If you’re talented enough to put together a career as long as the one cultivated by Elton John, slumps are inevitably going to come. The best artists, and John certainly qualifies there, find ways to rise out of those swales and triumph.
John did that in 1983 with the album Too Loo For Zero, a commercial and critical winner that put him back among the pop music elite. All it took was remembering who got him there in the first place.
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A Rough Stretch for Elton
In terms of being both prolific and successful, the first half of the 70s by Elton John can go toe to toe with any stretch of music by any artist and not be found wanting. John moved at a blistering pace during the era. Each album spilled over with ambition and depth, and every new single crashed through the pop charts with abandon.
But by the middle of the decade, excess and exhaustion caught up with John. After the double album Blue Moves in 1976, John finally took his foot off the pedal and stepped away from the scene for a bit. When he returned a couple of years later, he did so without many of the top collaborators from the glory years.
He scuttled the band that had helped him record classics like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Most notably, he decided to write with lyricists apart from Bernie Taupin, his songwriting collaborator since the earliest days of his career. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his success rate dropped considerably.
Reuniting and Refocusing
As the 70s spun into the 80s, John sputtered through a series of albums and musical styles (Philly soul, disco, New Wave) trying to find his groove. He brought Taupin back into the fold on a part-time basis. It was Bernie who wrote the lyrics for the John Lennon tribute “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)”, perhaps the best song in this relatively fallow period in John’s career.
For the album scheduled for 1983, John decided that he’d once again write exclusively with Taupin. On top of that, he called back guitarist Davey Johnstone, bassist Dee Murray, and drummer Nigel Olsson, essentially reuniting his classic band lineup.
In fact, for a while the only thing missing was John, who was late for the sessions in Montserrat. That put him under pressure to write songs quickly, just like the old days. And, also like the old days, John responded brilliantly.
‘Zero’ Hour
Looking for more of a rock edge, he wrote more on synthesizer than ever before to narrow his chord change possibilities. You can hear that on the smash single “I’m Still Standing”, with lyrics referring to one of Taupin’s exes but sounding an awful lot like John throwing it back in the face of his critics.
Meanwhile, Taupin also delivered a beautiful set of longing lyrics on “I Guess Why They Call It The Blues”. John wrote the music with Johnstone and offered one of his most soulful vocal performances, while special guest Stevie Wonder topped it all off with a wondrous harmonica solo.
Deeper down the album came even more gems like the title track, “Kiss The Bride”, and “Cold As Christmas (In The Middle Of The Year)”. Too Low For Zero, in direct contrast to the title, sent Elton John soaring once again, taking some old friends along for the ride with him.
(Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)