I still have my original MCA vinyl of this baby and while the remastering job is quite nice, there is one audible goof. ISLAND GIRL slows down in the final chorus. If you listen carefully you can hear the pitch slowly change while the CD plays. Don't believe me? Play the last few measures of the song which are exactly like the beginngin ones and you will notice the change in pitch. There is no key change in this song. My LP does not exhibit this problem. Otherwise this Polygram release is wonderful!!

In retrospect, Elton John created a lot of relatively serious music from the start of his career until ""Yellow Brick Road." There were moments when his music was fun, such as "Crocodile Rock" and "Jamaica Jerkoff," but the general tone of his music was serious. Even the often reviled "Caribou" had some of Elton's most serious music ("Ticking") mixed in with the inane songs. "Rock of the Westies," on the other hand, was almost all fun, typically hard-rocking, songs.

The CD kicks off with a medley that's fast paced with multiple changeups and some deliberately funny lyrics. The ending of this song is so fast that you have to wonder whether the speed was helped by some creative electronics. "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" continues the fun and silliness. James Newton Howard manages to have a lot of fun with keyboards throughout this song. Silly and fun and a song I enjoy when I'm in the right mood. This song would be fun for a frat party.

"Island Girl" was a huge hit in the mid-70s. The song has some reggae elements to go with the lyrics. Though the lyrics had the potential to be serious, Elton kept the music in the vein of the opening songs and kept this song to the lighter side. "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" remains light and funky and more than a little humorous. There are some good guitar licks in this song and some more James Newton Howard synthesizer sound effects.

"I Feel like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford) is the one moment of seriousness on this album. This ballad about the breakup of a relationship has always been my favorite from this album, and one of the most creative songs on the album.

The next three songs are rockers, but are relatively fun songs. The tone of the sound just refuses to allow any of the three, "Street Kids," "Hard Luck Story," and "Feed Me," to be serious to any degree. These are good party songs.

Admittedly "Billy Bones and the White Bird" should fall into the same group as the previous three songs, but I really like this song and think the lyrics and music were creative. The allusions to seafaring myths were interesting and original. The only thing I do not care for in this song is the repetitiveness of portions of the lyrics.

This CD includes two bonus tracks, "Planes" and "Sugar on the Floor." Both songs are much more serious than the majority of the songs on the CD. "Planes" is bluesy and shows none of the synthesizer silliness that tended to appear in many of the other songs. This song sounds more like music from "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player." "Sugar on the Floor" is even bluesier, and also reminds me of Elton's early music. This particular song is the mellowest song on this CD.

1975 was a turning point for rock music, and for Elton John. Soon funk and disco would be overwhelming the airwaves, and Elton would drift away from the style that made him famous. But for one album we got to see Elton having a good time, and do it thoroughly and well. While much of the music may be among Elton's lesser efforts, it is still powerful and frequently creative, and nearly always listenable and interesting. Worthy of being considered a classic Elton John album.

So it's late 1975. Elton's previous 6 albums have soared to number one: the last one, "Captain Fantastic" actually entering the charts at number one, a feat then previously unheard of. Elton is playing on the Muppet Show, getting his star on Hollywood Blvd., and filling out Dodger Stadium in L.A. for two nights straight. "Philadelphia Freedom" goes to #1 and his portrayal of the Pinball Wizard in the Who's "Tommy" dominates the movie. Elton is the biggest rock star on the planet and can seemingly do no wrong. Predictably, when "Rock of the Westies" is released, it, like its predecessor, enters the chart at number one...

But Elton's life is in turmoil. He is depressed and drinking. He dives into a swimming pool after taking an OD of sleeping pills in a failed suicide attempt...with his mother present! The sycophants around him convince him of his infallibility. This album, from its unintelligible jokes in the liner notes, to its goofy feel overall, are the testament of an burnt-out artist in pain.

Unlike previous albums, where Elton and Bernie would allow themselves one "silly" song...almost all the songs on this album are clownish. With Dee Murray and Nigel Olson gone, Elton's new band injects his music with a harder rock sound, but the inherent silliness in the lyrics spills over badly. The "Medley" in the beginning complains of an ugly big woman down in New Orleans. Similarly, the protagonist of the #1 hit "Island Girl" is black, island woman standing 6'3" who could drive her nails into you like a rake..."Dan Dare", finds Elton returning to the theme of space travel, only this time, rather than the thoughtful "Rocketman", we get frenetic piano playing and Elton's barking noises.

The drivel just does not stop. An otherwise superb production effort by Gus Dudgeon is ruined by Elton/Bernie's buffoonery as they relate songs about a bar fight in a Mexican cantina, a fight between an overworked married couple and the simply incoherent "Billy Bones" which takes us from the decks of a stormweathered ship to the flash and pazazz of some rock star's entrance on stage...

"Street Kids" is the only discernible song with any punch here. "I Feel Like a Bullet" is the hit Elton tried to push on fans following "Island Girl" though it never took off, and its obvious why. While Davey Johnstone's guitar work is beautiful, and Elton's falsetto impressive, the song is just too sappy.

The remastered version has a beautiful song called "Sugar on the Floor". Elton is alone at his piano: all of the silliness gone. His singing is sorrowful and pleading. It is the most honest track on the album.

Released in the Spring of 1975, "Rock of the Westies" was the last great album by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It most definitely rocks harder than most of his albums, but in a distictive style consistent with and instantly recognizable as Elton.

Notable tracks include the mega hit "Island Girl" which is still a pleasure and has held up much better than most contemporary chart toppers. "I Feel Like a Bullet" is a classic EJ tune in a similar style to other songs from prior albums,I've often wondered why it wasn't a bigger hit.

"Medley" and "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" rock with the best and "Dan Dare" is a quirky gem. Give "Rock" a try, it's good and a little bit different.....

This album is sweet. It is Elton's hardest rocking, loose and fun album to date(as if there will be another one that comes even close to this). No, it's not poetry, and maybe it's not as profound, or classy as some of his other earlier albums, but I'm sorry, Yell Help, Wednesday and Ugly is pure genius..Tell me Meatloaf(Jim Steinman) didn't copy that music pattern for Paradise By The Dashboard Light..The whole album just rocks..I love Elton's voice, and the guitar in Dan Dare, Grow Some Funk Of Your Own is catcy as hell too, and I Feel Like A Bullet is a cool slow one. I know this album had a rough time because it followed Captain Fantastic, but I would rather listen to this album all the way through, than CF..