Wonderful Crazy Night

2016年にリリースされたエルトンの30枚目のスタジオ・アルバム『Wonderful Crazy Night』。
Lurssen Masteringでリマスタリングされ、アビイロード・スタジオでカッティング。

Elton John gives away his game with not just the title of Wonderful Crazy Night but its artwork. Our hero stands against a garish, colorful backdrop, sporting a grin a mile wide, signaling that he's once again ready to have fun. The measured melancholy of The Diving Board aside, Elton hasn't precisely avoided fun since returning to making records for himself, not the charts, with 2001's Songs from the West Coast, but a certain sobriety crept into the proceedings, particularly when he joined forces with producer T-Bone Burnett for The Union, the 2010 duet album with Leon Russell. Burnett is back for Wonderful Crazy Night and so is John's touring band, making their first studio appearance since 2006's The Captain & the Kid. It's possible to feel the presence of all of Elton's collaborators: the band brings a bit of a kick to the proceedings and the ever-tasteful Burnett reins things in, keeping things from being too crazy, while lyricist Bernie Taupin schemes with John to re-create the melodic craft of their mid-'70s peak. There's a fair amount of joy and swagger here, particularly on the ebullient opening pair of "Wonderful Crazy Night" and "In the Name of You," two songs perched between a canny, knowing nostalgia and casual craft. This is an album that sounds as comforting as a long candlelit bath -- it's handsome, stately, and well appointed, the work of old pros relying on what they know best. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

3作連続でTボーン・バーネットと組み、わずか17日間で作り上げたという、エルトンいわく〈騒々しいロックンロール・アルバム〉。旧友バニー・トーピンを巻き込んだ近年の原点回帰路線が、ここでのエネルギッシュな表現に結実している。えっと……御大はいま何歳だったっけ? ピアノと同じくらいギターもやかましく鳴り響き、73年の名盤『Goodbye Yellow Brick Road』を彷彿とさせる場面もチラホラ。若いリスナーもぜひ!
bounce (C)山口智男