Rock of the Westies

Rock of the Westies

This 1976 album sustained Elton John’s international superstardom, for good reason. There’s lots of energy, rocking power chords, and pounding pianos, especially on the Who-ish “Grow Some Funk of Your Own” and the punchy, Bo Diddley-inspired “Billy Bones and the White Bird.” “Feed Me” is a curt cautionary tale about addiction, and “I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)” is all slow, tender beauty. Elton and the band dance it up on the Caribbean-tinted “Island Girl,” the biggest hit from a set that just won’t sit still.

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