Your top 10 Elton songs from every decade

[nix]

Here is my list:

1970-1979:
10. Tiny Dancer
9. Pinball Wizard
8. Tonight
7. The King Must Die
6. Candle in the Wind
5. Bennie and the Jets  
4. Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me  
3. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road  
2. Rocket Man  
1. Your Song

1980-1989:
10. Nobody Wins
9. Nikita
8. Crystal
7. Sad Songs
6. Where Have All the Good Times Gone
5. Blue Eyes
4. Healing Hands
3. I'm Still Standing
2. Sacrifice
1. I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues

1990-1999:
10. Long Way From Happiness
9. Blessed
8. Made in England
7. Runaway Train
6. Believe
5. Live Like Horses
4. Can You Feel the Love Tonight
3. You Gotta Love Someone
2. The Last Song
1. The One

2000-2009:
10. Across the River Thames
9. A Little Peace
8. The Captain and the Kid
7. God Never Came Here
6. Blues Never Fade Away
5. I Want Love
4. Birds
3. And the House Fell Down
2. Someday Out of the Blue
1. Original Sin

2010-today:
10. Hello Hello
9. England and America
8. Candlelit Bedroom
7. 5th Avenue
6. Wonderful Crazy Night
5. I Should Have Sent Roses
4. Mandalay Again
3. Oscar Wilde Gets Out
2. Home Again
1. Hey Ahab

[dougs]

nix:

Good to see you back.  Good idea for the post.  Not easy, but good!  Normally, I wouldn't include live songs but I did here...to fill out the most recent decade where there aren't a lot of songs that I enjoy a lot.

OK, Top 10 EJ Songs by Decade:

1969-1979:

10. EMPTY SKY (I know it is 1969 but it is going to be appear here)
  9. WHERE TO NOW ST. PETER?
  8. ONE HORSE TOWN
  7. TONIGHT
  6. CURTAINS
  5. ROCKET MAN
  4. SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT (FOR FIGHTING)
  3. PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM
  2. STREET KIDS
  1. FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND / LOVE LIES BLEEDING


1980-1989:

10. BLUE AVENUE
  9. PASSENGERS
  8. KISS THE BRIDE
  7. NIKITA
  6. RESTLESS
  5. JUST LIKE BELGIUM
  4. CRYSTAL
  3. THE MAN WHO NEVER DIED
  2. TOO LOW FOR ZERO
  1. CHASING THE CROWN


1990-1999:

 10.THE ONE
  9. PAIN
  8. NOT ME (AIDA DEMO)
  7. SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
  6. BELIEVE
  5. SWEAT IT OUT
  4. RED
  3. LONG WAY FROM HAPPINESS
  2. WICKED DREAMS
  1. SIMPLE LIFE


2000-2009:

10. MANSFIELD
  9. AMERICAN TRIANGLE
  8. THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID
  7. EL DORADO
  6. BLUES NEVER FADE AWAY
  5. TRUST ME
  4. ORIGINAL SIN
  3. BIRDS
  2. AND THE HOUSE FELL DOWN
  1. BALLAD OF THE BOY IN THE RED SHOES


2010-2019:

10. HEY AHAB
  9. OSCAR WILDE GETS OUT
  8. IN THE NAME OF YOU
  7. SAD
  6. TONIGHT (LIVE IN MOSCOW)
  5. I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE (LIVE IN MOSCOW)
  4. ROCKET MAN (LIVE IN MOSCOW)
  3. CLAW HAMMER
  2. SIXTY
  1. THE OPEN CHORD

[nix]

Dougs, interesting choices. It's not easy list to do, but it's interesting to see how people react to post 70's songs since top 50 would probably include 90% of 70's songs on every list.

[dougs]

nix:

Agreed.  It is so easy to come up with LOTS of 70s songs for our respective lists.  He also put out so many studio albums in that decade from which to choose.  I can't believe that I couldn't get "Sixty Years On" from 17-11-70 and "Pinball Wizard" on the 70s decade list - love them both!  In the past two decades there have been far fewer new studio albums to buy. Two or three of his 70s albums contain up to 25 of my all-time favourite songs  (CAPTAIN FANTASTC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY and GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD and BLUE MOVES).  I do like a fair amount of Elton's 80s "songs" but not too many of the "albums" on the whole.  Every song that you included on your 80s list I really enjoy.  Elton's 90s albums were more consistent than the 80s ones, I feel.  I must say, though, I find SLEEPING WITH THE PAST (1989) more & more a pleasure to listen to over time.  You listed "You Gotta Love Someone" which most people seem to forget about.  That song went #1 here in Canada; it was big.  I always thought that "Red" was good enough to be on one of his albums;  it was done during the MADE IN ENGLAND sessions.  "I Should Have Sent Roses" is amazingly good, isn't it?

Doug

[nix]

I remember the first ime I noticed Elton was during the video of 'You Gotta Love Someone'. For some reason that video was almost every day on TV probably few times and I fell in love with song and it was like I knew that Elton will be one day my #1 musician. I was 10 or 11 years old. I also really love the video. It was the same producet that made 2 years later video for 'The River of Dream' by Billy Joel.

What I like about 'I Should Have Sent Roses' is production, especially in the verse during Elton's part... all those little bits and pieces between vocal... it's such bluesy and kinda dark song. I don't have anything against Leon's Vocals and even though it sounded weird at first, I really get used to it, but I would still love to hear studio version of Elton singing both verses of the song.
SWTP is great album. My favorite Elton era is probably between 1989-1997. In the 80's I also wanted to put on the list 'Soul Glove' or even 'This Town', but there wasn't enough space.

Elton composed too many great songs.

[BenandtheJets]

1969-79
10- Rocket Man
9- Pinky
8- The Ballad Of Danny Bailey
7- Ticking
6- Tonight
5- Bennie And The Jets
4- FFF/LLB
3- Someone Saved My Life Tonight
2- Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
1- Tiny Dancer

1980-89
10- Whispers
9- Little Jeannie
8- Blue Eyes
7- Chloe
6- Carla/Etude
5- Healing Hands
4- Soul Glove
3- Cold As Christmas (In The Middle Of The Year)
2- Sacrifice
1- I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues

1990-99
10- You Can Make History (Young Again)
9- If The River Can Bend
8- No Valentines
7- Made In England
6- Circle Of Life
5- You Gotta Love Someone
4- Simple Life
3- Sweat It Out
2- Blessed
1- The One

2000-09
10- Tinderbox
9- This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
8- American Triangle
7- The Captain And The Kid
6- Trust Me
5- The Wasteland
4- How's Tomorrow
3- Birds
2- And The House Fell Down
1- Someday Out Of The Blue

2010-19

10- The Ballad Of Blind Tom
9- Oscar Wilde Gets Out
8- I've Got Two Wings
7- The Diving Board
6- Mandalay Again
5- Blues Never Fade Away
4- The Bridge
3- Claw Hammer
2- Voyeur
1- The Open Chord

[dougs]

BenandtheJets:

Nice to see "Sweat It Out" and "Trust Me" on your list;  I don't think we'll see those on too many lists!  I, too, would like to have included "Bennie and the Jets" and "The Ballad of Danny Bailey" and "Ticking" on my list for the 70s but there were just so many great songs from which to choose from that era.

Doug

[nix]

Jun 6, 2021 0:51:58 GMT dougs said:

BenandtheJets:

Nice to see "Sweat It Out" and "Trust Me" on your list;  I don't think we'll see those on too many lists!  I, too, would like to have included "Bennie and the Jets" and "The Ballad of Danny Bailey" and "Ticking" on my list for the 70s but there were just so many great songs from which to choose from that era.

Doug

'Sweat It Out' is really creative song and that piano.... I love it! 
But 'Trust Me' sounds to me like a failed experiment. Sound effects in the song are interesting, but verse is melodically derivative and simple, while chorus is simply weak. 

[rocketman]

1968-79
1.Have Mercy On The Criminal
2.Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
3.Holiday Inn
4.One Horse Town
5.All The Girls Love Alice
6.Burn Down The Mission
7.Ego
8.Gulliver
9.Crazy Water
10.Sails

1980-89
1. Blue Avenue
2. Saint
3. Burning Buildings
4. This Town
5. Mona Lisas Part II
6. Crystal
7. Who Wears These Shoes?
8. Chloe
9. Heart In The Right Place
10. Empty Garden

!990-99
1. Simple Life
2. The End Will Come
3. Lies
4. Whitewash County
5. Circle Of Life
6. A Long Way From Happiness
7. Recover Your Soul
8. Believe
9. Wicked Dreams
10. Suit Of Wolves

2000-2009
1. Weight Of The World
2. And The House Fell Down
3. Tinderbox
4. Look Ma No Hands
5. Postcards From Richard Nixon
6. Queen Of Cities
7. Trust Me
8. I Can't Keep This From You
9. There's No Tomorrow
10. Hey Ahab

2010-19
1. Oscar Wilde Gets Out
2. Voyeur
3. A Good Heart
4. A Town Called Jubilee
5. New Fever Waltz
6. The Ballad Of Blind Tom
7. Free And Easy
8. The Open Chord
9. In The Name Of You
10. Wonderful Crazy Night

Notes: My two favorites from The Union, Hearts Have Turned TO Stone and If It wasn't For Bad were written by Leon Russell, so I did not include them on the list from 2000-09.

Occasionally, songs do shift in order of preference, and enter and leave such lists depending on my preferences at any given time. An example is All The Girls Love Alice, which has recently been added, while Hercules is no longer in the Top 10 from 1968-79.

I rated 1-10 rather than 10-1 because it's simply easier for me to do it that way.

[Commodore Orpington]

I didn't post on this?

60s:
Empty Sky
Just Like Strange Rain
Lady Samantha
It's Me That You Need
Hymn 2000
Here's To The Next Time
-----
70s:
Danny Bailey
Ticking
The King Must Die
Levon
FFF/LLB
Harmony
I've Seen That Movie Too
Mona Lisas
Sixty Years On
My Father's Gun
----
80s:
Burning Buildings
Saint
Blue Avenue
Elton's Song
Spiteful Child
Satellite
Hey Papa Legba
White Man Danger
Crystal
Carla/Etude
----
90s:
Emily
January
Latitude
Simple Life
Please
Red
Some Other World
Cold
On Dark Street
If The River Can Bend
-----
2000s:
Dark Diamond
Mansfield
Look Ma No Hands
Love Her Like Me
Ballad... Red Shoes
Birds
Emperor
American Triangle
Original Sin
The North Star
-----
2010s:
Jimmy Rodgers' Dream
Mandalay Again
The Best Part of the Day
A Dream Come True
My Kind of Hell
Gone to Shiloh
Hey Ahab
If It Wasn't for Bad
Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes
5th Avenue