Rating: 
Summary: His Song tops them all.
Review: The book "His Song" by Elizabeth Rosenthal tops all books ever on Sir Elton John. I was delighted to read how much I did not know. The author obviously is a fan and took what seems like years to research on Elton John. I would highly recommend this book to any fan of pop and rock music.
Rating:
Summary: The Book For Any Elton John Fan!!!
Review: There have only been a few books that have really looked into the Man, the Artist and the Legend that Elton John is. The earlier book by Philip Norman on Elton John was a fairly good book, but what he did in his updated version, which came out in 2000,was updated but in such a distasteful way with only 15 pages to cover to what was a very fruitful period for Elton from 1991-1999. But this new book by Elizabeth Rosenthal has over 100 pages on the same timeframe. The book is so current that she even has a complete track listing for Elton's most recent Album Songs From The West Coast released this month. But Rosenthal unlike Norman is a true Elton Fan who has seen him numerous times and has a huge collection of Elton stuff. The book is informative yet easy to read even to non die hard fans. She talks about practically every song from every album. The many tours that Elton has done over the years are mentioned with a lot of information like what songs were in that tours set list. And if the tour featured some bad moments she isn't afraid to divulge what happened no matter how negative. Elton has had an incredible amount of success on the billboard charts and HIS SONG does an incredible job of recording that with every single and album has its full charting info. It evens mentions how a few songs should have been hits. Elton has been in numerous television programs, done countless interviews, and has had many reviews of his recorded work and live appearances. Liz has gone through that vast body of stuff and that what makes that book so informative because due to that work it makes that part of Elton come out clear to the reader. Elton's lyrics have been very interesting over the years so Rosenthal points out excerpts to many songs to give a feel of the song. I also like how she uses a fitting song lyric of that part of the book to break up sections. But what makes the book so great is that even though I know a lot about Elton John she has done so much research that the book has some details that I just did not know or that the book gives me a new perspective on something that I thought. And to top it all it has a very detailed Discography US and UK with some releases that I wasn't familiar with before. So if you are looking for a book about Elton John the best choice without a doubt in my opinion is His Song- The Musical Journey of Elton John by Elizabeth J. Rosenthal
Rating:
Summary: Simply THE best book about Elton yet
Review: This book focuses on the music of Elton, unlike any other bio. It goes through an album song by song, and offers interesting interpretation and insight into each, unlike Norman's or other bio's that mention the two or three well known songs from each album. It was amazing the amount of info I learned in this book even though I've been a lifelong fan.
Rating:
Summary: A Most Fascinating, Detailed Bio.
Review: This book has been such a great help to me in understanding Elton John's music, and understanding the man. His incredible life is very well told. You can really 'feel' the particular times he was going through throughout his life. The songs and albums are so excellently detailed that you can almost hear the music coming from the pages. Ms. Rosenthal really knows her music and surely knows Elton's music to the 't'. Also you come to know what every song is about, where there may have been mysteries about some. I am also particularly interested in the different tours Elton has been on and I just love the way she writes about these tours. There is no other Elton John book like this. After over 30 years of some of the best pop/rock music ever created, someone FINALLY came along to do justice to this music and explain it in ways we have never heard before. This book is a MUST for all Elton John fans. Both hard core fans and borderline fans. Thank you Liz!!!
Rating:
Summary: All About His Song: Elton John
Review: This book is a must for any Elton fan or for that matter, anyone interested in the background and history of Elton John and his music. The author gives a detailed account "Behind the Music" and the reader will learn why and how Elton wrote his songs through the years. It also gives a detailed and historical account of what makes this complex talented man tick inside. The man is a genious, let's face it, and this book gives you the insight about the musician that you wanted to know but where afraid to ask. A brilliantly written book! Bravo! Buy it today!
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT READ FOR ELTON FANS!
Review: This book was a Christmas gift for me, and when I started it I figured I would read bits and pieces here and there. Instead I started on page one and just couldn't put the book down! The information was interesting and the notes on all the music from all the albums was very interesting! The one thing I liked about this book was that it stuck to discussing the music, and did not dwell into Elton's personal life too much. I'm not a fan of Elton for what he does and does not do off the stage, to me it's the music that matters. I highly recommend this book, especially if you want to know about all of Elton's albums and the songs that went into the making of a classic musicial and singer. Thanks, Liz, for the great read!!!! :)
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT READ FOR ELTON FANS!
Review: This book was a Christmas gift for me, and when I started it I figured I would read bits and pieces here and there. Instead I started on page one and just couldn't put the book down! The information was interesting and the notes on all the music from all the albums was very interesting! The one thing I liked about this book was that it stuck to discussing the music, and did not dwell into Elton's personal life too much. I'm not a fan of Elton for what he does and does not do off the stage, to me it's the music that matters. I highly recommend this book, especially if you want to know about all of Elton's albums and the songs that went into the making of a classic musicial and singer. Thanks, Liz, for the great read!!!! :)
Rating:
Summary: Terrific "musical biography"!
Review: This is a marvelous book, especially noteworthy because the author pays as much attention to the music as to the musician. Although her writing style at times can get a bit florid, that's understandable given the fact that she has to describe literally hundreds of songs and performances, so she's always searching for new and creative descriptions. Sometimes it doesn't work, but usually it does. At any rate, this is a highly detailed, engrossing account of Elton John's life and music, and I always found that I had trouble putting it down. Better yet, I was always eager to get back to it! The author clearly loves her subject, "warts and all," which she doesn't shy away from. A very enjoyable and extremely informative book--a must for dedicated Elton John fans, and highly recommended even for more casual fans who simply want to learn more (a lot more) about one of the most successful artists in the history of popular music.
Rating: 
Summary: A Supurb Biography of the Songs
Review: While Philip Norman's semi-authorized Sir Elton remains the definitive biography of Elton John, His Song is a good look at the songs themselves. The two books complement one another, not compete.While some biography is included in His Song, the major emphasis is on the songs. Rosenthal presents the songs in chronological order and she explains what each song means, an event in itself especially when Bernie Taupin's lyrics are concerned. The book is excellent but there are some unfortunate downsides. In many cases we have to read about songs twice. First, when they are recorded, and again when the album was released. Sometimes it's hard to remember what year I'm reading about because I know a song was released in, say 1984, but i'm reading about when it was recorded in 1983. While the book is complete with album songs and singles, some obscure releases and b-sides are missing. Nothing is mentioned about From Denver To LA, The Goaldigger's Song, and Sick City, to name a few. When were they recorded and what was the circumstances behind each one? I'd like to know. One thing that bothered me throughout the book was the font. For some reason, the numeral '1' was presented as an upper-case 'I', through-out. I found this distracting. The book did present a game though. Each chapter is named after a song and most of the sections are culled from song lyrics. The game was to figure out what song the lyrics were taken from! All in all, His Song is a wonderful tribute to the songs of Elton John, which no Elton John fan should be without.
|
