This is one of a series of caches in tribute to one of the longest running songwriting duos ever. Elton John and Bernie Taupin have been creating music for parts of six decades now. One of the first dates with my now wife was an Elton John concert. And one of the things that I have recently knocked off my bucket list was a visit to Las Vegas to see Elton in his Million Dollar Piano show at Caesar's Palace. Elton no longer performs there, and now has embarked on his three year touring finale before retiring from the road.
I thought that using the studio albums as cache names would provide good variety in this series.
This is the twenty second studio album recorded and released by Elton John in August of 1989. With renewed creativity, Elton John and Bernie Taupin sought to create a cohesive album that had maintained a consistent theme. They decided to pay tribute to the R&B sound of the 1960s and '70s that inspired them as youths. Taupin would listen to '60s soul songs and use those songs from the past to inspire new lyrics for their album. He would then write down which artists or songs influenced him. John would then use Taupin's guide to write a soul song that sometimes ventured away from the original source of inspiration. Many of the songs have a somewhat clear influence while others contain a mixture of various soul influences. Like Reg Strikes Back of the previous year, of note is the lowering of John's vocal register. While he does hit higher, falsetto notes on some songs on this album, after this album he would write in keys more suited to his new vocal range, and trips to the upper register would become few and far between. This was John's first album since Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy with John and Taupin writing every song on the album without additional writing credits from others. Despite a lukewarm reception, longtime fans of Elton John loved the album and deem it to be one of his best from the 1980s. A number one single from this album was Sacrifice. Shorty after this album, in 1990, Elton John would go into rehab.
Here is the track listing from this album. Click the link below and match it to the song title for the secret song.
Durban Deep
Healing Hands
Whispers
Club At The End Of The Street
Sleeping With The Past
Stones Throw From Hurtin'
Sacrifice
I Never Knew Her Name
Amazes Me
Blue Avenue
Dancing In The End Zone
Love Is A Cannibal
Click here to listen to the secret song for this album
Here are some links to the previous studio album and the next studio album in this series, to help in any bonus caches.
Previous: GC64CDF Reg Strikes Back
Next: GC64DK2 The One
Enjoy the series.