The good, the bad and the Elton: 30 milestones on the Yellow Brick Road

Elton John is saying goodbye to the road. As he heads to Target Center this week on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, we can agree that he's had a marvelous career. But let's be honest, it's had highs and lows. The hyper-prolific piano man has released more than 130 singles, some good, some bad — and some so eccentric they're quintessential Elton. (And yes, I know he doesn't write the lyrics, but he does sing them.)

"Your Song" (1970): Our introduction to him: Sweet. Simple. Direct. A perfect valentine.

"Take Me to the Pilot" (1970): With its earthy soulfulness, violin filigree and na-na-na choruses, this B-side to "Your Song" comes off like a British piano man's homage to Ray Charles.

"Country Comfort" (1970): Nashville filtered through London. This straightforward country-gospel ballad, written with lyricist Bernie Taupin, is filled with vivid details about small-town life and pedal steel guitar.

"Burn Down the Mission" (1971): He's tried so many styles, so why not gospel, delivered with fervent vocals and churchy piano.

"Tiny Dancer" (1972): With its pretty piano melody and unconventional chorus, this graceful character portrait is elusive and irresistible.

"Rocket Man" (1972): This pop explosion could stand as Elton's signature song, delivering a rich piano melody, alternately soft and majestic passages, passionate vocals and lyrics about being in his own orbit.

"Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)" (1973): Elton satisfies his Stones jones in this full-tilt rocker with guitars a-blazing.

"Bennie and the Jets" (1974): With stuttering vocals and hesitant piano, he offers a smart sendup of music-biz hype. Believe the song, not the hype.

"Philadelphia Freedom" (1975): Written as an anthem for Billie Jean King and her pro tennis team, this is a rollicking, post-hippie ode to being on your own and being free.

"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" (1974): Even with EJ's rose-colored glasses, this remake is a bad trip.

"Island Girl" (1975): A racist, paternalistic reflection about a hooker, set to a hopelessly peppy tune.

"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (1976): Never has a minor-key pseudo-classical piece with major Brian Wilson-esque ambitions sounded so inconsequential.

"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" (1983): It's not the blues. It's a piano pop ditty with a nursery-rhyme lilt about someone who is a little blue. Stevie Wonder's contribution may be the least bluesy harmonica solo ever.

"Who Wears These Shoes" (1984): This syncopated funk-lite piffle either questions EJ's sanity or his successors. Either way, it would be better to buy new shoes.

"Nikita" (1985): Musically, this song lulls you to sleep as the singer moons over a female East German border guard with a Russian name.

"Club at the End of the Street" (1990): If this brisk but bland song is somebody's idea of club music, dancers should stay away.

"This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" (2002): A piano ballad with the pace and gravitas of an orchestrated standard, this late-period autobiography uses railroad imagery for someone who was once the main express but is no longer full-speed ahead.

"Crocodile Rock" (1972): Great piano rock 'n' roll nonsense in the spirit of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti."

"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973): EJ channels John Lennon vocally and Paul McCartney musically with a grandiose piano arrangement.

"Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" (1973): Call it an 11-minute mini-opus or mock opera. After a grand instrumental introduction, Elton cranks the guitars to 10 for a bracing rocker — with a dialed-down instrumental break — as he sings about a musician's heartbreak.

"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (1974): Soft and simple, orchestral and bombastic, majestic and emotional, it's Elton in a nutshell.

"The Bitch Is Back" (1974): Ebullient, sassy and (yes) bitchy, this proves EJ can rock out to guitars and horns.

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1976): In the Motown tradition of Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, Elton goes all in on this pop-soul duet with Kiki Dee, complete with string-heavy orchestral bridge.

"Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" (1982): A sad, sincere salute to John Lennon, complete with Beatles-y harmonies and harpsichord textures. The title probably refers to Madison Square Garden, where he performed with Lennon.

"Blue Eyes" (1982): It's about his lover's eyes, but the inspiration is clearly Ol' Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, especially with Sir Elton's careful, crooner-worthy phrasing.