Jump Up! (Elton John album)

Last updated

Jump Up!
Blue Eyes - Elton John alt. cover.jpg
Studio album by
Released9 April 1982
RecordedSeptember–October 1981
Studio
Genre Pop rock
Length42:31
Label Geffen (US), Rocket (UK)
Producer Chris Thomas
Elton John chronology
The Fox
(1981)
Jump Up!
(1982)
Too Low for Zero
(1983)
Singles from Jump Up!
  1. "Blue Eyes"
    Released: March 1982
  2. "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)"
    Released: May 1982
  3. "Princess"
    Released: 1982
  4. "Ball and Chain"
    Released: September 1982
  5. "All Quiet on the Western Front"
    Released: November 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Robert Christgau B [3]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Smash Hits 7.5/10 [5]

Jump Up! is the sixteenth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in 1982 by The Rocket Record Company except in the US and Canada, where it was released by Geffen Records. In the United States, the album was certified gold by the RIAA in November 1982.

Contents

Background

The album includes "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)", a tribute to John Lennon (who had also signed to Geffen for the release of Double Fantasy , which is now owned by EMI). This is one of the first few LPs that showcases Elton John singing in a deeper voice, as can be heard in songs such as "Blue Eyes", "Princess", "Ball and Chain" and "Spiteful Child". "Legal Boys" was written by John and Tim Rice, who later wrote lyrics for The Lion King and The Road to El Dorado . This is the last studio album in which James Newton Howard played keyboards (although he would play keyboards with John again on the soundtrack of Gnomeo & Juliet almost 30 years later).

The album's inner sleeve artwork shows John's lifelong friend Vance Buck and Gary Osborne's then 5-year-old son Luke. [6] It was recorded and mixed digitally at AIR Studios in Montserrat, [7] and Pathé Marconi Studios in France.

In a 2010 Sirius radio special, John's lyricist, Bernie Taupin, talking about Jump Up!, said it was "one of our worst albums". He added, "It's a terrible, awful, disposable album, but it had 'Empty Garden' on it, so it's worth it for that one song." [8]

After the Jump Up! Tour ended, only "Empty Garden" and "Blue Eyes" have been performed live in concert.[ citation needed ]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dear John"3:31
2."Spiteful Child"4:15
3."Ball & Chain"
  • John
  • Osborne
3:27
4."Legal Boys"
3:05
5."I Am Your Robot"
  • John
  • Taupin
4:43
6."Blue Eyes"
  • John
  • Osborne
3:25
Total length:22:26
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)"
  • John
  • Taupin
5:09
2."Princess"
  • John
  • Osborne
4:56
3."Where Have All the Good Times Gone?"
  • John
  • Taupin
4:00
4."All Quiet on the Western Front"
  • John
  • Taupin
6:03
Total length:20:08

Outtakes

Outtakes from Jump Up! include "At This Time in My Life", "Desperation Train", "I'm Not Very Well", "Jerry's Law", "Moral Majority", "Waking Up in Europe" and "The Ace of Hearts and the Jack of Spades". They all have yet to see circulation, either on bootlegs or officially. [9]

However, "Desperation Train" was later recorded and released by John's lyricist Bernie Taupin on his 1987 album, Tribe , with a new melody written by Martin Page.

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [22] Platinum50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [23] Platinum15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [24] Silver60,000^
United States (RIAA) [25] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)</span> 1982 single by Elton John

"Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" is a song by English musician Elton John, written by John and Bernie Taupin, which first appeared on his sixteenth album Jump Up! released in 1982. It was the second single of the said album in the UK, and the lead single in the United States. The song is a tribute to John Lennon, who had been murdered 15 months earlier.

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References

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