Often cited as Elton's "progressive" album because of the strings, serious lyrics, and complex arrangements. And, yeah, I guess I can go along with that. It's a lot, well... catchier than anything progressive, though - it's still Elton John, after all. And it's good! Probably my third-favorite EJ record, after Tumbleweed Connection and the self-titled. In my opinion, Elton was at his best between 1970 and 1971. This was before Bernie's lyrics started to get really irritating, before his records became full of grandstanding schlock like a majority of Blue Moves and Caribou, or even a very small part of the still exceptional Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Or maybe it's just because I'm tired of hearing "Bennie and the Jets", good song as it is, on the radio all the time. I'm not sure. Basically, stardom-era Elton good (as in "1972-1975"), pre-stardom-era Elton better. All right, now that the rant's out of the way, on with the show. Totally butt-kickin' album! Especially the first five tracks, or more specifically four of the first five tracks.  Elton got the big hits out of the way as fast as possible, and they rule. "Tiny Dancer" is a wonderful orchestrated piano ballad with a little touch of the country, and "Levon" is just Elton at his best. His vocals are in peak form, Paul Buckmaster's orchestration is complex without overwhelming the song, and Taupin's vague character sketch is much more interesting to me than, say, "All the Young Girls Love Alice". Amazingly, though, the title track is even better. Screw Alice Cooper, this is "horror-rock". Elton's vocals, the strings, the minor-key piano, the guitar riffs, and the lyrics about a madman. Amazingly, the ten-minute version found as a bonus track to Tumbleweed Connection is even better, and this is a hard song to top! And "Indian Sunset" may have regrettably stereotypical lyrics, but the arrangement, structure, and vocals. (Noticing a pattern here? Elton's singing in the early period absolutely rules). In such classy company, "Razor Face" is kind of a trifle, but it's fun. The last four tracks aren't as good as the first five, and one of them (the "Bohemian Rhapsody"-"Hey Jude" hybrid "All the Nasties") is a miss by any standards. But "Goodbye" is a passionate elegy; "Holiday Inn" has whiny lyrics but makes up for it with cool mandolin and strings, and "Rotten Peaches" is a great country tune reminiscent of Tumbleweed Connection. So yeah, get this!