eltonfan.net  
Home  |  News  |  Tour  |  Charts  |  Board  |  Archive  |  Shop  |  Links  |  FAQ  |  Contact  
 


 Search Hercules News
 
 
 ELTON JOHN NEWS 

Reviews are mixed for "The Union"
Thursday, October 21 2010

Elton John has long acknowledged the influence Leon Russell had on his career, as a pianist and a songwriter who fused and dabbled in an array of styles, from country and soul to gospel and blues.

Now Elton shows his gratitude with the release of “The Union,” a 14-track collaboration between the two that was produced by T-Bone Burnett and includes assistance from Elton’s longtime songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, along with Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Robert Randolph, Don Was and Booker T.

The early reviews have run from positive to, uh, not so positive. In Rolling Stone, critic David Fricke said, “Bernie Taupin wrote the words to the Stax-heartbreak shuffle ‘I Should Have Sent Roses,’ but the chewy vocal agony is Russell’s. When he and John trade lines in ‘When Love Is Dying,’ against a choral arrangement by Brian Wilson, John goes for the wrenching high notes. Russell sticks to his odd gritty register, heavy with turmoil. …
“ ‘The Union’ often feels like a conversation: the two trading sober and grateful reflections, in songs like ‘The Best Part of the Day’ and ‘A Dream Come True,’ on the costs and prizes of a life at the top.”

At www.slantmagazine.com, however, critic Joseph Jon Lanthier said the execution doesn’t live up to its noble ambitions. Instead, he writes, it reveals two esteemed artists who have become comfortable with their ways: “That the album is a failure despite the authentic passion behind it only accentuates its participants’ respective ruts. And it’s further proof that the most consistent musicians are more pilgrims than they are professionals.”

At www.bbc.com, writer Paul Whitelaw fell somewhere in between: “The strength of these tracks highlights the album’s weaknesses: too many mid-tempo ballads, too many generic melodies. At 14 tracks stretched just over an hour, it’s simply too long; shorn of its more forgettable songs, it could’ve been a glancing contender. As it stands, ‘The Union’ is a blot on neither man’s legacy, just a mature bout with flashes of former glory.”

A deluxe CD/DVD version includes a documentary on the making of “The Union,” directed by Cameron Crowe.

Related News

  • "The Union" - out today!
    Tuesday, October 19 2010 at 05:09:22


    Back to Headlines


  • © 1997-2017 by HERCULES International. Hercules is not affiliated with Elton John`s management or the Elton John Aids Foundation.  
    Please note that this site has been discontinued on March 31, 2017 and will not be updated anymore.