Honky Château is one of the most important crossroads albums of all time. Not to use that word in the sense of indecisiveness, or selling your soul, but in the sense of transition, gray, the middle of a venn diagram. It holds a thickly textured palette of his history and style, giving us glimpses of tenderness, balladry, complex and elaborately arranged ensemble rock serving as a forerunner for progressive music's place in pop music, and raunchy, bluesy dive bar piano foot-stompers.

Elton John had been collaborating with Bennie Taupin for over 3 years by the time the record was recorded at publicly unknown dates, presumably towards the end of 1971 and the beginning of 1972. The pair had released 4 LPs in the U.S. in 1971 alone, and was starting to make a name for himself transatlantically with the success of scattered singles including "Your Song" and "Tiny Dancer."

But the pair got to take a deep breath with the recording of Château, which would go on to be John's first #1 selling album in the U.S. According to folklore, John was feeling detached from London and the U.K. in general when it came time to record Château, seeing himself as a residual contender in his homeland compared to his international success. He was also feeling financial stress at the time, receiving advice from his peers about recording outside of England to avoid draconian tax laws. Around the same time, The Rolling Stones had declared themselves in tax exile and moved to France to record their masterpiece Exile on Main St. from a mobile studio. John was noted as a long-time admirer of the Stones, and according to legend, was following their example when he took Gus Dudgeon's suggestion to move to Hérouville, France to record the new album from a 300-year-old Château that had been converted into a studio and praised by the likes of The Grateful Dead called Château d'Hérouville. The album is named indirectly after the Château -- "Honky" Château is the nickname which Elton John called it, though it is uncertain whether John himself coined the phrase.

The record would spawn his most successful U.K. single to date in "Rocket Man," and was also his first LP to produce more than one hit single in the country with "Honky Cat" reaching a modest #45 on the charts. Both singles were top 10 singles in the U.S. "Rocket Man" has achieved legendary status in John's career, contending comfortably with his strongest and most revered singles. Most of the rest of the album has received less widespread attention for its heavy and conspicuous American Blues and Gospel influences which might be seen as hokey and hackish nowadays, but contains many-a-jewel in spite of that. Not the least of which being one of John's most melancholy and lyrically successful songs of all time, "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters." Drums were cut for the arrangement of the track, and John's guitarist Davey Johnstone was moved to mandolin for the arrangement of the tune. Most of the rest of the album's songs ("Hercules;" "Susie;" "Amy;") are brawny, jive songs that hearkens to John's piano bar origins. Noted French jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty also made electric violin contributions in the sessions to "Amy" and "Mellow." Tap dancer "Legs" Larry Smith also contributed his unique talents to the caustically satirical "I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself."

At the end of the day, though heavily Americanized, Château gave us a panoramic of what had been done, what had been seen, and what was to come. And a very satisfying glance at that, being one of John's cleanest, fullest, tightest, most danceable and mature albums without having the loud overboard pretense of a Goodbye Yellow Brick Road or a Captain Fantastic. For being a man who is known more for a long and steady career of digestible singles, it is in this listener's opinion his finest attempt at an album.

Honky Château, by Elton John (with Bennie Taupin), released May 19, 1972 on DJM Records and Uni Records, remastered and re-released by Island/Rocket in 1995.

01. Honky Cat
02. Mellow
03. I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself
04. Susie (Dramas)
05. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)
06. Salvation
07. Slave
08. Amy
09. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
10. Hercules

The reissue has an alternate version of "Slave."

I read some Wikipedia.
I read some liner notes.

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