A Single Man (album)
A Single Man is the twelfth studio album by British musician Elton John. Released in 1978, it is the first album for which Gary Osborne replaced Bernie Taupin as lyricist. It is also the first of two John albums that, on the original cut, have no tracks co-written by Taupin.
Production
A Single Man is the first of Elton John's albums to not include work by lyricist Bernie Taupin, and the first since his 1969 debut, Empty Sky, without producer Gus Dudgeon. The returning members of the Elton John Band are percussionist Ray Cooper and guitarist Davey Johnstone; the latter played on only one song on the album. Paul Buckmaster would not appear on another Elton John album until Made in England. Unlike previous compositions in which lyrics came first, John started the album's compositions by writing melodies at a piano. John's sings in a lower register than prior recordings. "Song for Guy" was written as a tribute to Guy Burchett, a young messenger employed by John's record label Rocket Record Company|Rocket Records], who was killed in a motorcycle accident.The staff and players of Watford Football Club, of which John was chairman at the time, provide backing vocals on "Big Dipper" and "Georgia". Also featured on these tracks are the backing vocals of the female staff from Rocket Records, credited as 'The South Audley Street Girls' Choir'.
The photo for the front cover was taken in the Long Walk, which is part of Windsor Great Park in Berkshire. The inside cover shows John in a Jaguar XK140 FHC. John stopped wearing his trademark glasses in public for a period during the late 1970s, which the album photo reflects.
Release
The album was released on 27 October 1978 by MCA Records in the United States and by Rocket in the United Kingdom. Singles from the album were "Part-Time Love", October 1978; "Song for Guy", December 1978; and "Return to Paradise", February 1979. "Song for Guy" was a near-global success, charting high everywhere except the U.S. and Canada, where MCA initially refused to release it, but did so in March 1979.A Single Man was John's first album to be officially released in the former Soviet Union, where his previous releases had variously been smuggled. It was released following the success of his 1979 A Single Man in Concert shows in Moscow and Leningrad, though it differed in two ways from its release elsewhere. Firstly, the album was Poyot Elton John. Secondly, both "Big Dipper" and "Part-Time Love" were removed due to the subject matter of the songs, though John had performed "Part-Time Love" at Soviet shows.
Reception
In the U.S., A Single Man was certified gold in October 1978 and platinum in November of the same year by the RIAA. As with many of John's releases of the late 1970s and the 1980s, it received generally mixed reviews from critics.Later releases
The 1998 reissue has five bonus tracks, the first two being the 1978 flop single "Ego" and its B-side "". The next two tracks are the of "Part-Time Love" and "Song for Guy", and the last track, "Strangers", originally the of his 1979 disco-album title track, "Victim of Love".Promotion and live performances
At the time of release, John performed some songs from the album on shows such as Bruce Forsyth's Big Night, Countdown, The Old Grey Whistle Test, The [Morecambe & Wise Show (1978 TV series)|The Morecambe & Wise Show], Parkinson, Rockpop and Top of the Pops. He performed two solo sets: one for MCA personnel at the Century Plaza Hotel on 14 October 1978 and the other at a RTL studio on 20 October 1978. He also toured in support of the album in 1979.In subsequent years, only "Song for Guy" from the album is known to have been performed.
Track listing
- Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–11 on CD reissues.
Personnel
Musicians
- Elton John – lead vocals, backing vocals, piano, acoustic piano, clavinet, harmonium, church organ, Fender Rhodes ; Mellotron, Polymoog synthesizer, ARP synthesizer and Solina String Synthesizer
- Tim Renwick – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Leslie guitar, mandolin
- Davey Johnstone – lead guitar, backing vocals
- B.J. Cole – pedal steel guitar
- Clive Franks – bass guitar
- Herbie Flowers – bass guitar
- Steve Holley – drums, motor horn
- Ray Cooper – tambourine, marimba, shaker, vibraphone, congas, timpani, wind chimes, rhythm box
- John Crocker – clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Jim Shepherd – trombone
- Henry Lowther – trumpet
- Patrick Halcox – trumpet
- Paul Buckmaster – orchestra arrangements, arrangements, ARP synthesizer
- Gary Osborne – backing vocals
- Vicki Brown – backing vocals
- Stevie Lange – backing vocals
- Joanne Stone – backing vocals
- Chris Thompson – backing vocals
- The South Audley Street Girl's Choir – backing vocals
- Watford Football Club – backing vocals
Production
- Producers – Clive Franks and Elton John
- Supervising producer – Mike Gill
- Engineers – Phil Dunne, Stuart Epps, Clive Franks and Peter Mew
- Mixing – Phil Dunne, Stuart Epps and Clive Franks
- Mastered by Ian Cooper at Utopia Studios
- Digital remastering – Gus Dudgeon
- Coordination – David Croker and Alex Foster
- Sleeve design – David Costa
- Graphic design – Mike Storey
- Photography – Terry O'Neill
- Liner editor – John Tobler
- Liner notes – Chris White
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
| Chart | Position |
| Australian Albums | 28 |
| Italian Albums | 43 |
| UK Albums | 82 |