The Analog Kid blog has been featuring out-of-print ’80s albums on “The Lost Boys” series for quite a while, and now it’s time for the ’70s to join the party! “Lost In The Flood: Hard-To-Find ’70s Albums” will give you the chance to listen to some great music from the ’70s that can no longer be easily acquired on-line or at your local record store (especially since many of you probably no longer even HAVE a local record store!).
A Single Man began a new chapter in Elton John’s career. The 1978 album was his first without longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin (the early 1978 stand-alone single “Ego” was their last work together for a couple of years), and it was also Elton’s first record without producer Gus Dudgeon behind the board. A Single Man went platinum, but it didn’t yield any substantial hits in the U.S. (“Part-Time Love” reached #21). Perhaps the album would have fared better if MCA had released the gorgeous “Song For Guy” as the lead single– “Song For Guy” was a Top 5 hit in England, but didn’t even crack the Top 100 when released in America months later.
Elton wrote “Song For Guy” on the same day that Guy Burchett, a 17-year-old messenger for Elton’s Rocket Records, was killed in a motorcycle accident. Elton was not aware of his death at the time he wrote the song– he found out about the accident the next day, and immediately christened the beautiful new composition in Guy’s memory. “Song For Guy” is also notable as one of the few Elton John hits written entirely by Elton himself.
A Single Man is currently one of the very few Elton John albums that is out of print. The album may not be an Elton classic, but it blows the Analog Kid’s mind that you can buy 1986’s Leather Jackets on CD but have to scrounge to find a song as stunning as “Song For Guy.”
Elton John: A Single Man
MCA Records, 1978
1. “Shine On Through” (John/Osborne)
2. “Return To Paradise” (John/Osborne)
3. “I Don’t Care” (John/Osborne)
4. “Big Dipper” (John/Osborne)
5. “It Ain’t Gonna Be Easy” (John/Osborne)
6. “Part-Time Love” (John/Osborne)
7. “Georgia” (John/Osborne)
8. “Shooting Star” (John/Osborne)
9. “Madness” (John/Osborne)
10. “Reverie” (John)
11. “Song For Guy” (John)
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Elton John: “Ego” (John/Taupin)
MCA Records, 1978
Elton John: “Heartache All Over The World” (John/Taupin)
From the album Leather Jackets
Geffen Records, 1986
The Analog Kid 