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Sep 20, 2013There is much that is admirable about The Diving Board--the feel is spacious and haunting, the ambition is commendable--but the emphasis on tone over song means it leaves only wistful wisps of melancholia behind with the actual songs seeming like faded, distant memories.
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MojoSep 19, 2013There is much melancholy here, but he sounds comfortable singing songs that carry the weight of experience. [Oct 2013, p.87]
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Q MagazineJan 27, 2014The Diving Board is less engaging, widescreen lyrics paired with waddling blues and maudlin balladry. [Oct 2013, p.104]
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Sep 23, 2013He's no Marcel Proust, but full credit for producing what's an unusually thoughtful album in contemporary pop music terms. Even if it is a bit morbid.
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Sep 27, 2013This 31st studio album won’t be anyone’s favorite Elton John record, or even necessarily a must-listen.... But, John’s vocals and technical playing raise nearly any song at least one rung up the ladder.
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Nov 21, 2013[Elton John] eschews formulaic pop for the stripped barroom noir of "Oscar Wilde Gets Out" and church hymn "A Town Named Jubilee." All too soon, though, "My Quicksand," which would be a perfect Rufus Wainwright vehicle, sinks overwrought while drawing the disc's Maginot Line. Only the Eighties-esque "Can't Stay Alone Tonight" rallies after that.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 23 out of 26
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Mixed: 2 out of 26
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Negative: 1 out of 26
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Feb 13, 2019Elton John is better here than in Peachtree Road or The Captain & The Kid, his best album since Songs From The West Coast!!!
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Apr 3, 2016
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Feb 1, 2014