Your Starter for It is a xylaphone styled short instrumental that resembles a twinkly gentle video game theme ala Mario Kart. This whimsical opener is followed up by sweeping movie score grandeur of Tonight and the swooping falsetto soft rock epic Chameleon which pairs Elton in full of melodramatic high pitched wailing and watery guitar. Boogie Pilgrim is what it says on the tin but with a exuberant falsetto and stop start Southern beat. Cage the Songbird is a beautiful countrified Folk rocker and one of his most underrated as he warns you can 'cage the songbird' but not make her sing. Crazy Water is a bit of funky Captain and Tennille discofied yacht rock; this was 1976 and Elton was king!
Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word is one of Elton's stone cold classics along the lines of Your Song in it's sober barroom piano confessional style. Shoulder Holster has some light soul, Out of the Blue is harmonising Prog rock ala Kansas Wishbone Ash and that soughta thing, Between Seventeen and Twenty has some Stephen Stills light folk rock sound, while The Wide Eyed and Laughing is a bright harmony staked moody tune. A lot of this album has potential, its some of his finest craft and melodies just lacking the lyrical panache that Bernie Taupin usually graced his albums with; a rare off day. Songs like Someone's Final Song, Where' the Shoorah are draped in gorgeous melodies and harmonies but loses its snap, while If There's a God in Heaven (What's He Waiting For?) has a excellent funky rhythm but ridiculous lyrics, while the album ends how it started with a completely expendable monotonous and highly rhythmic theme tune; this time an Moroccan belly-dance type of acoustic piece called Theme from a Non-Existent TV Series; apt for an album unfairly forgotten by even the die hards amongst Elton's classic 70s run.
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