Elton John: 10 Best Classic Rock Songs
1. Love Lies Bleeding (Funeral For A Friend)
You might not associate Elton John with car chases but the mid 2000s, Seventies set, cop show Life On Mars used this rollicking track to soundtrack a climatic chase sequence to thrilling effect.
It also kicks off John’s 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, setting the tone for that record’s playful diversity. The song’s two sections were composed separately but they bleed into and complement one another. The Funeral section’s moody synths build up the atmosphere and tension before exploding into the hard rocking Love Lies Bleeding section.
The song’s influence is plain to see on Guns’N’Roses’ epic Use Your Illusion albums and Elton would join Axl, Slash and the rest onstage at the MTV music awards in 1992. Together they performed November Rain, a song that Would never have existed without Funeral For a Friend as an antecedent.
The song’s epic length precluded a single release but it remains a firm live favourite and made number two on Billboard’s list of 20 Best Elton John Songs.