Episode 42 - Jewel Box Companion 1: Bernie's Letter
The first of six 'Jewel Box Companion' episodes. It's taken me a while to get to grips with all of the extra new material and versions that we have been treated to. I've boiled it down into six relatively short playlists, and I'm going to be introducing them, one by one, and providing a little context and interpretation where I can.
'Chapter 1' is focused on the first set of lyrics, sent by Bernie to Liberty Records in June 1967, in response to their call for talent. It features some short snippets of an interview that I have carried out with Elton's first manager, and Elton and Bernie's matchmaker: - Ray Williams. The full interview will be coming up soon.
The playlist for this first episode can be viewed here. There are links there for you to listen on the major streaming services, but here they are anyway: Spotify - - Apple Music - - YouTube Music.
It's not mentioned in the episode, but I've also chorded out the songs for any musicians out there. Drop me a line on eltonpodcast@gmail.com if you'd like to have a look.
7 Mar 2021
Episode 41 - Old Friends
It's the 50th Frenniversary!
Elton's 4th album was a pick-and-mix, with three pastoral pop songs from the same mould as the Elton John Album, two spiky rock songs that kept the Tumbleweed rolling, and a 10 minute long Buckmaster-stroke, thrown in for good measure. While it is an uneven listen, it contains some of Elton's finest music.
The album gets some of the respect that it's due in this episode, by way of interviews, reviews, rare audio, and covers.
18 Feb 2021
Episode 40 - Tumbleweed Connection at 50 (part 2) with John Higgins and Peter Thomas
Here we are at last! This is the concluding part of the Tumbleweed Conversation I had with John Higgins, Elton's Legacy Consultant and Feature Writer at eltonjohn.com, and Peter Thomas, founder of pmc-speakers.com and Elton collector extraordinaire. Once again, I invite you to accompany us on our ramble along the timeline, all the way to the Troubadour.
The image from the episode comes from this current auction, which is for a set of handwritten 'Parish Magazines', written and illustrated by Bernie and his brother Tony in 1960-61, that are packed with references to the Wild West. This is where the legend began!
In the intro, I mention a possible identity for the 'Well-Known Gun', but I should have mentioned this Dylan song as well, which was an obvious source for Bernie. No wonder Bernie had a 'fake heart attack' when Dylan told him how much he enjoyed the lyric!
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