A HATFUL OF ELT

A HATFUL OF ELT

ELTON JOHN Breaking Hearts (Geffen)

Jon Young

Admit it: whether you’re a fan of Prince or John Denver, Van Halen or Abba, you must have a soft spot somewhere in your heart for good old Elton John. After all, it’s Elton, more than anyone else, who kept the fires of Top 40 burning bright in the doldrums of the early and mid-’70s with a wonderful string of hit singles. Sure, maybe you scoffed at those silly outfits or cringed at his uncool enthusiasm, but only a terminal art bigot could have resisted the concise brilliance of “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” or any number of other goodies.

Now seems a fine occasion to celebrate EJ, ’cause Breaking Hearts confirms that he’s firmly back in prime hitmaking form. Some time ago, John apparently lost faith in his commercial talents and grew strange, the low point being 1979’s bizarre eight-minute disco version of “Johnny B. Goode.” Then, following a slow recuperation, 1983’s sassy “I’m Still Standing” proclaimed his resurgence. If you’re not up-to-date on our man’s second coming and need convincing, then go straight to Breaking Hearts' first single, “Sad Songs (Say So Much)This instant classic unfolds gracefully in one following motion, the better to wrap itself around your memory and make you smile. Title to the contrary, “Sad Songs” is a cheery salute to tunes that get folks through the night during bleak times.

After “Sad Songs,” choose any track on Breaking Hearts and thrill to a spirited performance of a catchy song. And don’t you dare knock Elton because he never digs into the guts of his material, never reaches the emotional highs and lows of critically acclaimed artistes. That’s not his bag. Like a brassy Las Vegas headliner, EJ’s mission is simply to put on a big, bold show with a minimum of muss and fuss. Admittedly, the light’n’lively approach can produce odd results. Although Bernie Taupin’s lyrics for “Who Wears These Shoes?” lament a broken romance, Elton matches them to a perky melody and sings with such gusto that it’s hard to tell he’s grieving. “I got the blues,” he exclaims proudly at one point, as if bragging about a brand-new suit! “L’il ’Frigerator” lambasts an evil woman, yet Elton’s unabashed glee at riding a wave of Chuck Berry sound undercuts all the anger. In short, Breaking Hearts doesn’t burst with meaning. I don’t care and neither should you.

“How about those sappy ballads?,” I hear some sorehead asking. Sure, Breaking Hearts has its share of mush, but Elton’s deft touch salvages even the most maudlin moments. “Breaking Hearts (Ain’t What It Used To Be),” for example, offers a variety of pleasures: First Elton plays a ladykiller who “had the heart of every woman on a string,” amusingly audacious casting against type for our cute, cuddly gnome; second, the tune boasts luminous backing vocals straight from Abbey Road-, and finally, it stresses the importance of not acting like a, jerk in relationships, always a good point to make. All in all, worthwhile for slow stuff. Consult Barry Manilow or Billy Joel—not Elton John—to see how awful ballads can be.

Excepting the slow, tortured Stones-like groove of “Restless,” a song about national paranoia (?), Breaking Hearts finds Elton John sticking to the glib, snappy pop he does so well. And that’s the way it should be. An old-fashioned entertainer, Elton John doesn’t demand a huge expenditure of brainpower from his audience, just a belief in pop music. If you can’t get hip to that, pal, consider seeking. professional help.