As Elton sings, in one of the most soothing tracks he ever recorded: “But God this is a mellow time. (The studio closed in 1985 squatters soon moved in.) Of those records, though, Elton John’s “Honky Château” is the one whose sound feels most inextricable from the charmed setting in which it was recorded. An instrumental session demo for “Susie (Dramas)” included in the 50th anniversary edition - one of a number of included outtakes taken from the original session tapes - captures the ease and enthusiasm of everyone involved.įor a few years, that far-off location in rural France provided a perfectly splendid backdrop to a lot of splendid music. While the resulting record alternates between moods heartfelt (“Rocket Man,” “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”) and humorous (“Honky Cat,” “I Think I’m Going to Kill Myself”), the overall impression, if not precisely bucolic, feels as clean and crisp as country air, particularly after the contrasting darkness of “Madman Across the Water.” From Davey Johnstone’s cheeky banjo-plucking on “Honky Cat” to Dee Murray’s marvelously unfettered basslines on “Rocket Man,” a sense of freedom and openness is pervasive - and infectious. Over the next couple of years, he recorded three albums at the Château which happened to feature several of the finest songs of his career: “Daniel,” “Crocodile Rock,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.”Īs Elton notes in the same essay: “The first morning we were there, I had three done by the time the band drifted downstairs looking for something to eat.” This would be an exceptional rate of productivity even if the songs didn’t include the monumental “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” and “Rocket Man.” Lyricist Bernie Taupin, poised over his typewriter in another room, seems to have been equally inspired and prolific during this time. Mellow Yellow edit Royal Albert Hall On 24 October 1966, Epic released the single 'Mellow Yellow', arranged by John Paul Jones and purportedly featuring Paul McCartney on backing vocals, but not in the chorus. Browse hundreds of songs like Mellow Yellow by Donovan (1967) like The Sun Is A Very Magic Fellow, Young Americans - 2016 Remaster and Whatever Gets You. (Later, Robin Gibb spotted the stairwell in a French pornographic film called “The Kinky Ladies of Bourbon Street.”)įor Elton - he had just legally changed his name from Reginald Kenneth Dwight to Elton Hercules John - January 1972 was the beginning of an incredible run. ![]() It was the studio where David Bowie recorded “Low,” with a little help from a deck of cards brandished by Brian Eno - each card bearing a vaguely cosmic suggestion along the lines of “Imagine the music as a set of disconnected events” or “Turn it upside down.” (Bowie picked up bad vibes in the Château’s master bedroom.) That same year, the Bee Gees laid down “Stayin’ Alive” and “How Deep Is Your Love” at the Château, apparently writing the tunes not in the studio itself, but in the stairwell. Donovans popularity soared in 1967, particularly in the US where the groundbreaking Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow albums were released on time and in.
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