Songwriter Bernie Taupin.
On the autobiographical 1975 album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, the lyricist Bernie Taupin was the dustier latter to singer-pianist Elton John’s glittering former. So it should be no surprise now that a pair of tribute albums celebrating the songwriting duo’s canon find the John-curated Revamp to be the more pop-oriented affair compared with the Taupin-supervised Restoration, a tumbleweed collection featuring the vocal contributions of country artists Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Miranda Lambert, among others.
Taupin should probably feel a sort of satisfaction that of the two albums (both subtitled Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin), his Restoration is getting better reviews than his better-known counterpart’s Revamp. It’s just one more chapter in the curious career of Taupin, the man with the pen behind a stunning amount of hit records by John. Reached in Santa Barbara, Calif., Taupin spoke with The Globe and Mail about his songwriting technique, John’s decision to retire from the road and the songs that will continue working.
The two new tribute albums to your songbook with Elton John are out and there’s an exhibit of your mixed-media art at the Chase Contemporary Gallery in New York. What keeps you busy, on an average day?
I’ve been balancing both worlds for the last couple of years. I’ve been heavily involved in putting Restoration, my record of the two, together. We’ve been working on those records for two years. What time I’ve had off from doing that has been spent, as always, in my studio, creating visual art. That’s really what I do, 24/7.
Really? What was the last set of lyrics you wrote?
I don’t write unless we’re going to make a record. I’m not an everyday songwriter. I don’t work that way. If Elton and I decide to make a record, then we’ll get together and decide what kind of record we’re going to make. And then I’ll start writing.
Does he propose lyrical themes?
No. The lyrics are my end, totally. It’s in my hands.
What’s your take on John retiring from the road after his coming tour? Do you see it as the songs retiring as well?
These songs are never going to be retired. They’re on the radio. The albums are still there. Other people will reinterpret them. These songs are never going to die. Just because he’s not going to be touring any more doesn’t mean the songs are going to be any less sonically visible.
It does mark an end of an era for them though, doesn’t it?
Absolutely not. And just because Elton is retiring from touring doesn’t mean he’s retiring. In fact, it’s going to give us even more time to make records and work on other projects. It’s not like we’re going quietly into the good night. Quite the contrary.
Why is he taking himself off the road?
It’s the travelling. That’s what kills you. And he travels all over the world. What people don’t realize is that the tour is going to be a couple of years, plus. This is a man who continually plays all over the world and to give everyone their last shot, it’s going to take a long time.
Do you attend his shows at all?
I was at the Grammy salute in New York, where he played, obviously. I often travel to gigs. If he’s playing locally in Los Angeles or when he’s playing in New York, we tend to go out for that. I get to see him on a pretty regular basis. In fact, my wife and I are flying to Vegas next month to see the final show of The Red Piano.
Your Restoration has deeper cuts, compared with John’s Revamp. Was that intentional?
Yeah. Elton’s record sort of toes the line, with more of the bigger hits. Where on mine, we managed to get people to work a little outside of the box. And I think they prove to be some of the best songs on the two records.
What are some of your favourites?
Things like This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore, I Want Love and Sacrifice. I’m thrilled that we got them covered. Sacrifice is my favourite song. Or Candle in the Wind. I think that’s a pretty perfect pop record.
A Canadian singer-songwriter, Hawksley Workman, tweeted about a couple of songs not on the tribute albums recently, specifically the lyrics. He mentioned Holiday Inn and Cold as Christmas.
I like both. That’s interesting. Holiday Inn is a much older song, from the Madman Across the Water album. And Cold as Christmas was from an eighties album we did, Too Low for Zero. That’s a good one. That could be covered.
Perhaps by Workman?
There you go.
Yesterday, I bought a used copy of your book from the 1970s, The One Who Writes the Words for Elton John. Being deferential with the title – was that tongue-in-cheek?
That’s a distant memory, believe me. I think it’s kind of irrelevant now. I’m surprised I even did that book at that time, because I didn’t really have an arsenal of songs. It was probably done a decade too soon.
The book’s introduction, by John, is catty, though. When he’s not writing about himself, he’s calling you a little twerp.
But that’s what we did. It wasn’t done very seriously. I think we were a little naive at the time. Honestly, you can’t really say what was going through our heads back then.
Cocaine, maybe?
That was before all that. [Laughs.] I think when that book came out, we didn’t even know what cocaine was. That hadn’t been a part of our lives at that point.
This interview had been edited and condensed.
Brad Wheeler