It begins with the tolling of a bell, ambient noises and the howling wind and proceeds into a pseudo-classical piano instrumental, with synthesizers and lead guitar weighing for good measure. This is Funeral For A Friend, the first half of an amazing opening track to Elton John?s legendary Goodbye Yellow Brick Road double LP, released in 1973. The instrumental would take on Spanish-Flamenco nuances as the track builds up momentum and an emotional crescendo.
Not merely content with such an illuminating tone, the instrumental segues into Love Lies Bleeding, a blues-rock tale of heartbreak. With a memorable piano chord pattern and guitar riff, John begins to sing ?The roses in the window box are tilted to one side?? By the time the song reaches its chorus, the listener is hooked by the power and the glory of this awesome track. With his crack backing band (Dee Murray ? bass, Nigel Olsson ? drums, Davey Johnstone ? guitars, Ray Cooper ? percussion) in full flight ? including heavenly harmonies that will guarantee chills down spine ? the performance is measured and muscular at the same time.
Then, an instrumental bridge revisits the motif of Funeral For A Friend once more before Johnstone?s lead guitar sears and soars its way into classic rock immortality as John and band meld into one driving awe-inspring rock machine! Not forgetting to mention, Murray incandescent bass lines which belie the relative simplicity of the song itself.
A fantastic way to open a rock masterpiece that also included the masterly Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Candle in the Wind, Bennie and the Jets, amongst many other sonic gems. If you only listen to ten classic rock songs from the 70s, this has to be one of them. Check out the video below if you know what?s good for you?
Source: http://www.powerofpop.com/?p=8491
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