Elton John song Madman Across the Water

Until recent years, Bernie Taupin was never in the room with Elton John when he wrote music to Taupin’s lyrics beginning in the late 1960s — something Elton John confirmed himself in the Cameron Crowe documentary about the making of John and Leon Russell’s album The Union. So, trying to think strictly as a music composer, imagine being handed a sheet of paper with Taupin’s lyrics to “Madman Across the Water,” which became the title track of Elton John’s 1971 album.

“Madman Across the Water” is the story of a man presumably in a mental institution on the shores of a body of water, a man who may, or may not, really belong there. When the patient says, “Take my word, I’m a madman  don’t you know,” he’s either confirming his insanity or is making a tongue-in-cheek statement. He almost feels on display when he asks, “But is it in your conscience that you’re after/Another glimpse of the madman across the water. “And the line “Is the nightmare black or are the windows painted” is one of the great Taupin lines in a career that has seen hundreds of his lyrics put to music by John, and his work recorded by Alice Cooper, Willie Nelson, Bruce Hornsby (who cut a jazzier version of this song) and others.

A far rockier version of the song, featuring the late David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson,  can be heard on the album Elton John Early Masters, as well as on the bonus CD edition of John’s album Tumbleweed Connection. The Elton John/Bernie Taupin duo took a break for a couple years in the late 1970s, and John has collaborated with other lyricists, including Tim Rice for The Lion King. But John and Taupin are still working together today.

Countless pundits, professional and otherwise, have tried to analyze the lyrics of this song, opining that the madman is everyone from Nixon to Hitler. But in the end he may be nobody in particular. Only Taupin knows for sure what this lyric, written when he was barely out of his teens, really means. Lyrics like this helped make Taupin a legend among lyricists, and made his partnership with Elton John one for the ages.

Madman Across the Water is the fourth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1971 through DJM and Uni Records. The album was his third album to be released in 1971, at which point John had been rising to prominence as a popular music artist. The album contains nine tracks, each composed and performed by John and with lyrics written by songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. Yes band keyboardist Rick Wakeman plays Hammond organ on two songs.

There were two singles released from Madman Across the Water, "Levon" and "Tiny Dancer". The album was certified gold in February 1972, followed by platinum in March 1993, and 2× platinum in August 1998 by the RIAA. The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. On 10 June 2022, the album was reissued as a deluxe edition for its 50th anniversary, featuring 18 unreleased tracks including demos, outtakes and alternate takes, as well as a 40-page book detailing the album's creation with notes from John and Taupin.

History[edit]

The nine tracks were each composed and performed by John and with lyrics written by songwriting partner Bernie Taupin as with his previous material. Unlike John's other studio albums at the time, Madman featured John's touring band (which consisted of bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson) on only a single song, due to producer Gus Dudgeon's lack of faith in the group for studio recordings. Instead, most of the tracks were backed by studio players and string arrangements put together by Paul Buckmaster. Davey Johnstone, who had previously worked with Dudgeon as a part of Magna Carta, was also put on as the main guitarist.

Murray and Olsson would be fully featured in John's succeeding album, Honky Château. Percussionist and later band member Ray Cooper made his first appearance with this album. This was John's last album to be recorded at London's Trident Studios, although subsequent albums would be remixed or overdubbed at Trident. Caleb Quaye and Roger Pope would not play with John again until Rock of the Westies in 1975, following Murray and Olsson's departure from the band.

The album's title song was initially set to be released on John's previous album Tumbleweed Connection, featuring guitarist Mick Ronson as the primary musician; however, it was set aside and was re-recorded for this album, with Johnstone on the guitar. The earlier version was included on the remastered Tumbleweed Connection compact disc.

Dispelling rumours that the song's lyric referred to then US President Richard Nixon, Bernie Taupin had this to say:

Back in the seventies, when people were saying that "Madman Across the Water" was about Richard Nixon, I thought, That is genius. I could never have thought of that.

Reception[edit]

Madman Across the Water was one of John's lowest-charting album efforts. It continued a streak of mediocre performance in the UK for John, peaking at No. 41 on the UK Albums Chart and spending two weeks there. The album fared much better in North America, peaking at No. 8 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums and later on at No. 10 on the year-end list of 1972.

The album received Gold by the RIAA in February 1972, achieving $1 million in sales at wholesale value just in the United States. In 1993, the album was certified Platinum, representing shipments of more than one million units in the US. In 1998, the album was certified Multi-Platinum, representing shipments of over two million units in the US. In May 2017 the album was certified Silver for sales of 60,000 units by the British Phonographic Industry.

On release, Alex Dubro of Rolling Stone was not especially enthusiastic about Madman Across the Water, who found it inferior to its two predecessors. Although he commended "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon", he found the lyrics throughout the record confusing, concluding that it is a "difficult, sometimes impossibly dense record" that would not upset John's current fans, but not gain new ones either. On the other hand, Penny Valentine was more positive in Sounds magazine, describing John as "a music man of immense feeling and power" that is full of unexplored talent.

When it was released in 'The Classic Years' collection, it was the first album not to feature any bonus tracks. One known track recorded at the time, "Rock Me When He's Gone", was released on the 1992 compilation Rare Masters. The song was written for and recorded by one of John's long-time friends, Long John Baldry. It was later remastered for the 50th anniversary deluxe edition.

Alice in Chains member Jerry Cantrell covered the closing track "Goodbye" for his third solo album Brighten and told Wall of Sound that John gave his approval for his rendition revealing he said "absolutely you should put it on the record. You got my permission. You did a great version." In 1991, Bruce Hornsby and the Range produced a jazzier version of "Madman Across the Water" featuring Hornsby's virtuosic piano playing.

Track listing[edit]

Original release[edit]

Side twoTitle1."Indian Sunset"6:472."Holiday Inn"4:173."Rotten Peaches"4:584."All the Nasties"5:095."Goodbye"1:49

Note

  • The SACD version of the album contained a longer version of "Razor Face", which extended the song-ending jam to 6:42 instead of the early fade on the original album. This extended version can only be heard in the 5.1 surround mix, or on the 50th Anniversary reissue of the album.

50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition[edit]

Disc 1Title1."Tiny Dancer (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)"6:152."Levon (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)"5:203."Razor Face (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)"4:414."Madman Across The Water (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)"5:575."Indian Sunset (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)"6:446."Holiday Inn (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)"4:157."Rotten Peaches (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)"4:558."All the Nasties (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)"5:079."Goodbye (2016 Bob Ludwig Remaster)"1:4610."Indian Sunset (Live Radio Broadcast)"5:1711."Madman Across the Water (Original Version, featuring Mick Ronson)"8:5012."Rock Me When He's Gone"5:0113."Levon (Mono Single Version)"4:4414."Razor Face (Extended Version)"6:43Total length:75:35

Disc 2Title1."Madman Across the Water (1970 Piano Demo)"5:072."Tiny Dancer (Piano Demo)"6:003."Levon (Piano Demo)"5:034."Razor Face (Piano Demo)"3:455."Madman Across the Water (1971 Piano Demo)"5:116."Indian Sunset (Piano Demo)"7:337."Holiday Inn (Piano Demo)"4:328."Rotten Peaches (Piano Demo)"4:069."All the Nasties (Piano Demo)"4:4710."Goodbye (Piano Demo)"1:5811."Rock Me When He's Gone (Piano Demo)"4:0112."Rock Me When He's Gone (Full Version)"7:11Total length:59:14

Disc 3Title1."Tiny Dancer (BBC Sounds for Saturday)"6:112."Rotten Peaches (BBC Sounds for Saturday)"5:103."Razor Face (BBC Sounds for Saturday)"4:214."Holiday Inn (BBC Sounds for Saturday)"3:555."Indian Sunset (BBC Sounds for Saturday)"6:596."Levon (BBC Sounds for Saturday)"4:577."Madman Across the Water (BBC Sounds for Saturday)"10:558."Goodbye (BBC Sounds for Saturday)"1:39Total length:44:07

Who played the piano on Elton John's album Madman Across the Water?

Yes band keyboardist Rick Wakeman plays Hammond organ on two songs. There were two singles released from Madman Across the Water, "Levon" and "Tiny Dancer". The album was certified gold in February 1972, followed by platinum in March 1993, and 2× platinum in August 1998 by the RIAA.

What year did Elton John's Madman Across the Water come out?

1970Madman Across the Water / Releasednull

Did Mick Ronson play with Elton John?

In March 1970, during the recording sessions for Elton John's album Tumbleweed Connection, Ronson played guitar on the track "Madman Across the Water".

Who played lead guitar on Madman Across the Water?

Davey Johnstone, a blond 20 year old Scot with an apparently instinctive grasp of fretted instruments, played both electric and acoustic guitar as well as banjo and mandolin on the album, and in February, 1972, joined the Elton John Band from folk/rock group Magna Carta.