The Road to El Dorado

by

Elton John

Edit

The negative comments of other customers are quite amazing, particularly those which suggest that "real" fans should steer clear of this album. To my mind, as a "real" fan for nearly twenty years, this is certainly one of Elton's best albums, especially in the last 10 - 12 years. Patrick Leonard has done a great job of elevating Elton's voice and piano to the front of the mix, a production value lost by Chris Thomas, whose overblown drum and synth work has dogged good songs since 1992. Best tracks on here include "Eldorado", the first single "Someday Out of the Blue", "Queen of Cities" and the brilliant "Friends Never Say Goodbye" which features the Backstreet Boys on uncredited backing vocals. I judge a new Elton album by how long it stays in my CD player before I revert to older material. This one has been there since release day, and shows no signs of leaving. The songs fit together very well, and Elton is obviously enjoying the experience of writing to Tim Rice's lyrics. I can honestly say there isn't any track on here that shouldn't be. Amazon should include this as an essential recording by Elton John - a return to the form he reached with 1995's "Made in England". I look forward to the next John/Taupin album, which Patrick Leonard is producing - they are back in the studio in September.

I believe the above has been stated in at least a couple reviews, but I somehow missed it in perusing the reviews before I purchased this album, and I want it stressed that this album does not contain the actual recordings used in the movie El Dorado. The tunes are the same, some lyrics are different (a minor quibble) but most upsetting is if you're looking for a recapturing of the songs you heard while watching the movie, you're not going to get it here. I LOVE the film version of "It's tough to be a god" with Ken and Kevin singing it, and while the Elton/Randy Newman version also is cute, it just doesn't have the same 'oomph'. The title theme is weak compared to the version heard in the movie, and I was really disappointed that the lively female backing vocals heard in the movie version of "The trail we blaze" are completely missing from this CD and replaced instead by breathy male backup. Compared to the movie, the songs on the CD are of a notably slower tempo and calmer delivery (read: a bit boring). My children are more forgiving than I, and enjoy the CD anyhow, and the additional tracks feature some really great music ("16th century man" is a great catchy upbeat tune if you ignore the somewhat silly lyrics). Just be sure you know what to expect!