What more can one possibly say about Elton?

Well, from my observations on his recent tour, I think something has happened, is happening, or is about to happen to him that deserves a mention.

For a start, this is still his favorite magazine. That is no small matter, especially when you consider the way the poor guy has been treated within these pages the past year. Yet, he doggedly persists, telling near-strangers how much he likes CREEM. / think a publicists fee, some small token of gratitude from the staff might be in order. Whatever, it certainly is a remarkable testimony to his sense of humor. —

"Look," he said to me in the air somewhere between New York and Philadelphia. "Youve got to have a sense of humor about the press. Besides, we all dish people. I like a good gossip, dont you?" Far be it from me to say no.

Elton is the man in rock “n roll most responsible for living up to the image: "If Youve Got It, Flaunt It."*But he now tells me hes playing all that down. "I think kids are fed up with it," he adrtiitted. "Thats why bands like Aerosmith are making it so big. I think the whole star trip has gone tod far.

"And Im fed up with all that posing," he told me for my syndicated column, "Rock Talk." "Bowie ... I thought his show was dreadful. That attitude, of “Here I qm baby, and isnt it wonderful to actually be able to see me, really see me. Im the thin white duke. Wh$t is all that about?? I could call myself the fat, pink pulp, but I/dont."

And he continued: "All that stuff in the papers about Rod Stewart and Britt Ekland. Who cares about Britt Ekland?? / dont. I mean Ive got nothing against the lady, but I dont want to read about Rod Stewart sticking his tongue down her throat every two minutes."

So, E.J. says hes playing it down, and then he appears on July 4th in his Bob Mackie-designed Statue of Liberty outfit. Oh, lets face it. he had to do something. And if he didnt come onstage in a Statue of Liberty outfit, well, who would?

Observing Eltons large wardrobe trunk backstage at Largos Capitol Centre, I remarked that I never can understand why rockstars shlep all that stuff around and then wear the same thing onstage each night. (This from a * woman to whom traveling light means taking less than three suitcases.)

"Well," Eton rolled his eyes, "doesnt everyone?? I mean doesnt Frank Zappa?? He probably takes all his sequin jackets with him everywhere and then changes into a T-shirt and jeans to go onstage." „»

Oh yes, I asked Elton about that rumored hair transplant. "You know," he replied, "I was in bed, in Toronto, and I read in the morning paper that Id had a hair transplant and my scalp was bleeding. I could not believe it. Then John Baldry saw me in England, touched the top of my head, and said, “Hmmmm . . not bad . . . No, of

course it wasnt true . . ."

Anxiously checking his watch on the way back to New York after the Largo show, Elton asked, "Dyou think well get back in time for the Canned Heat gig??" When I had picked myself off the floor, he added, "Really, theyre back together. I think its very important. . ."

Elton has always been described^as a "fan" of the music business, but its the music that he really likes. "I think the music business has reached its lowest ebb," he told me. "There are too many albums^ too many singles, too many iron-talented people. Its like automation. Too much money involved to hype an artist. I thought the Bruce s, Springsteen thing was embarassing, although Im sure it wasnt his fault. Im really annoyed with the record companies . } ."

Elton also revealed to me that he might not perform again for at le^st a year and a half, "Although I dont want to say Im retiring. I could miss it so much that Id want to come straight back. But Id like to have a home base for awhile, instead of all this traveling around. I spoke with John Lennon and he said, “Are you on tour again?? And, whe^e else can I play? Ive done Dodger Stadium, Ive done the East Coast. .." Then, watching a Muhammed Ali fight on the Starship video setup, he remarked, "I think you can compare what hes doing to what it would be like if I toured again next year."

Elton—e ven though his concerts this time around did quite nicely—admitted that he felt concerts were getting too big. "This is the last year for those big stadium shoiivs," he said, also in "Rock Talk.."You have to get there so early to get a good view, you have to sit all day in the sweltering heat. If you want to get a drink or go to the toilet its a drag."

I couldnt agree more.

And, I havent talked to a rockstar this past summer who—if they were nonest and not greedy—didnt agree with Eltons statement. Donlt tell me about the economics of this business. The economics of this business are such that those performers who get SO big that they "have" to perform unfeasible shows may discover their longevity limited.

Performers who insist on doing large clubs (and these days the Santa Monica Civic or Carnegie Hall is a large club) may find that they do the best shows, have a finer rapport with their audience —to say nothing of getting their respect—and bring some of the magic back to rock “n roll.

Wouldnt it be funny if Elton—with all his excesses and flamboyance, all the supposed showbiz trappings—was one of the few who actually helped, by his current attitude, to instill a note of sanity in an industry gone mad?? Just asking,