Mesmerizzandosi tra il fruscio dei dischi d'opinione si rintracciava nel 1972 un album che schermiva gli stilemi del rock. Elton John, camuffato da monolocale con vista, rinchiudeva in una gabbia d'aria l'anacoluto del gracidante turpiloquio. Con la sobrietà e l'arroganza di un vicerè spagnolo inchiodava sul muro limaccioso delle opinioni personali le note della vellutata vanteria d'artista (che avrebbe perso qualche anno più tardi fra i suoi occhiali). Esempio (empio) di codardia geniale ci fornisce la lista fin dalla mescita senza pero apparire fallace o, se volete, frivolo. "I Think I'M Going To Kill Myself" cantava il nostro innaffiando le rose gialle del suo giardino. Probabilmente scriveva "Honky Cat" attento a non calpestare l'intonaco lilla del suo pignolo vicino, ma perbacco, già si poteva intravedere "Monna Lisa And Mad Hatters" scivolare sapida tra i bastoncini di cereali sparsi sulla pompa di benzina (vicino alla cuccia del cane). "Rocket Man", "Salvation", "Hercules", tutte le canzoni suonano, dopo la pausa, bellamente adagiate sopra un disco sempreverde e chic.
Se il fanatismo consiste nel raddoppiare gli sforzi (e gli sfarzi) quando ci si è dimenticati lo scopo, allora questo lavoro ci si ripresenta avverbio perfetto di una cena di casa.
Elenco tracce e testi
01 Honky Cat (05:13)
When I look back
Boy, I must have been green
Boppin' in the country
Fishin' in a stream
Lookin' for an answer
Tryin' to find a sign
Until I saw your city lights
Honey, I was blind.
They said, get back, Honky Cat
Better get back to the woods
Well, I quit those days and my redneck ways
And oh, oh, oh, oh, the change is gonna do me good
You better get back, Honky Cat
Livin' in the city ain't where it's at
It's like tryin' to find gold in a silver mine
It's like tryin' to drink whisky from a bottle of wine
Well I read some books and I read some magazines
About those high class ladies
Down in New Orleans
And all the folks back home, well, they said I was a fool
They said, oh, believe in the Lord
Is the golden rule
They said stay at home, boy, you gotta tend the farm
Livin' in the city, boy
Is gonna break your heart
But how can you stay when your heart says no?
How can you stop when your feet say go?
02 Hercules (05:21)
Ooh I got a busted wing and a hornet sting
Like an out of tune guitar
Ooh she got Hercules on her side
And Diana in her eyes
Some men like the Chinese life
Some men kneel and pray
Ooh well I like women and I like wine
And I've always liked it that way
Always liked it that way
I can't dig it, the way she tease
That old tough man routine up her sleeve
Living and loving, kissing and hugging
Living and loving with a cat named Hercules
A cat named Hercules
Oh and it hurts like hell to see my gal
Messing with a muscle boy
No superman gonna ruin my plans
Playing with my toys
Rich man sweating in a sauna bath
Poor boy scrubbing in a tub
Me, I stay gritty up to my ears
Washing in a bucket of mud
Washing in a bucket of mud
05 Susie (Dramas) (03:25)
I got frostbitten in the winter
Ice skating on the river
With my pretty little black-eyed girl
She'd make your darn toes curl just to see her
I got a fringe front on my buggy
I got a frisky little colt in a hurry
And a pretty little black-eyed Suzie by my side
Well she sure knows how to use me
Pretty little black-eyed Suzie
Playing hooky with my heart all the time
Living with her funky family
In a derelict old alley
Down by the river where we share a little loving in the moonshine
I'm an old hayseed harp player
I'm the hit of the county fair
With my pretty little black-eyed girl
Living proof as she swirls
She's a dancer
07 Salvation (03:59)
I have to say my friends
This road goes a long, long way
And if we're going to find the end
We're gonna need a helping hand
I have to say my friends
We're looking for a light ahead
In the distance a candle burns
Salvation keeps the hungry children fed
It's gotta take a lot of salvation
What we need are willing hands
You must feel the sweat in your eyes
You must understand salvation
A chance to put the devil down
Without the fear of hell
Salvation spreads the gospel round
And free you from yourself
08 Slave (04:22)
There's a river running sweat right through our land
Driven by a man with a bullwhip in his hand
And I've taken just as much as I can stand
Oh we've got to free our brothers from their shackles if we can
Most nights I have to watch my woman cry
Every day I watch the colonel smile
His painted ladies riding in from town
I swear one day I'm gonna burn that whore house to the ground
Slave, slave
To fight the violence we must be brave
Hold on strong to the love God gave
Slave
There's a rumor of a war that's yet to come
That may free our families and our sons
It may lay green lands to barren wastes
The price of release is a bitter blow to face
09 Amy (04:03)
Tread on my face if you like little lady
Turn me inside out if you have to baby
But don't you cross me off your list
I am young and I ain't never been kissed
Never been kissed by a lady called Amy
You're far out, you're fab and insane
A woman of the world, it's quite plain
My dad told me Amy's your name
Said he'd break my neck if I played your game
But he can bust my neck `cause I love you all the same
Amy I know you don't have to show your affection
`Cause the big boys like you and to you I'm an infection
So if you don't want me around
I think I'll run along and drown
You can't want this bum in town Amy
I'm beaten on the streets `cause I loves you
I watch you go to work in the summer
I don't whistle at you down the street
I would if I could but I can't whistle you see
Amy I may not be James Dean
Amy I may not be nineteen
And I may still be in romper boots and jeans
But Amy you're the girl that wrecks my dreams
10 Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters (05:01)
And now I know
Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say
I thought I knew
But now I know that rose trees never grow in New York City
Until you've seen this trash can dream come true
You stand at the edge while people run you through
And I thank the Lord there's people out there like you
I thank the Lord there's people out there like you
While Mona Lisas and mad hatters
Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers
Turn around and say good morning to the night
For unless they see the sky
But they can't and that is why
They know not if it's dark outside or light
This Broadway's got
Its got a lot of songs to sing
If I knew the tunes I might join in
I'll go my way alone
Grow my own, my own seeds shall be sown in New York City
Subway's no way for a good man to go down
Rich man can ride and the hobo he can drown
And I thank the Lord for the people I have found
I thank the Lord for the people I have found
While Mona Lisas and mad hatters
Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers
Turn around and say good morning to the night
For unless they see the sky
But they can't and that is why
They know not if it's dark outside or light
And now I know
Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say
I thought I knew
But now I know that rose trees never grow in New York City
Subway's no way for a good man to go down
Rich man can ride and the hobo he can drown
And I thank the Lord for the people I have found
I thank the Lord for the people I have found
While Mona Lisas and mad hatters
Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers
Turn around and say good morning to the night
For unless they see the sky
But they can't and that is why
They know not if it's dark outside or light
They know not if it's dark outside or light
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