A Music Reviews 4U review of
Elton John's Too Low for Zero album 1983
Cover for the iconic album from 1983
Elton John had issued a number of albums to much acclaim over the years from his 1969 Greatest Hits album aka 'the Black album' to this album from 1983 - Too Low for Zero.
The album reunited Elton John with a number of people he had worked with in the past, from long time lyricist Bernie Taupin, string arranger Paul Buckmaster from the Black album and fellow black album Harpist Skaila Kanga (who played on tracks including sixty years on on the Black album), to produce in my opinion is what is one of Elton's great albums, although not every reviewer thought so at the time.
7" Single Cover for 'Kiss the Bride.'
Guitarist Davey Johnstone, Drummer Nigel Olsson and Singer Kiki Dee, who worked with Elton also appear on the record. Gus Dudgeon worked on the Black album and worked frequently on Elton's albums although not listed as working on the album, it is likely he had some input perhaps.
In my view it is a great commercially sounding album that delivers great work from all concerned who contributed. The evidence for that is I often go back to tracks from the album 40 years later and they are still played on the Radio, so that is the case proven.
The singles taken from the 'Zero' album released at the end of May 1983, entered the charts sporadically over the remainder of the 1983. Side one's tracks were the most commercially appealing and most charted, side two's I wanna kiss the bride being the sole charter and the most commercially exposed from that side, hitting the charts around late October to early November 1983.
The tracks listed on the album in total were:
Side 1.
1. Cold as Christmas (in the middle of the year)
2. I'm still standing
3. Too low for Zero
4. Religion
5. I guess that's why they call it the blues
Side 2.
1. Crystal
2. I wanna kiss the bride
3. Whipping Boy
4. Saint
5. One more Arrow
Charting the album track by track:
Side 1
Track 1. Cold as Christmas (in the middle of the year)
A quality production all round, which although the lyrics are charting the disintegration of a marriage, has interesting musicality and is a great pop song.
The lyrics are really well originated and the score weaves around the words effectively.
Its one of the tracks off the album I really like for the whole package of what it offers. 'There's a winter look in your mother's eyes' is such a great line in this song. Nice one Bernie!
Track 2. I'm still standing
A real banger of a track that was released later in the year of 1983, in the guitar unfriendly key of B Major, it segues into the more guitar friendly B minor for the middle 8 and this gives it a dramatic turn, giving emphasis to the chorus about being 'still standing after all this time'.
It was a prophetic call to arms from Elton, he was still standing as he had over parts of the 1970's had highs and lows in his career and in his life off stage which are well documented elsewhere.
And this powerful and pumping track really showed that he meant business, backed up by a video which was really well made and featured Bruno Tonioli dancing in the video, who would later become a choreographer and a judge on the BBC TV Strictly come dancing program.
The track is one of the outstanding ones from the album and is on my Ipod today. Great guitar solo on this one too.
Track 3 Too low for zero
Quite a stripped back and bare track but with loads of brooding atmosphere, it is Elton in storytelling mode again.
Although it sounds quite a depressing track when you pull the lyrics apart, it is actually quite pacy, with long-term musical associate Ray Cooper's percussion work and Elton's piano punctuating the song melody with a sense of urgency.
You sometimes wonder with pop song lyrics how close to the truth they actually are!
Track 4 Religion
Harking back to Elton's 'black album' from 1969, the song 'Religion' reminds me of a track called 'no shoe strings on Louise' from the 1969 Black album, although Religion is quicker paced.
'Religion' is in a country rock style and is a tight and musically exciting song. Each verse tells its own story and its a nice catchy song. Again, Bernie Taupin does not disappoint, with his lyrics. With a line like 'that's where she got religion, in the front of a compact Ford' is so good.
Track 5 I guess thats why they call it the Blues
I remember this track charting around June 1983. With a Harmonica solo from Stevie Wonder who lent his reed to a number of British chart songs in that early 80's era, rounds off side 1 nicely. The Harmonica just adds something extra to this track.
Side 1 in conclusion is the better side commercially.
Side 2
Track 1 Crystal
Sounding like a Kraftwerk influenced synth offering at the start, this song is a light and commercially tight piece of work, some very nice chord work there. Its a track worth dissecting musically if you are songwriting, it is that well crafted.
Track 2 I wanna kiss the bride
This track is a real stormer and was out in the charts around late October 1983 into November, another Ipod favourite of mine. One I used to play along to in the 80's. The video for this was great too.
Track 3 Whipping Boy - This track in musical style has overtones of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis piano work to my ears, a nice pacy track that tears along.
Track 4 Saint
With an ethereal synth opening, this song morphs into something that could have come out of a classic American band of the late 1970's like Kansas or Journey's classic work. By that I mean there's a lot going on musically with leitmotifs from Elton's 'i won't let the sun go down on me' coming to my ears from this track.
The musical side of this track is classic Elton, identifiable, but not slavishly rehashing the past or re-ploughing old musical fields, it is a new variation of style on a new song but identifiable from the phrasing as Elton playing it.
Track 5 One more arrow
The last track on the album is somewhat wistful with leitmotifs from 'Goodbye yellow brick road' to my ears! A nice coda to end the album with.
My memories of Too Low for Zero from 1983
Music often has meaning for people's lives, often many years later when they hear a track played. They know where they were when they heard certain music, it is strange how music punctuates the human memory with these milestone edit points.
For me, I was 17 years old when the album was released, it has a number of standout tracks that I still listen to even now over 40 years on!
1983 was an interesting year in Britain, the nation was doing well, the London Stock Exchange was buoyant as was the economy, only a few short years since 1979 when there had been an election after the Labour government threw in the towel, leaving the nation in a bad way.
By contrast, 4 years on from 1979 the sun was well and truly out and I was a year out of school and working in the wine trade, sometimes in shops in London the business owned.
In June 1983, 'I guess that's why they call it the blues' hit the charts, I was on holiday in near the Lizard Point in Cornwall for a week and the song was frequently on the radio rubbing shoulders with Baby Jane by Rod Stewart, Let's dance by David Bowie and the No.1 Track Every breath you take by the Police.
Cut to later on in the year and early November 1983, 'I wanna kiss the bride' is in the charts, I'm working in a wine shop on the corner of Upper Richmond road in Putney in London when this was getting airplay and likely prompted me to buy the 7" single and the album.
The wine shop is now long just a memory and is now a Foxton's Estate Agents and above the shop unit in the 1960's was Zeeta House, where in 1965-68 part of Zeeta House was called the Pontiac Music Club, that staged live music from bands like the Who, The Byrds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and also featuring performers like Wilson Pickett, The Artwoods (featuring Ronnie Wood) and many more well known artists who performed there. I only found this information out in 2011 when I was researching the area for a book project.
I still have my original vinyl LP of Too low for Zero I purchased in 1983 from W H Smiths, I also in recent years purchased the CD reissue of the album.
That time in London in 1983 is often something I think about, the train journey up to Wimbledon and the places seen from the train like Berrylands in the distance. I was no stranger to that area of London, having lived around there in West London when I was younger.
Going out into London at night was quite magical and a lot safer than now. I didn't have really any responsibilities and I could just use the time to develop my new life away from school.
It was late in 1983 I bought an electric guitar and I started a band with some friends who were a school with me, so life was starting to come together post school and it was a really exciting time to be around. I was writing songs and composing my own music and life was good.
Musically, there was a lot of really great material in the charts in that year, to the extent that some really good songs that could have easily hit the No.1 spot in any other time, often only just got into the Top Ten.
Too Low for Zero was a standout album of the time for me, although only originated in a few weeks, it is an album that I go back to every so often, a couple of the songs that charted had pop videos and this was a really popular thing for a song to have as a sales aid in those days.
I'd recommend the album without a doubt! also check out Elton's Greatest Hits from 1969 also called 'the Black album' as it had a black textured LP cover. Some of the songs from the Black album were covered in a BBC Studio session that was filmed in 1970, which I came across on Youtube recently.
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