Today was a Madman Across the Water kind of a day…do you ever have those? I feel like I’ve had about 3 weeks of them in fact. That’s the main reason I haven’t blogged in a while (I know you’ve missed me)!
Anyway, I was listening to the Madman CD today while heading down the highway and back, and I had a crazy thought…these may be the best first four songs of any Elton John album: Tiny Dancer, Levon, Razor Face and (of course) Madman. I’ll have to give that hypothesis more consideration in another blog post, but for now, let’s just go with it.
A shout out to my brother Mark for putting the bug in my head to take a listen to this album again…I hadn’t listened to it in a while. And, in particular, this song. Without a doubt, the least known of the four. IMHO, it gets extra points for that (for me, the more obscure, usually the better).
In any case, I’m not exactly sure what it means. To me, it’s just a vignette about friendship, no more, no less. I don’t need to read anything else into it. I enjoy the raw, almost staccato vocals. Coupled with the piano, guitar (Caleb Quaye, not Davey Johnstone) and organ…it’s pretty cool. And of course, Bernie’s lyrics lend some classic moments, too:
Oh it must be hard for the likes of you to get by
In a world that you just can’t see through
And it looks so cold
How does it feel to know you can’t go home
How does it feel to know you can’t go home
I kind of know that feeling myself (don’t we all)?
Razor Face, oh amazing grace
Protects you like a glove
And I’ll never learn the reason why
I lu-uh-uh-uh-uh-uv your Razor Face
I especially love the “Love your Razor Face” repetition at the end of the song…
If you’ve ever seen the movie Moonlight Mile, this song is on the soundtrack. I didn’t know that (for shame, for shame) until my brother pointed it out to me. So, of course, I found the movie on NetFlix On Demand and had to watch it…uncomfortable movie, I must say, but great song choice!
Anyway, if you’ve never heard the song, here it is…and if you have, feel free to enjoy it again!
Razor Face (Madman Across the Water – 1971)
The Captain and the Kim 