Talk:Madman Across the Water

Confusing parts
As a casual reader, this article confused me on a couple of points. Thanks! –  Ker αun oςc op ia◁ galaxies  21:12, 22 March 2010 (UTC) Is the title track "madman across." about "The turn of the screw" By Henry James? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.65.208.154 (talk) 12:39, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) "The title song, "Madman Across the Water", was set to be released on Elton John's previous album Tumbleweed Connection. However, it was set aside" — The song was recorded on August 14, so does that mean it was re-recorded? or never recorded for Tumbleweed?
 * 2) "There was an initial run of very expensive album covers with similar embroidery, used for promotional purposes (also collectors items), but as demand quickly exceeded supply, the embroidery was replaced, first by embossing (a minor collectors item), and then totally." — This sentence took me a few reads to get it. The embroidery was replaced totally, but only after the embroidery was replaced by embossing? I would clarify, but I don't even know if this is the actual meaning.
 * 3) "mat or flat printed" — I have no clue what this is. Any internal links for these formats?
 * 4) Each song is listed as having been recorded on a particular date. Did Elton really work this way? The entire song, orchestra and band, was recorded and completed in a single day? My extremely limited knowledge of music recording like this would stem from the film Nashville, where bands recorded "live" in a studio. So I'm extremely curious about this.

Genre discussion
As a prog rock (and Elton John) fan I cannot admit prog rock to be the main genre of this album. Maybe soft rock or pop rock can be more appropriate. No strange time signatures, no lengthy solos,... The current citation for the genre is not correct so I would suggest this genre change. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.38.223.25 (talk) 15:37, 26 April 2020 (UTC)


 * Written descriptions (not the sidebar) in Allmusic are certainly reliable sources. However, in this case the page has moved and I can find no trace of any earlier version. The current page never actually assigns a genre. The closest it gets is calling it "a tentative stab at prog rock". That's enough to remove "progressive rock", in my book.


 * I cannot, however, agree with you otherwise. For me, "pop rock" dies on the absence of clear, accessable singles. The closest we get is "Tiny Dancer". Even then, clocking in at over 6 minutes hardly screams WFIL (the hit radio station in Philadelphia at the time). I'm not saying it was aimed there, but I'll bet Tumbleweed Connection meant this album ended up on freeform FM rock stations.


 * The closest I can get is generic "rock". Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. - Sum mer PhD v2.0 20:05, 26 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Wow! I had no idea that the genre has been listed inaccurately for nearly three years at a minimum. I tried to fix it yesterday, as others apparently have before, but my change was immediately undone. It was explained to me in no uncertain terms that Wikipedia just collects what others have said and includes them without assessing if they're actually valid. That, of course, only amplifies the real problem: that someone has bizarrely decided to interpret a "tentative stab" at a genre as a full-throated, definitive effort. I wonder: if Rolling Stone or Pitchfork said this album was polka with a heavy modal jazz influence, would that have to be etched in stone too, or could a little sensibility be used there? J.e.norton (talk) 15:35, 21 March 2023 (UTC)

chronology
The article refers at least twice to this being EJ's fourth studio album. According to the sequence laid out in the "chronology" info box, as well as the information provided in the articles on the individual albums, this is his fifth studio album. I had edited the article to reflect that, but reverted the edit after seeing that the numbering of subsequent albums seems to follow the idea that "Madman" is indeed the fourth. Maybe it's a mistake... maybe it's a "UK releases vs US releases" thing, given that Empty Sky wasn't released in the US until '75... but whatever the reason I felt that I am not qualified to change an entire string of entries. PurpleChez (talk) 16:12, 2 July 2020 (UTC)
 * My edit of the article based on this discrepancy was reverted. So be it. But the discrepancies should nonetheless either be corrected or explained.PurpleChez (talk) 19:14, 5 August 2020 (UTC)

3rd album in 1971?
The Wikipedia discography says this was his only album released in 1971. JGWatts (talk) 12:12, 28 March 2023 (UTC)


 * It's the only studio album he released in 1971, but the 17-11-70/11-17-70 live album and Friends soundtrack were also released that year. The article should probably be updated with more precise language. J.e.norton (talk) 02:17, 29 March 2023 (UTC)