Elton John’s Madman Across the Water

Elton John’s Madman Across the Water

Jim Bernadez

8 Dec, 2021

The 50 Year Old Classic is Still Kicking!

Elton John’s Madman Across the Water is 50 years old! This classic album contains nine timeless tracks that are as relevant today as they were back then. I will tell you all about my three favorite tracks, plus the important people and stories behind them!

Who is Elton John?

Thanks to his most recent project, The Lockdown Sessions, music and pop culture icon Sir Elton Hercules John is receiving renewed attention from every living generation. Elton, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947, legally changed his name in 1972. As a musical child prodigy, he began learning and playing piano pieces by ear before starting formal piano lessons by the age of 7. When he was just 15 years old, he scored his first gig playing piano in a pub five nights a week.

Dua Lipa and Elton John’s “Love Again” from The Lockdown Sessions:

In 1967, Elton answered a newspaper ad in a British magazine and met Ray Williams, then an A&R manager. Williams gave Elton an envelope of song lyrics from a songwriter who answered the same ad. Elton wrote music to the lyrics, sent them back to the writer, Bernie Taupin. That was the beginning of a partnership that still holds strong today. Before Elton’s British 1969 debut album, Empty Sky, they cowrote songs for other artists. To date, Elton John has 31 studio albums, 5 collaboration albums (including the new Lockdown Sessions), and spearheaded 10 amazing soundtracks.

It is impossible to cover even a fraction of Elton’s amazing accomplishments and colorful life here. I highly suggest you read his autobiography, Me: Elton John, a thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating read!

Fun Fact

According to ConcertArchives.org, Elton will log 4,365 completed concerts by the end of 2021!

About Elton John’s Madman Across the Water

Elton John’s Madman Across the Water was released 50 years ago, on November 5, 1971. As with his previous albums and most if his work afterwards, Elton composed the music and sang the lyrics written by Bernie Taupin.

Madman was kind of a slow burner in terms of sales. In the UK the album peaked at #41, but it did far better stateside, peaking at #8. In February of 1972, it was certified gold by RIAA (500k units). It took over 21 years for the album to reach platinum status (1 million) in 1993. From 1993 to 1994, an amazing 22 years later, Madman Across the Water sold over a million additional units to reach multi-platinum status. It’s a true testament to the timelessness of this album!

Fun Fact

1971 was a busy year. Elton had two additional releases before Madman Across the Water:

3 Best Tracks from Elton John’s Madman Across the Water

“Levon”

“Tiny Dancer”

“All the Nasties”

“Levon”

Elton John and Bernie Taupin have different takes on the meaning of “Levon”. As with many pieces of music or poetry, the same piece can mean different things to different people. Some people suspect that “Levon” was a tribute to a musician. The lyrics also mention a person named Alvin Tostig: “He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day; When the New York Times said, ‘God is dead and the War’s begun.’ Alvin Tostig has a son today.”

There seems to be three generations of men in the song: Levon, the title character, his son named Jesus, and Levon’s father Alvin Tostig. In an old Rolling Stone interview, Taupin stated these are all fictitious people and the lyrics just came out of a free-write, with no real intention. He liked the way the words sounded, the pictures they painted, and he used the name Levon simply because he liked the name.

In the beginning of the video below Elton says the song is, “about a little boy who gets fed up with what he’s doing and just wishes he could get away from it and really can’t.” I believe Elton pulls this perspective from his own life. Elton was feeling stuck in between the expectations placed on him and his desire for freedom to be himself.

“Tiny Dancer”

Like most of Elton’s songs, Taupin wrote the lyrics for “Tiny Dancer”. Many believe “Tiny Dancer” is about Taupin’s first wife, Maxine Feibelman, an English woman. They’re only half right. As a child she was a ballet dancer and was sometimes Elton’s a seamstress. In the first verse, Elton sings, “Blue jean baby, LA lady, seamstress for the band. Pretty-eyed, pirate smile, you’ll marry a music man. Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand.”  The rest of the song was inspired by women Taupin met when he moved to Los Angeles, California in 1970. In an interview, Taupin described the women as “free spirits, sexy, all hip-huggers and lacy blouses, very ethereal,” and “different from what I’d been used to in England.” Taupin wanted to capture the light-hearted and free-spirited women and vibe of Los Angeles.

In 1972, “Tiny Dancer” only charted at #41 on Billboard’s Hot 100, which was far better than #70 in the UK. One issue is the song’s length of 6 minutes and 12 seconds. Radio stations often cut the song out after the first chorus because the lyrics repeated after that. Unfortunately, this robbed listeners of the song’s cathartic build-up, leading to Elton’s belting falsetto. Also, some radio stations refused to play the song because of controversial lyrics in the second verse: “Jesus freaks out in the street, handing tickets out for God.”

Despite the song’s length and controversial lyrics, it became one of Elton’s best and most popular songs. It received renewed attention when it was featured in the 2000 film, Almost Famous. The song experienced slow sales in 1972, but over the decades it eventually received triple platinum status (3 million).

“All the Nasties”

“All the Nasties,” the eighth track from Madman Across the Water, a relatable song for anyone who struggles with their identity. If you search the internet for the song’s meaning, you’ll inevitably find arguments about whether the song was about Elton’s struggle with his sexuality or not. Some refute this interpretation by saying that’s impossible because Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics and he’s not gay.

You must consider that Elton and Taupin’s relationship wasn’t just a professional one. They certainly were not lovers! But… They spent so much time together as best friends who lived together, worked together, and traveled together. Taupin was aware of Elton’s sexuality before anyone else. As very close friends and writing partners, it would only make sense for Taupin to write from Elton’s perspective whenever he could. If Taupin only wrote for himself, their working relationship would not have endured.

When doing press for the album, Elton explained “All the Nasties” was about the trash talk he received from the press and critics for his music and flamboyancy. It was really about his struggle to keep his sexuality to himself, for the sake of his career and in spite of his sanity. In the song he asks, “If it came to pass that they should ask, what could I tell them? Would they criticize behind my back?” He questions if he should just come out because he knew people would behind his back, whether he came out or not.

In the second verse he sings, “If they could face it, I could take it. In their eyes, oh, I know I’d make it. Their tiny minds and sacred cows, just fake it.” He reveals he could handle their honesty if they tried to face the facts. Instead, he knows they’d rather keep their tiny minds and fake their acceptance. The last phrase of the song, “Oh, my soul” is repeated over and over, backed by a choir, and gradually building to the end. The way I interpret this buildup is a small voice in his head wallowing in self-pity and eventually growing into a larger call to action, a wish for people to see him for who he really is.

Elton kept his sexuality a secret until 1976. He stuck one foot out of the closet as a bisexual for Rolling Stone magazine. He not come out as a gay man until 1988.

Notable People Behind Elton John’s Madman Across the Water

Producer, Gus Dudgeon

Angus Boyd “Gus” Dudgeon was a prolific English producer, considered one the greatest of all time. He produced 68 albums during his career, including most of Elton John’s catalog. In addition to Elton, he produced for The Zombies, David Bowie, Bernie Taupin, Joan Armatrading, Eric Clapton, Kiki Dee, and John Lennon. He is recognized by The Guinness Book of Records as the first person to use sampling in music recording. In a 1971 song by John Kongo, “He’s Gonna Step on You Again,” he incorporated a recording of an African tribal drum.

Sadly, in 2002, at only 59, he died alongside his wife in a car crash. After his death, the Gus Dudgeon Foundation for Recording Arts was established. Its mission is “to preserve and promote music production techniques allowing students from all walks of life the opportunity to learn and pass on these skills for future generations.” The foundation runs a masterclass every July with specially selected music technology students from around the UK.

Fun Fact

Billboard 200, started in 1967, charts the most popular albums. The first two albums to debut at number one on the chart were Elton John albums produced by Gus Dudgeon: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975) and Rock of the Westies (also 1975).

Musician and Composer, Paul Buckmaster

Paul John Buckmaster was a Grammy-winning English cellist, conductor, and composer. On Madman Across the Water, he was responsible for orchestral arrangements and conducting on seven tracks (including the three songs above). Buckmaster and Elton collaborated on nine albums together.

Buckmaster’s career began in 1969, leading an orchestra on tour with the Bee Gees. He then went on to arrange music for so many artists until his death in 2017. His impressive resume boasts collaborations with David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Grateful Dead, Lionel Richie, Celine Dion, No Doubt, Luis Miguel, Carrie Underwood, Idina Menzel, Kelly Clarkson, and Brandi Carlile – just to name a handful from a very long list.

Drummer and Backing Vocalist, Nigel Olsson

In 1969, while Elton was still named Reginald Dwight and was a member of Argosy, Nigel Olsson played drums on their only single, “Mr. Boyd”. Olsson then joined the Elton John Band as a drummer and back-up singer for Elton’s 1969 debut album, Empty Sky. He recorded a total of 16 albums with Elton, between 1969 and 2016. In addition to recording sessions, he also hit the road as part of Elton’s backing band.

As if steady employment with Elton was not enough, he busied himself with many other projects. Olsson recorded and released six albums of his own, between 1971 and 2001. On top of that, he collaborated with other amazing artists. Over the past five decades he contributed his talents to Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt, Eric Carmen, Kenny Rogers, B.B. King, and more.

Add Elton John’s Madman Across the Water to Your Collection!

It’s hard to believe Elton John’s Madman Across the Water is half a century old! Its mysterious resurgence in the mid 90s is undeniable testimony to its timelessness and undying relevance. It is included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die for a reason. Get the album and hear it for yourself. It deserves a spot in your collection!