Elton John was huge in the period of time between 1971 and 1977. He had a string of highly successful records and was a major concert draw. Eventually his on-stage persona took over the man and he became this larger than life fictional character when in reality he was a chubby balding little man. But, he was big on musical talent and that was most evident on his 1971 classic "Madman Across the Water". It includes John standards "Levon" and Tiny Dancer" as well as the title track. Looking back this record has a similar feel to much of its predecessor; "Tumbleweed Connection" with a little less of the country feel. The Elton John of this period had a distinctive piano driven sound (the typical piano intro on most songs) with orchestral support on many tracks (title track is a showcase for this formula). But, it's the perfect union of John's music and Bernie Taupin's lyrics make this record so well. And, even though it's not always showcased; the back-up musicians including drummer Nigel Olsen are all first rate. Other stand out tracks include "Razor Face", "Rotten Peaches" and "All the Nasties". The CD I am listening to is the re-mastered version which has an excellent sound upgrade over the original.