I was talking to a long time radio promotion man yesterday and he said he could hear a hit in a matter of seconds. Sure, he misses occasionally, but very occasionally. And he said he was not the only one, long time professionals have this skill.
I don’t hear a hit on “Who Believes in Angels?”
The second best cut on the album is the title track, “Who Believes in Angels?,” that was released prior to the rest of the album. Elton’s playing the piano in a way that’s reminiscent of “Where to Now St. Peter?,” and it’s so great to hear. And you could say the track is gorgeous, but would I tell you you have to hear it, did I play it more than a couple of times when it was released? No. I guess I expected something more in the pocket when the entire album dropped. I did not find it.
The opening cut is “The Rose of Laura Nyro.” She deserves any attention she can get, she was a legend, at least she’s finally in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But really, her skill with a pop hit, and then with deep, touching stuff on “New York Tendaberry”…that stuff needs to be remembered, and it’s not.
Let’s go to the second album, which includes “Poverty Train.” No Top Forty radio station is going to play it, and they didn’t, however “Eli’s Comin'” was a gargantuan hit for Three Dog Night.
But do I hear a “Poverty Train” or “Eli’s Comin'” on “Who Believes in Angels?”
No.
The press said Elton was a taskmaster, that he wanted to get it right. I was listening to the album and I thought they should have called me, I would have pushed them harder. Or hired Rick Rubin, who doesn’t touch the board but pushes and pushes the acts until the material is good enough. Rick specializes in comeback records, his goal is to get you back into the headspace you were at when you peaked, and he’s very good at it.
Not that “Who Believes in Angels?” isn’t professional.
Then again, this is an LP that needs to be heard on a full-bodied seventies stereo, compressed into earbuds…the richness is lost.
So, I caught the hype for the album.
And I even saw a performance on SNL, where the mix was so awful, you couldn’t hear Elton’s piano.
And I also got a couple of e-mails telling me how great the album was.
But, despite the press, despite it being Elton John and Brandi Carlile, you cannot feel the album in the marketplace. And you can go on Spotify and see the anemic streaming numbers. Almost no one is listening.
Now I’m going to get the e-mail that fans of Elton are older and they buy physical product, just like I got an e-mail earlier saying Kamala lost because of racism, sexism… And this was a guy. How come no one can look at themselves, adjust, see if what they’re doing works?
And I got another e-mail from a Trumper saying:
“The problem with the Democratic ‘elite’ of Coastal ‘elites’ is their insufferable attitudes.
They come off as if they are a higher life form, almost as if what they say comes down from on high. They are the modern iteration of Moses with the LAW carved by them in stone. You must obey or they are the Gods who will make you pay the price.
Theirs are the only view allowed, because as domestic Gods, you can’t defy them.”
This guy is right, and what is Democrats’ response… HE’S A KNOW-NOTHING IDIOT! And there you have it.
Just like two famous stars put out an album and very few are listening.
Now I know people who say they don’t care if anybody listens to their music, I don’t believe this, but they say it. But what most musicians want even more than money is to reach the audience, to have them listen to their work, and Elton and Brandi are failing. How could they win?
Who needs an entire album. Can you just create one hit, that I can tell everybody about, a one listen smash? That’s what required of older acts today if they want traction. Yes, a heritage act can have success, but most don’t because the music just isn’t good enough, it’s bad retreads.
Now most people are burned out and past their peak. But Elton wants, Elton NEEDS the success. I wouldn’t have put out this LP without a one listen smash.
The truth is after “Blue Moves,” Elton was in the wilderness. He ultimately signed to Geffen, but had no hits. No, that’s not completely true, there was “Little Jeannie” in 1980. And ultimately “Blue Eyes” and “I’m Still Standing,” even “Sad Songs (Say So Much),” but there were huge spaces between hits, Elton didn’t dominate the conversation.
But then in 1990, he put out a single that recaptured the magic, was Elton to the core, “Club at the End of the Street” from “Sleeping With the Past.” That’s a smash. Don’t look at “Billboard” numbers, if you were alive back then you saw the animated video consistently on MTV.
There’s no “Club at the End of the Street” On “Who Believes in Angels?” Even worse, if there was, the usual lanes of exposure are dead. No dedicated fan listens to terrestrial radio even though everybody involved in that sphere keeps on telling me I’m wrong. They produce statistics, but…I literally can’t find anybody under twenty who listens.
And MTV is dead.
So even if you have a one listen smash, how do you get it started?
Well, sans a one listen smash you’re dead in the water. Kaput. There’ll be some press, some hard core fans will listen, but usually the new music sinks like a stone.
You’ve got to create virality. Not via manipulation, but something so good people HAVE to hear it, HAVE to tell everybody they know about it. Otherwise, it’s a circle jerk.
Harsh words, I know. Even worse, I know everybody involved in this project, and they’re not going to like what I have to say. But the difference with Elton is he’s willing to go back to work, to take another whack. He could create the one listen smash. But when you’re this big everyone tells you you’re great, they never tell you your sh*t stinks. But if you’re not willing to hear it, you’re moribund. How many lame albums has Paul McCartney put out over the past decades. They make you wince. Oh, they’re professional, but there’s no one listen smash.
But there is one great track on “Who Believes in Angels,” the final one, “When This Old World Is Done With Me.” This would bring down the house as the closer if Elton plays live again. Because unlike all his contemporaries, Elton is not acting like he’s twenty, rather he’s much closer to death than birth.
It’s Elton’s story. It’s not obtuse Bernie Taupin lyrics. It’s heartfelt. And you feel it.
“And when this old world is done with me Just know I came this far To be broken up in pieces Scatter me among the stars When this old world is done with me When I close my eyes Release me like an ocean wave Return me to the tide Release me like an ocean wave Return me to the tide”
Elton’s not fighting for remembrance, he’s not concerned with legacy here, he’s been at it, living so long that he knows…ultimately no one is remembered.
But he had a good life:
“I won’t want for nothing
I’ve been alright, I’ve been okay, I’ve been fine I’ve had clouds of silver linings, complicated mornings Love that left me wanting and hearts that change my mind I can feel the cold front I’ve been chilly, I’ve been frozen, I’ve been warm I’ve felt sympathy and silence, helping hands and guidance Happiness and anger since the day that I was born”
Wisdom, what a treat in this brain dead pop music world we live in.
And the piano outro is exquisite, leaves you contemplating your own life in the mood that is set.
But “When This Old World Is Done With Me” is not a one listen smash. It’s not going to convert people who aren’t paying attention, and most aren’t, this is not “My Way.”
Now whenever I express anything but adulation for the work of some legendary star, the blowback is intense. You can’t say that! Don’t you know, he’s Paul McCartney, he’s a BEATLE!
Yes, once. But truly he’s just like you and me. A human being on the planet with more questions than answers.
Anyway, after I listened to “The Rose of Laura Nyro” three times, I liked it more. But that’s an old paradigm, laying down your cash and listening to the album over and over again until you know it by heart. You have to WANT TO LISTEN! How do you make people listen?
It’s got nothing to do with TikTok, endcaps in the physical retail that still exists, it all comes down to the music itself. Elton John has made his bones, people want the new and different. So to gain attention, you have to wow them! Used to be you could work the system to gain exposure, but that no longer works at all.
We’ve got more and more music and less and less that deserves attention.
Forget the marketing. Doesn’t matter if you’re on TV…
I wanted to tell you how great “Who Believes in Angels?” is. Nothing would make me happier. I’m a huge Elton fan. But this album is not quite a dud, but I can’t say YOU HAVE TO HEAR IT!
This same promotion man at the beginning of this story talked about the first time he heard Boston’s “More Than a Feeling” at a company retreat. Talk about a one listen smash… And radio went on it immediately, they couldn’t get enough of it, they play it to this day.
Does your work have this kind of instant appeal?
If not you’re in trouble in today’s marketplace. Because there are just too many options for attention. I can tell you about albums that I heard and couldn’t wait to get home and play in the pre-mobile era. The Beach Boys vibe in “Back in the U.S.S.R.” from the White Album. And then there’s the first four tracks on Rhino Bucket’s debut. If this album came out today, the band would be hard rock gods, because there’s nothing this good in this vein. AC/DC can go on the road and play their hits, but they can’t record songs this good.
And songs this good… Usually come in a bolt of lightning. You have to capture the mood, the essence, immediately. And most people who are not big stars don’t know this. But I talk to stars all the time about their legendary tracks and they almost all come to them IMMEDIATELY, they’re in a zone, they can’t write them down fast enough.
But just like with Kamala and so much more, this is heresy. You don’t want to hear it’s the music, you want to hear it’s Spotify or the labels or even Netflix’s fault that your music is not being heard. But no, IT’S YOUR FAULT!
Sit with that, if that doesn’t make you squirm…
There’s more music than ever, and less and less is worth listening to.
So you put a lot of hard work and money into it, you spent years honing the songs… Who gives a f*ck. Play it for someone who’s not related, who doesn’t inherently care, and if they get up and walk away you know…
As opposed to hearing something once and telling the person who plays it to play it again.
I was talking on SiriuxXM about songs I heard once that I remembered and thought about until they came out on wax. One was “Superstar”…from “Jesus Christ Superstar.” I heard it on underground FM radio, this was long before it became a stage musical.
And Danny Wilde’s “Isn’t It Enough” from his album “The Boyfriend,” which was ultimately a hit for Patty Smyth and Scandal. I was in a meeting with Lionel Conway of Island Publishing and he played it and…
So you’ve got to go back to work, this is the challenge. And not only are you competing with the hits of today, but all the hits of YESTERYEAR!
I’m dying to tell you when I hear something great, see anything great…I watch a streaming series and am so excited that I can’t wait to tell you, and then you watch it too, and tell all your friends about it.
But I can’t tell you how many streaming series I never write about. Some production company spent millions, but it’s not worth your time. Everybody is time-challenged, even babies are overscheduled. But, we’re all still looking for the essence, and the rewards go to those who deliver it.
I could lie and tell you how great “Who Believed in Angels?” is… It would continue to cement my relationship with Elton, and I hear from Brandi now and again, and Andrew Watt was not thrilled that I was not thrilled about that Stones album he produced…listened to that lately?
All of these are professionals, but the bar is higher than ever before.
And we have no problem ignoring you, we’ve got enough on our plate. How can you sneak into our consciousness, how can you make us pay attention?
That’s your job.
