After having a number of lackluster and uninspired releases through the 1980s, with perhaps the lowest point being the 1986 release of "Leather Jackets," Elton John started a turnaround in quality and artistry that was evident on this album, and would achieve albums such as "The One" and "Made in England" in the 90s. While this album had much less quality and artistry than Elton's 70s albums, loyal fans were gratified to see that Elton could still write and sing good songs.
Elton's rediscovered enthusiasm shows in "Town of Plenty." Admittedly this song is one of the lesser songs on this CD; the words are corny and simple, and the music is relatively simple. However, Elton's voice sounds refreshed and clear, and the production is much improved over "Leather Jackets." This simple song is little indication of the music that comes later on this CD.
The second song also has relatively simple words, though more complex and inspired than the words of the first song. However, Elton's music in "A Word in Spanish" contains a flavor of that sound that made Elton John great in years gone by. This song was also the longest song on the original CD at 4:39 long. This mellow love song peaked at #19 on the charts in 1988. With the improvement over the first song, this song promised that this CD held even better songs.
Elton and his band get bombastic on "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)." The original song was a mellow and harmonious creation on "Honky Chateau." This version is funky and bouncy, and far from being mellow. While I am tempted to compare this song with some of the worst from "Leather Jackets," the comparison would be wrong. This song has fun with the overblown style, and keeps the enthusiasm evinced from the first song. This song also makes an excellent stylistic introduction to the next song.
The next song is the best indication that Elton had created a very listenable album. "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That" had a sharp musical production with a snappy beat that maintained the pace and power of the three previous songs. This #2 charting song had good lyrics and even better music to make this song one of the best created by the Elton John-Bernie Taupin team in a long time, and gave fans the opportunity to rejoice that the duo still had this kind of music to give the world.
Then comes a song that I think belongs in the portfolio of some of the best Elton John ballads. In "Japanese Hands" Bernie Taupin finally created lyrics to match some of his best from the era that yielded "Madman Across the Water" and "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player." Elton matched those words with lovely music and a singing style that was heard on Elton's "Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra" and would be later heard on "Songs from the West Coast." This beautiful ballad is one of my personal favorites on this CD.
The next song is a change of pace. "Goodbye Marlon Brando" has a beat that is even faster than the first songs on the CD. This song reminds me of Billy Joel, especially "We Didn't Start the Fire." The song is less ambitious than the Billy Joel song, confining itself to summarizing the 80s, and perhaps the 70s to a certain degree. The song does say goodbye to a lot of things I remember from the 1980s. This song is interesting and fast, and perhaps slightly better than the average song on this CD.
The next three songs combined form a weak spot in this CD. "The Camera Never Lies" is the rock version of those country songs that deal with the bad things that happen in life. In this case the subject is infidelity. While the music and the words are less than inspired, the song is okay and is an average song for this CD. This CD goes from an average song to a less than average song. "Heavy Traffic" contains a few moments of interest, but otherwise the song is one of the weaker songs on this CD and sounds more like Elton on cruise control. The following song lyrically seems intended to be sympathetic to women who get stuck with too many children and a loser husband, but "Poor Cow" never fulfills the promise of the lyrics, and is another that is much less than average.
This CD originally finished with another lovely ballad, "Since God Invented Girls." This song contains a tribute to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. The backing vocals enhance the feeling of the tribute by adopting the harmonious style of the Beach Boys. This song joins "Japanese Hands" as being another of my favorite songs on this CD.
In addition to the original ten songs, this version contains four bonus tracks that add little to the original production, but do give a listener a bit more bang for the musical buck.
This album starts with a promising title. This CD was not quite the "strike back" that the title promised. However, there are enough good songs on this CD to make this CD a good improvement over the previous original album, and fans a few years later would recognize that this album marked a turn for the better for Elton John and Bernie Taupin, now going by the single name Taupin. In a few short years Elton John would receive more awards and nominations than he had received in his career to this point, and while the future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member may have fallen short in striking back with this CD, perhaps this CD was just the beginning of a strike that is pushing its way into two decades.
Reg's Road to Recovery
Reg Didn't Strike Back Hard Enough
10 tracks
Elton John And Tim Rice's Aida
