music.wikisort.org - CompositionRock of the Westies is the tenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 4 October 1975. The title is a spoonerism on the phrase "West of the Rockies", the album having been recorded at Caribou Ranch in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.[6]
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1975 studio album by Elton John
Rock of the Westies |
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Released | 4 October 1975[1] |
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Recorded | June–July 1975 |
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Studio | Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado; remixed at Trident, London |
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Genre | - Rock
- hard rock
- soft rock
- rock and roll[2]
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Length | 43:39 |
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Label | MCA (US), DJM (UK) |
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Producer | Gus Dudgeon |
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Professional ratingsReview scores |
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Source | Rating |
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AllMusic |     [3] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A−[4] |
Rolling Stone | (not rated)[5] |
Released less than five months after his previous album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Rock of the Westies repeated that album's then-unprecedented feat of entering the US Billboard 200 chart at number one, and was John's final chart-topping studio album in that country. It was also successful (albeit to a lesser extent) in the artist's home territory of the UK, where it reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. Robert Christgau ranked it as No. 7 on his list of the best albums of 1975.[7]
History
Rock of the Westies contained the US No. 1 (No. 14 UK) single, "Island Girl", which was released prior to the album. John noted at the time in a radio interview[which?] that he had wanted to release "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" as the album's first single instead of "Island Girl", because he thought it had more commercial appeal. He was over-ruled, and "Dan Dare" was never released as a single, whilst "Island Girl" became a hit.
The make-up of John's band was different on Rock of the Westies, being without his long-time drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray, both of whom John fired during April 1975. Added in their place were Hookfoot drummer Roger Pope, an old friend who had played on Empty Sky, Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water, and American bassist Kenny Passarelli, who had previously played with Stephen Stills and was an original member in Joe Walsh's band Barnstorm. Pope had also played in Kiki Dee's touring band. Grammy, Emmy, and Academy Award-nominated James Newton Howard, at the time a virtual unknown, was also brought in as keyboardist, giving him his first major publicity. Also included was another Hookfoot member, Caleb Quaye on guitar and vocals, another old friend from his early DJM session days. Like Pope, Quaye had also played on Empty Sky, Tumbleweed Connection, and John's intervening eponymous release. Retained from the previous line-up were Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper.
A slower, less up-tempo version of "Hard Luck Story" had already been recorded by Kiki Dee (whom the song was originally written for), and released as a single one year prior to its recording for Rock of the Westies. Along with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", it is credited to Ann Orson/Carte Blanche (An 'orse an' cart / 'carte blanche') a punning moniker John devised when composing a song (music and lyrics) on his own. The name Ann Orson is also used as the name of a backing vocalist. Labelle performed backing vocals on the opening track, "Medley: Yell Help/Wednesday Night/Ugly".
In the US, it was certified gold in October 1975 and platinum in March 1993[8] by the RIAA.
Outside the US and Canada, this was the last original studio release from John on DJM Records, before forming his own label, The Rocket Record Company.
The song "Street Kids" was featured in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted. "Ann Orson & Carte Blanche" is a pseudonym used by John and Taupin.
Side twoTitle |
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1. | "Street Kids" | 6:25 |
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2. | "Hard Luck Story" (Ann Orson & Carte Blanche) | 5:16 |
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3. | "Feed Me" | 4:00 |
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4. | "Billy Bones and the White Bird" | 4:25 |
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Total length: | 43:39 |
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- Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–9 on CD reissues.
Bonus tracks (1996 Rocket Records reissue)Title |
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10. | "Planes" | 4:31 |
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11. | "Sugar on the Floor" (Kiki Dee) | 4:31 |
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Total length: | 52:41 |
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Personnel
Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.
- Elton John – lead vocals, acoustic piano (all except 8)
- James Newton Howard – harpsichord (1), ELKA Rhapsody string synthesizer (1), ARP synthesizer (1, 3), Hohner clavinet (1, 2), mellotron (3), electric piano (4, 5, 7, 8, 9), synthesizers (4, 5, 9)
- Davey Johnstone – electric guitar (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9), backing vocals (2, 3, 4, 6, 8), rhythm guitar (2, 6), voice bag (2), Ovation guitar (3), banjo (3), slide guitar (3, 6), acoustic guitar (4, 5), guitar solo (5)
- Caleb Quaye – electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9), backing vocals (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8), acoustic guitar (3, 4, 5), rhythm guitar (6), lead guitar solo (6)
- Kenny Passarelli – bass guitar, backing vocals (2, 3, 4, 6, 7)
- Roger Pope – drums (1-5, 7–9)
- Ray Cooper – tambourine (1, 3, 5, 6, 9), cowbell (1, 9), congas (1, 3, 6, 7, 8), jawbone (1), marimba (3), castanets (4), bell tree (4), vibraphone (4, 5, 8), shaker (8), wind chimes (8), maracas (9), kettle drums (9)
- Labelle – backing vocals (1)
- Ann Orson – backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9)
- Kiki Dee – backing vocals (2, 3, 4, 6–9)
- Clive Franks – backing vocals (8)
Production
- Gus Dudgeon – producer
- Jeff Guercio – engineer
- Mark Guercio – assistant engineer
- Arun Chakraverty – mastering
- John Tobler – liner notes
- Terry O'Neill – album cover photograph
- David Larkham – art direction and design
Chart positions
Weekly charts
Chart (1975) |
Peak position |
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[9] |
4 |
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[10] |
1 |
Danish Albums Chart[11] |
3 |
Finnish Albums Chart[12] |
25 |
French SNEP Albums Chart[13] |
5 |
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[14] |
47 |
New Zealand Albums Chart[15] |
4 |
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[16] |
6 |
Spanish Albums Chart[17] |
8 |
Swedish Albums Chart[18] |
6 |
UK Albums Chart[19] |
5 |
US Billboard 200[20] |
1 |
West German Media Control Albums Chart[21] |
33 |
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Year-end charts
Chart (1975) |
Position |
Australian Albums Chart[9] |
37 |
Canadian Albums Chart[22] |
11 |
French Albums Chart[23] |
81 |
Chart (1976) |
Position |
Australian Albums Chart[9] |
52 |
Canadian Albums Chart[24] |
31 |
US Billboard Year-End[25] |
37 |
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Certifications
References
- "Discography - Elton John".
- "Rock of the Westies - Elton John | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
- Planer, Lindsay. "Rock of the Westies". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 27 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- Holden, Stephen (18 December 1975). "Rock of the Westies". Rolling Stone.
- "10 Fun Facts About 'Rock Of The Westies' and 'The Big Picture'". Elton John.
- "Pazz & Jop 1975: Dean's List". Robert Christgau. 29 December 1975. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- "GOLD AND PLATINUM ALBUMS". neosoul. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- Library and Archives Canada. Archived 15 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 24 February 2012
- "danskehitlister.dk". Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
- Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : Elton John" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- "charts.nz Elton John – Rock of the Westies" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- "norwegiancharts.com Elton John – Rock of the Westies" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- "swedishcharts.com Elton John – Rock of the Westies" (ASP). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- "The Official Charts Company – Elton John – Rock of the Westies" (PHP). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- "allmusic ((( Rock of the Westies > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- "Album Search: Elton John – Rock of the Westies" (in German). Media Control. Archived from the original (ASP) on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1975". RPM. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- "Les Albums (CD) de 1975 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1976". RPM. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- "Top Pop Albums of 1976". Billboard. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Music Canada.
- "British album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Rock of the Westies in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "American album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Recording Industry Association of America.
External links
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- Songs
- Albums
- Singles
- Concerts
- Videos
- Awards
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Studio albums | |
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Live albums | |
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Soundtrack albums | |
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Compilation albums | |
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Other albums | |
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Video albums | |
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Concert tours |
- 1970 World Tour
- West of the Rockies Tour
- Louder Than Concorde Tour
- 1979 tour of the Soviet Union
- 1980 World Tour
- Jump Up Tour
- Too Low for Zero Tour
- European Express Tour
- Breaking Hearts Tour
- Ice on Fire Tour
- Tour De Force
- Sleeping with the Past Tour
- The One Tour
- Face to Face 1994
- Face to Face 1995
- Made in England Tour
- Face to Face 1998
- An Evening with Elton John
- Medusa Tour
- Stately Home Tour
- Face to Face 2001
- Songs from the West Coast Tour
- Face to Face 2002
- A Journey Through Time
- 2003 Tour
- Face to Face 2003
- 2004 Tour
- Peachtree Road Tour
- 2006 European Tour
- The Captain and the Kid Tour
- Rocket Man: Greatest Hits Live
- Face to Face 2009
- Face to Face 2010
- 2010 European Tour
- Greatest Hits Tour
- 40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man
- The Diving Board Tour
- Follow the Yellow Brick Road Tour
- All the Hits Tour
- The Final Curtain Tour
- Wonderful Crazy Night Tour
- Farewell Yellow Brick Road
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Concert residencies |
- The Red Piano
- The Million Dollar Piano
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Miscellaneous performances |
- List of Elton John and Ray Cooper concert tours
- The Union Tour
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Musicals |
- The Lion King
- The Road to El Dorado
- Billy Elliot the Musical
- Aida
- Lestat
- The Devil Wears Prada
- Tammy Faye
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Related articles | |
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Category
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Authority control  | |
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На других языках
[de] Rock of the Westies
Rock of the Westies ist das zehnte Studioalbum des britischen Sängers und Komponisten Elton John.
- [en] Rock of the Westies
[es] Rock of the Westies
Rock of the Westies es el décimo álbum de estudio de Elton John, editado en 1975.
El título del disco es un juego de palabras creado por Elton, invirtiendo la frase "West of the Rockies" (al oeste de las Montañas Rocosas), usada en EE. UU. para referirse al oeste del país.
[ru] Rock of the Westies
Rock of the Westies — десятый студийный альбом английского музыканта Элтона Джона, выпущенный в октябре 1975 года. Как и предыдущий альбом Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, он достиг первого места в американском хит-параде Billboard 200. В Великобритании Rock of the Westies поднялся на пятое место в списке продаж альбомов UK Albums.
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