Bennie gets some new jets

Peter Asher’s fame as a record producer over the years – up to and including a new, not-exactly-a-tribute version of Elton John’s classic 1973 album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – has all but eclipsed his own brief but heady time in the spotlight.

The Los Angeles-based Londoner has produced 13 Grammy-winning records, working for the likes of James Taylor, Diana Ross, Cher and Neil Diamond. In 1977 and 1989 he won the Grammy for Producer of the Year. This year he was in charge of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: Revisited and Beyond”, featuring top artists of today from various musical genres covering 10 songs from the venerable album.

Folk-pop singer Ed Sheeran does “Candle in the Wind”, country trio the Band Perry handles “Gray Seal”, soul singer Emeli Sande takes on“All the Girls Love Alice”, punk group Fall Out Boy rocks through “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and R&B singer Miguel and rapper Whale have a go at “Bennie and the Jets”. 

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: Revisited & Beyond” came out in March to critical acclaim. 

So it might be easy for some to forget that Peter Asher was, in 1964, half of the duo Peter and Gordon, who had a global hit with “World Without Love” (a tune written for them by John Lennon and Paul McCartney). They took their own turn on Ed Sullivan’s stage in New York as part of the original “British Invasion”. Peter is also, not incidentally, the brother of Jane Asher, McCartney’s long-time girlfriend during the Beatlemania years.

Just the same, Asher seemed keen to talk only about “Yellow Brick Road” when we got him on the phone. 

 

The Elton John album is such a classic. You must have been under considerable pressure while “re-imagining” it. 

We tried to re-approach the songs from scratch. I’m a huge fan, of course, of the original album, and in no sense did I intend to compete with it – I love it! [Producer] Gus Dudgeon, Elton and Bernie [Taupin, lyricist] did an amazing job. The idea was to say, “Here’s another way of looking at that same song just as a song.” In each case, depending on who the artist is, the approach is different.

 

Why makes “Yellow Brick Road” such a timeless album?

It’s one of those situations where everything came together at the right time. It was like a perfect storm. Elton and Bernie were at a peak of their writing skills. The band was just hot shit and really rocking. Gus Dudgeon was brilliant. 

Another way in which it qualifies as a masterpiece is that it stands up to re-examination decades later. In the rare circumstances where you can find someone who hasn’t heard the original, when they hear it for the first time everyone has the same reaction of “Wow, this is really very good!” 

How did you get involved in the tribute project?

Elton phoned me up out of the blue, which is always exciting. Elton is an old and dear friend, but that doesn’t mean I’m not excited when he calls me. It’s still Elton John! He’s still a genius and one of the biggest artists in the world. 

When he started explaining why he was calling, I was thrilled. The answer to his offer was “yes” a million times over. We got down to the nitty-gritty of who, when and how almost straight away. But it was news that I accepted with glee and excitement.

How did you pick the artists?

In conversation with Elton and Tony King [Elton’s creative director], we would bounce ideas around and then approach the artist. In most cases Elton or I would have a good idea specifically who could cover the song. I know Ed Sheeran has said in interviews that he wouldn’t have picked “Candle in the Wind” because it’s such an iconic song. Elton just said to Ed, “I think you should do this song”, and luckily Ed said yes. 

However, in the case of “Grey Seal”, that was one I was a bit stuck on. That piano lick is such a crucial element of the song and I didn’t want someone just copying Elton. Then I suddenly had an epiphany and decided it could be a banjo lick. I called up a friend of mine who plays banjo and asked, “Am I crazy?” But he agreed it could become a banjo lick, and that’s why I went to the Band Perry, who I love. 

So it was a different process in each case, and there was a lot of consulting. We ended up with a list that everyone was extremely happy with. 

 

Is there anyone you wanted who you couldn’t get?

Yes, a few: I’m not sure if it’s good to list them all, but I’ll cheat and allow one – Muse. If possible I would have loved them to do “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”. In my head, I had an idea of how gigantic they could have made that pair of songs sound. 

 

Did you enjoy working with these younger artists?

I had the unparalleled and unprecedented ammunition of being able to offer them these songs, which, of course, they already knew. I enjoyed it very much. 

It’s hard to say which artist I enjoyed working with most. In some ways I’m proudest of the Miguel track, only because people tend to pigeonhole producers and wouldn’t associate me with R&B. And I was able to work with Miguel in the style of his own record, which I was a huge fan of before he got involved here. 

But, in terms of enjoyment, every single one of them was amazing to work with. I’ve never been one of those producers to say, “Back in my day things were better.” There’s some incredible talent out there – some of which we are lucky enough to have on this album.

 

What’s your favourite song on the album?

I love all of them. Ed’s version of “Candle in the Wind” is a revelation. My favourites kept changing both when listening to the original album repeatedly and also during the making of this record. 

And there’s a whole bunch I didn’t get to do which are favourites – let’s not forget that I only covered half the original album. So I told Elton and Universal that, when they want to do the other 10 songs for the 50th anniversary, I’m ready!

 

How did Elton like the finished product?

What he said came in stages. I would send him each song individually throughout the process. He would have some occasional, specific comments that were very useful. But overall I would say he was very happy with the results. 

The great thing about Elton is that he a fast responder – he’s listening to music all the time. I would send him a rough mix and, by the time I woke up in the morning in LA, there would be detailed comments, or an “I love it, don’t change it.” There would always be something and that was fantastic. He is a breathtakingly hard worker – he does a million and one things at once.