The Coast Is Clear

10/17/2001 4:00 AM, LAUNCH
Gary Graff

If it all ended tomorrow--or if it had never happened in the first place--for Sir Elton John, the pop icon has no doubt he'd still be toiling in the music world, even in the most mundane pursuits.

"I would be quite happy working in a record store," says the 54-year-old singer and piano man, who's actually well into a fourth decade of a career that's seen him sell more than 60 million records and send tons of hits onto radio playlists. "I would always want to do something with music--and I'll always be doing something with it, without question. But I never dreamed I'd end up anywhere near what I've achieved. I just left my band to be a songwriter, and when nobody would record them, it was 'You'll have to sing them,' and it all started like that."

The journey continues unabated as well. The former Reginald Dwight recently released his 40th album, Songs From the West Coast, which has been lauded by critics as a return to the vintage sound of early-'70s fan favorites such as Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across The Water. Besides touring to support that effort--his first set of new material in four years--John can also be found reprising his hit "Crocodile Rock" on an album for Britain's popular children's television show Bob The Builder, and he makes a guest appearance performing on the TV series Ally McBeal on November 19.

Those are notable additions to a career filled with achievement, including winning Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards--the latter two for Disney's The Lion King and a theatrical adaptation of Aida, respectively--and getting inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He and longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin also hold the distinction of having the biggest-selling single of all time, when they re-tooled their "Candle In The Wind," originally an ode to Marilyn Monroe, into a tribute to Princess Diana following her death in 1997; it sold 35 million copies to raise money for the Diana, Princess Of Wales Memorial Fund.

And away from music, he's established the successful Elton John AIDS Foundation, which is funded partly through proceeds from sales of his singles in the United States. "I am a prolific kind of guy," John notes. "It is quite amazing, I suppose; it's kind of wondrous how I squeezed it all in. I've tried lots of things; some of them have done well and some of them haven't, but at least I've tried them. But I never sit there writing a list every day going, 'God, I've done all this!' I suppose it is quite remarkable, but I'm more interested in 'What am I gonna do next?' I look forward."

When John and Taupin met in the South of France late last year to make plans for what would become Songs From the West Coast, they had some distinct creative goals in mind, but this time they looked backward as well as forward. "Bernie and I decided we wanted to go back and make a simpler album and just get back to basics," explains John, who writes music in the studio after looking at Taupin's lyrics. "Throughout the '80s and '90s, we made some good records, I think. But I don't think I played enough piano on the records. I just got away from what I do best, which is play piano and not synthesizer.

"It's very tempting. I'm a big fan of music, so I'd get influenced by so many things, technology-wise," he continues. "As a musician, there's a new toy in your lap every week, and as a musician, you want to experiment. But this time, I just wanted to go back and do an album that was 100 percent Elton."

To do that, John and producer Patrick Leonard recorded with a bare-bones rock 'n' roll band of piano, guitar, bass, and drums; John initially wanted to use the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but they weren't available for the sessions. He did wind up with veteran band members Davey Johnstone on guitar and Nigel Olsson on drums--as well as guests Stevie Wonder and Rufus Wainwright--but he also worked with several players he had never met before, which he admits "added that fear factor. It made me much more alert. If I'd had my usual musicians around me, I'd have been in a safe environment. I really didn't want that. I wanted to have a little bit of ear instilled, and to play with musicians is always a pleasure and a joy. But I really didn't want too many 'session' guys, either, the typical L.A. session guys. I wanted younger people who played in bands, so that's what we got, and it was great."

And as much as he professes to be interested in forward progress, John has no complaint with those who liken Songs From The West Coast to his earlier efforts. "I'm fine with that," he says. "It's the same kind of lineup as I had on the old albums, so it's going to sound similar. And it's recorded on analog tape, not digital, so it's gonna sound similar. And we used [string arranger] Paul Buckmaster, so it's gonna sound similar again. I think it's very similar to Madman, a Tumbleweed-ish album. But I think it's better-recorded, obviously. And I think it's the best voice sound I've ever gotten."

Back to the guy who could work in a record store for a minute: In the liner notes of Songs From The West Coast, John thanks singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, the former leader of the band Whiskeytown, "who inspired me to do better." The elder musician says Adams's first solo album, Heartbreaker, "really influenced me to do Songs From The West Coast. It was so simplistic and quickly and beautifully recorded. I heard it and thought, 'I used to do albums like this!'"

John has subsequently joined Adams onstage at shows in New York City and Toronto. Meanwhile, he's happy to champion other younger artists as well. "I still go CD-shopping all the time," he notes, listing among his recent favorites newcomers such as Shea Seger, Michelle Branch, and his former backup singer Cindy Bullens.

John has few predictions for his own future, however. Sober, healthy, and happily settled in a nearly eight-year relationship with filmmaker David Furnish, he knows certain things--such as children--are not on his personal horizon. "We've talked about adoption, but I think I'm too old," John says. "I don't want to be 70 years old and worrying about whether my daughter's doing crack."

He does, however, plan to do another tour with fellow pop piano hero Billy Joel during 2002. But John also says he's reaching a point where he can foresee slowing down. "I don't want to be doing this for the rest of my life at this hectic pace," he says. "I've got to see this album through, and then we'll take a good, hard look at where we go next and what my priorities are.

"So we'll see how the album does and then reassess where we stand and where I want to go and plan what my career is gonna be--as far as you can ever plan it. I mean, at the beginning of the '90s, I would never have even thought of doing The Lion King or Aida or scores for movies. So you never know what's going to be thrown at you around the corner."