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Feb 5, 2016There is a matured pacing and weight to the music and John's vocal performances that make this record one of his finest in its own right.
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Feb 4, 2016It sounds like they’re having a blast. It was recorded in just 17 days, which has perhaps contributed to the urgency of tracks such as In the Name of You. But it has not come at the expense of John’s nose for a hit.
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Feb 3, 2016Wonderful Crazy Night is not an album of hit singles, but John knows his game is to sit on the sub’s bench these days. But still to be delivering such carefully and enthusiastically forged handiwork says much about his respect for his legacy and his audience.
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MojoJan 29, 2016If you love pop, you really have to hear it. [Mar 2015, p.92]
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Feb 23, 2016As good as the tracks are, there isn’t that one real standout. Still, his voice sounds great, the songs are catchy and engaging but still well-crafted, and Elton and his band seem to be having a genuinely good time.
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Feb 5, 2016John and Taupin have long passed the point of having anything to prove, and if Wonderful Crazy Night doesn’t offer much in the way of instantly gratifying pop hit-making, it’s got craft and joie de vivre to spare--which for artists of their vintage is admirable in its own right.
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UncutJan 29, 2016For much of the album, there's a poppy ebullience reminiscent of the MTV-friendly '80s Elton. [Mar 2016, p.70]
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Jan 29, 2016A set of songs whose freshness reflects the spontaneous manner in which they were recorded.
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Feb 5, 2016Rollicking arrangements conceal lackluster songwriting on Wonderful Crazy Night’s more upbeat cuts, but when the tempos slow, John’s music suffers. Still, his voice is intact (which is more than some of his peers can say) and his showmanship still shines.
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Feb 12, 2016Everything about Wonderful Crazy Night is utterly predictable, from its subject matter to its comprising 100% mid-tempo ballads, be they boogie-woogie piano (‘Looking Up’, ‘England and America’) or acoustic guitar lighter than a Peter Kay show (‘I’ve Got 2 Wings’, ‘Tambourine’). But despite this--and perhaps in no small part thanks to T Bone Burnett adding a lovely warm country tinge in the production--none of it grates.
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Feb 8, 2016Yes, it’s Elton John by numbers, but it’s his talent as a songwriter that has solidified his stature in popular music and that wide appeal will only be further cemented by Wonderful Crazy Night.
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Feb 8, 2016Even Elton-sceptics can take solace in how producer T-Bone Burnett continues to improve the veteran piano man by filling the interstices of his work with detail, rendering songs such as the rather good Claw Hammer at least 43% more nuanced.
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Feb 5, 2016It sounds good on paper, but the album unfolds as an undifferentiated wash of music, without the big toothsome melodies that have lifted John's music for decades.
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Feb 5, 2016Often, the tunes appear to be handsome constructions--grand, stately, and well appointed--but their foundations are shaky, constructed from threadbare melodies and words that dissipate not long after they land.
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Q MagazineFeb 4, 2016While Wonderful Crazy Night lacks a truly great Elton John song, he sounds more driven than he has in years. [Mar 2016, p.108]
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Feb 1, 2016A couple of duds: No Monsters telegraphs its Lennon-esque references, while England & America is pointless dad-rock. Everything else works.
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Feb 8, 2016Under the production of John and T-Bone Burnett (back again after The Diving Board), the instrumentation on Wonderful Crazy Night is glossy yet separate, as if each part was recorded in its own high-end echo chamber. As a result, none of it sounds unified--more high-fidelity karaoke mix than a band that’s playing together.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 21 out of 29
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Mixed: 1 out of 29
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Negative: 7 out of 29
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Feb 8, 2016
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Apr 2, 2016
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Mar 18, 2016