Loudly trumpeted as a return to his ’70s roots, Songs From The West Coast saw the Rocket Man fall back to earth after a full quarter-century spent underachieving in the murkiest outer reaches of the AM/FM stratosphere. Stripped of studio frippery and with piano reinstated in a central role, that 2001 album was, by a country mile, Sir Elton’s most impressive workout since 1976’s Blue Moves, and served notice that he wasn’t about to coast for the rest of his days writing Broadway bombast or fluff for cartoon lions.
The self-produced Peachtree Road more or less duplicates the formula. A pared-down, organic sound that recalls Madman Across The Water and Honky Ch
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