![]() ![]() The gap between Egerton and Elton comes into sharp relief on “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” the triumphant number that closes the film and soundtrack alike. ![]() Egerton never digs into the meaning of the lyric-granted, Bernie Taupin’s obtuse words have been known to stump the best singers-preferring to glide by on cozy melodies and exacting replications of phrasing, a choice that undoes the ballads “Your Song” and “Amoreena” and keeps the wilder moments tame. While this approach may be well-suited for a film, when his performance is heard as strictly a recording, his thinness as a vocalist becomes apparent. Egerton possesses a vocal timbre that’s reasonably similar to Elton John’s and he’s an adept enough vocalist, but he sings like an actor: He’s intent on playing a part instead of inhabiting a song. ![]() Where the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody relied on original Freddie Mercury vocals, Rocketman features Taron Egerton-a veteran of the Matthew Vaughn Kingsman film franchise-as Elton John, with occasional contributions from co-stars Jamie Bell, Kit Connor, and Bryce Dallas Howard. To that end, this precision is preferable for the actors who populate the cast of Rocketman, but their vocals are the ultimate undoing of the original soundtrack. Here, the music is intentionally buttoned up, meant to evoke memories instead of creating them. During the 1970s, Elton John led a rock’n’roll band-and they were a band, not a collection of session musicians he kept bassist Dee Murray, drummer Nigel Olsson and guitarist Davey Johnstone with him through the years, with the latter two still playing with Elton to this day-so his original recordings have a certain intangible raw soulfulness underneath Gus Dudgeon’s supple productions. ![]() This is a problem that plagues Rocketman: The professional players can hit the marks but not with the same aplomb as the musicians who created the recordings in the first place. This is a subtle but notable difference from John’s original records, evident in thick layers of choirs and strings, but also the studio band, who sound considerably stiffer on the rowdy early rockers (“Rock & Roll Madonna,” “Hercules,” “Honky Cat”) than Elton’s loose original crew. The alterations aren’t as much reimaginations as they are a play upon our collective subconscious.īy design, Martin’s new arrangements are made for the big screen, so every gesture is oversized and aimed at the cheap seats. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” swaps out melancholy majesty for pomp and circumstance and “Take Me To The Pilot” submerges Paul Buckmaster’s gorgeous strings in aggressive R&B rhythms. But more often he favors productions that carefully tease out nostalgic memories without succumbing to rote replications. Sometimes, Martin slyly opens up a familiar tune so it feels slightly left of center: “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” begins with a blast of guitars before dabbling in both mock-reggae and diluted psychedelia. Rocketman doesn’t take nearly as many risks as Love-at no point on the soundtrack are digital drum beats grafted upon the melodies-but Martin doesn’t quite treat the original recordings as sacred gospel. Known now as the man overseeing reissues of the prime jewels in the Beatles’ catalog, Martin cut his teeth bringing the Fab Four to Vegas, creating the mashups that fueled Cirque Du Soleil’s extravaganza Love. To that end, the production team hired the right music supervisor for the job: Giles Martin. Much of the blame can be laid at the feet of Fletcher and producer Matthew Vaughn, who decided the music be sculpted to fit the contours of the silver screen, reworking and re-creating John’s original hits so they matched the emotional tenor of the stylized story being told. Which is why it’s odd that Rocketman (Music From The Motion Picture), by many respects the record of Elton John’s life-at least his life as it is depicted in Dexter Fletcher’s fantastical film of the rock star’s journey-is such a stilted affair. ![]()
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