazz interlude of sorts, and its short time frame makes it feel almost like Dream #3 on The Diving Board, in terms of it being an interlude as well.
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Post by newloneranger on Apr 4, 2021 3:14:49 GMT
This song kind of grew on me. Turned out to be one of my favorites from this album
4 stars
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