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Rock of the Westies

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Rock of the Westies
Studio album by
Elton John
Released24 October 1975
StudioCaribou Ranch (Nederland)
GenreRock[1]
Length43:39
Label
ProducerGus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
(1975) 		Rock of the Westies
(1975) 		Here and There
(1976)
Singles from Rock of the Westies
  1. "Island Girl"
    Released: 29 September 1975
  2. "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" / "I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)"
    Released: 12 January 1976

Rock of the Westies is the tenth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released on 24 October 1975, through DJM Records in the UK and MCA Records in the US. Produced by Gus Dudgeon, the record was recorded in the summer of 1975 at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado and contained a new lineup of the Elton John Band reflecting John's desire for a harder rock sound.

Titled after a pun on the phrase "West of the Rockies",[2] Rock of the Westies showcases a much more aggressive, rock-based sound than its predecessors. As opposed to the autobiographical themes of the preceding album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Bernie Taupin's lyrics on Westies cover both personal and fictional themes. Guests on the album include funk rock group Labelle and Kiki Dee, both of whom contribute backing vocals.

Released less than five months after Captain Fantastic, Rock of the Westies repeated that album's then-unprecedented feat of entering the US Billboard 200 chart at number one, and was John's final chart-topping studio album in that country. It was also successful in the artist's home territory of the UK, where it reached number 5. The album's lead single, "Island Girl", topped the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 20 in multiple other territories. However, sales of the album tapered quickly, and both contemporary and retrospective reviews have been mixed, with some reviewers considering the album to be a misstep in the midst of John's "classic period".

History

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Rock of the Westies contained the US Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 (No. 14 UK singles chart) single, "Island Girl", which was released prior to the album. John noted at the time in a radio interview[which?] that he had wanted to release "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" as the album's first single instead of "Island Girl", because he thought it had more commercial appeal. He was over-ruled, and "Dan Dare" was never released as a single, whilst "Island Girl" became a hit.

The make-up of the Elton John Band was different on Rock of the Westies, being without his long-time drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray, both of whom John fired during April 1975. Added in their place were Hookfoot drummer Roger Pope, an old friend who had played on Empty Sky, Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water, and American bassist Kenny Passarelli, who had previously played with Stephen Stills and was an original member in Joe Walsh's band Barnstorm. Pope had also played in Kiki Dee's touring band. Grammy-, Emmy-, and Academy Award-nominated James Newton Howard, at the time a virtual unknown, was also brought in as keyboardist, giving him his first major publicity. Also included was another Hookfoot member, Caleb Quaye on guitar and vocals, another old friend from his early DJM session days. Like Pope, Quaye had also played on Empty Sky, Tumbleweed Connection, and John's intervening eponymous release. Retained from the previous line-up were Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper.

A slower, less up-tempo version of "Hard Luck Story" had already been recorded by Kiki Dee (whom the song was originally written for), and released as a single one year prior to its recording for Rock of the Westies. Along with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", it is credited to Ann Orson/Carte Blanche (An 'orse an' cart / 'carte blanche') a punning moniker John devised when composing a song (music and lyrics) on his own. The name Ann Orson is also used as the name of a backing vocalist. Labelle performed backing vocals on the opening track, "Medley: Yell Help/Wednesday Night/Ugly".

In the US, it was certified gold in October 1975 and platinum in March 1993[3] by the RIAA.

Outside the US and Canada, this was the last original studio release from John on DJM Records, before forming his own label, The Rocket Record Company.

The song "Street Kids" was featured in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]

Upon release, Rock of the Westies received mixed reviews from critics. In a review for Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden stated the songs "barely accomplish their objective of providing the latest in synthetic boogie", while opining that the new lineup resulted in only "superficial" changes to John's sound. Holden also criticized the lyrics of "Island Girl" as being both sexist and racist, while declaring "Feed Me" to be the album's only set of lyrics to be "more than a glib, slapdash effort."[6]

Coversely, Robert Christgau praised the album, finding it to have Taupin's best lyrics, while stating that the arrangements of "Island Girl" and "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" "elaborate the songs' racial ironies" and praising the band's "fiery temper" on "Street Kids" and "Hard Luck Story".[4]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted. "Ann Orson/Carte Blanche" is a pseudonym used by John and Taupin.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Medley (Yell Help – Wednesday Night – Ugly)"
6:15
2."Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" 3:29
3."Island Girl" 3:42
4."Grow Some Funk of Your Own"
  • John
  • Taupin
  • Johnstone
4:47
5."I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)" 5:27
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Street Kids" 6:25
2."Hard Luck Story"Ann Orson/Carte Blanche5:16
3."Feed Me" 4:00
4."Billy Bones and the White Bird" 4:25
Total length:43:39
Bonus tracks (1995 Mercury reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (featuring Kiki Dee)Ann Orson/Carte Blanche4:30
Total length:49:00
Bonus tracks (1996 Rocket reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Planes" 4:31
11."Sugar on the Floor"Kiki Dee4:31
Total length:52:41

Personnel

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Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.

Musicians

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Production

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  • Gus Dudgeon – producer
  • Jeff Guercio – engineer
  • Mark Guercio – assistant engineer
  • Arun Chakraverty – mastering
  • John Tobler – liner notes
  • Terry O'Neill – album cover photograph
  • David Larkham – art direction and design

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[23] Platinum 50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[24] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[25] Gold 7,500‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Rock of the Westies – Elton John | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "10 Fun Facts About 'Rock of the Westies' and 'The Big Picture'". Elton John.
  3. ^ "GOLD AND PLATINUM ALBUMS". neosoul. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  4. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 27 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "John, Elton". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2,003. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  6. ^ Holden, Stephen (18 December 1975). "Rock of the Westies". Rolling Stone.
  7. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4050a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  9. ^ "danskehitlister.dk". Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
  10. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  11. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – Rock of the Westies" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 25 March 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Elton John".
  13. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  14. ^ "Charts.nz – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  16. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6489a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5175". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1976". Billboard. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  23. ^ "Elton John Australian Award". 20 February 2023.
  24. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Music Canada.
  25. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Radioscope. Retrieved 12 January 2025. Type Rock of the Westies in the "Search:" field.
  26. ^ "British album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". British Phonographic Industry.
  27. ^ "American album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Recording Industry Association of America.
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