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| Rock of the Westies | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 October 1975 | |||
| Recorded | June–July 1975 | |||
| Studio | Caribou Ranch,Nederland, Colorado; remixed atTrident, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:39 | |||
| Label | MCA (US),DJM (UK) | |||
| Producer | Gus Dudgeon | |||
| Elton John chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Rock of the Westies | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A−[3] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated)[5] |
Rock of the Westies is the tenth studio album by English musicianElton John, released on 24 October 1975.[6] The title is apun on the phrase "West of the Rockies", the album having been recorded atCaribou Ranch in theRocky Mountains of Colorado.[7]
Released less than five months after his previous album,Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy,Rock of the Westies repeated that album's then-unprecedented feat of entering the USBillboard 200 chart at number one, and was John's final chart-topping studio album in that country. It was also successful (albeit to a lesser extent) in the artist's home territory of the UK, where it reached No. 5 on theUK Albums Chart.Robert Christgau ranked it as No. 7 on his list of the best albums of 1975.[8]
Rock of the Westies contained the USBillboard Hot 100 No. 1 (No. 14UK singles chart) single, "Island Girl", which was released prior to the album. John noted at the time in a radio interview[which?] that he had wanted to release "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" as the album's first single instead of "Island Girl", because he thought it had more commercial appeal. He was over-ruled, and "Dan Dare" was never released as a single, whilst "Island Girl" became a hit.
The make-up of theElton John Band was different onRock of the Westies, being without his long-time drummerNigel Olsson and bassistDee Murray, both of whom John fired during April 1975. Added in their place wereHookfoot drummer Roger Pope, an old friend who had played onEmpty Sky,Tumbleweed Connection andMadman Across the Water, and American bassistKenny Passarelli, who had previously played withStephen Stills and was an original member inJoe Walsh's bandBarnstorm. Pope had also played inKiki Dee's touring band.Grammy-,Emmy-, andAcademy Award-nominatedJames Newton Howard, at the time a virtual unknown, was also brought in as keyboardist, giving him his first major publicity. Also included was another Hookfoot member,Caleb Quaye on guitar and vocals, another old friend from his earlyDJM session days. Like Pope, Quaye had also played onEmpty Sky,Tumbleweed Connection, and John's interveningeponymous release. Retained from the previous line-up wereDavey Johnstone andRay Cooper.
A slower, less up-tempo version of "Hard Luck Story" had already been recorded by Kiki Dee (whom the song was originally written for), and released as a single one year prior to its recording forRock of the Westies. Along with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", it is credited to Ann Orson/Carte Blanche (An 'orse an' cart / 'carte blanche') a punning moniker John devised when composing a song (music and lyrics) on his own. The name Ann Orson is also used as the name of a backing vocalist.Labelle performed backing vocals on the opening track, "Medley: Yell Help/Wednesday Night/Ugly".
In the US, it was certified gold in October 1975 and platinum in March 1993[9] by theRIAA.
Outside the US and Canada, this was the last original studio release from John on DJM Records, before forming his own label,The Rocket Record Company.
The song "Street Kids" was featured in the 2008 video gameGrand Theft Auto IV.
All tracks are written byElton John andBernie Taupin, except where noted. "Ann Orson & Carte Blanche" is a pseudonym used by John and Taupin
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Medley (Yell Help – Wednesday Night – Ugly)" (John,Davey Johnstone, Taupin) | 6:15 |
| 2. | "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" | 3:29 |
| 3. | "Island Girl" | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" (John, Johnstone, Taupin) | 4:47 |
| 5. | "I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)" | 5:27 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Street Kids" | 6:25 |
| 2. | "Hard Luck Story" (Ann Orson & Carte Blanche) | 5:16 |
| 3. | "Feed Me" | 4:00 |
| 4. | "Billy Bones and the White Bird" | 4:25 |
| Total length: | 43:39 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (featuringKiki Dee) | 4:30 |
| Total length: | 49:00 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Planes" | 4:31 |
| 11. | "Sugar on the Floor" (Kiki Dee) | 4:31 |
| Total length: | 52:41 | |
Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[26] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[27] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] | Gold | 7,500‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[29] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[30] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
