“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John

Celebrating a pop-rock icon with a look at his 70s classic.

This album review celebrates a 70s classic from one of glam rock’s true and most treasured giants.

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Genre: Rock, Pop

Label: DJM

Release Date: October 5, 1973

Vibe: 😍

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👉 Click the GIF to stream the album on your favorite platform

What happens when an artist at the peak of their powers is not only given complete creative freedom but leans into the seemingly endless possibilities? You get something like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Released in 1973, this double LP isn’t just Elton John’s magnum opus—it’s one of the defining pop albums of the 20th century. Clocking in at over 75 minutes across 17 tracks, the album sees Elton and longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin stretch their artistic muscles and hit a career-high that very few artists, before or since, have come close to matching. It’s maximalist but never bloated. Nostalgic but still ahead of its time. And, most importantly, it’s got something for everyone: glam, prog, soul, country, orchestral pop, even a little rock 'n' roll chaos for good measure.

But this wasn’t just a case of lightning in a bottle. The album’s creation was full of detours, doubts, and straight-up chaos. So before we dive into the music itself, let’s rewind to the bizarre backstory behind one of the most ambitious records ever made.

Following the success of Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player, Elton and his band initially flew to Kingston, Jamaica, to record their next album. The location choice was partly due to the fact that the Rolling Stones had just cut Goats Head Soup there, and, in general, the vibes seemed promising. To say it didn't work out that way is an understatement.

From poor sound equipment and political unrest to a Frazier-Foreman heavyweight bout and a lack of air conditioning, promises of an idyllic creative backdrop quickly soured. Producer and engineer Ken Scott painted a terrifying picture of the atmosphere: "On our first trip to the studio, these lines of [Dynamic Sound] workers began rocking our mini-bus with the intent of trying to push it over. It was very hairy for a bit and we were all terrified, and almost cancelled the session then and there.” It became clear they weren’t going to make a record there. So they packed up and headed to the familiar comforts of Château d’Hérouville in France—a place lovingly nicknamed "Honky Château" thanks to an earlier Elton record.

Once they got there? Magic. In just two weeks, they had written and recorded what would become Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Taupin described the creative outburst as a kind of fever dream: "We hit the ground running and didn’t look back." You could say the exact same thing of the record as a whole. This is an album that doesn’t gently invite you in—it grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go for over an hour. The 11-minute opening epic, “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding," is nuanced, cinematic, and, above all else, the kind of emotional roller coaster that its title would suggest.

Ominous chimes and wind whooshes give way to a towering, synth-heavy instrumental that’s equal parts gothic opera and sci-fi soundtrack. (Fun fact: Elton apparently told his engineer to imagine the kind of music he’d want played at his funeral.) Perhaps this statement will sound overly melodramatic, but the piano that intertwines with the synths later makes the instrumental sound like a conversation between a spirit and a higher power, as if welcoming a soul that's left someone's body to a great beyond (if you believe in that sort of thing). Even if you don't, it conjures up such vivid images that the idea of dialogue is impossible to ignore. Midway through, it explodes into a full-on rock banger with "Love Lies Bleeding," where Elton’s piano goes toe-to-toe with Davey Johnstone’s scorching guitar. It’s prog-rock Elton, and it kicks so such ass.

From there, we launch into some of the 70s most beloved songs. I'm sure you know at least some of the hits. There are a lot of them. First up, "Candle in the Wind," originally written as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe and later repurposed into an ode to the late Princess of Wales, the song is a masterclass in mythmaking. Taupin's lyricism paints the actress as a tragic, deeply troubled figure whose life was consumed by the fame her career afforded her and, in a way, the outside perceptions she contended with due to her popularity. It’s tender and heartbreaking, with Elton’s restrained delivery making it even more effective. Of course, this song would take on a new life after Diana’s death in 1997, but, with a fresh listen in the bag for this write-up, the original still hits just as hard. As an opening one-two punch, this track and "Funeral" are unassailable.

You also have the straight-up weird chart-topper "Bennie and the Jets," a massive success that took me a few years to come around on. Taupin has said the song was written as a satire of the music business' machinations, but it plays like a saturated glam-funk fever dream. You've got crowd noise, stuttering keys, and the kind of gonzo Elton John swagger that makes his music distinctively his. On paper, this song makes zero sense, but as a sum of its parts, it ends up working brilliantly. There's conflicting intel on this, but apparently, "Bennie" was only released as a single because Black radio DJs in Detroit started playing it so often that the label basically had no choice if they wanted to meet consumer demand. Elsewhere, "Grey Seal" sounds like Tommy crossed with a nursery rhyme, while "Jamaica Jerk-Off" is laugh-out-loud funny as a novelty song, but also catchy as hell. Lest we forget, Magic! recorded a similar-sounding track with "Rude."

The title track, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” is arguably the most iconic of the bunch. It’s wistful, self-aware, and aching with this deeply human desire to leave the fast life behind. To escape into a more calm, controlled, contained existence that, given Elton's level of fame at that time, may or may not have been feasible. Taupin reportedly considered returning to his rural roots when he wrote it. Once again, the singer's vocal is pitch-perfect, offering the listener a perspective that features just the right amount of world-weariness without being a complete downer. It makes you want to run away from everything and start over in the best possible way.

As strong as the first half of this double LP is, the second half is chock-full of highlights that align more closely with the glam rock vestiges of the period. There’s “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” a singalong-ready slice of straight-up pub-rock mayhem. Inspired by Taupin’s bar-brawling youth in Lincolnshire, it's the most overt "rock god" version of Elton ever committed to record. Part of me wishes he'd done more versions of this track. Less piano ballads, more bruising rock anthem centered around a killer riff. Meanwhile, "All the Girls Love Alice" is dark, funky, and way ahead of its time on several levels. Musically, it predates the punk and new wave stylings it'd likely have been lumped in with had it come out just a few years later, securing its place as one of the most forward-thinking and influential tracks in Elton's catalog. Lyrically, it tells the story of a teenage lesbian who becomes a tabloid tragedy, folding in inspiration from pulp novels and film noir to tremendous effect. The song's boldness still sounds so modern it's quite shocking. There's also "Social Disease," a fake-out of sorts that begins in typically Elton ballad fashion and then morphs into a country-fried glam track broad and theatrical enough to shake stadium foundations.

When it dropped, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was an instant smash. It hit No. 1 on both the U.S. and UK album charts and stayed at the top of the Billboard 200 for eight weeks. Since its release, it's sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the most financially successful and enduring albums of that decade. In 2003, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, underscoring its place in pop culture history. But, aesthetically and structurally, why does this record still resonate five decades later? It's not like it's subtle or particularly naturalistic, even when it's at its most vulnerable and somber, like on "Candle in the Wind." That said, in its commitment to going big at every turn, it exhibits incredible range. It bursts at the seams with ideas but, at least for me, never feels overwhelming, even if it's overstuffed. It also captures something universal about the human condition: the tension between who you are and who the world expects you to be. In Elton's case, likely the balance between his superstardom and what was expected out of Elton the character versus what he desired in his personal life. Between the bright lights and the quiet life, there's a lot of grey area that becomes murkier the more you grapple with it.

And let’s be honest—there’s something timeless about watching a piano-wielding showman in platform boots pour his soul into a melody.

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What’s your favorite Elton John track? Sound off in the comments.