The Best Elton John Songs That You Probably Never Heard Of, Part 2

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

In the first part of my article I pointed out some of the best Elton John songs that never made it to the charts, some of which never even made it to the airwaves (and trust me I listened to the radio a lot back then, so if I didn't hear it they probably didn't play it).

Well, my list grew as I went over the John/Taupin cannon. So here are more nuggets of gold that were left in the stream, just waiting for you to stumble upon them:

1. Solar Prestige a Gammon

Want to know how talented Elton and Bernie Taupin really are? Try this. Taupin writes three verses of wonderfully goofy nonsense. Elton take the lyrics and puts them to a gorgeous melody, which he sings with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Gus Dudgeon produces it and, Voila! Result? An infectious little piece of silliness that will win anyone over, complete with touches of Italian street music, jazz vibes (thank you, Ray Cooper, wherever you are), and synthesizer solo. How many artists or bands do you know of who could be this wacky and pull it off? Sample lyric: "Oh ma cameo molesting. Kee pa a poorer for tea." (P.S. If you ever figure out what that means welcome back from the Twilight Zone)

2. Meal Ticket

From the classic "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" this fabulous rocker barely got any airplay at the time. But it was one of his finest. The entire album was autobiographical, or as Elton described it in a 2006 interview with Cameron Crowe, "Captain Fantastic was written from start to finish in running order, as a kind of story about coming to terms with failure-or trying desperately not to be one. We lived that story."

Telling the story of the tribulations involved in getting a meal ticket (i.e. a coupon redeemable at a restaurant and entitling the holder to a meal) in a wider sense it describes in vivid detail Elton's and Bernie's desire to really be somebody in the world. Sample lyric: "While the others climb reaching dizzy heights the world's in front of me in black and white... I'm on the bottom line"

3. Street Kids

Another unsung masterpiece, this time from the album "Rock of the Westies". There were two sides to Bernie Taupin: the sensitive poet and the rebel who frequented the pubs. This song came from the latter, celebrating the juvenile delinquent in a street gang. The entire album was Elton's first with an almost completely brand new band, only guitarist Davey Johnstone and percussionist Ray Cooper remaining from the previous lineup. They all sounded like they were having way too much fun making this record. Caleb Quaye, who had played with Elton in his very earliest days, returned to punctuate this powerful rocker with a scorching electric guitar solo. Sample lyric: "And if you think you've seen gasoline burnin' in my eyes don't be alarmed. Tell yourself it's good to be alive".

I hope you enjoyed my choices for the best Elton John songs you most likely didn't even know about. It just goes to show you how outstanding he was that even some of his least known songs were this memorable.

If you are fond of folk-rock then you can click here to download a free folk-rock song.