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| Songs from the West Coast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 October 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 18 September 2000 – 30 April 2001 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 54:06 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Patrick Leonard | |||
| Elton John chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Songs from the West Coast | ||||
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Songs from the West Coast is the twenty-sixth studio album by British musicianElton John, released worldwide on 1 October 2001.
For this album, Elton John once again collaborated with long-time lyricistBernie Taupin.Patrick Leonard produced the album and played keyboards on several songs, as was the case forThe Road to El Dorado soundtrack, released the year before.
DrummerNigel Olsson returned to theElton John Band full-time andTata Vega makes an early appearance as a backup vocalist, joining the band later.Stevie Wonder, who previously worked with John on the songs "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" and "That's What Friends Are For", played harmonica andclavinet on "Dark Diamond".Guy Babylon,Bob Birch and John Mahon, three of John's band members at the time, do not appear on this album.
It was the first non-soundtrack studio album from John to be released afterPolyGram andUniversal Music Group merged, consolidating distribution rights to his entire catalogue.
Rufus Wainwright sings backing vocals on the track "American Triangle", which is aboutMatthew Shepard, a gay college student who was murdered in 1998.[1] The album was dedicated to Shepard and Oliver Johnstone, band memberDavey Johnstone's late son.
John has said that the inspiration for many of the songs on this album came from when he listened toHeartbreaker byRyan Adams.
In an interview with Jon Wiederhorn in 2001, John revealed that the album was recorded using analogue tape, as he believes "the voice and instruments sound warmer".
In 2002, the album was repackaged as aspecial edition containing a bonus disc with remixes, B-sides and non-album singles from the time of its release.
"I Want Love" was the first single to be released from the album, later going on to be nominated for aGrammy Award forBest Male Pop Vocal Performance at the44th Annual Grammy Awards. It reached No. 9 in theUK Singles Chart, No. 10 on the USBillboardBubbling Under chart and No. 6 on theAdult Contemporary chart. It reached No. 9 in Canada. "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" and "Original Sin" also became hit singles. "Original Sin" also received a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the45th Annual Grammy Awards. None of the songs from this album hit theBillboard Hot 100 in the United States, which froze John's record of 31 years with at least one song in theBillboard Hot 100 (30 with at least one in the top 40).
The music video for the song "I Want Love" was directed bySam Taylor-Wood and features actorRobert Downey Jr. lip-synching to the song.[2] He is the only person to appear in the video. The entire video is one long shot where the camera follows Downey from room to room of a large empty house (Greystone Mansion).
The music video for the song "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" featuresJustin Timberlake portraying a young John.
The music video for the song "Original Sin" featuresElizabeth Taylor andMandy Moore. It also features John playing the father of Moore's character and the husband of Taylor's character. Moore was the centre of the video, who plays a huge Elton John fan from the 1970s who is transported by a dream (à laThe Wizard of Oz) to one of his concerts, where she socialises with various celebrities of the period (Bette Midler,Sonny & Cher,Barbra Streisand, etc.) played by look-alikes. Then at the end she wakes up and John's character asks, "Who is this Elton John, anyway?" It also has more of an upbeat dance mix to the music.
Photographed bySam Taylor-Wood, the restaurant shown on the album's cover is Rae's Restaurant, which is frequently used as a location for manyLos Angeles-based film shoots, including 1993'sTrue Romance and 2005'sLords of Dogtown. John's partnerDavid Furnish and his Director of Operations Bob Halley appear on the album cover: Furnish as a cowboy at the bar and Halley as the man getting handcuffed.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Advocate | favourable[3] |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[6] |
| The Guardian | [7] |
| Jam! | favourable[8] |
| Los Angeles Times | positive[9] |
| People | favourable[10] |
| Rolling Stone | [11] |
| BBC | favourable[12] |
For the most part,Songs from the West Coast was warmly received by music critics.AllMusic'sStephen Thomas Erlewine was glad that John made a record that sounds like his classic albums from the early 1970s, even though he still included someadult contemporary material. Erlewine went on to say that the record does not have all the "warmth" of his classic albums, but that it is still the best album he has made in years.[4]Ken Tucker ofEntertainment Weekly stated that the album effectively sounds like John's early recordings. He felt that Taupin's lyrics, such as "American Triangle", devalue the song, but at other times make John "liberated".[6] Jane Stevenson, writing forJam!CANOE, felt glad that John returned to his roots, even if he does not quite make it there.[8] Barry Walters ofRolling Stone wrote that back-to-the-roots albums by artists rarely work, but John was able to make it work onSongs from the West Coast even if some songs, such as "American Triangle" and "The Emperor's New Clothes", miss the mark. Others, like "I Want Love", effectively manage to sound like his earlier work.[11]
All songs written byElton John andBernie Taupin.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Emperor's New Clothes" | 4:28 |
| 2. | "Dark Diamond" | 4:26 |
| 3. | "Look Ma, No Hands" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "American Triangle" | 4:49 |
| 5. | "Original Sin" | 4:49 |
| 6. | "Birds" | 3:51 |
| 7. | "I Want Love" | 4:35 |
| 8. | "The Wasteland" | 4:21 |
| 9. | "Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes" | 4:52 |
| 10. | "Love Her Like Me" | 3:58 |
| 11. | "Mansfield" | 4:56 |
| 12. | "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" | 4:39 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Your Song" (withAlessandro Safina) | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Teardrops" (withLulu) | 4:45 |
| 3. | "The North Star" | 5:29 |
| 4. | "Original Sin" (Junior's Earthmix) | 3:52 |
| 5. | "Your Song" (with Alessandro Safina; Almighty mix) | 4:33 |
| 6. | "I Want Love" (video) | |
| 7. | "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" (video) | |
| 8. | "Your Song" (video) |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 [13] | "I Want Love" | Best Pop Vocal Album | Nominated |
| 2003 [14] | "Original Sin" | Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male | Nominated |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[38] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[39] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[40] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[41] | Platinum | 100,000* |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[42] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Sweden (GLF)[43] | Gold | 40,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[44] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[45] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[47] | Gold | 500,000[46] |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[48] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
