Made in England

by Elton John

Overview

Made in England could as easily be the follow-up to Elton John's self-titled 1970 album as his first recording since the success of his songs for the Lion King soundtrack. John has brought back some of his old associates, including percussionist Ray Cooper, guitarist Davey Johnstone, and, particularly, orchestrator Paul Buckmaster, who gave the Elton John album its distinctive sound 25 years ago and contributes four string charts here. John remains a musical jukebox: "Please" has a twangy guitar riff that sounds like the Searchers, circa 1965, while guest organist Paul Carrack brings a soulful Booker T.-like feel to "Man." As usual, though, John's main vocal influence remains John Lennon, especially on the album's first single, "Believe," the lyrics to which also echo the tone of several of Lennon's solo ballads. Lyricist Bernie Taupin is unusually personal, writing mostly in short, simple, declarative sentences and giving his songs one-word titles ("House," "Cold," "Pain," etc.). His overall theme posits a positive conclusion ("Blessed") eventually triumphing over adversity ("Lies"). John never works up much feeling for this concept, though he does come off alternately angry and solemn as the lyrics seem to require, though without ever upsetting the melodic flow. It sounds, in other words, as if Taupin had a lot to get off his chest this time around, but his mouthpiece, as usual, was more interested in the sound of the words than in their meaning. Which, given the predictability of the message, seems to have been just as well. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	08/04/2023
Label:	Emi Records / Island / Umr
UPC:	0602445961962

Tracks

1. Believe
2. Made In England
3. House
4. Cold
5. Pain
6. Belfast
7. Latitude
8. Please
9. Man
10. Lies
11. Blessed

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Elton John   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals,Harmonium,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Paul Brennan   Guest Artist,Pipe,Flute
John Lennon   Guest Artist
Paul Carrack   Guest Artist,Organ,Organ (Hammond)
Paul Buckmaster   Conductor
Charlie Morgan   Drums
Teddy Borowiecki   Accordion
Ray Cooper   Percussion
Bob Birch   Bass,Vocals (Background)
Davey Johnstone   Banjo,Guitar,Mandolin,Vocals (Background)
Guy Babylon   Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
George Martin   Horn,Conductor
Gavyn Wright   Conductor,Bandleader
London Session Orchestra   Strings
Dermot Crehan   Violin
Gavin Christopher Wright   Conductor

Technical Credits

Paul Buckmaster   Arranger,Orchestration
Andy Strange   Assistant Engineer
Chris Bellman   Mastering
Jon Ingoldsby   Mixing,Engineer
Bernie Taupin   Composer
Guy Babylon   Arranger,Programming
George Martin   Arranger,String Arrangements
Gavyn Wright   Leader
Steve Brown   Coordination
Elton John   Composer,Producer,String Arrangements
Greg Penny   Mixing,Producer
Adrian Collee   Studio Coordinator
Greg Gorman   Photography