Honky Chateau

Elton John的第六张专辑，首发于1972年。在这张专辑中他开始尝试一些硬摇滚的歌曲，比如专辑中第一首Honky Cat是Dr. John的Funk作品，配乐也变成了以爵士钢琴为主。除了这首Honky Cat，另一曲打榜歌曲Rocket Man则十分脍炙人口（这首歌似乎已经成了NBA火箭队队歌，并且在经典RPG游戏Fallout2中也有提及）。专辑曾占据Billboard专辑榜头把交椅，在英国本土也排到第二位，非常成功。

这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第357位。

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Considerably lighter than Madman Across the Water, Honky Chateau is a rollicking collection of ballads, rockers, blues, country-rock, and soul songs. On paper, it reads like an eclectic mess, but it plays as the most focused and accomplished set of songs Elton John and Bernie Taupin ever wrote. The skittering boogie of "Honky Cat" and the light psychedelic pop of "Rocket Man" helped send Honky Chateau to the top of the charts, but what is truly impressive about the album is the depth of its material. From the surprisingly cynical and nasty "I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself" to the moving ballad "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters," John is at the top of his form, crafting immaculate pop songs with memorable melodies and powerful hooks. While Taupin's lyrics aren't much more comprehensible than before, John delivers them with skill and passion, making them feel more substantial than they are. But what makes Honky Chateau a classic is the songcraft, and the way John ties disparate strands of roots music into distinctive and idiosyncratic pop -- it's one of the finest collections of mainstream singer/songwriter pop of the early '70s.