His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John

This book was a Christmas gift for me, and when I started it I figured I would read bits and pieces here and there. Instead I started on page one and just couldn't put the book down! The information was interesting and the notes on all the music from all the albums was very interesting! The one thing I liked about this book was that it stuck to discussing the music, and did not dwell into Elton's personal life too much. I'm not a fan of Elton for what he does and does not do off the stage, to me it's the music that matters. I highly recommend this book, especially if you want to know about all of Elton's albums and the songs that went into the making of a classic musicial and singer. Thanks, Liz, for the great read!!!! :)

I just finished reading this book today & all I can say is "WOW"-Elizabeth Rosenthal did an enormous amount of research & it shows-Rosenthal is undoubtedly a major fan who fortunately paints a rather convincing portrait of Elton John-Here you read about his various triumphs (gold & platinum records,a sell-out cross country tour with Billy Joel in 1994) & tragedies (the deaths of fashion designer Gianni Versace & Princess Diana,which both occurred in 1997)-The appendix lists a complete discography of every single & album that Elton has released during his monumental career-This is a great Christmas present to give someone who likes Elton John just as much as I do.

Hats off, "standing O", and much appreciative thanks to Elizabeth J. Rosenthal for writing the best, most definitive document of Elton John to have ever been sent our way! I should know - I have them all. This labor of love is a homage that never surrenders the truth in place of hype. Instead it explains the sometimes complicated - always joyous process by which Sir Elton John has made all of his music - warts and all. I have had the book only two weeks, and yet I have already been compulsed to read it twice. I thought that I knew it all, but I was wrong. After reading "His Song," I think I probably know as much as mere mortals will ever be privy to in regards to this superstar. The research that went into making this book is nothing short of astonishing! I was absolutely transfixed by the details that were revealed on every page - not only about individual albums, but for each individual song themselves. Never has more information been revealed about this ledgend's music, nor his life. For me personally, I think the greatest thing about this book was that it beckoned me (actually forced might be a better word!) to re-examine some of Elton's older stuff, as well as some of his lesser known contributions. What I often found were things that I had missed in the earlier listenings were illuminated and "pointed out" to me by this amazing book. For that alone, I owe it's author a debt of gratitude.In all honesty, the tapestry that plays out on these pages is almost as audible as the songs themselves - Elton will be honored by this one.Elton is my musical idol, hero or whatever you want to call it. His music has been a lifesaver to me at various times in my life for thirty years. Strand me out on a desert island, and this is the one book that I want with me.Jimmy Hester

There have only been a few books that have really looked into the Man, the Artist and the Legend that Elton John is. The earlier book by Philip Norman on Elton John was a fairly good book, but what he did in his updated version, which came out in 2000,was updated but in such a distasteful way with only 15 pages to cover to what was a very fruitful period for Elton from 1991-1999. But this new book by Elizabeth Rosenthal has over 100 pages on the same timeframe. The book is so current that she even has a complete track listing for Elton's most recent Album Songs From The West Coast released this month. But Rosenthal unlike Norman is a true Elton Fan who has seen him numerous times and has a huge collection of Elton stuff. The book is informative yet easy to read even to non die hard fans. She talks about practically every song from every album. The many tours that Elton has done over the years are mentioned with a lot of information like what songs were in that tours set list. And if the tour featured some bad moments she isn?t afraid to divulge what happened no matter how negative. Elton has had an incredible amount of success on the billboard charts and HIS SONG does an incredible job of recording that with every single and album has its full charting info. It evens mentions how a few songs should have been hits. Elton has been in numerous television programs, done countless interviews, and has had many reviews of his recorded work and live appearances. Liz has gone through that vast body of stuff and that what makes that book so informative because due to that work it makes that part of Elton come out clear to the reader. Elton's lyrics have been very interesting over the years so Rosenthal points out excerpts to many songs to give a feel of the song. I also like how she uses a fitting song lyric of that part of the book to break up sections. But what makes the book so great is that even though I know a lot about Elton John she has done so much research that the book has some details that I just did not know or that the book gives me a new perspective on something that I thought. And to top it all it has a very detailed Discography US and UK with some releases that I wasn?t familiar with before. So if you are looking for a book about Elton John the best choice without a doubt in my opinion is His Song- The Musical Journey of Elton John by Elizabeth J. Rosenthal

BRAVO LIZ!Some of the advance notices on it are absolutely correct... it willrightfully take its place along side the Norman book as a definitivebiography. I daresay, even as much as I love the Norman bio, that this mayactually be more interesting to hardcore Elton fans, since "His Song"features a good deal more intricate detail in it than its counterpart.Exhaustive, but well composed, the arrangement of chapters and information ischronological for the most part, but also organized by topic as needed. Yet,even so, the flow of information and storytelling is never interrupted.Brilliant execution. The use of lines from classic songs to title bothchapters and sub-sections is especially creative, and I can't imagine there'sa more complete discography to date anywhere.For her first book, Liz has simply done incredible work. Her take on Elton'slife and career is honest and respectful all at once. Much love andattention to detail went into this book and it's evident on every page.To Liz and those considering reading "His Song" (and I hope MANY do), thewait has been worth it. This is a first-rate biography deserving to be readand considered with the best of the genre.Well done, Liz. Hat's off to you! Enough writing about the book; time to goput on "Songs From The West Coast" and start another chapter!