Rating: 
Summary: "His Song" Sees Past the Costumes to the Musician Within
Review: "His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John" is well written and aptly titled. It is exactly what I had hoped it would be: a biography focusing on Elton's MUSIC. To be sure, it compellingly tells the full story of Elton's life, from his personal life to his philanthropy (or as full a story as any book can tell)-- but it focuses squarely on the music and lyrics that have made Sir Elton John so treasured and irreplaceable.I was hoping to find this sort of treatment of Elton's career in Phil Norman's bio of Elton, but I was greatly disappointed. Norman kept the focus on everything BUT his music. It was more like a bio of Elton the celebrity persona, not Elton the musician/singer/songwriter/composer/performer. Elizabeth Rosenthal has corrected this with her lovingly-crafted work, written clearly from the perspective of someone who appreciates Elton's talent - and wants to keep the focus where it should be, on the music and lyrics and the forces that influenced them. This book is a must for fans. It contains detailed, song-by-song insight into all of Elton's studio albums and many highlights of his live performances -- all from the beginning of his musical career in the 1960s almost through the present day. I can't say enough good things about this book. Read, enjoy, and hope that one day it is reprinted with future updates as Elton's career continues to unfold. Bravo, Elizabeth Rosenthal!
Rating:
Summary: "His Song" Sees Past the Costumes to the Musician Within
Review: "His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John" is well written and aptly titled. It is exactly what I had hoped it would be: a biography focusing on Elton's MUSIC. To be sure, it compellingly tells the full story of Elton's life, from his personal life to his philanthropy (or as full a story as any book can tell)-- but it focuses squarely on the music and lyrics that have made Sir Elton John so treasured and irreplaceable. I was hoping to find this sort of treatment of Elton's career in Phil Norman's bio of Elton, but I was greatly disappointed. Norman kept the focus on everything BUT his music. It was more like a bio of Elton the celebrity persona, not Elton the musician/singer/songwriter/composer/performer. Elizabeth Rosenthal has corrected this with her lovingly-crafted work, written clearly from the perspective of someone who appreciates Elton's talent - and wants to keep the focus where it should be, on the music and lyrics and the forces that influenced them. This book is a must for fans. It contains detailed, song-by-song insight into all of Elton's studio albums and many highlights of his live performances -- all from the beginning of his musical career in the 1960s almost through the present day. I can't say enough good things about this book. Read, enjoy, and hope that one day it is reprinted with future updates as Elton's career continues to unfold. Bravo, Elizabeth Rosenthal!
Rating: 
Summary: An Incredible Journey
Review: An astonishing achievement. Kudos to the author for focusing postively on Elton's musical talent instead of negatively about his personal life. She was able to incorporate the various ups and downs of his life as they related to his musical growth without "demonizing" him. This is not a book for gossip-mongers. This is a book for serious students of music and, of course, for Elton John fans everywhere.
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Journey
Review: An astonishing achievement. Kudos to the author for focusing postively on Elton's musical talent instead of negatively about his personal life. She was able to incorporate the various ups and downs of his life as they related to his musical growth without "demonizing" him. This is not a book for gossip-mongers. This is a book for serious students of music and, of course, for Elton John fans everywhere.
Rating: 
Summary: An moderately entertaining research paper...
Review: As an Elton John fan for the past 30 years, I can't fault Ms. Rosenthal's enthusiasm for her subject -- it's obvious she's followed the ups and downs of Sir Elton's life, and has a very good grasp on her subject, tantrums, tiaras, and all. However, I was hoping for more; some new and/or different information than has previously been distributed via all of the usual sources, including Elton himself. No such luck. The title is apt: this book ultimately reads like a well-researched and documented paper on the music of Elton John, with no new information regarding the man himself. My only true quarrel with this work would have to be the author's occasional tendency to editorialize and let her preferences and biases toward (or against) periods of his music or specific songs slip through. For those looking for details on the songs to the n-th degree, you won't be disappointed. But if you're looking for more than that, I would suggest you look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Capt. Fantastic gets a Fantastic biography!
Review: BRAVO LIZ!
Some of the advance notices on it are absolutely correct... it will
rightfully take its place along side the Norman book as a definitive
biography. I daresay, even as much as I love the Norman bio, that this may
actually be more interesting to hardcore Elton fans, since "His Song"
features a good deal more intricate detail in it than its counterpart.
Exhaustive, but well composed, the arrangement of chapters and information is
chronological for the most part, but also organized by topic as needed. Yet,
even so, the flow of information and storytelling is never interrupted.
Brilliant execution. The use of lines from classic songs to title both
chapters and sub-sections is especially creative, and I can't imagine there's
a more complete discography to date anywhere.
For her first book, Liz has simply done incredible work. Her take on Elton's
life and career is honest and respectful all at once. Much love and
attention to detail went into this book and it's evident on every page.
To Liz and those considering reading "His Song" (and I hope MANY do), the
wait has been worth it. This is a first-rate biography deserving to be read
and considered with the best of the genre.
Well done, Liz. Hat's off to you! Enough writing about the book; time to go
put on "Songs From The West Coast" and start another chapter!
Rating:
Summary: Elton's Songs
Review: Elizabeth Rosenthal's His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John is a beautiful writing, incredibly detailed account of the music of one rock & roll's biggest icons. The book is a hefty tome that examines all of Sir Elton's songs in illuminating detail as well as other aspects of his career. The book is reverently but not fanatically so and Ms. Rosenthal heaps praise and dishes criticism where necessary and in general has written the best book on Elton John's career. If you are a fan of Elton John, then this book is an absolute must read. Even if you are not a big fan, this book is well written and worth examining.
Rating:
Summary: Elton's Songs
Review: Elizabeth Rosenthal's His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John is a beautiful writing, incredibly detailed account of the music of one rock & roll's biggest icons. The book is a hefty tome that examines all of Sir Elton's songs in illuminating detail as well as other aspects of his career. The book is reverently but not fanatically so and Ms. Rosenthal heaps praise and dishes criticism where necessary and in general has written the best book on Elton John's career. If you are a fan of Elton John, then this book is an absolute must read. Even if you are not a big fan, this book is well written and worth examining.
Rating:
Summary: Elton's Songs
Review: Elizabeth Rosenthal's His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John is a beautiful writing, incredibly detailed account of the music of one rock & roll's biggest icons. The book is a hefty tome that examines all of Sir Elton's songs in illuminating detail as well as other aspects of his career. The book is reverently but not fanatically so and Ms. Rosenthal heaps praise and dishes criticism where necessary and in general has written the best book on Elton John's career. If you are a fan of Elton John, then this book is an absolute must read. Even if you are not a big fan, this book is well written and worth examining.
Rating:
Summary: All the Details Down the Yellow Brick Road
Review: ELTON JOHN - HIS SONG is the very best comprehensive book on Elton to date.
The appeal of this book is very focused -- namely, it is written for the die-hard Elton John fan. But, like Elton's new album, Songs From the West Coast, it is what the fans have been wanting and needing for a long time. A positive, behind the scenes, detail-oriented examination of this artist's spectacular song-writing history. One of the appeals of this book over other biographies of John is that Rosenthal doesn't spend half the book on history that we all already know (and frankly don't care about) -- Reg was born in Pinner, England, his father would yell at him for eating celery too loud, his parents were divorced, his aunt Mable had chronic hangnails, yadda, yadda, yadda...none of that tripe. Rather, she focuses on the long-time collaboration between John and Bernie Taupin (his original and best lyric-writer), the mechanizations of the record companies (for instance, the turbulant Geffen years, and the causes thereof), how each single release charted, and Elton's response to each victory/disappointment. She weaves an extensive tapestry that demonstrates how each album and promotion, plus the other events occurring at any given moment, intertwined with each other to produce the final results. One of the tell-tale giveaways that this book is written by a die-hard Elton fan is the fact that Rosenthal repeatedly quotes what appears to be her favorite verses from given songs on given albums, like she just can't resist doing it, which adds a nice flourish of personal touch. The book is well-produced, and was well worth the wait for it to hit the stands. It clarifies a lot of the obscure subject matter often debated by consummate Elton John fans. If you like Elton John, or have an interest in the music industry and how it works (and sometimes doesn't work), buy this book. You won't be disappointed.
| 
