The Diving Board - Elton John
The Diving Board Image
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 9 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: Produced by T-Bone Burnett, the first solo album in over seven years for the pop singer-songwriter is a return to the more stripped down sound of his earlier career built around a piano, bass and drums.
  • Record Label: Capitol
  • Genre(s): Singer/Songwriter, Adult Contemporary, Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Album Rock, Rock & Roll, Soft Rock
  • More Details and Credits »

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20
  1. The Independent (UK)
    Sep 13, 2013
    100
    The singer has matched Bernie Taupin's best crop of lyrics for years with his own most emotively apt melodies to produce a collection that both harks back to the intrigues and interests of his earliest recordings, yet manages to break new ground, quite an achievement for an artist in his sixth decade.
  2. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Oct 10, 2013
    88
    John is still going strong and better than ever. A few listens to The Diving Board proves exactly that.
  3. Paste Magazine
    Sep 24, 2013
    80
    The Diving Board isn’t love at first listen. It quietly opens itself after several spins, unveiling a complex, winking toe-tapper of an album.
  4. The Line of Best Fit
    Sep 19, 2013
    75
    It’s about words and emotions rather than big pop moments; this is a slow-burner, which though possesses grandiose moments of musical glory, revels in the detail.
  5. American Songwriter
    Sep 19, 2013
    70
    The Diving Board proves that Elton John is on the right musical path once again, sounding so energized by the familiar trappings that a career renaissance, which seemed a long shot a few years back, now seems thrillingly possible.
  6. musicOMH.com
    Sep 12, 2013
    70
    The rich history which The Diving Board draws on also slightly undermines it: there is certainly nothing bad here yet so much of it has been done by Elton before.
  7. Drowned In Sound
    Sep 24, 2013
    30
    The Diving Board feels like an album made by somebody who’s spent the last few years performing the same set list night after night in Vegas.

See all 20 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of

Current Music Releases

Full List »
96 Sound System [Box Set]
96 The Warner Bros. Years [Box Set]
92 Sunbather
91 Higher! [Box Set]
91 Master
89 Is Survived By
89 Loud City Song
89 Silver Bell
88 In Utero [20th Anniversary Edition]
88 Your Turn
88 The RCA Albums Collection
87 Southeastern
87 All Hail West Texas [Reissued]
87 Random Access Memories
87 The Blackest Beautiful
87 Annie Up
87 American Ride
87 Innocence is Kinky
87 The Island Years [Box Set]
86 Made in California [Box Set]
All Current Music »