Too Low for Zero

Too Low for Zero
Studio album by Elton John
Released 14 October 1983
Recorded Montserrat September 1982-June 1983
Genre Soft rock, pop
Length 44:06
Label

Geffen (U.S.)

Rocket (UK)
Producer Chris Thomas
Elton John chronology
Jump Up!
(1982)		 Too Low For Zero
(1983)		 Breaking Hearts
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]

Too Low for Zero is the 17th studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1983. For the first time since Blue Moves in 1976, all lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin, who has continued in this role to the present day. At the insistence of Taupin, John decided to go back to basics and returned to working with Taupin full time. John also reunited with the core of his backing band of the early '70s: Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone as well as Ray Cooper, Kiki Dee and Skaila Kanga (who played harp on Elton John's self-titled album and Tumbleweed Connection). The album was produced by Chris Thomas and recorded at Air Studios in Montserrat (the same studio for Jump Up!) and Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood. The original LP issue of the album featured a die-cut cover with a special inner sleeve. The four shapes shown on the cover were cut out, with the colours (shown as ink smears on the inner sleeve) showing through the holes. No CD release to date has duplicated these die-cuts. For the first time since Empty Sky, John would handle all keyboards on this album, due to the departure of James Newton-Howard.

All b-sides released on US singles from this time originate from the 1978 album A Single Man and the 1980 album 21 at 33 sessions. They were also previously released on European singles. In the U.S. it was certified Gold on January 18, 1984 and Platinum on October 13, 1995 by the RIAA.

Contents

Track listing

All music composed by Elton John, except where noted; all lyrics written by Bernie Taupin.

Side one
  1. "Cold as Christmas (In the Middle of the Year)" – 4:19
  2. "I'm Still Standing" – 3:02
  3. "Too Low for Zero" – 5:46
  4. "Religion" – 4:05
  5. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" (Music: John, Davey Johnstone) – 4:41
Side two
  1. "Crystal" – 5:05
  2. "Kiss the Bride" – 4:22
  3. "Whipping Boy" – 3:43
  4. "Saint" – 5:17
  5. "One More Arrow" – 3:34

Bonus tracks (1998 Mercury reissue)

  1. "Earn While You Learn" (Lord Choc Ice (Elton John)) – 6:46
    • B-side of "I'm Still Standing" recorded in 1978 and withdrawn as a 12" picture disc-single.
  2. "Dreamboat" – 7:34
    • B-side also recorded in 1978. Lyrics by Gary Osborne though not credited.
  3. "The Retreat" – 4:46
    • UK b-side from 1982 recorded during the sessions for The Fox
Song Format
"Choc Ice Goes Mental" I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues 7" (UK) / Kiss the Bride 7" (US)
"The Retreat" I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues 7" (US)
"Love So Cold" I'm Still Standing 7" (US)
"Earn While You Learn" I'm Still Standing 7" / 12" (UK)
"Dreamboat" Kiss the Bride 7" (edited version) / 12" (full version) (UK)
"I'm Still Standing" (extended version) I'm Still Standing 12" (UK)
"Je Veux De La Tendresse" (French version of "Nobody Wins") Cold as Christmas / Crystal 12" (UK)
"Lonely Boys" 'Too Low for Zero 7" (Europe)

Though Chris Thomas was the album's original producer, Gus Dudgeon supervised the remastering for the 1998 Geffen re-release.

Personnel

On bonus tracks

Credits

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[3] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[4] Gold 318,600[5]
Germany (BVMI)[6] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[7] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[8] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (1983/84) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[9] 2
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[10] 17
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[11] 28
French SNEP Albums Chart [12] 11
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[13] 71
New Zealand Albums Chart[14] 2
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[15] 6
Swedish Albums Chart[16] 30
Swiss Albums Chart[17] 6
UK Albums Chart[18] 7
U.S. Billboard 200 [19] 25
West German Media Control Albums Chart[20] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1983) Position
Australian Albums Chart[9] 3
Canadian Albums Chart[21] 79
UK Albums Chart[22] 16
Chart (1984) Position
Australian Albums Chart[9] 8
UK Albums Chart[22] 74

Decade-end charts

Chart (1980-89) Position
Australian Albums Chart[9] 7

References

  1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r10481
  2. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/eltonjohn/albums/album/128662/review/5946843/too_low_for_zero
  3. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Too Low for Zero". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Too+Low+for+Zero&sa=Elton+John&smt=0. 
  4. ^ "French album certifications – Elton John – Too Low for Zero" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-259165-CERTIFICATIONS.html?year=1984&type=8. 
  5. ^ "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. http://www.infodisc.fr/CDCertif_O.php?debut=1500. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  6. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Elton John; 'Too Low for Zero')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Too+Low+for+Zero&strInterpret=Elton+John&strTtArt=alben&strAwards=checked. 
  7. ^ "British album certifications – Elton John – Too Low for Zero". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Too Low for Zero in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  8. ^ "American album certifications – Elton John – Too Low for Zero". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Too+Low+for+Zero%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  9. ^ a b c d Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176. 
  10. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-29
  11. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Elton John - Too Low for Zero" (in Dutch) (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Too+Low+For+Zero&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  12. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French) (PHP). infodisc.fr. http://infodisc.fr/Album_J.php. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  13. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4871310779. 
  14. ^ "charts.org.nz Elton John - Too Low for Zero" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Too+Low+For+Zero&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  15. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Elton John - Too Low for Zero" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Too+Low+For+Zero&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  16. ^ "swedishcharts.com Elton John - Too Low for Zero" (in Swedish) (ASP). http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Too+Low+For+Zero&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  17. ^ "Elton John - Too Low for Zero - hitparade.ch" (in German) (ASP). Hung Medien. Swiss Music Charts. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Too+Low+For+Zero&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  18. ^ "Chart Stats - Elton John - Too Low for Zero" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=41435. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  19. ^ "allmusic ((( Too Low for Zero > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r10481/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  20. ^ "Album Search: Elton John - Too Low for Zero" (in German). Media Control. http://www.charts.de/album.asp?artist=Elton+John&title=Too+Low+For+Zero&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  21. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1989". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.6625&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  22. ^ a b "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". http://chartheaven.9.forumer.com/a/complete-uk-yearend-album-charts_post21.html. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
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