Someone Saved My life Tonight - Elton John | Andy & Alex FIRST TIME REACTION!

[@andyandalex]

What us know what to hit next from Elton!! 🔥🔥 This clip/reaction was from the patreon vaults !

[@ghostwolf1435]

Philadelphia Freedom

[@wendymotogirl]

We all fall in love / Curtains

[@2869may]

"Lucy in the sky with diamonds".....!!!! (Better than the Beatles)

[@otisdylan9532]

Probably "Philadelphia Freedom" next, but if you went for "Daniel" or "The Bitch Is Back" next, that would be almost as good. You should hear all 3 songs eventually.

[@lisalovemc717]

Not sure if you've done it, but Empty Garden. It's his beautiful tribute to John Lennon

[@tomswanson7446]

Thank God his music is still alive. . . ..

[@jerrisilver2]

Bernie and Elton are in different rooms. Bernie writes the lyrics and gives them to Elton who does the music. Amazing!

[@MikeD_]

Sometimes he would write the lyrics and simply leave it on the piano for Elton to find.

[@Gary-dy1id]

This for me is a goosebump song.

[@dmCurator]

I'm always reminded that the piano is a percussion instrument when I hear Elton play.

[@TB-fk8ho]

Yes, and Elton's main drummer, Nigel Olsson, drives the point home.

[@abelincoln3287]

Bernie Taupin is a great songwriter!

[@sandyshoenberger2697]

Yes and he doesn't get the recognition he deserves. I really love that Elton is still loyal to him.

[@tmznt]

I just read today that George Harrison would disagree with that, which stunned me.

[@alfmerck6262]

Taupin wrote lyrics, not the tunes.

[@vickywestfield7282]

That's what the comment says "Great songwriter"

[@jbach4311]

Bernie was 'The Brown Dirt Cowboy"

[@MrRustyspot]

Bernie writes the lyrics then gives them to Elton who writes the music to bring the lyrics to musical life. They've been collaborating since the 60s, and Elton says they've never had a fight.

[@jillwilliams3784]

Two of the best songwriters!

[@personalcheeses8073]

@@jillwilliams3784Elton John only does melodies not songs

[@budmiller807]

Spectacularly

[@Ol_Lochy]

@@personalcheeses8073that’s still the song mate

[@CajunCooper89]

THANKS for posting!! Because it’s the album version, those of us can, 50 yrs later, KNOW every word, inflection, and nuance of this song. And it feels like it was just released yesterday. #TheFabricOfOurLives!!

[@LeftysLefty]

We are absolutely with you. Brother!

[@iammakismom]

So accurate… ❤

[@magneto7930]

Bernie wrote the lyrics, Elton wrote the music. That was the way they worked.

[@suzannesheridan9535]

The album 'Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy' was an autobiographical album of how Elton and Bernie got started. This song is based on a time that Elton tried to commit 'suicide' and he was stopped. He had gotten engaged to be married and couldn't go through with it. His friend, Long John Baldry 'Sugar Bear' talked him out of it also. Bernie wrote these lyrics for that time in their life. As to how they worked, Bernie would write the lyrics, and pass them to Elton, either in person with some song/albums when he was there at the recording studio, or send them by mail, and then electronically when that capability came about. Elton then on his own would put the melody to the lyrics, and record with the band.

[@lorinwold6473]

I forget if it was Bernie or someone else came in and saw Elton with his head in an oven but it was resting on a pillow and instead of shock being the first reaction it was how absurd it was and the person actually laughed. Fortunately he got help and began to understand more about himself and he has made so much more great music for us all.

[@Belluser-we1uc5cb2l]

1975 I was 9 years old. This is one of my favorite songs. His songs from the 70's are the best.

[@StatsJedi]

THE ASSOCIATION. ALONG COMES MARY. NEVER MY LOVE. CHERISH. WINDY.

[@monicas.4732]

Never My love is such a good one

[@michellecostley7878]

Requiem for the Masses--the best anti-war song

[@user-rh6xo2ry9q]

This is the record to listen to

[@joannepepin6324]

This song really did save my life one night, when I was 14 and thinking about opting out. Thank you Elton

[@gregsager2062]

A karmic debt repaid, then, because the song is based upon Elton's real-life suicide attempt as a young man when his girlfriend tried to pressure him into marrying her. The cool thing about this song is that Bernie Taupin and Elton John were so in sync with each other that Bernie could write a set of lyrics about Elton's suicide attempt and then Elton, without batting an eye, put it to music and recorded it with his band. What's more, he then insisted that his record label (MCA) release it as a single despite the fact that it was 6 minutes and 45 seconds long.

[@31carrier]

I love You, I love your here to tell about it Life is so Special and Music is a soul saver

[@personalcheeses8073]

You mean thank you Bernie Taupin

[@ler5299]

My favorite song when I was a kid. Did not understand the mature topic until I listened to it through adult ears. Still in my top 10.

[@donsheffler]

Bernie writes a poem in whole and hands it off. Elton spins it into a song.

[@downhearted40]

Worst seats but best concert I've ever seen. He is the ultimate performer.

[@gregclarke2183]

My dad had this record…and the artwork always fascinated me!

[@jdenino6022]

When Captain Fantastic came out in 1975 they played "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" on NYC FM radio stations constantly. I knew every single word to this song. Had the album too, it was very popular.

[@jcroston3266]

WNEW, WPIX, WPLJ…I remember it well. What a musical era.

[@movenlaughwithnat9045]

As a kid, I remember staring at the geeky album cover for long spells. Great era for EJ and BT songs!

[@m4r4d0n4p3l3]

Bernie literally writes it on his own, posts it to Elton , who goes, oh yeah, i know how to put that to piano... two geniuses ..

[@robdaviesprogm]

Speaking to the writing process in the John/Taupin partnership, in almost *all* cases, the lyrics came first. When they're getting ready to do an album, Bernie writes the lyrics and gets them to Elton (one way or another). Elton then sits down with the stack of lyrics, picks one out he likes, and then, as he says, "a little movie plays in my head", and he starts plotting out chords. Generally speaking, the song comes out pretty quickly. If he doesn't get it within 30 minutes to an hour, he abandons it or comes back to it later. When they first formed their partnership in the '60s, Bernie would send Elton lyrics by mail, and then Elton would send tapes back. For a while in the '60s, they lived together, and then when they made it big, Bernie would write lyrics in his bedroom at the studio and have his wife bring them down to Elton. These days, Bernie, who lives in America, generally e-mails lyrics to Elton. Bernie *can* play and has done a couple of albums of his own, but he doesn't ever offer musical input on the songs he writes with Elton. Elton is a horrible lyric writer (check out his lyrics to the obscure B-Side "Flinstone Boy", or the 1965 Bluesology single, "Come Back Baby", both of which Elton wrote the words for, if you want proof). Probably the best lyrical contribution Elton has ever made to a song was the third verse he added to "Border Song", the first charted Elton John single from 1970's self-titled album (the same one "Your Song" came from). There have only been a couple of songs where the music came first, the most significant of which were "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word". In these cases, Elton contributed a couple of lyric ideas, and Bernie finished it off. As for the song, this one comes from the autobiographical concept album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, which detailed the songwriting partners' early days together (roughly 1967-69). "Someone Saved", the album's only single, recounts an unfortunate relationship Elton had with a woman, Linda Woodrow, in around 1968. They shared a London flat with Bernie, and Linda thought Elton should get a "proper job" and give music up. The "someone" who saved Elton was Long John Baldry, a blues musician who had used Bluesology, the band Elton had previously been a part of, as a backing band. Baldry was gay, and recognized that Elton shared his sexual orientation. Late one night, during a drunken bender, Baldry convinced Elton to call off his engagement to Linda, telling him "you're as gay as I am". Elton went home and broke it off with Linda, and his parents came and picked him and Bernie up the next morning. Baldry having "saved [Elton's] life" could also elude to Elton's suicide attempt during his engagement to Linda. He stuck his head in the gas oven in their kitchen, but he left the windows open and had a pillow so he'd be more comfortable. Bernie walked in and, in true English fashion, laughed at Elton and told him to knock it off (Elton would later laugh at the ridiculousness of his leaving the windows open and putting down the pillow). Elton would later attempt suicide again mere months after the release of "Someone Saved" when he swallowed a whole bunch of valium and dove into a pool with all his family and friends watching. Two days later, he went onstage at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles and played two shows to 55,000 people each.

[@thunderbolts2438]

One of my favorite tracks to sing in the car lol.

[@meriannestoneback7436]

I heard this song on the radio in middle school and knew my mom knew a lot of Elton's songs. I "sang" rather poorly the piano chords for her and she thought it was "Madman Across the Water," so I bought that album on CD and thus began my lifelong obsession with Elton and Bernie. Eventually figured out this was the song I meant. ❤

[@sunsensational]

This song will remain timeless. So moving and beautiful vocals. Chills.

[@sherribrock2726]

This is my very first album that I purchased with my own money. I also remember the price, it was a whopping $4.98. It had a booklet inside the cover with the lyrics to every song on the album!! I think I was around 10-12 years old! 70’s had the best music.

[@marktait2371]

we had as kids also.i found an original.cooy g.c. at an estate sale has the booklet and mini poster of the cover think original shrink was 4.98 sticker i paid 10 at the sale store would have been at least 20 original.pressing has the cover art on the label.

[@howieroarke]

Ditto.

[@chrisbrimhall1613]

People forget but Elton in the 70’s was huge…I believe he had like 5 straight number one albums in a row….great music in those years

[@markvanderstelt8999]

Not many forgot.

[@GodMadeDrums]

This is about Elton how he almost got married... Nearly had me roped and tied altar bound hypnotized .... Saved in time, thank God my music's still alive...

[@denisearroyo3476]

Bernie writes lyrics then gives to Elton, then magic happens. The Making of Goodbye Yellowbrick Road is a fantastic documentary. All your questions about, Bernie, Elton and the band is answered. You won’t be sorry.

[@httr94]

Top 10 artist of all-time for me personally

[@adamlorber]

Top 1 or 2 for me

[@genny5309]

This album came out in 1975 when I was in fifth grade. I’m pretty sure it was the first one I’d bought with my own money and I played it over and over. Every word, every song. Also, because we were 11 and it was 1975, I couldn’t believe he sang “dammit” in a song and we heard it ON THE RADIO! You didn’t hear cuss words on the radio back then. My cousins and I weren’t sure if it counted as cussing if we sang “dammit” since it was in the song. It was a different world.

[@BadErnest]

This is Elton’s masterpiece. The entire album is an autobiography of his and Bernie’s early partnership. It’s not the most commercial but it is totally brilliant. This song starts in a place of dark despair and finishes in euphoric gratitude. It’s cathartic. Also the bass and drums are flawless. It’s my favorite song of all time.

[@mll1206]

Nigel, Dee, Davey and Ray are the most under rated band ever!!!!

[@francesfinn9958]

Bernie hands the lyrics to Elton and he writes the music to it on the studio and records it that day. He writes the music within 30 minutes or less. Your Song took 15 minutes. It like magic!

[@juliemissing1729]

This is the first album I ever owned. And EJ was the first concert I ever attended, in 1975. Fan for life!

[@Hmmmph3623]

I really forget how great Elton was back then..sometimes I think about how lucky I was to have real timed the 70s and 80s music, it was so badass.

[@DrVonChilla]

When this incredible gem hit the radio, it INSTANTLY became my favorite song. I remember it was sort of amazing, as radio stations rarely played any song that lasted more than three minutes....and, yeah, it's an Elton John/Bernie Taupin masterpiece. I can't believe it's been nearly half a century...!! I'll be 60 years old in October of 2024. Where does the time go?!? 😃

[@micknordstrom2591]

... and the production guys! The drummer is Nigel Olson, he was the drummer that played on Uriah Heeps first album!

[@dougstrong1750]

Excellent info about Nigel! Thank you for sharing.

[@14gilbertst]

The backup vocals on this one are stunning.

[@sergioktd]

The best Elton John´s album !!!!!!!!

[@margaritakmp]

Based on your questions about how he writes, it seems very clear that you still haven't seen ROCKET MAN! Absolutely worth a watch, especially once you've already listened to all the songs featured in the film

[@SherryAnnOfTheWest]

"Tantrums and Tiaras" is the documentary to understand Elton.

[@mark.8949]

There isn't much better than 1970's Elton John, he was such a great singer/pianist/songwriter. Also, his band members were masters of their instruments and may have been overlooked at times but were never discounted. They were amazing musicians and complemented Elton perfectly.

[@kevinminne1460]

Growing up in the mid seventies was the BEST ever! All these great Bands and songs! Ugh! The greatest!

[@user-ob6mc1bs5f]

One of my favorite Elton songs. Love the slow build and chills when the band kicks in. "t's 4 o'clock in the morning damn it"

[@RJS1974]

Bernie writes the lyrics. Elton composed that great music and melody. That song is all about that beautiful music as well as the lyrics. They are a song writing partnership. Bernie only writes the lyrics. Elton writes the music. Bernie doesn’t play any instruments. Bernie doesn’t sing at all. This seems hard for people to understand today. But having a lyric writer and a musical composer is an old school way of writing songs that doesn’t exist anymore except in musical theater.

[@TheNukewarfare2]

Undoubtedly my favorite Elton John song, bar none. To summate, Bernie writes the lyrics and sends them to Elton, who then sits at the piano and comes up with something within 30 minutes or he gives up and moves on. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” was written about a time when Elton was struggling, long before his big break. He was engaged to be married to a woman whom he was not in love with (and was not really in touch with his sexual orientation). Elton attempted suicide-though it was more of a “suicidal gesture” as he put his head in a gas oven, but left all the windows open. His friends found him and got him out. His long-time friend and former bandmate from Bluesology, Long John Baldry, helped convince Elton to break off his engagement and focus on his career. Obviously, it paid off. Thus, this is a “thank you” song to LJB. I’ve seen him perform it twice in concert. Elton is one of the few artists who can play his own song and make the live version better than the studio version.

[@marktait2371]

yeh i have one of the baldrey records early 70s elton is the piano player singer maggie bell

[@tedburke8187]

Bernie wrote lyrics, handed them off to Elton, then Elton put them to music. Magic

[@troilusand]

I believe that Bernie wrote the lyrics and Elton did EVERYTHING else. And while Bernie was closely connected to Elton that some lyrics were about Elton's life, the fact that Elton wrote the music, the arrangements and performed the songs is astounding. I often marvel at this.

[@lisa4life88]

Bernie writes it all. He gives them to Elton and he then puts music to it.

[@murrman2421]

I read somewhere it refers to Sugar Bear who is Long John Baldry who get Elton to come out.

[@ATalkingBadger]

You need to hit the amazing record that song was on, "Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy". My favorite of his.

[@izzonj]

At their pinnacle, Bernie would write lyrics and send them to Elton. Elton would read them over and over until music came to him in his head them he'd go to the piano and band it out.

[@JIMBCPA]

And Elton would never change a line.

[@marcusjaybrode2129]

Exactly! Even when they were ‘together’ as song writers, they would write is separate rooms. There is a video… Two Rooms. Check it out.

[@submandave1125]

Most amazingly Bernie would write lyrics that fit Elton’s life and feelings perfectly. They had such a singular connection.

[@318greenman]

Been too long since I've heard this gem... Impeccable production the type of which you never hear anymore and possibly elton's best Eva!!🎶🎵💜

[@wentibbetts7833]

I would sit in my room, headphones on, blast this LP, stare at that album cover, blazed off my a$$ as a teen. 🤪 The art work is awesome. Radio, music, concerts, that was our social media. 😂

[@robertcartier5088]

Yep, same here

[@aliciazambri4237]

Lyrics: "You nearly had me roped and tied / Altar-bound, hypnotized, sweet freedom whispered in my ear..." It's essentially what Alex said. Elton was going to marry a woman way back in 1970, and pulled the plug nearly last minute.

[@Oldschoolnana]

Saw him live 5 times. He ages like a fine wine. I even named my son Daniel.❤❤ Lyrics first then Elton writes the music. Genius's both.

[@JaniceM-ul1jd]

I didn’t fully realize what an amazing musician he is till I saw him live. My daughter even said that she would have been happy if all he’d done was play piano all night.

[@msbutterflyz]

I love 'Curtains' from this album. Just beautiful.

[@bjwnashe5589]

“I’ve Seen That Movie, Too” is a great deep track from Elton.

[@californiaredd8646]

IM N TEARS!!!!! magnificent

[@gbsailing9436]

Have you NEVER heard this ????!!!

[@leepishmusic]

MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER!!

[@davidgaines9892]

An absolute ‘S’ tier song…perhaps Elton’s greatest. The haunting chord progression of the main piano riff. Nigel Olsson’s monstrous drumming. Elton’s soaring vocals on the chorus. The powerful lyrics. The layered vocals fade-out. Gus Dudgeon’s expansive production. Masterpiece!!

[@user-pi9yz2ue7e]

The process has never changed through the years: Bernie writes the lyrics, send them to Elton and he comes up with the music; Bernie is a decent musician, so he knows the structures of a song , but he said that most of the times he remained stunned when he heard the song finished, cause Elton is a music genius. They don't interact during the process. Incredible

[@oz_alfa]

Bernie would write the lyrics and mail them to Elton who would then put them to music. Magic!

[@jimmayors2315]

Bernie wrote it for Elton, as a gift to help Elton come to terms with his relationship. It was Bernie helping Elton with his 'coming out' admission to himself, I believe.

[@brendahhstiles9992]

I think he was on the verge of making a huge mistake by getting married to a woman.

[@JohnDuffy-bq8wg]

I had this album on 8 track, in my red jaguar xj6 back in 1982, happy days

[@stephanieeverett2461]

I close my eyes, and this song takes me back to a different time 🤗 I'm so glad my childhood was during the 70's and 80s!

[@vegasbeersales]

Same here. Life was good.

[@mattsmith7490]

I feel the same exact way

[@claresmith-hill9417]

I was about 8 years old when my 15 year old brother gave me all of his singles in 1975/76. This, Philadelphia Freedom, the album Don't Shoot Me, I'm only a piano player, goodbye yellowbrick road... My brother only listened to Steve Hillage and Gong for years after my haul of great music. His loss...

[@courtnayzeitler8564]

I’m almost 57, and he had hits when I was in 2nd grade. Amazing.

[@AzamuggOG]

Ttivia....that is Eltons persinal favorite of all his songs

[@kevinrush8830]

As far as an Elton John album I recommend for a full listen, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is a good one. Another one is "Madman Across the Water." As mentioned in the comment below, Bernie would compose lyrics from a life experience and would postal mail these to Elton. Elton would sit at a piano and read the lyrics for a feel and speech rhythm and then compose chords and melody around it. The two never met in this process, ever. Bernie never advised on Elton on anything musical. He only heard his lyrics again after Elton had fully written the song, and sometimes in the song on the radio. Bernie was a brilliant poet. Elton was a musical genius. This partnership turned out a lot of music that will be listened to for centuries. There are only a handful of original songs that Elton composed with a different lyricist. Of course, Elton also did cover songs of Beatles songs and other artists that Bernie did not write the lyrics for. In the early seventies, Elton was so huge that his concert in a town would cause celebration akin to a holiday. There was Labor Day, Independence Day, New Year's Day and the day when the Elton concert was in your town. In his peak, Elton was selling 2% of all records sold worldwide in all genres of music. It is worth watching several documentaries on him. He was as musically significant to the seventies as the Beatles were to the sixties.

[@AudiophileTubes]

'Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding' is a MUST reaction!

[@gregsager2062]

They've already done it.

[@nealeger8154]

Elton has mentioned many times that Bernie writes the lyrics first, and sends it to Elton, and he just comes up with the melody, and that's how they've done it all these years. They're never in the same room when writing.

[@arthurmarx6427]

"Two Rooms" was the title of a tribute album, right?

[@stevemd6488]

100%

[@robdaviesprogm]

@@arthurmarx6427 It was, though that album was named after the song "Two Rooms at the End of the World", an album track from Elton's 1980 album 21 at 33. "Two Rooms at the End of the World" was Taupin's way of explaining why Elton and Bernie took a break from writing with each other during the preceding three years or so, though they weren't yet back writing full-time with one another, since Bernie's lyrics only appear on three of 21 at 33's nine tracks. It would be another three years before we would see an Elton John album where all lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin.

[@psygolf7120]

Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me…when the drum line & vocals hit…sublime music at its best

[@26shedan]

one of my favorite Elton John songs.

[@llloyd6674]

as a record to hit, TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION or Madman Across the Water. Both excellent projects from 1970/1971. Dee Murray and Nigel Olsen in the groove like no other trio.

[@nyrocks5580]

At 12yrs old, this was the first album I ever bought, and with my own money.

[@toddjackson5131]

'Tumbleweed Connection' is my favorite album by Elton

[@kencoleman5007]

Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters.

[@hecubot]

The someone who saved Elton's life was Long John Baldry, a gay man on the British music scene since the sixties (running a band called Steammpacket that included Rod Stewart). He was close friends with Elton. Elton was engaged to be married to a woman who was a goldigger, and Baldry basically pulled him aside and said, "Dude. You are gay. Stop this. She just wants your money." She almost had her hooks in him, almost had him roped and tied.

[@WickedKingLycoan]

Don’t forget! She had also claimed she was pregnant.

[@cassmcmlix]

Elton takes that falsetto from his influences by 50s music and turns it into something different. The fade ins an fade out of the background vocal, the voice doubling on key parts. Just masterful recording let alone the music.

[@izzonj]

I can't think of many songs at this slow pace that go so hard! The percussion is savage, hitting you over the head with the urgency of the situation.

[@sassycatz4470]

As a teen, I played this and sang along over and over. It's one of my favorites if not my favorite of Elton's.

[@johnwalker8992]

Mad Man Across the Water

[@williamjones6031]

Back in the day Elton was my favorite artist. I was in the US Navy in 1983 and some of my shipmates and I got to see him (with Quarterflash) at the Greek Theater at UC Berzerkley. Only $20😎 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album was his masterpiece. Recommended Elton John rock song, "Saturday night's alright for fighting".

[@oldmovieman7550]

This is my personal favorite of his. Glad you hit it.

[@danielgarrett6137]

Dan Ingraham, and old disk jockey in NY, used to sing, Someone shaved my wife tonight. A great song regardless.

[@murphtahoe1]

Bernie and Elton were magic together! Such a beautiful and powerful song.

[@pax61]

This song sinks deep in your marrow. One of Elton's top five in my book. Just searing honesty and vulnerability being expressed here lyrically.

[@TheoriaZone]

In the 1970’s Elton was 25% of ALL records sold globally, now you know why EJ is one of the greatest song writers in this world .

[@shawnlowrance6528]

Hey Andy and Alex, actually, Bernie Taupin writes all the lyrics and then gives them to Elton who then writes all the music 🎵🎶 and brings the song to life! They've never written together in the same room!! Strange way to do it but it works. It's like they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it!! So true!!

[@anthonyfoster6737]

Wow, the more I listen to this, the more I am convinced that this is Elton's ultimate masterpiece.

[@davearonow65]

I would challenge that with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, but yes, this is as good as Elton John gets.

[@angelarains]

Elton john- funeral for a friend ❤

[@brianhildreth9099]

Thank God HIS music's still alive!

[@user-il3mn7xb2x]

I've suggested this before. Elton's Ticking from the Caribou album is an awesome listen. Truly captivating.

[@garymcghee2249]

This song was about Long John Baldry (nicknamed Sugar Bear) who talked Elton out of getting married to a female gold-digger. Baldry was a 6'5" blond gay guy who founded the blues band Bluesology in the 60's and Elton was the piano player. Bernie was party to this conversation and wrote the lyrics from there. Baldry told Elton in no uncertain terms that men like them shouldn't marry women... x

[@mbamommy141]

Bernie was the briliant "poet" who would bring the words to Elton. Elton would read the words and create the music to bring the words to life. Bernie was the passionate writer, but Elton was the magic. A beautiful joint chemistry in making the most gorgeous music that carries you away and fills your soul.

[@davidsyrotiak8758]

Mad props to Dee Murray, Davy Johnstone, and Nigel Olsson. Their musicianship was second to none.

[@mismei679]

I loved reading through the book that came with the album back then. Still have both!

[@eltonfan75]

Bernie writes the words and gives them to Elton, and Elton takes it from there!

[@Maisie9798]

Elton's voice is so all-consuming. He really owns his music, no apologies