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Honky Chateau
__________________________________________________
To download this recording via iTunes, click below:
To buy this recording from Amazon.com, click here: Honky Chateau
__________________________________________________
Elton John
Honky Chateau
Rocket Records
314-528 162-2
__________________________________________________
This album is dedicated to Catherine Philippe-Gérard
HONKY CAT
Electric and acoustic pianos – Elton
Bass – Dee
Banjo – Davey
Drums – Nigel
Trombone – Jacques Bolognesi
Trumpet – Ivan Julien
Saxophones – Jean-Louis Chautemps, Alain Hatot
Brass arrangements – Gus Dudgeon
MELLOW
Piano and organ – Elton
Bass – Dee
Guitar – Davey
Drums and tambourine – Nigel
Electric violin – Jean-Luc Ponty
I THINK I’M GOING TO KILL MYSELF
Piano – Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
Tap dance – “Legs” Larry Smith
SUSIE (DRAMAS)
Piano – Elton
Bass – Dee
Drums and tambourine – Nigel
Guitars – Davey
ROCKET MAN
Piano – Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
A.R.P. Synthesizer – David Henschel
SALVATION
Piano – Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
Additional backing vocals – Madeleine Bell, Liza Strike, Larry Steel, Tony Hazzard
SLAVE
Bass – Dee
Guitars and banjo – Davey
Congas and drums – Nigel
AMY
Piano – Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
Electric violin – Jean-Luc Ponty
Congas – Ray Cooper
MONA LISAS AND MAD HATTERS
Piano – Elton
Bass – Dee
Mandolins and guitar – Davey
HERCULES
Piano—Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
Rhino whistle – Gus Dudgeon
A.R.P. Synthesizer – David Henschel
Additional backing vocals – Gus Dudgeon, Tony Hazzard
Bonus Track
SLAVE
(Alternate Version)
____________________________________________________
All titles written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
____________________________________________________
Produced by Gus Dudgeon
Engineered by Ken Scott
Co-ordinated by Steve Brown
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, France
Re-mixed at Trident Studios, London
Remastered by Tony Cousins with assistance from Crispin Murray at Metropolis Mastering, London.
All titles published by Dick James Music Ltd. (PRS) controlled in the U.S. and Canada by Songs Of Polygram International, Inc. (BMI)
Cover photography by Ed Caraeff
Sleeve design and inner sleeve photography by Michael Ross (with thanks to David Larkham)
Liner photography by Michael Ross, Michael Childers & J.F. Rault
____________________________________________________
HONKY CHATEAU
After the frantic activity of 1971, during which he had released four new LPs in the US: two studio albums, ‘Tumbleweed Connection’ and ‘Madman Across The Water’, the live ‘11-17-70’ and the ‘Friends’ soundtrack LP, there was finally time for Elton John to briefly draw breath before ‘Honky Chateau’, which was released in May, 1972. This was his first LP to top the US chart, holding off all comers for five weeks during the summer of that year, and was his first to remain on the ‘Billboard’ Top 200 Albums chart for well over a year. In the UK, it was his first Top 3 LP, and not only included his first Top 3 single, ‘Rocket Man’, but was also his first album to include more than one hit single – the second UK chart 45, which peaked just outside of the Top 30, was ‘Honky Cat’. In the US, both ‘Rocket Man’ and ‘Honky Cat’ were Top 10 singles. ‘Honky Chateau’ was also notable as Elton’s first studio album recorded away from London (although the live LP had been taped in New York).
The story goes that Elton had been strongly advised that considerable tax advantages would accrue from recording abroad, and while he would later base himself in Britain and ignore such financial advice, in early 1972 he understandably felt less loyal to his own country, where he was merely a contender, than to the United States, where he was already a sensation and his popularity was still increasing. The Rolling Stones were spending a year as tax exiles in France in 1971/2, and had announced that their next album would be recorded in France using a mobile studio. If it was good enough for The Stones (a group Elton had admired for many years), it was good enough for him. However, a suitable mobile studio was not available when Elton was ready to record, and other plans were being considered – until Gus Dudgeon saved the day by suggesting a conventional studio which had been used by The Grateful Dead, and which operated in a genuinely authentic 300 year old chateau.
As long as the recording equipment was technically acceptable, the Chateau d’Hierouville was an extremely viable alternative; within easy reach of Paris, but with sleeping facilities, so that everyone involved with the recording could also live there, working all day and night if necessary, and for relaxation could enjoy the on-site recreational facilities (a private swimming pool and tennis court). The catering was highly regarded and the chateau had its own vineyard; with such advantages, Dudgeon’s radical and adventurous suggestion was accepted.
The finished LPs title, ‘Honky Chateau’, referred to Strawberry Studios (as it was known), and was dedicated to Catherine Philippe-Gerard, the chateau’s manageress – honky, incidentally, was a fashionable word of the time with several shades of meaning… The album basically involved just the quartet of Elton (vocals and electric and acoustic piano), Dee Murray (bass), Nigel Olsson (drums) and Davey Johnstone (guitar, mandolin and banjo).
The few additional musicians included a horn section composed of French musicians little known in mainstream musical circles; noted jazz violin star Jean-Luc Ponty (who is also from France, and worked with Frank Zappa); ‘Legs’ Larry Smith (drummer of the eccentric Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah band, who contributed tap dancing rather than drumming to the surprisingly cheerful ‘I Think I’m Going To Kill Myself’); David Henschel, whose synthesizer noises are a memorable aspect of ‘Rocket Man’, the track for which the album is probably best-remembered; the almost inevitable Ray Cooper (percussion), and an equally inevitable team of backing singers, the latter contributing the neo-gospel vocal sound to ‘Salvation’, a track in the vein of Delaney & Bonnie or Joe Cocker’s giant ‘Mad Dogs & English Men’ project. ‘Honky Cat’, an amusing pun on the album’s title, was a lively five minute long opener with its oriental piano intro and R&B horn section (arranged by Gus Dudgeon) and with Johnstone on banjo, while ‘Mellow’ was Leon Russell-ish, with Ponty’s electric wailing violin. ‘I Think I’m Going To Kill Myself’, aside from its unexpectedly jaunty arrangement, was reminiscent of the ironic late Sixties classics by The Kinks, and ‘Susie (Dramas)’, with its immensely contagious chorus, boasts a psychedelic guitar solo from Johnstone. Then comes ‘Rocket Man’, with the colourful couplet, “Mars ain’t no place to raise your kids, In fact, it’s cold as hell”, and those synthesizer swoops. It was deservedly a huge hit, and its chances could have only been improved by the fact that there had been a recent space launch.
More importantly, it was Elton’s second hit single in Britain, where none of his last four LPs had spawned a chart 45, although it was his sixth US chart hit, and remains instantly recognisable as one of his most familiar classics. ‘Slave’ is almost epic, with the final line of each verse atmospherically repeated, and seems to be a polite stylistic nod to The Band (who had both backed Bob Dylan and released highly impressive albums in their own right, and were among Elton and Bernie Taupin’s favourite groups), with Davey Johnstone’s guitar and banjo reinforcing the similarity, while ‘Amy’, on which Jean-Luc Ponty is again featured, is like Leon Russell at his most extreme.
Mention of other artists does not imply plagiarism: the use of the trademark sounds of others is without doubt a genuine tribute rather than merely a second-hand copy, and Elton was already a much bigger star commercially than The Kinks or The Band or even Leon Russell. A track which has been remembered vividly is the ingeniously titled ‘Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters’, without drums and with Johnstone on mandolin. This powerful and unromantically honest reflection of Bernie Taupin’s feelings about New York provokes community singing when Elton performs it in concert. Contrastingly, the echoed vocals of the closing ‘Hercules’ features both Fifties doo-wop passages and late Sixties Beach Boys harmonies, and some may be amused to learn that the song is about a rhinoceros of that name.
Elton’s country residence in Virginia Water was also called Hercules, and when R.K. Dwight changed his name by deed poll in December, 1971, he became Elton Hercules John… ‘Honky Chateau’ was a significant release for Elton. It was recorded during January, 1972, and was the first of three albums recorded at the chateau, all of which topped the US charts. It would seem that very few notable cover versions were made of the songs on the album, with the obvious exception of ‘Rocket Man’, the contribution by Kate Bush to the 1991 all-star tribute album of Elton & Bernie’s songs, ‘Two Rooms’.
For once, relatively few additional completed recordings were undertaken during the sessions which were omitted from the LP, but one which is included here as a bonus track is an alternate version of ‘Slave’, about which Bernie Taupin recalled: “That version was ridiculously fast. We were all thinking it was too fast, and we were just going to can it. Then, somebody came up with the concept of doing it totally the opposite way – very slow. Which works because it make much more sense, it makes it that sort of southern, laconic, steamy kind of thing”. Undoubtedly a milestone album, this was Elton’s first to reach the ultimate plateau in popular music, pole position in the ‘Billboard’ chart.
John Tobler, 1995
___________________________________________________
All the tapes used to create these new masters are the original mixes. However, due to the fact that many of the tapes are at least 25 years old, they have “softened up” to varying degrees. So, the sound has been passed through the most up to date digital processing equipment, at 20 Bit Resolution; namely The Sadie Digital System and Prism Super Noise Sharper. The effect is purely to “enhance” rather than “colour” the sound.
As the original producer, I would have used this equipment at the time, had it been available for mastering. The very nature of analog recordings being transferred to vinyl demanded major compromises. With the benefits of digital sound these constraints are removed, and the recordings can be heard much closer to the reproduction we had originally intended.
Gus Dudgeon
____________________________________________________
314-528 162-2 © 1995 This Record Company Ltd. Printed in U.S.A.
Rocket Records, Manufactured and Marketed by Island Records, Inc.
825 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10019
This Compilation (P) © 1995 This Record Company Ltd.
All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A
Warning: Unauthorized reproduction of this recording is prohibited by Federal law and subject to criminal prosecution.
To download this recording via iTunes, click below:
To buy this recording from Amazon.com, click here: Honky Chateau
__________________________________________________Elton John
Honky Chateau
Rocket Records
314-528 162-2
__________________________________________________
This album is dedicated to Catherine Philippe-Gérard
HONKY CAT
Electric and acoustic pianos – Elton
Bass – Dee
Banjo – Davey
Drums – Nigel
Trombone – Jacques Bolognesi
Trumpet – Ivan Julien
Saxophones – Jean-Louis Chautemps, Alain Hatot
Brass arrangements – Gus Dudgeon
MELLOW
Piano and organ – Elton
Bass – Dee
Guitar – Davey
Drums and tambourine – Nigel
Electric violin – Jean-Luc Ponty
I THINK I’M GOING TO KILL MYSELF
Piano – Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
Tap dance – “Legs” Larry Smith
SUSIE (DRAMAS)
Piano – Elton
Bass – Dee
Drums and tambourine – Nigel
Guitars – Davey
ROCKET MAN
Piano – Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
A.R.P. Synthesizer – David Henschel
SALVATION
Piano – Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
Additional backing vocals – Madeleine Bell, Liza Strike, Larry Steel, Tony Hazzard
SLAVE
Bass – Dee
Guitars and banjo – Davey
Congas and drums – Nigel
AMY
Piano – Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
Electric violin – Jean-Luc Ponty
Congas – Ray Cooper
MONA LISAS AND MAD HATTERS
Piano – Elton
Bass – Dee
Mandolins and guitar – Davey
HERCULES
Piano—Elton
Bass and backing vocals – Dee
Guitars and backing vocals – Davey
Drums and backing vocals – Nigel
Rhino whistle – Gus Dudgeon
A.R.P. Synthesizer – David Henschel
Additional backing vocals – Gus Dudgeon, Tony Hazzard
Bonus Track
SLAVE
(Alternate Version)
____________________________________________________
All titles written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
____________________________________________________
Produced by Gus Dudgeon
Engineered by Ken Scott
Co-ordinated by Steve Brown
Recorded at Strawberry Studios, France
Re-mixed at Trident Studios, London
Remastered by Tony Cousins with assistance from Crispin Murray at Metropolis Mastering, London.
All titles published by Dick James Music Ltd. (PRS) controlled in the U.S. and Canada by Songs Of Polygram International, Inc. (BMI)
Cover photography by Ed Caraeff
Sleeve design and inner sleeve photography by Michael Ross (with thanks to David Larkham)
Liner photography by Michael Ross, Michael Childers & J.F. Rault
____________________________________________________
HONKY CHATEAU
After the frantic activity of 1971, during which he had released four new LPs in the US: two studio albums, ‘Tumbleweed Connection’ and ‘Madman Across The Water’, the live ‘11-17-70’ and the ‘Friends’ soundtrack LP, there was finally time for Elton John to briefly draw breath before ‘Honky Chateau’, which was released in May, 1972. This was his first LP to top the US chart, holding off all comers for five weeks during the summer of that year, and was his first to remain on the ‘Billboard’ Top 200 Albums chart for well over a year. In the UK, it was his first Top 3 LP, and not only included his first Top 3 single, ‘Rocket Man’, but was also his first album to include more than one hit single – the second UK chart 45, which peaked just outside of the Top 30, was ‘Honky Cat’. In the US, both ‘Rocket Man’ and ‘Honky Cat’ were Top 10 singles. ‘Honky Chateau’ was also notable as Elton’s first studio album recorded away from London (although the live LP had been taped in New York).
The story goes that Elton had been strongly advised that considerable tax advantages would accrue from recording abroad, and while he would later base himself in Britain and ignore such financial advice, in early 1972 he understandably felt less loyal to his own country, where he was merely a contender, than to the United States, where he was already a sensation and his popularity was still increasing. The Rolling Stones were spending a year as tax exiles in France in 1971/2, and had announced that their next album would be recorded in France using a mobile studio. If it was good enough for The Stones (a group Elton had admired for many years), it was good enough for him. However, a suitable mobile studio was not available when Elton was ready to record, and other plans were being considered – until Gus Dudgeon saved the day by suggesting a conventional studio which had been used by The Grateful Dead, and which operated in a genuinely authentic 300 year old chateau.
As long as the recording equipment was technically acceptable, the Chateau d’Hierouville was an extremely viable alternative; within easy reach of Paris, but with sleeping facilities, so that everyone involved with the recording could also live there, working all day and night if necessary, and for relaxation could enjoy the on-site recreational facilities (a private swimming pool and tennis court). The catering was highly regarded and the chateau had its own vineyard; with such advantages, Dudgeon’s radical and adventurous suggestion was accepted.
The finished LPs title, ‘Honky Chateau’, referred to Strawberry Studios (as it was known), and was dedicated to Catherine Philippe-Gerard, the chateau’s manageress – honky, incidentally, was a fashionable word of the time with several shades of meaning… The album basically involved just the quartet of Elton (vocals and electric and acoustic piano), Dee Murray (bass), Nigel Olsson (drums) and Davey Johnstone (guitar, mandolin and banjo).
The few additional musicians included a horn section composed of French musicians little known in mainstream musical circles; noted jazz violin star Jean-Luc Ponty (who is also from France, and worked with Frank Zappa); ‘Legs’ Larry Smith (drummer of the eccentric Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah band, who contributed tap dancing rather than drumming to the surprisingly cheerful ‘I Think I’m Going To Kill Myself’); David Henschel, whose synthesizer noises are a memorable aspect of ‘Rocket Man’, the track for which the album is probably best-remembered; the almost inevitable Ray Cooper (percussion), and an equally inevitable team of backing singers, the latter contributing the neo-gospel vocal sound to ‘Salvation’, a track in the vein of Delaney & Bonnie or Joe Cocker’s giant ‘Mad Dogs & English Men’ project. ‘Honky Cat’, an amusing pun on the album’s title, was a lively five minute long opener with its oriental piano intro and R&B horn section (arranged by Gus Dudgeon) and with Johnstone on banjo, while ‘Mellow’ was Leon Russell-ish, with Ponty’s electric wailing violin. ‘I Think I’m Going To Kill Myself’, aside from its unexpectedly jaunty arrangement, was reminiscent of the ironic late Sixties classics by The Kinks, and ‘Susie (Dramas)’, with its immensely contagious chorus, boasts a psychedelic guitar solo from Johnstone. Then comes ‘Rocket Man’, with the colourful couplet, “Mars ain’t no place to raise your kids, In fact, it’s cold as hell”, and those synthesizer swoops. It was deservedly a huge hit, and its chances could have only been improved by the fact that there had been a recent space launch.
More importantly, it was Elton’s second hit single in Britain, where none of his last four LPs had spawned a chart 45, although it was his sixth US chart hit, and remains instantly recognisable as one of his most familiar classics. ‘Slave’ is almost epic, with the final line of each verse atmospherically repeated, and seems to be a polite stylistic nod to The Band (who had both backed Bob Dylan and released highly impressive albums in their own right, and were among Elton and Bernie Taupin’s favourite groups), with Davey Johnstone’s guitar and banjo reinforcing the similarity, while ‘Amy’, on which Jean-Luc Ponty is again featured, is like Leon Russell at his most extreme.
Mention of other artists does not imply plagiarism: the use of the trademark sounds of others is without doubt a genuine tribute rather than merely a second-hand copy, and Elton was already a much bigger star commercially than The Kinks or The Band or even Leon Russell. A track which has been remembered vividly is the ingeniously titled ‘Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters’, without drums and with Johnstone on mandolin. This powerful and unromantically honest reflection of Bernie Taupin’s feelings about New York provokes community singing when Elton performs it in concert. Contrastingly, the echoed vocals of the closing ‘Hercules’ features both Fifties doo-wop passages and late Sixties Beach Boys harmonies, and some may be amused to learn that the song is about a rhinoceros of that name.
Elton’s country residence in Virginia Water was also called Hercules, and when R.K. Dwight changed his name by deed poll in December, 1971, he became Elton Hercules John… ‘Honky Chateau’ was a significant release for Elton. It was recorded during January, 1972, and was the first of three albums recorded at the chateau, all of which topped the US charts. It would seem that very few notable cover versions were made of the songs on the album, with the obvious exception of ‘Rocket Man’, the contribution by Kate Bush to the 1991 all-star tribute album of Elton & Bernie’s songs, ‘Two Rooms’.
For once, relatively few additional completed recordings were undertaken during the sessions which were omitted from the LP, but one which is included here as a bonus track is an alternate version of ‘Slave’, about which Bernie Taupin recalled: “That version was ridiculously fast. We were all thinking it was too fast, and we were just going to can it. Then, somebody came up with the concept of doing it totally the opposite way – very slow. Which works because it make much more sense, it makes it that sort of southern, laconic, steamy kind of thing”. Undoubtedly a milestone album, this was Elton’s first to reach the ultimate plateau in popular music, pole position in the ‘Billboard’ chart.
John Tobler, 1995
___________________________________________________
All the tapes used to create these new masters are the original mixes. However, due to the fact that many of the tapes are at least 25 years old, they have “softened up” to varying degrees. So, the sound has been passed through the most up to date digital processing equipment, at 20 Bit Resolution; namely The Sadie Digital System and Prism Super Noise Sharper. The effect is purely to “enhance” rather than “colour” the sound.
As the original producer, I would have used this equipment at the time, had it been available for mastering. The very nature of analog recordings being transferred to vinyl demanded major compromises. With the benefits of digital sound these constraints are removed, and the recordings can be heard much closer to the reproduction we had originally intended.
Gus Dudgeon
____________________________________________________
314-528 162-2 © 1995 This Record Company Ltd. Printed in U.S.A.
Rocket Records, Manufactured and Marketed by Island Records, Inc.
825 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10019
This Compilation (P) © 1995 This Record Company Ltd.
All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A
Warning: Unauthorized reproduction of this recording is prohibited by Federal law and subject to criminal prosecution.
