CARLTON FLETCHER: Sir Elton rocks out on ‘Wonderful Crazy Night’

I’m still standing, better than I ever did. Looking like a true survivor.

— Elton John

When it comes to Elton John music, I’m easy. If the man puts out an album of various bayings at the moon, I’m laying down the money to buy a copy.

So when I learned that Sir Elton had a new album out, the excellently reviewed “Wonderful Crazy Night,” I picked up a copy at the first opportunity.

(An interlude: I first caught Elton fever when I heard “Tiny Dancer.” That song’s album, the 1971 classic “Madman Across the Water,” got me through my first year of high school football camp (shout-out to South Georgia College in Douglas), and I quickly picked up copies of the five(!!) albums Sir Elton had already released: “Empty Sky” from 1969; “Elton John” and “Tumbleweed Connection” from 1970, and the live “11-17-70” and “Friends” soundtrack from earlier in 1971. Obviously, everyone got on board in ‘72 with the release of “Honky Chateau” and its star-making hit “Rocket Man,” but by then I’d added John’s music to my “gotta have” list that at that time included anything by the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Bob Seger, Jimi Hendrix and Parliament/Funkadelic.)

With 61 albums to his credit and 57 Top 40 songs (second only to Elvis in the U.S.), Sir Elton scored 27 Top 10s and nine No. 1s (“Crocodile Rock,” “Bennie and the Jets,” a cover of the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “Island Girl,” “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (with Kiki Dee), “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (which had previously reached No. 2 but topped the charts as a duet with George Michael), “Candle in the Wind 1997” (the Princess Diana tribute that sold 33 million copies, the largest-selling single ever) and “That’s What Friends Are For” (with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder).

(John also had four songs that climbed to No. 2 on the U.S. charts.)

Which brings us to “Wonderful Crazy Night,” the magnificent new album that brings all the old boys in the band from the glory days back together: Nigel Olsson on drums, Davey Johnstone on guitar, Kim Bullard on keyboards and even Ray Cooper adding percussion touches. But there’s one significant all-new addition to the album: producer T-Bone Burnett.

Eschewing the ballads and slow-paced tracks that had dominated his last three proper albums — 2006’s “The Captain and the Kid,” 2010’s wonderful “The Union” with Leon Russell, and 2013’s “Diving Board” — Burnett had Elton and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin thinking upbeat for the 10 songs on “Wonderful.”

Certainly Sir Elton’s love songs and ballads — “Sun,” “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” “High-Flying Bird,” “Harmony,” “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” “Daniel,” “Curtains,” “The Circle of Life,” “We All Fall in Love Sometimes” — are among his most cherished songs. But true fans know he’s just as effective rocking out: “Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting,” “Your Sister Can’t Twist (But She Can Rock and Roll),” “Take Me to the Pilot,” “The Bitch Is Back,” “Grow Some Funk of Your Own,” “Elderberry Wine.”

The closest thing to a ballad on “Wonderful” is “A Good Heart,” but even that gem teeters into mid-tempo. The tone of the album is set with the opening title song, a full-on rocker, and the best one-two punch on the disc is the piano boogie of “Looking Up” and the drum-guitar rock of “Guilty Pleasure.” It can’t be random that those two songs immediately follow “Good Heart.”

There is an excellent group of mid-tempo tunes — “Claw Hammer,” “Blue Wonderful,” (which features a nice guitar solo by Burnett) “I’ve Got Two Wings,” “Tambourine” (which showcases excellent piano/organ interplay between John and Bullard) — but even they go up-beat in the choruses.

The album’s closer, “The Open Chord,” is string-laden and would have fit nicely alongside the songs on the “Elton John” album from ‘70, but it’s also the perfect way to end this set.

As I listened to “Wonderful Crazy Night,” I grew more excited with each successive song. When the album ended, I immediately played it all the way through again. It was that good. How many artists can so inspire their fans on their 61st record? Better still, how many artists can even claim to be making relevant music almost — paraphrasing — “50 years on?”

If you’re like me and a Sir Elton lifer, you’ll get a copy of “Wonderful Crazy Night.” If you’re a more casual fan who likes the hits, do yourself a favor and climb on board. This is Captain Fantastic at his best since his heyday in the ’70s and ’80s.

Email Carlton Fletcher at [email protected]. Follow @ABH_Fletcher in Twitter.