21 at 33 is the fourteenth studio album by British musician Elton John. It was released on 23 May 1980, through MCA Records in the US and The Rocket Record Company in all other territories. The album was co-produced by John and Clive Franks, and was primarily recorded in August 1979 at Super Bear Studios in Nice, France. The record was the first since Blue Moves (1976) to feature lyrics written by Bernie Taupin (who contributed to three songs), while John also continued to collaborate with other lyricists, including Gary Osborne and Tom Robinson. Contributors to the album include members of Toto and the Eagles, as well as Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson, marking their first appearance on an Elton John album since Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975).
The title 21 at 33 was chosen as it was John's 21st album release overall and came out when he was 33 years old.Parkinson 2003, p. 117 Upon release, the album was a moderate success, reaching the top 20 on both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart and proving far more successful than his previous effort Victim of Love (1979). The record's lead single, "Little Jeannie", peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, while it stalled at number 33 on the UK singles chart. Critical reception was relatively warm, although some criticized the record as inconsistent and lacking cohesion. To promote the album, John embarked on a tour of North America and Oceania, including a free concert in Central Park. 21 at 33 has since been certified Gold by the RIAA for US sales in excess of 500,000 copies.
Background
After the release of Blue Moves in 1976, Elton John and Bernie Taupin put their partnership on hold, with the both of them working with other acts.Parkinson 2003, p. 110 On A Single Man (1978), John would collaborate with lyricist Gary Osborne for the first time, while Taupin co-wrote Alice Cooper's 1978 album From the Inside.Parkinson 2003, p. 110-111 While John's albums still sold well, his new releases did not match the success of his early-1970s work, with A Single Man only reaching number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and number 15 on the US Billboard 200.Buckley 2013, p. 253 In 1979, John would release the album Victim of Love, a move into disco on which he did not compose or play piano on any of the material, providing only vocals.Parkinson 2003, p. 116 The album was a flop, receiving the worst reviews of his career and stalling at number 35 in the US and number 41 in the UK.Buckley 2013, p. 253-254 Also in 1979, John travelled to the Soviet Union to play a series of concerts with percussionist Ray Cooper.
Writing and recording
The writing of 21 at 33 marked the beginning of a tentative reunion between John and Taupin. The majority of the album's material was written in August 1979 in Grasse, France, to which John invited Taupin and his wife to join him.Rosenthal 2001, p. 178 John and Taupin wrote ten songs together during this period, three of which would appear on the album. In addition to Taupin, John continued to write with Osborne, as well as with two new collaborators, Tom Robinson and Judie Tzuke. Robinson had already found success with his Tom Robinson Band and hits such as "2-4-6-8 Motorway" (1977) and the gay pride anthem "Glad to Be Gay" (1978), while Tzuke was a Rocket signee who had a UK top 20 hit with "Stay with Me till Dawn" in 1979.Tobler 1995, p. 120 At one point, John considered making 21 at 33 a double album, though it was ultimately reduced to a single due to Clive Franks' belief that there was not a sufficient amount of quality material for a double.Buckley 2013, p. 262 Most of the basic tracks for the album were recorded at Super Bear Studios in Nice in August 1979, while overdubs, as well as the track "White Lady White Powder", were recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders in early 1980.Parkinson 2003, p. 117 Additionally, a choir was recorded for "Dear God" at Rumbo Recorders in February 1980. Technical problems marred the sessions in Nice; in Elton: The Biography by David Buckley, co-producer Clive Franks recalls an incident in which a mixing console ignited on fire.Buckley 2013, p. 258-259
Musicians on the album included Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray, both of whom made their first appearance on an Elton John album in five years. Other musicians appearing on the album include guitarists Steve Lukather (of Toto) and Richie Zito, as well as Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit and Glenn Frey, all members of the Eagles, who contributed backing vocals to "White Lady White Powder".Rosenthal 2001, p. 177Rosenthal 2001, p. 180 Olsson's involvement in recording began when he was invited to Sunset Sound to overdub a drum track on "Little Jeannie", as John (who, at one point, considered scrapping the song entirely) was unsatisfied with the original drum part performed by Alvin Taylor.Buckley 2013, p. 260 As Murray was living in Los Angeles at the time, he was also called in to contribute to the track, on which he provided backing vocals.Buckley 2013, p. 261 Olsson and Murray would also end up providing the rhythm section for "White Lady White Powder", the last track recorded for the album. Judie Tzuke's contribution to the album was its closing track, "Give Me the Love". John sent Tzuke the music as well as the title, and she wrote a large amount of lyrics, telling him to "use whatever [he] like[d]." Tom Robinson's contributions consisted of "Sartorial Eloquence" (released as the album's second single) and "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again".Rosenthal 2001, p. 181
Composition
In contrast with the previous year's Victim of Love, 21 at 33 sees John return to a more conventional pop and rock sound. Judy Parkinson, author of Elton: Made in England, describes the album as having a "contemporary electronic sound" due to its use of synthesizers and electric piano. The album opens with "Chasing the Crown", a John–Taupin composition. Elizabeth Rosenthal, author of His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John, notes elements of gospel present within the song, combined with "the loud colors of rock aggression".Rosenthal 2001, p. 179 Additionally, she describes John's piano part as a "scaled-down adaptation of some of the peppery chord patterns he had incorporated into "[I Heard It Through the] Grapevine" during his 1979 world tour", while "the melodious screeching of Steve Lukather's guitar sifts through the chords." Lyrically, Rosenthal considers the song to be a "close lyrical cousin" to "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968) by the Rolling Stones, with both songs being "engaging puzzles in which the listener is invited to identify a culprit who has caused conflict and misery." "Little Jeannie" is a midtempo ballad which Buckley believes shares similarities to John's earlier hit "Daniel" (1973).Buckley 2013, p. 259 The song was written with Osborne, who has described its lyrics as portraying "a girl who was beautiful but didn't realise her own worth, a woman who would sleep around because of her low self-esteem."Buckley 2013, p. 260 Rosenthal describes "Little Jeannie" as a song "about love of a higher order, sung from the perspective of a man without the most pristine values, whose life has been transformed by the pure and idealistic young Jeannie."Rosenthal 2001, p. 180 Rather than playing the part himself, John had James Newton Howard provide the song's prominent Fender Rhodes electric piano, due to John feeling Newton Howard possessed better technique on the instrument.Rosenthal 2001, p. 181 The song's coda, featuring Murray (among others) on backing vocals, contains a melody similar to that of "When I Need You", which had been a number one hit for Leo Sayer in 1977.
Rosenthal describes "Sartorial Eloquence", the first of two John–Robinson songs on the album, as an "expression of homosexual longing" with the "object of affection" being a "stylishly dressed, emotionally unrevealing man, who prefers to leave an intense affair for other pleasures down the road." The song begins with a spare arrangement consisting solely of John's voice and piano, before "grow[ing] in volume and despondency" with the introduction of additional musicians and vocalists, climaxing with a chorus of "don't you wanna play this game no more?" Rosenthal interprets the song's sudden ending as representing "the departure of the well-dressed man for untapped wells of excitement." "Two Rooms at the End of the World" was written with Taupin and comments on the nature of his and John's partnership.Buckley 2013, p. 261 Its title refers to the duo's unique tendency to write in different locations, rather than collaborating, and asserts that despite their break, their relationship remained strong, with Buckley stating the song's main theme is that "the distance that separated them was a physical, not emotional one." Shana Naomi Krochmal of Vulture describes the track as "an epic assertion of Bernie and Elton's lifelong partnership, break be damned." The song features John on electric piano and Lukather on guitar, while the instrumentation continues to build throughout the song, including the addition of a brass arrangement by Jim Horn and multiple layers of overdubbed backing vocals.
"White Lady White Powder", which opens side two, is the third and final John–Taupin song on the album. The lyrics were written about John's drug addiction, with John later stating: "Sometimes the lyrics he gave me were quite pointed. You didn't have to be a genius to work out what he was driving at when he sent me a song called 'White Lady White Powder." He also remarked that he "had the brass balls to sing it as if was about someone else." Rosenthal notes that the lyrics "itemize the reasons Elton himself had grown fond of the drug", while also calling the track "an exercise in irony" due to music which she likens to "a jolly nursery rhyme, complete with happy piano chords just right for frolicking children." Henley, Frey, and Schmidt provide backing vocals on the song. "Dear God" features choir vocals performed by, among others, Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys and Toni Tennille. Rosenthal notes its lyrics as conflicting with John's "religious skepticism", while also opining that the song "sounds not only right for church, but as if it had already been played to death for decades." Krochmal describes the track as "a musically beautiful ballad that makes almost no sense in the context of Elton John's life in 1980."
Rosenthal believes that "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", the album's second co-write with Robinson, starts off describing "someone half-seriously lamenting an overabundance of casual infatuation with members of the opposite sex." However, she notes a "clever twist" within the second verse, which "uncovers the sexual orientation of the protagonist's infatuations" with the line "Cause everywhere there's lots of foxes / and every cat I meet's a Tom". The vocal delivery is described as fitting of a "love ballad", with an "intimate but slippery" melody. "Take Me Back" is a country-influenced song with John using a Wurlitzer electric piano and Byron Berline guesting on fiddle. Rosenthal notes the use of "Elton's best cowboy voice, complete with minute vocal flips and the pointiest vocal twang probably ever heard in Nice." "Give Me the Love", the album closer and the only track written with Tzuke is, according to Rosenthal, suggestive of a "mini love epic in musical form". She likens the track to John's earlier single "Philadelphia Freedom" (1975), as they both "combine the lilt of soul with the infectious beat of a disco number and the immediacy of rock."Rosenthal 2001, p. 182
Release and reception