Jump Up

by

Elton John

Edit

Elton John had started the 80s with a huge hit called Little Jeannie from a solid album called 21 At 33. He followed that album with the similar but lukewarm The Fox. Well hold on. Because on this outing, Elton John wakes up and hits the ground running. If you thought he was down and out, he was preparing his fans for a release that was truly the jump start of his career in the 1980s.

Jump Up contains some outstanding songs. Dear John, Spiteful Child, Legal Boys, Blue Eyes, Empty Garden, Where Have All The Goodtimes Gone and All Quiet On The Western Front. The production has never been stronger with thanks to Chris Thomas for giving these songs a real shine without over doing it. The tight production on songs like Spiteful Child and Legal Boys measure up to anything that came before this effort.

Elton sings convincingly and with a self-assurance that resembles his best known work. The ache in his voice during Empty Garden, the wonderful tribute to John Lennon is moving. Elton has said he had fun making this release and it shows. He and producer Chris Thomas started to gel and while the hits Blue Eyes and Empty Garden may overshadow this album, it was a perfectly well executed album that deserves to be heard.