Post by dougs on Oct 10, 2022 6:15:24 GMT
Elton & Bernie's HONKY CHATEAU is 50 years old this year (2022)!
Here is some information about the album, the singles ("Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat"), the recording of the music, and other facts:
HONKY CHATEAU is Elton's fifth proper studio album, coming on the heels of MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER. The new album incorporated a lot of new "firsts" and became Elton's most successful album to that time (1972). One of the "firsts" was that HONKY CHATEAU became Elton's first #1 album on any national chart. It reached #1 in the US, #2 in the UK, #3 in Canada, and #4 in Australia. Here are a few more "firsts" for HONKY CHATEAU:
* It was Elton's first album to be recorded in France (Strawberry Studios at Chateau d'Herouville); all other albums had been recorded in the UK to that point.
* It was Elton's first album to feature EJ's touring band (Nigel, Dee, and Davey) on the entire album; all other albums featured a variety of musicians including Caleb Quaye & Roger Pope.
* It was the first album in the 70s to not have legendary Paul Buckmaster string arrangements; the album featured a more straight-ahead band sound.
* It was the first album to feature electric violin; Jean-Luc Ponty on "Mellow" and "Amy."
* It was the first album to feature David Hentschel; he played the ARP synth on "Rocket Man." He would also play an instrumental role (pun intended!) on "Funeral For A Friend" the next year.
* It was the first album of Elton's to spawn two Top 10 hits; "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat" in Canada and the US did so.
* It was the first (and last) Elton album to feature tap dancing on a song; "Legs" Larry Smith did a roaring good job of this on "I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself."
* It was the first album to feature that classic Elton John backing vocal sound courtesy of Nigel, Dee, and Davey - incidentally, Gus Dudgeon recorded them on separate mics.
* It was the first album that Davey Johnstone played & recorded electric guitar; he had initially been brought in because of his work on acoustic guitar, banjo, and mandolin.
The success of HONKY CHATEAU was matched by universally strong album reviews and coincided with larger and larger concert crowds in larger and larger venues. In only 2 years, Elton had graduated from playing in clubs, to larger theatres, to even larger arenas. The album had a new energy and sound and has been consistently seen as one of Elton's most consistent and respected albums - ever. Rolling Stone magazine in 2020 ranked it at #251 on their chart of 500 best-ever albums. Only GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD scored higher.
As mentioned, HONKY CHATEAU had two hit singles; "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat." Here are their respective chart positions:
* "Rocket Man" reached #2 in the UK, #6 in Ireland, #6 in the US, and #8 in Canada.
* "Honky Cat" reached #4 in New Zealand, #8 in the US, and #10 in Canada.
* "Hercules" was selected as the album's third single but was dropped with "Crocodile Rock" from the next album being readied for single release in the near future.
* Elton initially thought that "Salvation" would be the album's first single. Not to be.
Here are some interesting facts and quotes taken from the recording of HONKY CHATEAU during and after the sessions:
* Producer: Gus Dudgeon. Engineer: Ken Scott.
* Elton legally changed his middle name to Hercules at this time - also the name of the album's closing track.
* The 18th Century chateau used to record the album is seriously thought to have been haunted!
* Producer Gus Dudgeon loved the sound of the studio; "I'd never experienced that type of fidelity before, in any studio I'd ever been in."
* Guitarist Davey Johnstone further added that "the drums sound phenomenal" in that studio.
* Regarding the studio, Elton said that there "was something magical about it."
* Elton, the band, and team all lived and recorded in privacy at the chateau - being nicely isolated well away from the distractions of Paris.
* Regarding playing as a new band in the studio, Davey stated: "The band was almost telepathic. We'd each know what the other one was going to play."
* Elton & band started that incredible ability to write & record prolifically; at the chateau there were 9 songs written in 3 days! "It was like a Motown hit factory."
* Davey beautifully over-dubbed four open-tuned acoustic guitars over the choruses of "Rocket Man."
* Songs were apparently recorded in very few takes; the vocals for "Honky Cat" were recorded in one take by Elton.
* Elton says that the New York City inspired track "Mona Lisas and Mad Matters" is "one of my all-time favourites."
* Bernie wrote "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" based partly on witnessing a shooting outside of their NYC hotel.
* Elton played "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" on his 2001 tour to honour NYC after 9-11. He also played it at the soon-to-follow special Madison Square Garden concert.
* By the end of the 1972 HONKY CHATEAU tour, Elton & band were playing 6 tracks from the album; more than any other album.
* Album tracks such as "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" and "Hercules" and "I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself" received lots of concert play over the years.
HONKY CHATEAU has stood the test of time and was an album which started Elton and the band in a new direction. Elton's popularity would only skyrocket for the next several years with this team (Elton, Bernie, Nigel Olsson, Dee Murray, Davey Johnstone, and Gus Dudgeon) intact. It started a streak of #1 albums and unimaginable popularity. It is 50 years old this year - released in May of 1972. HONKY CHATEAU has since been remastered and also re-released on high quality 180-gram vinyl. It would be nice to see a box set...
By the way, check out the superb book "Captain Fantastic" by David John DeCouto for lots of info on Elton in the 70s. He amassed a lot of facts about the recording of Elton's albums. A great read and still available.
What were your favourite tracks from HONKY CHATEAU? Do any of you have favourite live concert moments of seeing any of the songs from HONKY CHATEAU? Elton certainly did some epic long versions of "Rocket Man" in concert.
Doug
Here is some information about the album, the singles ("Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat"), the recording of the music, and other facts:
HONKY CHATEAU is Elton's fifth proper studio album, coming on the heels of MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER. The new album incorporated a lot of new "firsts" and became Elton's most successful album to that time (1972). One of the "firsts" was that HONKY CHATEAU became Elton's first #1 album on any national chart. It reached #1 in the US, #2 in the UK, #3 in Canada, and #4 in Australia. Here are a few more "firsts" for HONKY CHATEAU:
* It was Elton's first album to be recorded in France (Strawberry Studios at Chateau d'Herouville); all other albums had been recorded in the UK to that point.
* It was Elton's first album to feature EJ's touring band (Nigel, Dee, and Davey) on the entire album; all other albums featured a variety of musicians including Caleb Quaye & Roger Pope.
* It was the first album in the 70s to not have legendary Paul Buckmaster string arrangements; the album featured a more straight-ahead band sound.
* It was the first album to feature electric violin; Jean-Luc Ponty on "Mellow" and "Amy."
* It was the first album to feature David Hentschel; he played the ARP synth on "Rocket Man." He would also play an instrumental role (pun intended!) on "Funeral For A Friend" the next year.
* It was the first album of Elton's to spawn two Top 10 hits; "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat" in Canada and the US did so.
* It was the first (and last) Elton album to feature tap dancing on a song; "Legs" Larry Smith did a roaring good job of this on "I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself."
* It was the first album to feature that classic Elton John backing vocal sound courtesy of Nigel, Dee, and Davey - incidentally, Gus Dudgeon recorded them on separate mics.
* It was the first album that Davey Johnstone played & recorded electric guitar; he had initially been brought in because of his work on acoustic guitar, banjo, and mandolin.
The success of HONKY CHATEAU was matched by universally strong album reviews and coincided with larger and larger concert crowds in larger and larger venues. In only 2 years, Elton had graduated from playing in clubs, to larger theatres, to even larger arenas. The album had a new energy and sound and has been consistently seen as one of Elton's most consistent and respected albums - ever. Rolling Stone magazine in 2020 ranked it at #251 on their chart of 500 best-ever albums. Only GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD scored higher.
As mentioned, HONKY CHATEAU had two hit singles; "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat." Here are their respective chart positions:
* "Rocket Man" reached #2 in the UK, #6 in Ireland, #6 in the US, and #8 in Canada.
* "Honky Cat" reached #4 in New Zealand, #8 in the US, and #10 in Canada.
* "Hercules" was selected as the album's third single but was dropped with "Crocodile Rock" from the next album being readied for single release in the near future.
* Elton initially thought that "Salvation" would be the album's first single. Not to be.
Here are some interesting facts and quotes taken from the recording of HONKY CHATEAU during and after the sessions:
* Producer: Gus Dudgeon. Engineer: Ken Scott.
* Elton legally changed his middle name to Hercules at this time - also the name of the album's closing track.
* The 18th Century chateau used to record the album is seriously thought to have been haunted!
* Producer Gus Dudgeon loved the sound of the studio; "I'd never experienced that type of fidelity before, in any studio I'd ever been in."
* Guitarist Davey Johnstone further added that "the drums sound phenomenal" in that studio.
* Regarding the studio, Elton said that there "was something magical about it."
* Elton, the band, and team all lived and recorded in privacy at the chateau - being nicely isolated well away from the distractions of Paris.
* Regarding playing as a new band in the studio, Davey stated: "The band was almost telepathic. We'd each know what the other one was going to play."
* Elton & band started that incredible ability to write & record prolifically; at the chateau there were 9 songs written in 3 days! "It was like a Motown hit factory."
* Davey beautifully over-dubbed four open-tuned acoustic guitars over the choruses of "Rocket Man."
* Songs were apparently recorded in very few takes; the vocals for "Honky Cat" were recorded in one take by Elton.
* Elton says that the New York City inspired track "Mona Lisas and Mad Matters" is "one of my all-time favourites."
* Bernie wrote "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" based partly on witnessing a shooting outside of their NYC hotel.
* Elton played "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" on his 2001 tour to honour NYC after 9-11. He also played it at the soon-to-follow special Madison Square Garden concert.
* By the end of the 1972 HONKY CHATEAU tour, Elton & band were playing 6 tracks from the album; more than any other album.
* Album tracks such as "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" and "Hercules" and "I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself" received lots of concert play over the years.
HONKY CHATEAU has stood the test of time and was an album which started Elton and the band in a new direction. Elton's popularity would only skyrocket for the next several years with this team (Elton, Bernie, Nigel Olsson, Dee Murray, Davey Johnstone, and Gus Dudgeon) intact. It started a streak of #1 albums and unimaginable popularity. It is 50 years old this year - released in May of 1972. HONKY CHATEAU has since been remastered and also re-released on high quality 180-gram vinyl. It would be nice to see a box set...
By the way, check out the superb book "Captain Fantastic" by David John DeCouto for lots of info on Elton in the 70s. He amassed a lot of facts about the recording of Elton's albums. A great read and still available.
What were your favourite tracks from HONKY CHATEAU? Do any of you have favourite live concert moments of seeing any of the songs from HONKY CHATEAU? Elton certainly did some epic long versions of "Rocket Man" in concert.
Doug
