Wonderful Crazy Night (2016)
1. Wonderful Crazy Night
2. In the Name of You
3. Claw Hammer
4. Blue Wonderful
5. I've Got 2 Wings
6. Good Heart
7. Looking Up
8. Guilty Pleasure
9. Tambourine
10.Open Chord
*Bonus Tracks*
11.Free and Easy
12.England and America
If Elton John’s career has taught us anything, it’s that predicting his next move is a fool’s errand. Few artists have traversed as many stylistic paths—or emotional valleys and peaks—as Elton. For every bold reinvention, there’s been a retreat. For every declaration of retirement, a new tour. So when Wonderful Crazy Night arrived in 2016, it was perhaps only fitting that it did so not with a whisper or a roar, but a grin. A big, toothy, contented grin.
That grin is plastered across the cover—Elton in full joy mode—and that image tells you most of what you need to know about this record. After a stretch of quiet, introspective releases (The Diving Board, The Union), Elton apparently decided it was time to lighten the mood. According to Bernie Taupin, the instructions were clear: no downers. Just "happy" songs. And that’s largely what we get here—an upbeat, good-natured album that isn’t trying to be a masterpiece, just a good time. And, honestly, that’s mostly what it is.
There’s nothing here that tries to reshape Elton’s legacy, or even add to it in a meaningful way. But for an artist approaching his 70s, with nothing left to prove and every reason to enjoy the ride, that’s perfectly reasonable. Wonderful Crazy Night isn’t Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, nor is it trying to be. It’s a cheerful, polished, toe-tapping affair—and if you can accept it on those terms, there’s plenty to like.
What’s surprising, perhaps, is the presence of T Bone Burnett behind the controls again. After helming the subdued and often haunting The Diving Board, Burnett seems to have flipped the switch here. This album is louder, livelier, and far more cluttered—more reminiscent of The Big Picture or Songs from the West Coast than the sparse arrangements of recent years. There’s a full band feel throughout, with piano runs, layered guitars, and vocal choruses all jostling for space.
That said, the quality is uneven. The first few tracks, including the title cut, are bouncy but forgettable. Looking Up injects some real energy into the mix—a zippy, optimistic track that echoes the spirit of I’m Still Standing and reminds you how effortless Elton can make this sort of thing sound when the mood is right.
The middle of the record is the strongest stretch. I’ve Got 2 Wings, a quirky character portrait about a guitar-strumming, cardboard-winged black preacher of yesteryear, is vintage Bernie storytelling—obscure, poetic, and unexpectedly moving. Good Heart, a grand, piano-driven ballad, proves that even in his later years, Elton can still write a love song that lands with weight. It’s a reminder of the melodic gift that never really left, even when the world stopped paying close attention.
But like many of his post-’90s releases, Wonderful Crazy Night starts to blur near the end. A few tracks feel like Elton-by-numbers, and while none of them are outright clunkers, it’s hard to imagine any of them becoming staples in future setlists. The so-called “bonus tracks” are as solid as anything else here, which begs the question why they weren’t just included outright. This isn’t the sort of record that needs a deluxe edition.
At the end of the day, Wonderful Crazy Night is exactly what it looks like—a portrait of a man who is comfortable in his skin, enjoying life, and content to make music for the sheer joy of it. And really, who can begrudge him that? Will this album be remembered ten years from now? Probably not. But will it keep longtime fans smiling for a few spins? Absolutely. And for Elton, that’s more than enough.
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