Rock of the Westies

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|

1975 studio album by Elton John

Rock of the Westies

Studio album by

Elton John

Released| 24 October 1975
Recorded| June–July 1975
Studio| Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado; remixed at Trident, London
Genre|

* Rock
* soft rock
* rock and roll[1]

Length| 43:39
Label| MCA (US), DJM (UK)
Producer| Gus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
| Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
(1975)  | Rock of the Westies
(1975)  | Here and There
(1976)

|
|

Singles from  Rock of the Westies

1. "Island Girl"
Released: 29 September 1975
2. "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" / "I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)"
Released: 12 January 1976

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]
Christgau's Record Guide| A−[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [4]
Rolling Stone| (not rated)[5]

Rock of the Westies is the tenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 24 October 1975.[6] The title is a pun on the phrase "West of the Rockies", the album having been recorded at Caribou Ranch in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.[7]

Released less than five months after his previous album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Rock of the Westies repeated that album's then-unprecedented feat of entering the US Billboard 200 chart at number one, and was John's final chart-topping studio album in that country. It was also successful (albeit to a lesser extent) in the artist's home territory of the UK, where it reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. Robert Christgau ranked it as No. 7 on his list of the best albums of 1975.[8]

## History

[edit]

Rock of the Westies contained the US No. 1 (No. 14 UK) single, "Island Girl", which was released prior to the album. John noted at the time in a radio interview[which?] that he had wanted to release "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" as the album's first single instead of "Island Girl", because he thought it had more commercial appeal. He was over-ruled, and "Dan Dare" was never released as a single, whilst "Island Girl" became a hit.

The make-up of John's band was different on Rock of the Westies, being without his long-time drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray, both of whom John fired during April 1975. Added in their place were Hookfoot drummer Roger Pope, an old friend who had played on Empty Sky, Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water, and American bassist Kenny Passarelli, who had previously played with Stephen Stills and was an original member in Joe Walsh's band Barnstorm. Pope had also played in Kiki Dee's touring band. Grammy-, Emmy-, and Academy Award-nominated James Newton Howard, at the time a virtual unknown, was also brought in as keyboardist, giving him his first major publicity. Also included was another Hookfoot member, Caleb Quaye on guitar and vocals, another old friend from his early DJM session days. Like Pope, Quaye had also played on Empty Sky, Tumbleweed Connection, and John's intervening eponymous release. Retained from the previous line-up were Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper.

A slower, less up-tempo version of "Hard Luck Story" had already been recorded by Kiki Dee (whom the song was originally written for), and released as a single one year prior to its recording for Rock of the Westies. Along with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", it is credited to Ann Orson/Carte Blanche (An 'orse an' cart / 'carte blanche') a punning moniker John devised when composing a song (music and lyrics) on his own. The name Ann Orson is also used as the name of a backing vocalist. Labelle performed backing vocals on the opening track, "Medley: Yell Help/Wednesday Night/Ugly".

In the US, it was certified gold in October 1975 and platinum in March 1993[9] by the RIAA.

Outside the US and Canada, this was the last original studio release from John on DJM Records, before forming his own label, The Rocket Record Company.

The song "Street Kids" was featured in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted. "Ann Orson & Carte Blanche" is a pseudonym used by John and Taupin

Side oneNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Medley (Yell Help – Wednesday Night – Ugly)" (John, Davey Johnstone, Taupin)| 6:15
2.| "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)"| 3:29
3.| "Island Girl"| 3:42
4.| "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" (John, Johnstone, Taupin)| 4:47
5.| "I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)"| 5:27

Side twoNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Street Kids"| 6:25
2.| "Hard Luck Story" (Ann Orson & Carte Blanche)| 5:16
3.| "Feed Me"| 4:00
4.| "Billy Bones and the White Bird"| 4:25
Total length:| 43:39

* Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–9 on CD reissues.

Bonus tracks (1995 Mercury Records reissue)No.| Title| Length

|
|

10.| "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (featuring Kiki Dee)| 4:30
Total length:| 49:00

Bonus tracks (1996 Rocket Records reissue)No.| Title| Length

|
|

10.| "Planes"| 4:31
11.| "Sugar on the Floor" (Kiki Dee)| 4:31
Total length:| 52:41

## Personnel

[edit]

Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.

### Musicians

[edit]

* Elton John – lead vocals, acoustic piano (all except 8), backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9; as Ann Orson)
* James Newton Howard – harpsichord (1), Elka Rhapsody string synthesizer (1), ARP synthesizer (1, 3), Hohner clavinet (1, 2), mellotron (3), electric piano (4, 5, 7, 8, 9), synthesizers (4, 5, 9)
* Davey Johnstone – electric guitar (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9), backing vocals (2, 3, 4, 6, 8), rhythm guitar (2, 6), voice bag (2), Ovation guitar (3), banjo (3), slide guitar (3, 6), acoustic guitar (4, 5), guitar solo (5)
* Caleb Quaye – electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9), backing vocals (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8), acoustic guitar (3, 4, 5), rhythm guitar (6), lead guitar solo (6)
* Kenny Passarelli – bass guitar, backing vocals (2, 3, 4, 6, 7)
* Roger Pope – drums (1–5, 7–9)
* Ray Cooper – tambourine (1, 3, 5, 6, 9), cowbell (1, 9), congas (1, 3, 6, 7, 8), jawbone (1), marimba (3), castanets (4), bell tree (4), vibraphone (4, 5, 8), shaker (8), wind chimes (8), maracas (9), kettle drums (9)
* Labelle – backing vocals (1)
* Kiki Dee – backing vocals (2, 3, 4, 6–9)
* Clive Franks – backing vocals (8)

### Production

[edit]

* Gus Dudgeon – producer
* Jeff Guercio – engineer
* Mark Guercio – assistant engineer
* Arun Chakraverty – mastering
* John Tobler – liner notes
* Terry O'Neill – album cover photograph
* David Larkham – art direction and design

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1975–1976)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10] | 4
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] | 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[12] | 3
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[13] | 25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] | 33
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[15] | 16
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16] | 47
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] | 4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18] | 6
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[19] | 8
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] | 6
UK Albums (OCC)[21] | 5
US Billboard 200[22] | 1

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (1975)  | Position

|

Australian Albums (Kent Music Report[10] | 37
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[23] | 11
Chart (1976)  | Position

|

Australian Albums (Kent Music Report[10] | 52
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[24] | 31
US Billboard Year-End[25] | 37

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Australia (ARIA)[26] | Platinum  | 50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[27] | Platinum  | 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] | Gold  | 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] | Platinum  | 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Rock of the Westies – Elton John | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
2. ^ Planer, Lindsay. "Rock of the Westies". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 27 February 2019 - via robertchristgau.com.
4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "John, Elton". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2,003. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
5. ^ Holden, Stephen (18 December 1975). "Rock of the Westies". Rolling Stone.
6. ^ "BPI".
7. ^ "10 Fun Facts About 'Rock of the Westies' and 'The Big Picture'". Elton John.
8. ^ "Pazz & Jop 1975: Dean's List". Robert Christgau. 29 December 1975. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
9. ^ "GOLD AND PLATINUM ALBUMS". neosoul. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
10. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4050a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
12. ^ "danskehitlister.dk". Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
13. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – Rock of the Westies" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
15. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 25 March 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Elton John".
16. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
17. ^ "Charts.nz – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
18. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
19. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
20. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
22. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
23. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6489a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
24. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5175". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
25. ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1976". Billboard. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
26. ^ "Elton John Australian Award". 20 February 2023.
27. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Music Canada.
28. ^ "British album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". British Phonographic Industry.
29. ^ "American album certifications – Elton John – Rock of the Westies". Recording Industry Association of America.

## External links

[edit]

* Rock of the Westies at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

Elton John

* Songs
* Albums
* Singles
* Concerts
* Videos
* Awards

Studio albums|

* Empty Sky
* Elton John
* Tumbleweed Connection
* Madman Across the Water
* Honky Château
* Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
* Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
* Caribou
* Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
* Rock of the Westies
* Blue Moves
* A Single Man
* Victim of Love
* 21 at 33
* The Fox
* Jump Up!
* Too Low for Zero
* Breaking Hearts
* Ice on Fire
* Leather Jackets
* Reg Strikes Back
* Sleeping with the Past
* The One
* Duets
* Made in England
* The Big Picture
* Songs from the West Coast
* Peachtree Road
* The Captain & the Kid
* The Diving Board
* Wonderful Crazy Night
* Regimental Sgt. Zippo
* The Lockdown Sessions

Live albums|

* 17-11-70
* Here and There
* Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
* Elton John One Night Only – The Greatest Hits
* Elton 60 – Live at Madison Square Garden
* Live from Moscow 1979

Soundtrack albums|

* Friends
* The Lion King (1994)
* Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida
* The Muse
* The Road to El Dorado
* Gnomeo & Juliet
* Rocketman
* The Lion King (2019)

Compilation albums|

* Greatest Hits
* Greatest Hits Volume II
* The Thom Bell Sessions
* Lady Samantha
* Greatest Hits Vol. 3
* The Complete Thom Bell Sessions
* To Be Continued
* The Very Best of Elton John
* Rare Masters
* Greatest Hits 1976–1986
* Chartbusters Go Pop
* Classic Elton John
* Love Songs
* Prologue
* Greatest Hits 1970–2002
* Elton John's Christmas Party
* Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits
* Diamonds
* Elton: Jewel Box

Extended plays|

* "I've Been Loving You"
* The Thom Bell Sessions
* Remixed

Other albums|

* Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
* The Union
* Good Morning to the Night
* Revamp & Restoration

Video albums|

* The Afternoon Concert
* The Night Time Concert
* Night and Day Concert
* Live in Australia
* The Very Best of Elton John
* Live in Barcelona
* Love Songs
* Elton John One Night Only – The Greatest Hits
* Dream Ticket
* Elton 60 – Live at Madison Square Garden
* The Red Piano

Concert tours|

* 1970 World Tour
* Rock of the Westies Tour
* Louder Than Concorde Tour
* 1979 tour of the Soviet Union
* 1980 World Tour
* Jump Up Tour
* Too Low for Zero Tour
* European Express Tour
* Breaking Hearts Tour
* Ice on Fire Tour
* Tour De Force
* Sleeping with the Past Tour
* The One Tour
* Face to Face 1994
* Face to Face 1995
* Made in England Tour
* Face to Face 1998
* An Evening with Elton John
* Medusa Tour
* Stately Home Tour
* Face to Face 2001
* Songs from the West Coast Tour
* Face to Face 2002
* A Journey Through Time
* 2003 Tour
* Face to Face 2003
* 2004 Tour
* Peachtree Road Tour
* 2006 European Tour
* The Captain and the Kid Tour
* Rocket Man: Greatest Hits Live
* Face to Face 2009
* Face to Face 2010
* 2010 European Tour
* Greatest Hits Tour
* 40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man
* The Diving Board Tour
* Follow the Yellow Brick Road Tour
* All the Hits Tour
* The Final Curtain Tour
* Wonderful Crazy Night Tour
* Farewell Yellow Brick Road

Concert residencies|

* The Red Piano
* The Million Dollar Piano

Miscellaneous
performances|

* List of Elton John and Ray Cooper concert tours
* The Union Tour

Musicals|

* The Lion King
* 1994 film
* 2019 film
* 1997 musical
* The Road to El Dorado
* Aida
* Billy Elliot the Musical
* Lestat
* The Devil Wears Prada
* Tammy Faye

Related articles|

* Bernie Taupin
* Elton John Band
* Gus Dudgeon
* Paul Buckmaster
* John Reid
* Ray Williams
* Dick James
* DJM Records
* David Furnish
* Kiki Dee
* Elton John AIDS Foundation
* Watford F.C.
* Bluesology
* Hookfoot
* Woodside, Old Windsor
* Rocket Pictures
* Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras
* Elton John: Me, Myself & I
* The Union
* Elton John: The Classic Years
* Rocketman (film)
* Me
* Elton John: Never Too Late

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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