10 Elton John Songs Playing On Repeat

As I've written a few posts ago, I just watched the Sir Elton John biopic, "Rocket Man" due to the lengthy lockdown we have been having due to the Coronavirus scare.

Not only was I given the chance of viewing the film, I also had the chance of being introduced to other Elton John songs I haven't really given any attention before. 

Here are other Elton John and Bernie Taupin masterpieces I've completely been under the influence of during the past few days. 

1. Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

I first heard this song on Elton John's Live Aid performance with George Michael, and again on the Music for Montserrat concert. 

2. Tiny Dancer

3. Crocodile Rock

4. The Bitch Is Back

5. I Want Love

6. Saturday's Night Alright (For Fighting) 

7. I'm Gonna Love Me Again

8. Rocket Man

9. We All Fall In Love Sometimes

10. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues

MOVIE REVIEW: Rocketman

Due to the extensive community quarantine, we have been having, I finally had the chance to watch "Rocketman", the Elton John biopic, on a Saturday night. 

"Rocketman" movie poster starring Taron Egerton as Sir Elton John from Forbes.com

After "Bohemian Rhapsody", the Freddie Mercury biopic, received mostly positive reviews from critics and fans, came another biopic of a music legend. This time it was the biopic of Sir Elton John, a world-renowned musician responsible for hits such as "Your Song", "Skyline Pigeon", and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" among many other songs that he and composer Bernie Taupin have contributed to the music industry for more than half of a century.

The film was not exactly what I expected it would be. It was more of a (A) musical film rather than a (B) film filled with musical numbers. I don't know how to better distinguish the two other than explaining what differentiates A from B.

Take for example the movie "Sing Street". This movie featured an up-and-coming band in the era of the New Wave trying to make their entry in the music scene. The musical numbers were stitched into the narrative and the band was shown playing their instruments that accompanied the songs. To cut it short, there were no multiple narratives in one song number, no characters were dancing to the songs as if they were in a musical play. That would be B.

Otherwise, it would be A, which was what "Rocketman" was. And I thought it helped in telling a complicated story easier and it also helped to squeeze in storylines in the time allotted for the movie.

What differs "Rocketman" from "Bohemian Rhapsody" was the timeline considered for the main characters, Elton John and Freddie Mercury respectively. "Bohemian Rhapsody" opted to have the Live Aid performance as the conclusion of the film. That made it hard to squeeze in 15 years, more or less, worth of backstory to cover the rise of Queen. This also created the solution of stating a false story with regards to the timeline of Freddie Mercury's illness, just to make up for a good comeback story of the band via Live Aid.

As for "Rocketman", it had a good set up for the conclusion right from the start. We already knew Elton John was seeking the help of a support group, making the conflict present already in the beginning. What we didn't know were his reasons for reaching out to the support group. And these reasons were presented afterward. It was also a good choice not to make the conclusion in any way linked to Elton John's Live Aid performance, which was also one of the best performances from the event.

As for the accuracy of the movie's events, I couldn't react to the matter because I haven't checked about it. Although I have been listening to Elton John since I was a kid, I had not been into the details of his life outside his music.

With regard to the acting, Taron Egerton made a very good job of playing Elton John. What made viewers convinced that he was playing Elton John was the acting primarily. The looks and outside appearance were just confirmations that he was indeed Reggie Dwight.

With all these biopic films being made, especially with the rumors for the David Bowie one, I'd really be expecting a Live Aid documentary/film someday. Tall order though.

On an additional note, it was really inspiring to see the songwriting relationship between Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was amazing to know that the song's words and music were written separately but were still a perfect fit when bound together. 

The best day of the week to watch this film? How about Saturday night? Why so? 

"Saturday's night alright for fighting, get a little action in!" 

MOVIE REVIEW: Bohemian Rhapsody

Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?

Queen from mentalfloss.com

Upon watching the very first trailer of this movie, I have been hyped already. Just by seeing that they remade the Wembley Stadium for the Live Aid performance of Queen.

For someone who has been listening to Queen like me, the hype for this movie was very real, as expected. Once the movie hit the theaters, I was very eager to watch it.

I did watch it. However, I had some problems when I did. Normally, I would choose to point out the better things that the movie did. In here, I would like to point out some of the things they got wrong.

This list is not arranged in any particular order, just how I remembered them after watching.

1. We Will Rock You

This one was very obvious for it was already in the trailers. What made it wrong was the time that it happened in the movie, thus, the appearance of the band members. We Will Rock You, written by Brian May, was released in the album "News Of The World" in 1977. The scene depicted in the movie seemed to happen in 1980-1981. Although Brian May, and Roger Taylor, did little change to their appearance, Freddie Mercury and John Deacon changed their hairs. Mercury even had his trademark mustache which he had grown at the start of the Eighties. 

"We Will Rock You" official music video in 1977 from queenphotos.wordpress.com

Queen performing "We Will Rock You" in 1979 (pre-mustache Freddie) from YouTube.com

2. Fat Bottomed Girls

Just like We Will Rock You, Fat Bottomed Girls was written on a later time than the film had shown. Apparently, Queen performed it in their 1974 tour, rocking this song with the crowd. Although the crowd would be surely pumped to hear them play this song live, the song would not be written and performed in 1978 during the era of Queen's 8th album, Jazz. 

Queen's singles from the 1979 album "Jazz" from discogs.com

3. Paul Prenter

Paul Prenter really did out Freddie Mercury and revealed secrets, but not on a television interview. But on a news article released by the newspaper, The Sun.

Paul Prenter and The Sun article from canal13sanjuan.com

4. Pre-Live Aid Diagnosis

In the movie, Freddie Mercury took an HIV test after hearing the AIDS outbreak in a news report. Alarmed, he went into a clinic for a test. A few moments later, the doctor revealed that he had acquired the virus. This happened before they even rehearsed for their Live Aid performance. In reality, Mercury took the test un 1987, two years after Live Aid, and a year after Queen's final tour in 1986.

Queen's Live Aid rehearsals from YouTube.com

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9knDg_E0ToM

5. U2

As Queen was entering the Live Aid stage in Wembley Stadium, a band was seen exiting the stage resembling U2. This was not the case back in 1985 because the previous band that performed before Queen was Dire Straits.

U2 in Live Aid from pinterest.ph

From the movie: Freddie Mercury (center), and U2 (right) in Wembley Stadium for Live Aid from Reddit.com

6. Breaking Up The Band

One conflict happened in the movie when CBS Records offer Freddie Mercury a solo recording deal for two albums. However, the true story was that Roger Taylor already had a solo release back in the early Eighties with his "Fun In Space" album, and Brian May also had one called "Star Fleet Project" which was credited as "Brian May + Friends", even before Mercury's "Mr. Bad Guy" was released. The solo works were never a big deal in the band in real life.

Roger Taylor's 1981 release from wikipedia.org

Brian May's 1983 release from wikipedia.org

7. Jim Hutton

In the movie, Jim Hutton worked as a waiter on one of Freddie Mercury's parties. However, Hutton was an Irish hairdresser before he and Mercury met in a bar and stayed close together until Mercury's death in 1991.

Freddie Mercury (left) and Jim Hutton (right) from irishcentral.com

8. Long Time No Play

Another issue that the band had to overcome was the fact that they were on a hiatus before Live Aid because of Freddie Mercury's solo work, meaning they had not performed in a long time. They were scared to perform before a very huge crowd. In reality, Queen did take a year off on tour in 1983, but the group was back on tour as support to their 1984 album "The Works". The tour concluded just a few weeks before Live Aid.

Queen performing "I Want To Break Free" during The Works Tour from www.wallofsoundgallery.com

9.  John Deacon

Queen had three bassists before landing John Deacon. Fast forward to the Game Tour, Deacon wore the exact same clothes as in the movie. However, in available footages of the Game Tour, Deacon would remove his jacket as early as after the third song (usually before "Somebody To Love"). Since the footage shown in the movie was "We Will Rock You" which was always played at the end of their concerts, it would be out of character for Deacon to still be wearing his jacket.

John Deacon (left), Brian May (center), and Freddie Mercury (right) in The Game Tour from Amazon.com

Queen performing We Will Rock You in Sao Paulo in 1981 screengrabbed from YouTube.com

10. Ayyy-Oh

After singing "We Will Rock You" in that scene, Freddie Mercury reached onto the crowd by doing his vocal improvisations, the Ayyy-Oh chant specifically. However, "We Will Rock Youimmediatelyey leads into the intro of "We Are The Champions". Also, Mercury did his vocal improvisations, in a different manner, in the transition between "Now I'm Here" and "Dragon Attack".

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWhYflqZyqM

This was written not to throw shade at the film, nor the filmmakers. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (movie) was a very enjoyable treat to us fans and a good introduction to new fans. Actually, I have watched it multiple times already since its opening weeks in the theaters. 

This post was written to note the facts neglected in the movie as they were recorded in history because there could be times when movie viewers wouldn't know how to differentiate facts from not, and eventually, tell a misleading story about their subjects.

In this day and age of technology, information is just one click, or tap, away. But still with filtering of what you are reading, of course.