Big Man In A Little Suit

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  Seven Songs for the Week #92 - 8th Jan 25

  Jason Carty

  A while back I picked up the 2020 8 CD Elton box set, Jewel Box as it was going for €50 and it looked like a nice package (Matron!) and thought it might be interesting. It's a hybrid set, it's neither one thing nor another. There are three CDs of 1960s pre fame demos; two CDs of hard to find b-sides from 1976 onwards (pre 1976 b-sides had been collated in a previous compilation, 1992's Rare Masters) and three CDs of previously released material broken down into 2 CDs of "Deep Cuts", so a parallel universe of non-hits drawn from overlooked album tracks from throughout his career, and a further one CD of songs related, somehow, to his autobiography. It's only on this last CD where you might find something immediately recognisable (Philadelphia Freedom!). The notion I had when I got this was that I might find, well, some Jewels. There's a lot to take in and to be honest, having taken a stab at the demos, I had left this on the shelf for a while. Giving the b-sides a go and on first pass this song stood out, initially because my kid & me found it funny: "You're a big man... innaliddle... SUIT!" clang-clang-clang go the ascending chords.

  Elton is obviously a genius, but sometimes you can feel him reading the lyrics for the first time and cranking out the first melody that comes to mind. However the more I listened to Big Man Innaliddle SUIT! the more infectious it became.