Wikipedia claims that the title of this record is a play on the phrase "West of the Rockies." OK, whatever.
There are three Elton John songs that I hate (not including the never-ending stream of later stupid stuff). These three tunes are: Crocodile Rock, Don't Go Breaking My Heart, and Island Girl, the latter of which appears on this record. Island Girl just leaves me cold. Wikipedia claims that Elton preferred a different single - Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future) - as the first single. As much as I dislike Island Girl, his record company was right on this one.
On the other hand, there is the weirdly engaging Grow Some Funk Of Your Own, a song I never truly understood, but found to be particularly entertaining. There is also the truly odd I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford). That track has nothing to do with Rob Ford, Toronto's former -- and now deceased -- crack-mayor. It's hard to believe that only four months separated this release from Captain Fantastic, but Elton, back in the day, had no shortage of material.
The problem with this record, for me, is that the classic Elton John band had disbanded. Two members, Dee Murray and the late Nigel Olsson, left. Even with the inclusion of Island Girl, this record is not bad, I think.
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