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The real savior: Elton John should thank Leon Russell for making him musicallyrelevant again

Elton John teamed up with his old mentor Leon Russell.
Elton John should be thanking Russell for bringing him back to concentrating onthe music.
As much — if not even more — than Leon Russell should be thanking Elton forreaching out.
Leon Russell/Facebook

In an interview on the Elvis Costello-hosted music talk show Spectacle a few years ago, Elton John made it clear how much he thought of Leon Russell, the fellow piano man who was churning out hits like “A Song For You” and “Delta Lady” while John was still his opening act. Although their career trajectories have diverged from that point, the bond they forged back then comes to fruition on their new collaboration, The Union.

The temptation would be to view this as a bit of musical philanthropy on John’s part, trying to prop up a former idol who hasn’t been in the spotlight for a while and who was also coming off brain surgery right before the recording of the album. But Russell comes right out of the box and proves he’s in fighting shape with album-opening “If It Wasn’t For Bad," a sultry, minor-key-drenched killer of a single that sounds like it could have come right in sequence with Russell’s other early 1970s successes.

John follows that right up with “Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes,” a soulful yet cutting track that sounds like it could have come from his own streak of ultra-successful albums in the '70s with lyricist Bernie Taupin. (Taupin, John, Russell all share writing credits on the album along with producer du jour T-Bone Burnett.)

It doesn’t take long to sense a rejuvenated Elton, as he burns through the stomping “Hey Ahab” with the force of someone auditioning for his first break. Maybe his hero worship of Russell has never abated, because John is performing here like he’s the one with something to prove.

You might expect The Union to rely too much on piano to provide the musical heft, and indeed some of the up-tempo numbers like “Monkey Suit”, featuring the pair dueling like the boogie virtuosos they are, sound as if they might be more fun as live jams than they come across on record. There are stylistic curveballs throughout keeping things lively though, including the Civil War dirge “Gone To Shiloh,” which guest stars Neil Young.

On a track steeped in American history, it only makes sense that Russell, John, and Young’s doleful harmonies ape The Band’s terrific trio of Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel.

The Union really finds its footing when the two men ruminate on love gone wrong. John belts out the stirring chorus of “When Love Is Dying” with a desperation that plays nicely off Russell’s matter-of-fact observations. They follow that up with the darkly eloquent “I Should Have Sent Roses,” harmonizing beautifully over lines about missed opportunities and time wasted.

Evident throughout is the fondness the two men seem to have for each other. The two talk frankly about getting old on “The Best Part Of The Day” and “Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody),” but they lean on friendship to get them through the hardest parts. As Russell sings on the latter of those two gems, “You’re still sharp as a razor/And I like you like that.”

I would say that fans of these two men with such distinctive yet prodigious talents will echo those sentiments exactly upon hearing this album.

On the album’s closing number, the gospel-tinged “The Hands Of Angels,” Russell seems to be thanking John for pulling him out his funk. Elton should be equally thankful though, because his fervor to help out his mentor has pulled him out of his life as a full-time celebrity and returned him to being a relevant musical force.

The Union may be the product of a mutual admiration society, but what it yields is not just nostalgia from two men thought to be well past their primes. In truth, it is compelling music worthy of standing alongside some of the best the pair has created.

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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