Iconic pop/rock musician Elton John taps Grammy-nominated pop musician/producer Charlie Puth for the assist on โAfter All.โ
T
he legendary ๐ Elton John returns with his 32nd studio album, ๐ฟ The Lockdown Sessions.ย Thatโs exciting! After stunning on his duet with ๐ Dua Lipa (๐ต โCold Heart โ PNAU Remixโ), John collaborates with ๐ Charlie Puth on the second single, ๐ต โAfter Allโ. Hmm, interesting! Honestly, the collaboration on โAfter Allโ wasnโt one I personally envisioned based on style/voice. After listening, am I eating my words?This three-and-a-half-minute song was written by Puth, John, and ๐ผโ Jacob Kasher Hindlin โ no ๐ผโ Bernie Taupin! Furthermore, Puth produces the record.ย To be fair, Puth has composed and produced some fine records in the past.ย โAfter Allโ is bright and energetic โ a selling point.ย As far as the sound, itโs intriguing โ somewhere between the 70s/80s and modern pop/rockโฆ I think.ย Charlie initiates things, performing the first verse and chorus.ย He sings respectably, though I as Iโm listening, I feel myself desiring a bit more oomph.ย Elton John arrives on the second verse (with modern vocal trickery) and likewise, performs the following chorus.ย Puth returns for the bridge, which kicks things up a notch, setting up the proper duet on the final chorus.ย By the final chorus, the energy has soared, as have the vocals.ย Naturally, Puth has a higher upper range, and does the โheavy liftingโ ๐ you might say. If nothing else, the chorus hits:
โOh, oh, nothing compares to you
Oh no, baby
They were just doinโ it wrong
I gave up on love until you made me believe in it after all
After all, oh, ah.โ
Final Thoughts ๐ญย
So, does this unlikely collaboration work? Eh, itโs okay at best.ย After listening a couple of times, I appreciate what Elton John and Charlie Puth were going.ย That said, do I think they quite achieve the glory as a team? No, not quite.ย Nonetheless, as mentioned earlier, Iโm excited to hear The Lockdown Sessions and maybe, just maybe โAfter Allโ grows on me.ย
๐ Elton John โข ๐ฟ The Lockdown Sessions โข ๐ท Mercury โข ๐ 10.22.21
[๐ท: Brent Faulkner, Mercury, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]
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