The second half of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” may not feature as many hits as the first half, but the sticky sweet commerciality of the songs remains intact, and impressive.

The lyrical themes get a bit sketchier on the second half of the album, occasionally venturing to topics that most pop stars would have preferred to sidestep in the ‘70s. These days, it all sounds completely harmless, but songs about prostitution, lesbianism, alcoholism (“called “Social Disease”, no less!) added a touch of darkness to an otherwise impossibly bright album.

Featured tracks include:

Sweet Painted Lady

The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-34)

Dirty Little Girl

All the Girls Love Alice

Your Sister Can’t Twist (But She Can Rock and Roll)

Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting

Roy Rogers

Social Disease

Harmony

October 1973 - Billboard Charted #1