His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John

by Elizabeth Rosenthal

A comprehensive overview of the musical career of Elton John provides the full story behind all of the musician's recordings, a complete chronicle of his concert tours, an assessment of his musical odyssey, and a study of his sometimes turbulent personal life, along with more than forty photographs and a complete discography.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

544 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Hillery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive book on Elton John's music...not a biography of his life per se. Goes into detailed discussion of every album he made from his first up through "The Big Picture" (1997), his last studio album before this book was published in mid 2001. Discussions of each song, his working relationship with Bernie Taupin and other lyrics writers, the musicians on each album, the tours, and struggles with his record companies. Given that it's Elton, there is definitely drama and some diva moments. A great book for anyone who loves his music. Too bad that there is not a similar book written for all the artists whose music I love.

[dyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compared to Phillip Norman's biography, Lisa Rosenthal instead celebrates how Elton and his incredible pianism brought the instrument to the forefront of rock n roll in a guitar dominated industry. She writes more about the music, examining each song and it’s successes and failures in the charts. This did become quite boring and repetitive but it could be regarded as necessary. She is a better commentator on the developments in Elton’s sexuality. She also addresses the misogyny present in Bernie’s but properly defends them. I found one error, where she said Elton attempted suicide two days after the Dodger’s stadium concert instead of before. All in all, Rosenthal provided a nice account of Elton’s journey. Probably because she is a fan, her account is less judgemental than Norman’s.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are an avid Elton John fan this is your book. It details the facts behind hundreds of songs and concerts, interspaced with biographical details. I did something I rarely do with a book, I skimmed over it skipping the details about obscure songs I have or never will hear.

[Eric Tsavdar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must-read for anyone who considers themselves a classic rock aficionado. I read it because I'm a fan of Elton John, and like with all of my favorite music, I like it all the more when I know the story behind it.

[Sean Asbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should/could have been 50% shorter and therefore 100% better. The author is infatuated with flowery adjectives and annoying prose, which I assume is meant to suck up to the subject.
An example: “a rush of soaring melody brushes the senses like a cool,flower-scented breeze on an early sprint day. Visions engage the mind’s eye of snow-capped mountains, blossom filled meadows...” and on and on and on.
The word arpeggiated is used in one form at least 75 times.

Stick to elton’s autobiography instead of this bloated 500 pages of discussion on who plays in elton’s band in every random concert

[Peter Mueller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a superfan, there are a lot of tidbits the casual fan would pass over, but as a big EJ fan myself is the sort of thing I would prefer to read. The problem with this rather hefty tome is, it is a little too opinionated, it gets annoying after a while, and you feel like you are reading a personal journal all too often, and this for me rather detracts from a more enjoyable read.

[Craig Maas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the hundreds of concerts Elton has performed, Rosenthal managed to mention the only one I attended.. "Some concertgoers in the small communities that were getting Elton for the first time in 25 years or for the first time ever (like Fargo, North Dakota).. page 468. I remember at the time there was a lot of press, and a lot of coverage.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Elton John fan pens this tribute to her favorite musician. Her criticism is biased; she likes him too much and does a cursory survey of his albums and songs. She is encyclopedic, but doesn’t provide enough in-depth analysis of his work. For fans, not musicologists.