''He Who Rides the Tiger'' is a 1980 solo album by longtime

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

. It is his second effort following his 1971 spoken word album ''

Taupin ''Taupin'' is the first debut studio album by longtime Elton John lyricist Bernie Taupin. (released eponymously in the U.S.). It is a spoken word album of his poetry with music that revolves around the them. The album was produced by Gus Dudgeo ...

''. Taupin co-wrote all the songs in the album with

the Buckinghams The Buckinghams are an American sunshine pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed ...

former guitarist

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and sang lead vocals in all of them. Although the album was recorded during a time when John and Taupin had interrupted their collaboration, John lent backing vocals on "Love (The Barren Desert)". The album was released on CD by American Beat Records on March 10, 2009.

Critical reception

In the review of May 3, 1980 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' critics said that the album's "biggest strength lies in his lyrics." They also found that "Taupin isn't a bad vocalist" (but sometimes "become a bit too stagnant") and praised "the aid of

Elton Elton may refer to: Places England * Elton, Cambridgeshire (formerly Huntingdonshire), a village ** Elton Hall, a baronial hall * Elton, Cheshire, a village and civil parish * Elton, County Durham, a village and civil parish * Elton, Derbyshire, ...

and other supporting singers."

Track listing

All songs written by

(words) and

(music). # "Monkey on My Back (The Last Run)" (4:04) # "Born on the Fourth of July" (4:47) # "Venezuela" (4:11) # "Approaching Armageddon" (5:36) # "Lover's Cross" (4:40) # "Blitz Babies" (4:31) # "Valley Nights" (4:23) # "Love (The Barren Desert)" (5:32) # "The Whores of Paris" (6:22)

Personnel

*Bernie Taupin - lead vocals *

Joey Carbone Joey Carbone is a composer, music producer, arranger, keyboardist, vocalist, advisor and educator. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Early life When he was 16, Carbone was signed as a singer in a band to Atlantic Records by one of A ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

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bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals *

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, vocals *

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drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Paulinho da Costa - percussion *

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- bass guitar *

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electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

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- drums *

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- keyboards, synthesizer * Tom Scott - saxophone, flute, lyricon *

David Hungate William David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his T ...

- bass guitar *

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...

- electric guitar *Ralph Dyke - synthesizer, programming *

Jay Graydon Jay Joseph Graydon (born October 8, 1949, Burbank, California) is an American songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, keyboardist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards (in the R&B category) wi ...

- electric guitar *Paul Lani - percussion *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthesi ...

- keyboards, programming, synthesizer *Erich Bulling - charango, flute, acoustic guitar, ocarina *

- backing vocals *

Alan Gorrie Alan Edward Gorrie (born 19 July 1946 in Perth) is a Scottish bassist, guitarist, keyboardist and singer. He is a founding member of the Average White Band and remains one of two original members in the group's current line-up (Onnie McIntyre bei ...

- backing vocals *

Hamish Stuart James Hamish Stuart (born 8 October 1949) is a British guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer. He was an original member of the Average White Band. Biography Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Stuart attended Queens Park School in ...

- backing vocals *

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. H ...

- backing vocals *Venette Gloud - backing vocals *Paulette Brown - backing vocals *Tommy Funderburk - backing vocals *Tom Kelly - backing vocals

References

1980 albums Albums produced by Humberto Gatica Elektra Records albums {{1980s-pop-rock-album-stub