21 at 33 is the fourteenth studio album by British musician Elton John. It was released on 23 May 1980, through MCA Records in the US and The Rocket Record Company in all other territories. The album was co-produced by John and Clive Franks, and was primarily recorded in August 1979 at Super Bear Studios in Nice, France. The record was the first since Blue Moves (1976) to feature lyrics written by Bernie Taupin (who contributed to three songs), while John also continued to collaborate with other lyricists, including Gary Osborne and Tom Robinson. Contributors to the album include members of Toto and the Eagles, as well as Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson, marking their first appearance on an Elton John album since Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975).
The title 21 at 33 was chosen as it was John's 21st album release overall and came out when he was 33 years old. Upon release, the album was a moderate success, reaching the top 20 on both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart and proving far more successful than his previous effort Victim of Love (1979). The record's lead single, "Little Jeannie", peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, while it stalled at number 33 on the UK singles chart. Critical reception was relatively warm, although some criticized the record as inconsistent and lacking cohesion. To promote the album, John embarked on a tour of North America and Oceania, including a free concert in Central Park. 21 at 33 has since been certified Gold by the RIAA for US sales in excess of 500,000 copies.
Background
After the release of Blue Moves in 1976, Elton John and Bernie Taupin put their partnership on hold, with the both of them working with other acts. On A Single Man (1978), John would collaborate with lyricist Gary Osborne for the first time, while Taupin co-wrote Alice Cooper's 1978 album From the Inside. While John's albums still sold well, his new releases did not match the success of his early-1970s work, with A Single Man only reaching number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and number 15 on the US Billboard 200. In 1979, John would release the album Victim of Love, a move into disco on which he did not compose or play piano on any of the material, providing only vocals. The album was a flop, receiving the worst reviews of his career and stalling at number 35 in the US and number 41 in the UK. Also in 1979, John travelled to the Soviet Union to play a series of concerts with percussionist Ray Cooper.
Writing and recording
thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Glad to be Gay - Tom Robinson at the point of the lyric 'this way'|21 at 33 contained John's first collaborations with singer-songwriter [[Tom Robinson (pictured here in 2019).]]
The writing of 21 at 33 marked the beginning of a tentative reunion between John and Taupin. The majority of the album's material was written in August 1979 in Grasse, France, to which John invited Taupin and his wife to join him. John and Taupin wrote ten songs together during this period, three of which would appear on the album. At one point, John considered making 21 at 33 a double album, though it was ultimately reduced to a single due to Clive Franks' belief that there was not a sufficient amount of quality material for a double. Most of the basic tracks for the album were recorded at Super Bear Studios in Nice in August 1979, while overdubs, as well as the track "White Lady White Powder", were recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders in early 1980. Additionally, a choir was recorded for "Dear God" at Rumbo Recorders in February 1980.
Musicians on the album included Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray, both of whom made their first appearance on an Elton John album in five years. Olsson's involvement in recording began when he was invited to Sunset Sound to overdub a drum track on "Little Jeannie", as John (who, at one point, considered scrapping the song entirely) was unsatisfied with the original drum part performed by Alvin Taylor. As Murray was living in Los Angeles at the time, he was also called in to contribute to the track, on which he provided backing vocals. Olsson and Murray would also end up providing the rhythm section for "White Lady White Powder", the last track recorded for the album.
Composition
In contrast with the previous year's Victim of Love, 21 at 33 sees John return to a more conventional pop and rock sound. Judy Parkinson, author of Elton: Made in England, describes the album as having a "contemporary electronic sound" due to its use of synthesizers and electric piano. Additionally, she describes John's piano part as a "scaled-down adaptation of some of the peppery chord patterns he had incorporated into "[[I Heard It Through the Grapevine|[I Heard It Through the] Grapevine]]" during his 1979 world tour", while "the melodious screeching of Steve Lukather's guitar sifts through the chords." The song was written with Osborne, who has described its lyrics as portraying "a girl who was beautiful but didn't realise her own worth, a woman who would sleep around because of her low self-esteem." Rosenthal describes "Little Jeannie" as a song "about love of a higher order, sung from the perspective of a man without the most pristine values, whose life has been transformed by the pure and idealistic young Jeannie." Rather than playing the part himself, John had James Newton Howard provide the song's prominent Fender Rhodes electric piano, due to John feeling Newton Howard possessed better technique on the instrument. The song's coda, featuring Murray (among others) on backing vocals, contains a melody similar to that of "When I Need You", which had been a number one hit for Leo Sayer in 1977. Its title refers to the duo's unique tendency to write in different locations, rather than collaborating, and asserts that despite their break, their relationship remained strong, with Buckley stating the song's main theme is that "the distance that separated them was a physical, not emotional one." The song features John on electric piano and Lukather on guitar, while the instrumentation continues to build throughout the song, including the addition of a brass arrangement by Jim Horn and multiple layers of overdubbed backing vocals. He also remarked that he "had the brass balls to sing it as if was about someone else."
Release and reception
"Little Jeannie" was released as the album's lead single in April 1980. By 7 June, the song entered the top 10 and reached its peak of number three the week of 19 July. This made it the highest-charting Elton John song to be co-written by Osborne, as well as John's biggest American hit in years. It was less successful in the UK, where it stalled at number 33 on the UK singles chart. By the time it charted, on 9 August, "Little Jeannie" was still in its peak position.
21 at 33 was released on 23 May 1980. The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs and Tape chart on 31 May 1980, and would eventually reach a peak of number 13, his highest chart placement since Blue Moves. In the UK, the album reached number 12, becoming the second album (along with Victim of Love) of John's to not reach the top 10 since Madman Across the Water (1971).
|rev3 = Record Mirror
|rev3score =
|rev4 = Smash Hits
|rev4score = 7/10 While stating the album "never reach[es] jackpot status", he praised it as "melodically strong" and "musically light", complimenting Taupin's lyrics as "powerful", Robinson's as "personal", and calling Tzuke's contribution a "strong ballad". The publication praised the record for containing "melodic pop offerings with the melodic and lyrical depth that made him [John] a '70s superstar", rather than the "disco and R&B" experiments of his late 70s work. Buckley writes that due to the number of co-writers present, 21 at 33 "lack[s] the sort of thematic unity of style and content that ma[kes] the best Elton John albums click." Olsson and Murray rejoined John's touring band at this time, which also contained James Newton Howard on keyboards and Zito and Tim Renwick on guitar. For much of the tour, 21 at 33 would be represented in setlists by "Little Jeannie", "Sartorial Eloquence", and "White Lady White Powder". Parkinson notes that John's costumes of the time took inspiration from the Village People, with his outfits including a "sequinned cowboy", "musical chauffeur" and, in a publicity photo, a "butch New York cop."
Material recorded during the 21 at 33 sessions would appear on John's next album, The Fox (1981). After recording for the album completed, John collaborated with French singer France Gall in what Rosenthal describes as "practically an extension of the 21 at 33 sessions" due to John and Franks producing and the lineup of musicians. These sessions produced two songs, "Les Aveux" and "Donner Pour Donner". The tracks were released as a single in February 1981, which topped the French charts and sold over 600,000 copies.
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from liner notes.
| align="center"| 7
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! scope="row"|Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)
| align="center"| 25
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!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| align="center"| 56
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Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Year-end chart performance for 21 at 33
! scope="col"| Chart (1980)
! scope="col"| Position
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! scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| align="center"| 65
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! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| align="center"| 23
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Certifications
}
}