I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Album: #91
Album Title: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Artist: Elton John
Genre: Multiple
Recorded: Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France
Released: May, 1973
My age at release: 7
How familiar was I with it before this week: Deeply
Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #112 - dropping 21 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
When it comes to writing about Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, I find myself paralyzed by the tyranny of choice. I suspect this feeling will happen more frequently, as we head into the final 90 records on this list. These are some of the biggest albums of my lifetime and I am deeply familiar with so many.
When I reflect on the more than 50 years Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has been in my audio orbit, so many ideas come to mind.
I could write about the Elton John obsession that consumed me in the mid-1980s when I steadily purchased almost every studio album he released during the previous decade.
I could write about how this particular record dominated my headphones for months at a time when, turning 20, I felt that I was leaving youth behind and figuring out how to navigate a world of greater responsibility.
I could write about the powerhouse songs from multiple genres that are packed onto this two-record set – American, Blues, Funk, Country-Western Ballads, Dance Hall Ragtime, Reggae, Gospel and ‘50s Rock and Roll Revival. As well there’s every kind of rock – Hard, Soft, Blues, Pop. Folk and Progressive/Symphonic.
Instead, I'll simply say that Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is my second-favourite Elton John album. Well, it is pretty much tied for first with Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, which I wrote about roughly a year ago.What Goodbye Yellow Brick Road does contain, however, is my favourite Elton John song. Or perhaps more accurately, my favourite Elton John songs, as the album opens with the instrumental Funeral for a Friend, which flows seamlessly into Love Lies Bleeding. For me, those two tracks have always been inseparable. Together, they create one of the greatest album openings in rock history.As a teenager, I assumed Funeral for a Friend was simply a cool title. It sounded dramatic, mysterious and epic. Four decades later, it resonates far differently.
The irony wasn't lost on me this weekend as I prepared to write this post. I spent several days revisiting Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, listening to it repeatedly in the mornings before my new class of Grade 7 students arrived. Sadly, I was also mentally preparing to attend the funeral of a friend. When I first fell in love with this record, funerals belonged to another generation. They were for grandparents, elderly neighbours and distant relatives. Friends weren't people whose funerals you attended; they were events waiting in the future. The older I get, though, the more I realize that funerals for friends will become an increasing facet of my life. A song title that once seemed cool now carries a weight that I once never considered.
The friend I was saying goodbye to was Joe, the father of my wife Angela’s goddaughter, Siobhan. Angela has been friends with Siobhan’s mother, Heather, for more than 30 years. While not her biological father, Joe was part of Siobhan’s life since she was little and built a wonderful relationship with her -- as evidenced by the many pictures of the pair, camping, fishing, playing or dressed for Halloween that are on display around the family household.
Over the last decade, Joe and his family became familiar faces at our Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings. He was one of those genuinely sweet, gentle people who made every room a little warmer simply by being present. The kind of guy my British cousin would say is “a good bloke”.
The thing I always looked forward to when hanging with Joe was talking hockey and music. We shared a devotion to the London Knights Jr. Hockey Club in our town, and had remarkably similar tastes in the listening habits of our youth. In fact, many of Joe's favourite albums are coming up soon on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list, including Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon. He was also a fan of Rush, so that was an easy connection when we first met. |
Some of his favourite CD's were on display at the
funeral home. He and his daughter can be seen
in the photo at the back at her recent high school graduation. |
Last Saturday, my wife and I filled a funeral hall with his family and friends. Unsurprisingly, many kind words were shared, reinforcing the things I already knew about Joe – his kindness, his gentle nature, his passion for music and sports and his deep love for his daughter.
When I was 16, Funeral For A Friend seemed like a dramatic title for a rock song. It belonged to a distant future that I could not imagine. Friends were permanent, weren’t they? The people in my orbit would always be there. At least that's how it felt.
Now I understand the title differently. Not because it is about death, but because it is ultimately about the people who make our lives richer while they are here. Joe was one of those people. He was a good bloke, a devoted father, a hockey fan, a music fan, and someone whose company I genuinely enjoyed whenever our paths crossed.
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