Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John

Before I went to the Elton John & Billy Joel “Face 2 Face” last Tuesday I checked out the song list for Elton John’s solo portion of the concert:

Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
Levon
Madman Across The Water
Tiny Dancer
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Daniel
Rocket Man
Philadelphia Freedom
I'm Still Standing
Crocodile Rock

Looking at this list I predicted that “Crocodile Rock” and “Tiny Dancer” would be crowd favorites. Everyone loves the “Naaaaaa Nanana Naaaaaa” part of the “Crocodile Rock” though the appeal of the song is a little lost on me, and “Tiny Dancer” with the help of Almost Famous has become one of his most loved songs.



So when Elton John introduced “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” I was surprised when he introduced it as a song for everyone to sing along with and everyone in the stadium did.

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is the title track of what many consider Elton John’s greatest album. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 91 in there list of 500 greatest albums of all time calling the album “supersonically huge.” Commenting on the title track Rolling Stone credited Elton John and his writing partner Bernie with harassing “the fantastical imagery of glam to a Gershwin-sweet melody.” Elton John performed three songs from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road in his solo set which is more songs than he played from any other of his other thirty solo album.

“Goodbye Yellow Brick” road contains one of the most powerful literary allusions in popular music. The Wizard Of Oz is one of the most beloved films and books in American history speaking both as a fairy tale and a commentary on the industrialization. The yellow brick road is Dorothy’s path to Oz, the place where she believes will help her get home. The yellow brick road represent hope through a difficult journey as well as disillusions in the revelation that the Wizard of Oz is a charlatan.

When John sings the words “goodbye yellow brick road” it’s a farewell to past dreams. At the end of the chorus when John sings “I’ve finally found what I’m looking for, beyond the yellow brick road,” it speaks to the idea that there is something more meaningful out there than the path that is given. This reflection is all the more powerful with Elton John’s incredible voice.

When Elton John first recorded “Goodbye Yellow Brick” his light tenor effortlessly fliped into his soaring falsetto. If you listen to his older recordings there is a sense of innocence but also a slight edge that injects his words with passion.



Listening to Elton John now, his voice has developed into a rich baritone. The falsetto is gone and during most performances now he relies on his back up singers to sing the higher notes like on the word “blue" right before the chorus. This may seem like a negatives but the remarkable richness and depth in tone more than makes up for the lack of falsetto . John’s music always had maturity to it and now more than ever, his voice expresses the layered emotions and meaning in his music.



As Elton John sang, “Goodbye Yellow Brick” road in Wrigley field images of him in the 1970s filled the screen above the stage. This feeling of nostalgia combined with the warm rush of emotion that emanated from the thousands of voices singing together was simply magical.