If it wasn’t clear by now, the mid-1980s was not a good time for Elton. In addition to the commercial failure of LEATHER JACKETS, Elton also had to have throat surgery due to nodules on his vocal cords and was dealing with false stories being spread by The Sun. On top of this, he was also still having issues with drugs. Elton could sense a change was needed and did make some changes. He ended up having a big auction where he sold off many of his old costumes and also sued The Sun for libel. While doing all of this, he recorded a new album called REG STRIKES BACK.
REG STRIKES BACK may be one of Elton’s least known records today, but it did do fairly well on the charts, which was definitely a step in the right direction following LEATHER JACKETS. Instead of Gus Dudgeon, Chris Thomas was brought back in for the producer role. Despite this, the REG STRIKES BACK lineup is actually made up of people from the LEATHER JACKETS era: Davey and Fred Mandel, Charlie Morgan on drums, David Paton on bass. So it is still somewhat of a technical sounding album, although it sounds much more professionally recorded than the two immediately preceding it. And also, there’s another aspect working in its favor: the backing vocals. At Chris Thomas’s insistence, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson were brought back to provide backing vocals alongside Davey, so while it may not sound like a classic era album musically, it does from a backing vocal perspective. Is this enough to make a good album? Let’s dive in.
The first track is “Town of Plenty”. I really like this track; the main keyboard riff is catchy and even though the keyboard is the dominant instrument, you can still make out the guitars clearly enough. Elton is in much better vocal shape than he was a couple years earlier and it shows; there’s no more strain in his voice. It’s permanently deeper, but it seems like he adjusted to this style pretty quickly, and he comes across as really spirited on this song. Really good opener.
Next is one of the album’s singles, “A Word in Spanish”. I don’t like this track; it kind of has a “Nikita” vibe to it, in that it’s a generic sounding attempt to be a hit. In its defense, unlike “Nikita”, it does feel like they’re trying to make it a bit more distinct with their focus on Spanish influenced guitar playing. And also unlike “Nikita”, there’s nothing out of place like a distracting high pitched voice. But it’s still generic and doesn’t feel like it has a ton of emotion put into it; it does feel a bit like they’re just going through the motions on this one.
Track 3 is “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters Part 2”. Yes, a sequel to the classic track from HONKY CHATEAU. Some people complain about this one being too much of a stylistic change from the original and not really connecting well. While I do prefer the original, I actually do quite enjoy this one too. It’s pretty jazzy, which is supported by a trumpet solo from Freddie Hubbard. The guitar and keyboard work are very spirited, and I like the nod to The Beatles’ “Drive My Car” with “Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Yeah!”. I supposed I can kind of understand the dislike given how great the original is, but I choose to view this on its own rather than as a continuation of a classic, and looking at it that way, it works perfectly well for me.
That’s then followed by the album’s lead single, “I Don’t Wanna Go On with You Like That”. This is another one that, like “Little Jeannie”, people seem to have forgotten how big of a hit this was for Elton. Here in the U.S., it was actually his highest charting solo single of the decade, peaking at number 2. Sure, it sounds very much like a product of its time; the drums sound like a drum machine, but it’s still super catchy. This was apparently the type of song that played a lot in dance clubs, and I can see that, as it has a very danceable quality to it. Elton’s keyboard work is really good on this, especially during the fade-out at the end. I like this one too.
Track 5 is a ballad, “Japanese Hands”. These are far from Bernie’s greatest lyrics, but they did still seem to inspire Elton musically in a good way. Mostly synth based with an occasional guitar effect thrown in, it stands out thanks to its surprising simplicity, which is something you don’t usually expect from a synth based song. To me, it works; the mostly laid back musical style is appreciated, especially when compared to the blandness of “A Word in Spanish”.
Then we have “Goodbye Marlon Brando”, which is a surprisingly guitar heavy track. This one pretty much amounts to Elton referencing various things in the music and film industries, which isn’t a bad thing, as long as you have a good beat and catchy music, and this one has both. It’s a fun little rocker. Also worth noting Elton’s reference to ROCKY V, as not only did there end up being a ROCKY V a couple years later, but Elton even recorded a song for it!
Next is “The Camera Never Lies”. Elton does some pretty cool piano work on this, but outside of that, the melody is a bit bland and the rest of the musicians don’t really stand out on this one. At the very least, it is uptempo, so it doesn’t drag, and if anything is mostly in one ear, out the other.
I used to think the same thing about the next track, “Heavy Traffic”, but I find this one’s actually grown on me. In addition to some really solid keyboard work, there also is a bit more of a focus on acoustic guitar throughout that gives it a more atmospheric feeling. It’s a fun track, even if it’s not super memorable.
Track 9 is “Poor Cow”. It’s between this and “Town of Plenty” for my favorite song on the album. This song is super catchy, from the fast keyboard riff to the spirited drumming to the stellar backing vocals of Dee, Nigel and Davey. It tells a tragic story, but it knows it’s a tragic story; you’re clearly meant to feel sympathy for this character, and Bernie tells it that way. It’s a really interesting song, worth checking out.
The album closes with “Since God Invented Girls”. This is one that might seem a bit odd lyrically for Elton to be singing, but I actually do think that the chorus is pretty catchy, and it has the added benefit of not only Dee, Nigel and Davey, but also Bruce Johnston and Carl Wilson on backing vocals. The verses aren’t anything special, but it’s still a decent closing song.
As far as additional tracks go, the only B-side here was “Rope Around a Fool”, which is fine, but not super memorable. I would like to point out a track called “The Rumour”, a John-Taupin track from this era which was recorded by the late Olivia Newton-John. Elton even co-produced and sang backup on it. It actually is a type of track that feels like it would have been very at home on REG STRIKES BACK, given its uptempo and electronic nature. As long as it’s catchy, though, that’s all that matters, and this is a catchy track. It’s one of those tracks where you can tell there’s a lot of energy put into it and that reflects in the listening experience.
So yeah, that’s REG STRIKES BACK. Basically, the theme here seems to be “uptempo and electronic”, and I suppose I could see people considering that a negative, as that was what a lot of people were doing in the ‘80s and it doesn’t give it a distinct personality of its own. But I actually like most of the songs on the record and, given the context of Elton’s personal situation at the time, I think this was just the album he needed at this point in his life; a chance to just do fun music again, even if they aren’t necessarily masterpieces. And heck, he even got a really big hit out of it, so that’s another positive. One thing that does kind of bother me is the title. Yes, it was meant to be a “comeback”, but using the name “Reg” would seem to imply he’s going back to the old days before he legally changed his name, and that’s really not the case here. I actually think the next album should have been called REG STRIKES BACK, for reasons I’ll go into more once we get to that. As for the actual REG STRIKES BACK, I think it’s a good album; not great, and not flawless, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction and for that alone, I feel it does deserve a bit more love than it gets.
And with that, we say farewell to Dee Murray, as this was his final performance on an Elton recording before his death in 1992. He was a man who helped define the Elton sound, always brightening it up whether it was through his bass work or backing vocals. A very talented man who left us way too soon.
