Drummer reacts to "Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding" by Elton John 

Happy 75th Birthday Nigel Olsson (Feb. 10, 1949)

Elton's masterpiece.

I've never been able to understand how someone can hand you a page of lyrics and you sit at the piano and create something like this.

Dee Murray sounds like John friggin Entwistle. Each member of this band was beyond pro.

The whole album is one of the best sounding albums ever. It's worth getting as an entire album on your playlist.

My cousin and I had promised each other that we would play this at the funeral of whichever one of us passed away first... I played it for him almost 6 yrs ago. Being culturally francophone, most of those gathered didn't get it... but those who did smiled very, very wide. ;-]

I was at this concert. He opened with this song. The stage was completely dark with low smoke covering the floor. The lights didn't come on until he started singing...the crowd went WILD!!! One of the best concerts ever. Elton was one great showman back then. ❤😊

Let's not forget the production. Not compressed to hell, you still can hear every nuance of every track clearly. In 1973.

I have been blown away by this track for 50 years -- especially when it builds back up during Love Lies Bleeding. What impeccable musicianship. No less impactful now than it was then.

I’ve been following you for a while now and I enjoy your reactions to the music from my generation. I graduated high school in 1972 and the music was amazing. Keep going and you’ll find that the diversity of music compared to today was unbelievable. Enjoy the journey. I’m still amazed how much was produced in the 2-3 decades of my youth. 👍🏻

I personally think Elton John had the best band in the business back then. When he started out it was just himself and Nigel Olsson on drums and Dee Murray on bass. You should react to some of his early recorded concerts, like one they did on tv for the BBC in 1970 or 1971. It was incredible how just three guys on their instruments filled up every inch of the song, making it sound so full and rich. Hope you delve deeper into his music. He and his band are one of a kind!

A masterwork by Elton John…

“Love Lies Bleeding” is a type of flower, and Brits love their gardens.

One of the Top 100 Albums of all time.

Prog Elton. Someone Saved My Life Tonight is another great song.

Davy, Nigel, and Ray are Elton John mainstays to this day. They played with him last summer at Glastonberry.

Thre backing vocals of Davy, Dee, and Nigel are what stand out throughout this album. They were a choir.😊

Elton John was the first concert I ever saw in 1973 as a 15 year old on a date without a driver's license. In the middle of the concert, all of the lights turned off in the arena. Then, the Arp Synthesizer began and every hair on my skin stood up. The late Dee Murray was the bassist; and all the lads kicked down the gas pedals. Twelve minutes later we were deliriously exhausted. Fast forward to 2019: a large group of friends coordinated a ticket purchase to see Elton John on one of his farewell tours. My wife and I attended this sold out show on a cold winter night. Elton John cranked for almost three hours and threw the gem of an anthem in around song 20. My reaction was identical as first experienced; it was a face meltdown. Elton John and Bernie Taupin composed an iconic composition that is truly timeless. Thanks for sharing!!

My favorite song for Elton on piano is "Burn Down the Mission", powerful lyrics too. Right up your alley. 🥰

Elton's golden period (and it was long!) is peerless. He couldn't do wrong those days, hooks, awesome vocals, lyrics and instrumentation.

My all time favorite Elton John Master Piece Enjoy The Ride

As a drummer, i pay tribute to Dee Murray. Great bassist.

The recording quality for something produced in the early 70s is amazing.

By all means you need to react to "Madman Across the Water" by Elton John. Me thinks you'll like. 👍

Elton John's best moment

This song has always been associated with Audiophiles as a test bed for Stereo system or Speaker performance in general. I first heard this song on my friends Fathers system in 1974. he had a Marantz power amp rated at 200watts at 8 ohms, and Cerwin - Vega Voice of the Theater speakers and a Thorens Direct Drive Turntable... Anyone reading this will know what I'm talking about... Concert Level!! I'm surprised It didn't catch on fire when we played the first Boston album through it!! His dad listened to Classical or Opera on that system...

One of my favorite Elton rockers! ❤

An astonishing opening to one of the greatest albums (a double, at that) in rock history... in the middle of a several year-long mind-boggling creative run.

This album is a masterpiece, Elton bangs the hell out of the keys

I’m typing this as your are at the very beginning of the song. I can’t wait to see your face when it kicks.😊

One of his best albums. Spent many hours listening to it

My first concert was Elton John in 1982. he was touring with this band. They opened with this. My world was forever changed. I remember sitting there with my 14 yearold brain feeling like it was melting out of my ears.

I remember my dad playing "Funeral for a friend" loud on his stereo when I was young, it scared the shit out of me. Sounded so spooky.

This is my favorite Elton song by far. Eltons music was at its best with this particular band line, in my opinion. I liked when Elton rocked. "Saturday Alright For Fighting" and "The Bitch Is Back"

My most favorite Elton song, just freaking amazing

You have a habit of listening to songs that I haven't heard in years that I used to listen to all the time. Keep it up this is fun.

I suggest you dive into his early album Tumbleweed Connection. “Where to Now St. Peter” “Burn Down The Mission” “Come Down In Time” just a few…

You questioned hearing a flute; that was a Moog Synthesizer played by Diana Lewis. Robert Moog invented this first synthesizer in 1964, and it truly revolutionized the music industry (search his name for a plethora of articles about his contribution to music history). This was the birth of prog rock!Other bands to pick up on the Moog were Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk (to name a few).

I strive to keep my ears open to new music and have discovered some fantastic music bilut I hear this and I know music from my youth and I know it's better

I use to work at a huge nightclub in an old atmospheric theater on Staten Island in the early 1980s. They would always play this song when the doors opened, filling the empty theater and kicking the dust out of the speakers so to speak.

There wasn't a better band than The Elton John Band.

I saw the Elton John Band do this live on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Tour back in the 70s. I actually snuck into Maple Leaf Gardens here in Toronto to see the show. Tickets sold out fast, Imissed out, but went down town anyway, drank a few pitchers of beer, partook of the herb, then just casually walked in a side entrance of Maple Leaf Gardens and no one gave me a second look. I couldn't believe it. Fantastic show. The highlight for me was Saturday Night's (alright for fighting) which I think was the encore. I didn't have a seat until I randomly bumped into some friends from high school. A girl gave up her seat and sat in her bf's lap. What a great show. And the only time I ever snuck into Maple Leaf Gardens. No one else I know ever got away with that.

The entire album is a masterpiece. A few years ago my son and I had took a road trip. He was born in 1988 and the only association with Elton John was The Lion King. He had me listen to some of his favorite bands and I played some of mine. It was a 5 hour trip home. So, I played this album - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. He was amazed by how good it was. Thanks for the react.

Davey, Dee and Nigel have played with Elton for decades, they area part of Elton John. Lol, I'd such a crush on Nigel when I was a kid!! 🤭 LEGEND, Royalty, absolutely adore Sir Elton John. 💘

I was in H.S. when this came out but wasn't familiar with the very beginning - I was working at a supermarket when I first heard it blaring on the car stereo as I was piling groceries/party supplies into a corvette front seat for some dude dressed like Dracula on a Halloween evening - freaky deaky! ...and Unforgettable.

Consider Someone Saved My Life Tonight next. It's a dramatic ballad based on a true story. You will love it. Elton bangs the piano hard on this one.

Epic Elton. His masterpiece.

Elton and band are also GREAT live. They can perform the original studio versions almost identical, but it's clearly not lip synced. Elton performing on piano is masterful pop entertainment.

This is the first song I really tripped out on when it came out. Time travel, smells, future memories, the whole bit. I had gotten stoned for the very first time on Brain Salad Surgery, but went on an actual voyage with this song. Great pick. We were so spoiled.

You can listen to this over and over while focusing and appreciating each instrument in the mix (and harmonies...). The band was so darn talented.

Best song off his best album. It's great when he starts the live show with this. Berzerkely Greek Theatre summer 1984. Only F----n $20 "I wonder if those changes have left a scar on you, like all those burning hoops of fire that you and I passed through. You're a bluebird on a telegraph line, I hope you're happy now. With the wind of change comin' down your way girl, you'll make it back some how." He's retired now.

By this time Elton and his band were a well oiled machine. They worked off of each other so well. The backround vocals his band would come up with were angelic at times. His producer, Gus Dudgeon, truly was his George Martin. You might like Elton's version of the Who's "Pinball Wizard." It's more complex than the original.

Perhaps my favorite Elton John song of all time. Hard so say because he has so many great ones. Definitely the top 3. Looking forward big time to this diamond..

Elton's band at the time was crazy good. Keep in mind that their 'parts' in the songs were written by each band member, with no input or limits from Elton...they played what they felt. And the songs were written and then played live in the studio. The process was: -Elton, Lyricist Bernie Taupin, and the band would live at the studio. -The lyricist would write a pile of more or less poems, and would leave them for Elton. -Elton would pick a lyric, and put it generally to music (he would spend no more than 15 minutes per song) -He would then get the band, and Elton would play the song on a piano or organ. The band would listen and figure out what they would do. -Then Elton and the band would go into the studio and they would mess around for maybe 15 minutes. Then the red light would go on and they would just play the song. They would do the song between 2-5 times and then on to the next song...generally writing and recording around four songs a day. This album had 22 original songs (some only on the flip-sides to singles) written, recorder...along with overdubs, backing vocals etc. in two weeks. -The band also wrote and recorder the backing vocals on their own. As a drummer, you may be interested in the Elton album 11-17-70. It was a live show, when Elton first came to the USA, and they absolutely killed...this was the sound that put Elton from unknown to star overnight. It features the original band of Nigel Olsson on drums/vocals and Dee Murray on bass/vocals (yes the Elton John band was originally a trio). The song Sixty Years On is amazing, and really shows off the sound of Nigel Olsson, imo. Other good songs featuring Nigel would be the studio version of Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, and Curtains (the end of which he more or less incorporates all of his signature fills).

I’m a fortunate one who saw him perform this live when the album dropped. Phenomenal

What an amazing run of records, all within in a short space of time, he had back then. 7 studio albums in only 4 years.

One of the greatest albums of all time by one of the greatest musicians of all time. Back then, Elton John rocked! Do yourself a favor and jump into the rabbit hole. You won’t be disappointed.

This song sent my 11 year old self on a mission to acguire a Les Paul. The whole album is fantastic.

Elton John is the GOAT! According to Billboard Magazine, which is the oldest chart magazine , Elton John is the most successful solo artist in music history😮😊!! Try his top 5 hit from the early 70's called Honky Cat. Elton's discography is very deep. Many of his deep album cuts rival his hit singles. If what you just heard impresses you, just wait for what's coming!!!

You need to watch this live, it's awesome.

All of Elton John albums 7ntil 1976 are terrific: great songwriting. Great playing, great production. The album « Mad Man Accross the Water » is one of the 10 albums I would bring with me on a desert island. And I love that Wakeman plays on it!. His productions from the 80s and after do not reflect adequately the brilliance he was capable of.

From this same album I've Seen That Movie Too is also awesome

The glory of the A.R.P. synthesizer!

When you listen to the entire, two-album slab of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", you will be astonished. It may be the greatest album, song-wise, of the 1970s. Virtuostic display of song-smithing.

Elton doesn't get enough recognition for his considerable skills on piano. He can play!

Saw him live three times back in the 70's, in Greensboro, Charlotte, and Atlanta. He kicked ass every time.

Elton John...fantastic best ever ...Brilliant musician...

Same Drummer and guitarist Fifty Years Later! (Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone). It's the buildups and the transitions on this as well as the musical textures and sonic quality of this that really gets you! Backing vocals from the drummer, guitarist, as well as the Bass Player Dee Murray.

One of the tracks I want played at my funeral, for sure. Entire ( double ) album is fire, by the way.

While our dads were drunk, my friend age 8, me 7; attempted to count how many changes are in the instrumental section. That is how you raise kids with good music tastes.

1973 was early days for synthesizers. Which is what you thought was a flute, and why there’s so much of it on this song-it was every band’s new toy.

1973 was a high water mark for Rock music, especially for Progressive Rock. Genesis released "Selling England by the Pound, Pink Floyd gave us "Dark Side of the Moon", Yes and King Crimson kept going strong, Supertramp were starting out, electronic experimental albums were surprising us all. In the midst of all this, Elton John and his producer Gus Dudgeon decided that they can be as Progressive as anyone, and proved it with Elton's greatest accomplishment in a highly accomplished career, this 11 minute opus.

This album is like a “best of” album - great songs all the way through..

Love, love, love these songs/ Album.

This LP came out my sophomore year in college. This is the opening track. Seems like you heard it coming out of nearly every dorm room.

Madman Across The Water is my favorite Elton John LP.

Dee Murray - what a freak! And the work Gus Dudgeon put into the arrangement of this album is just simply awesome. Every synth sound - even just in this song - is absolutely perfect. So many options and they picked the right one every time. What an incredible coalescing of talent. The whole band, the song writing, Del Newman as the orchestral arranger ... Even the album art. Apart from Jamaica Jerk-Off, an absolutely perfect album.

The whole album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, is an eclectic mix of intriguing catchy songs on all kinds of topics.

They don't make music like this any more!! It's great 👍

They were pumping out terrific albums with astonishing frequency in the early '70s and this was right in the middle of that run-and it's a DOUBLE album! This was the first track and that wind blew out of the speakers and filled the room and then the keys, the bass, the guitar riffs... The sound was so huge, yet so clean and melodic! We were stunned...

Every song on this album is great easy to listen to from start to finish. ]:)

Hot summer nights and a car full of girls driving in circles through our small town and hoping to meet up with the guys. I love watching you listen to some of the greatest music ever produced. Thanks for sharing! Madman Across The Water is next!😂

One of my favorites from this artist!

I saw him a few years ago, 2nd row seats, this was his opening song. He is amazing. He is gracious to his audience. Give a listen to Burn Down The Mission. It rocks as good as this gem. Can you imagine growing up in this era? The 70’s were the best!

1973 or 1974, Honolulu, USN. Stadium of thousands concert. The audirorium went pitch dark, everyone raised their lighters, and the song began .. . .Those were the days when Elton John quite literally rocked.

Monstrous guitar hook from Mount Olympus - just to die for. I never want it to end.

Brings back some awesome memories. Great guitar riff.

Nigel is a original member of the band since 1969

Fantastic song.

In the 70s this was on the radio, fm progressive and college stations

Gus Dudgeon (producer) during Elton's classic period, does not get enough love. So I was glad you noted how well produced this was. Elton's band was very very talented and all turned up in the studio and on the road. I saw Elton at a sports arena and he opened this concert with this. It was bloody fantastic. What a way to start an album. What a way to start a concert!

In my band playing years in the 70's We were hired by someone to play at a event for one of their friends who was killed outside a bar. Just the context here. The other band who hired us I knew drummer and had gone to Grade school with him. Anyway They came out and played Funeral for a friend /Loves lies bleeding. Awesome it was if Elton was playing. So before that the keyboards guy was warming u and was playing the intro to Close to the Edge. They were impressive!. Memories of a time long gone

this is one of those you listen to a couple thousand times and pick out different things to zone in on.....

Thank you for this fine reaction ! When I was a kid,there were three copies of this album in my house. ( Playing your brother's albums would get you into a lot of trouble if he caught you ! ) Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy came out two years after this and went Platinum ( in sales) before it's official release date ! Nobody was bigger than Elton at the time ! The title cut is a forgotten classic. Give it a listen some time ! Peace ! 🕊️

When Elton was teamed up with Bernie Taupin, Davey Johnstone, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson, he seemingly could do no wrong, and released a series of about a dozen great albums in the early to mid 70's. At one point, he had five albums in the top ten, simultaneously! But perhaps the albums that really tell the tale, are the officially-released live recordings, from two different tours from that period.

Elton is massive, and he loves his fans, generally playing 3-4 hour concerts. He’s just finished his farewell tour last year, and unfortunately won’t be touring again.

One of his great tracks! Most of the 'Yellow Brick Road' album is great - a classic

My favorite EJ song/s. (Close behind: Where to now St. Peter, Madman across the water,...)

First song(s) of this masterpiece. There is not one single bad track on this LP. I was 14 when it came out. It reminds me of my very first girlfriend. We would listen to it at her house constantly. Life took us in different directions but we are still good friends to this day!! And when I listen to it today as in any music, it takes me back. She would say the same....

A masterpiece. Really really. Wow.