Smoky, somber, and a little sad, Elton John's latest album in seven years exceeds expectations with a collection of powerful and varied tunes
John's latest album in quite a few years, The Diving Board was something I was looking forward to. I had (and still do) loved The Captain & the Kid, and had mostly enjoyed his "return to form albums": Peachtree Road, Songs From the West Coast, and Too Low for Zero. The Diving Board, however, is very different from Captain, and is really most similar to earlier records like Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water.
First off, it's mostly just John, his piano, and the band's light accompaniment on these tracks -- it might help to think of it as an acoustic record (because it basically is). Most of the songs are slow-rolling ballad-types with an emphasis on atmosphere over accessibility (hey, kinda like the new Opeth record!), and they're mostly all good. There are some more adventurous pieces sprinkled in as well - "Take This Dirty Water" is a great gospel-ish tune, and "A Town Called Jubilee" recalls the days of Tumbleweed Connection in a way that isn't cheap or boring. Honestly, it's hard to talk about standout tracks because the songs are so consistently good here. "New Fever Waltz" is the worst, but even so, it isn't really "bad" - just really boring. "Can't Stay Alone Tonight" and "Voyeur" are my personal favorites, though.
In addition to the fantastic songs, the production on this album is crazy good. There's a heady atmosphere of melancholy maturity to The Diving Board, and John hasn't sounded this good in a long, long time. T-Bone Burnett deserves props for his excellent work here (and for his ridiculous stage name).
If you're a fan of Elton John or just want a break from your usual musical diet, I can't recommend The Diving Board highly enough.
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