Elton John: Never Too Late, on Disney+

Elton John also writes the songs he sings, but only the music. The lyrics were usually penned by his longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin, but not always. He had some moderate sized hits with Tim Rice too, like “The Circle of Life” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” That was the start of his association with Disney, which continues when R.J. Cutler & David Furnish’s documentary Elton John: Never Too Late premieres this Friday on Disney+.

Cutler, the director of Belushi, and Furnish, John’s manager and life-partner, follow him on his final Farwell Yellow Brick Road tour. For the record, John is not retiring from music—just the out-of-town concerts that take him away from Furnish and their two young sons (so give him credit for forgoing a lot of money, for the sake of his family life). In between each stop, the pop showman takes stock of his career. It turns out, the movie Rocketman was pretty accurate chronicling his life.

However, Cutler and Furnish are not trying to produce a strict biography. Since they have the man himself at their disposal, they largely follow him down the memory lane trips he feels like taking. For instance, he memorably makes a hero’s return the tiny Troubadour club, which launched him to fame in 1970. Fittingly, it all builds to the tour’s climax at Dodger Stadium, revisiting John’s celebrated 1975 concerts, bedecked in his sequined Dodger uniform.

Frankly, Never Too Late does a better job covering John’s musc, album by album, than Rocketman, which prioritized the sex and the drugs over the rock & roll. John also discusses his substance abuse with brutal honesty, readily admitting it hurt his music.

Weirdly, Never Too Late offers a counter-narrative to the documentary The Lost Weekend, which discussed John Lennon’s relationship with his former assistant May Pang. Understandably, John talks at length about his friendship with the former Beatle. While John takes satisfaction from facilitating Lennon’s reconnection with Yoko Ono at the Rocket Man’s concert, the Lost Weekend filmmakers present it as a tragic turning point in the ex-Beatle’s life (and also in the lives of Pang and Julian Lennon).

American Epic Sessions: Laying Down Tunes, the Old School Way

There will be no Pro Tools used to doctor these recordings. Each take is inscribed directly onto disk. There will also be a hard stop at just under four minutes. It has been decades (nearly a century) since records were made this way, but producers T Bone Burnett and Jack White revived the practice for their three-part PBS-BBC special, American Epic. They invited some of the biggest names in contemporary Americana music into their retro-studio to record era-appropriate tunes in The American Epic Sessions (promo here), which premieres this Tuesday on PBS.

The Scully recording lathe produced all the hit records of the early 1920s, but there were no original extant systems left in existence. However, intrepid recording engineer Nick Bergh managed to assemble one from vintage parts. It is an awesome spectacle and a rare opportunity for artists like Taj Mahal to record on the same equipment that immortalized their heroes.

The system is pulley-driven, powered by gravity and a hundred-and-five-pound weight. Sound goes in the iconic Western Electric microphone and comes out on the grooves of the master. It requires entirely different studio practices, but it is as authentic as it gets.

As you would hope, many of the artists are inspired by the setting and circumstances, most definitely Taj Mahal, who lays down a passionately raw rendition of Charley Patton’s “High Water Everywhere” that reverberates with recent memories of Katrina and Sandy. Likewise, Beck’s “Fourteen Rivers, Fourteen Floods” required at least thirteen takes, but the primal power of the stripped down final was worth the effort.

Easily the biggest surprise is the contemporary vibe Nas (finally appearing in a good documentary) and White’s house band give to the Memphis Jug Band’s “On the Road Again,” bringing out the gangster rap sensibilities in the 1928 classic. Rhiannon Giddens also connects with all the earthiness of Victoria Spivey’s “One Hour Mama,” circa 1937. These tunes are ninety-years-old or older, yet they would carry parental advisory stickers if they were released new today.

A few artists contributed new simpatico tunes, including Elton John and his longtime lyricist, Bernie Taupin. “Two Fingers of Whiskey,” recorded as a duet with White, is still completely in keeping with the spirit of the sessions, incorporating blues licks we never knew John had. He ought to add it to his regular set list, because it is surprisingly cool.

Ashley Monroe and the Americans truly sound like they are channeling 1920 Appalachia during “Jubilee.” The Avett Brothers similarly start a stirring “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” but they do not get a chance to properly finish, because the strap holding the weight breaks. Continuing the inclusiveness of Epic, the sessions also feature very nice performances of Mexican and Hawaiian standards, as well as the Lost Bayou Ramblers keeping it real on “Allons à Lafayete.” Even though Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard are meant to be the big finale, they are almost anti-climactic compared to some of the stuff that came before them.

Granted, the American Epic Sessions are a bit inconsistent, but you can’t blame the repertoire. If there is one thing we can say about these tunes it’s that they have stood the test of time. Most of the artists appreciate that fact and display an intuitive understanding of why these songs retain such potency. Recommended for fans of American roots music, The American Epic Sessions premieres this Tuesday (6/6) on PBS.

Tonolo, Goldstein, Swallow, Motian, and John

Your Songs: The Music of Elton John
Pietro Tonolo, Gil Goldstein, Steve Swallow, Paul Motian
ObliqSound (OS 506)

Timing is critical in jazz, but sometimes it involves factors beyond one’s control. Given the bad publicity Elton John has had this week it might not seem to be the best time to release a set of interpretations of his tunes. However, Pietro Tonolo and his all-star rhythm section have reinvented the material so effectively on Your Songs: the Music of Elton John, it is easy to lose track of the original songwriter, and enjoy the music on its own merits.

With Paul Motian on drums and Steve Swallow on electric bass, time certainly is not a problem for Your Songs. Gil Goldstein might be better known as an arranger with an understanding of pop, having worked with likes of John himself and Chris Botti, but he has also been a well regarded faculty member in NYU’s jazz department. Here he shows a nimble, boppish touch on the piano.

As for the leader, Tonolo’s solos are consistently inventive, as are the arrangements. A song like “Tiny Dancer” unfolds gradually as a rich vehicle for Tonolo’s tenor, exploring the catchy melody without any of the cloyingness that John’s music is susceptible to. When Goldstein shifts to accordion it adds rich texture to the tune.

Of the Elton John songs chosen, perhaps “Rocket Man” is the most recognizable. Wisely, they avoided most of the pop star’s more over-played hits, like “I’m Still Standing” or (Heaven forbid) “Candle in the Wind.” As for “Rocket” it is played fairly straight, but there are interesting solo statements from Tonolo on tenor, Swallow, and Goldstein.

“Your Song,” the sort of title track, has another strong arrangement, with a very effective intro from Swallow, before the full rhythm section falls in. Goldstein takes an elegant turn before Tonolo finally enters on soprano. Throughout, they respect the melody, but give it a distinctly fresh interpretation.

On the ballad “The One,” Motian’s shimmering cymbals and a surprisingly lyrical solo from Tonolo make it a track both John fans and jazz purists could relate to. The following “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is taken as an up-tempo swinger, more for the latter audience.

Your Songs concludes with two “inspired by” originals from Tonolo. “White Street” and the brief “Epilogue: Semifonte” do suggest his talent for composing intriguing melodies, wrapping up things nicely.

Your Songs is the kind of session that demonstrates how one genre of music can feed into another. Tonolo is a former classical violinist, turned jazz saxophonist, recording the songs of a pop star, who now composes for Broadway. Fortunately, it all works. Tonolo and his colleagues seem to have a real affinity for the material, and succeed in putting their own stamp on it.