every song is good, and elton shows us why he dips in every gendre of music, because he can and does it with excellence. From homoerotic ballads that chicks love to country songs, to disco"victim of love" stuff to songs about cocaine, to songs about playing the devil and stealing your soul "give me the love give me the key to your heart" OK. I love this album it's in the top 3 with single man and jump up, Dear God, great song. not that i'm religous i just like it. Elton you should have stayed on drugs tying up call boys in the woods, your music was much better in the late 70's and early 80's then it is today

I'm not rating this as I feel that there's been a mistake. This is not the album "21 at 33". I know this because "Little Jeannie" doesn't sound like the "Little Jeannie" I've heard over the last 25 years. This sounds like pan flute music. I wanted to bring this to someone's attention.

By 1979, Elton John's career was on a downward spiral. Once he was the biggest rock star in the world, and next, he's yesterday's news. This period started with the 1978 "A Single Man" album. With disco & pop dominating the charts, Elton's brand of catchy pop music was no longer accepted. Elton really let everyone down with the release of his 1979 disco album, "Victime Of Love". The album never even charted. Elton seemed to be a hasbeen. However, in mid '79, Elton made a rediscovery. He and percussionist Ray Cooper embarked on a Russian tour in which Elton started to perform the songs from the past that he forgot about. Elton reunited with Bernie Taupin and he soon got to work on a new album.

"21 At 33" features the Elton we love. He's able to blend his brand of pop music with reggae, country and techno. Elton worked with 4 lyricists here, Tom Robinson, Judie Tzuke, Gary Osbourne, and Taupin. What makes this album significant is that it's Taupin first album with John since "Blue Moves" in 1976. Elton is in top form here. And every lyricist's contributions are excellent. In the hit single "Little Jeannie", Osbourne overshadows his career as a jingle writer by crafting one of Elton's best love songs, and it's the purest "love song" Elton ever recorded. Robinson's contributions are amazing. The beautiful "Sartorial Eloquence" and the aching "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" are two gems that should be discovered soon. Tzuke's composition, "Give Me The Love", is a jaunty reggae number that is catchy. The best songs, of course, are by Taupin. "Chasing The Crown" is a pounding Cold War rocker with some pounding electric guitar work. "Two Rooms At The End Of The World" could easily be an outtake from "Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy" as it tells the story of the longlasting friendship between the two. "White Lady, White Powder" is the best song here. The song's coccaine lyrics can easily make it the son of The Stones' "Brown Sugar". The song is more addictive than the drug itself.

"21 At 33" is a great album. Eton voice and piano sound fresher than ever, and the production is crisp. The album also is significant for the return of his rhythm section of Nigel Olsson, the drummer, and bassist Dee Murray, both of whom play and sing on several tracks. This album is a great Elton album.

"21 At 33" marks a slight return to form for Bernie Taupin's partnership with Elton John. These two hitmakers last collaborated on the 1976 release "Blue Moves", which, rather surprisingly, contained only one U.S. Billboard chart single - 1977's "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". "21 At 33" starts things off musically in rip-roaring fashion with the up-tempo "Chasing The Crown", one of three EJ-BT compositions on this disc (the other two being the well-travelled "Two Rooms At The End Of The World" and the depressing "White Lady White Powder", where Elton begins his long-winded battle with cocaine). The majority of the other tracks here were written by Tom Robinson, including the gay dulcet tones of "Sartorial Eloquence" and the subtleness displayed in the disc's major hit "Little Jeannie", although this particular track was written by Gary Osborne, who also made lyrical contributions to "21 At 33" with the serene and sincere compositions "Dear God" and "Take Me Back" (which isn't quite as serene as "Dear God", but has a small degree of serenity to it, nonetheless). But, the main thing that makes "21 At 33" such a standout masterpiece is the musical versatility EJ and his band display on two tracks, "Take Me Back", as mentioned above, with its countrified, hillbilly-laden, violin feel and on "Give Me The Love", with its smooth jazzy, discofied nuances (although the disco movement virtually ceased to exist by the time "21 At 33" was first released in 1980). The latter track was also written by Judie Tzuke, who accompanied Elton on his "21 At 33" tour in 1980. Another nice thing about listening to this disc, is that Elton's vocals started to mature a bit (although I do miss those classic Elton vocals from the '70's), and are a suitable fit to the lyrics displayed in these songs. This disc was also the last EJ would record on the MCA label before signing with Geffen Records, that is, until he returned to MCA with the 1988 release "Reg Strikes Back". So, if you're a true Elton John fan, and you don't have "21 At 33" in your CD collection, what are you waiting for? Better get it soon, because it just may be gone tomorrow!

This album is excellent. "Two rooms at the end of the world", which is about Elton John and Bernie Taupin reuniting, is worth the price of the album alone! All of the other songs are equally impressive, with the Rock&Roll beat of "Chasing the Crown", and the sad, yet slightly jumpy sound of "Satorial Eloquence".

"White Lady White Powder", an ode to cocaine, was written about the beginning of Elton's cocaine addiction and features Glen Frey and Don Henly of The Eagles, among others, singing back-up vocals and is guaranteed to be a sing-a-long favourite.

"Give me the love", written by Judie Tzuke, is an excellent track with superb piano, clear and happy trumpets, and a jazzy disposition that is asking for love. This is easily one of the better tracks on "21 at 33".

All in all, an excellent album. From this reviewer's point-of-view, this is one of Elton's best of the early '80's.

Dr. Sloane Towns