The first solo number one for Elton, 'Sacrifice' is a woozy affair that harks back to the syrup drip of a mid eighties slow dance ballad. Lacking the clean directness of his best work, John's vocal no longer chips out the melody and instead comes covered in a toffee falsetto that tries to wring every drip of emotion from Bernie Taupin's awkwardly obscure lyric of betrayal. But Elton John is no Bryan Ferry lounge lizard, and though as a mood piece it's a shorn of rawness passable wallow, as a song it's a dull and torpid entry into his back catalogue that, being a bona fide hit, would struggle to find a convenient setting on the live stage in amongst his better songs.*'Healing Hands' is the flip side in name and deed. A gospel-ish number, it's closer to the crowd pleasing Elton stomps of the seventies with an unexpected key change leading into a roof raising chorus that's always a delight. But despite it's bonhomie, 'Healing Hands' has the air of a whole song built around of a few hummed bars of catchiness which it's always keen to return to. Which is apt, seeing as humming along is about the extent of personal involvement I'm prepared to give it.
* Actually, Elton's 'One Night Only - Greatest Hits Live' album has it preceding the equally dull and torpid 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight'. Fair enough, but coming in-between 'Crocodile Rock' and 'Bennie And The Jets' then both must have been akin to a sluice gate directing a wave of tedium over the audience marking a good point to go to the bar.
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