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 seventh studio album recorded and released by Elton John in October of 2001, making this the fifth decade in which a studio album was released. Many critics have said that this album brought him back to his piano-based musical roots. This album marks the first time John and Taupin wrote together in person. From the album, I Want Love was a single and a Grammy nominated song. None of the songs from this album hit the Billboard Hot 100, which froze John's record of 31 years with at least one song in the Billboard Hot 100 (30 with at least one in the top 40). George Strait tied that record on the Country charts in 2011. Stevie Wonder mad a harmonica playing appearance on one of the songs on this album. Rufus Wainwright sings backing vocals on the track American Triangle, which is about Matthew Shepard, a gay college student who was brutally murdered in 1998. The restaurant shown on the album's cover is Rae's Restaurant, which is frequently used as a location for many Los Angeles-based film shoots. For the most part, Songs from the West Coast was warmly received by music critics. One critic was glad that Elton made a record that sounded like his classic albums from the early seventies, even though he still included some adult contemporary material.
Here is the track listing from this album. Click the link below and match it to the song title for the secret song.
The Emperor's New Clothes
Dark Diamond
Look Ma, No Hands
American Triangle
Original Sin
Birds
I Want Love
The Wasteland
Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes
Love Her Like Me
Mansfield
This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
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.
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Enjoy the series.