I Miss The Earth So Much, I miss My Wife

Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time) by Sir Elton John is apex psychedelic pop with a Dolby Atmos mix to die for.

Crocodile Rock was part of "Feel Good Rock" made-for-TV double-compact-disk box set I had when I was a kid. I grabbed it off my parent's music shelf for... reasons. I wish I still had it, but it's currently $93.04 on Amazon, so my dreams of reliving that moment of my youth will remain just dreams.

Crocodile Rock was the last track on disk one. I listened to it a hundred times. I didn't know who Elton John was and didn't understand many of the lyrics. But the fuzzy, feel-good bop had me locked in. It's still the first song I hear in my head when I think of Sir Elton Hercules John. Now that's a name. Even though his brand of glam rock is not precisely my cup of tea, I've grown to appreciate Sir Elton's vast body of work since then. 

Appreciate is a good word for my relationship with Rocket Man. The song is about as objectively "good" as art can be. The concept is literally fantastic. It's a classic rock ballad lamenting the alienation and loneliness of a blue-collar astronaut's inner turmoil as he leaves his family behind for the stars. It's weird and brilliant, much like Sir Elton himself. The original production is worth a critical listen and still holds up fifty years later.

I want to talk about the Dolby Atmos (or just Atmos) version, though; to do that, I have to speak about Dolby Atmos. Atmos surround sound technology uses math and psychoacoustic algorithms to achieve vector-based placement of sounds within a three-dimensional sphere. This idea is a massive leap in concept and execution from mixing channels for individual speakers. It's excellent for realism in movies.

Atmos for music? There are many poorly affected Atmos remixes of classics floating around. As a two-channel hi-fi enthusiast, I see Atmos remixes first and foremost with a skeptical eye when it comes to music. 

Dolby Atmos remixes (and remixes in general) are too often a gimmicky money grab. They're also difficult to find on platforms (unavailable on Spotify) and expensive to even play back accurately. You need a LOT more hardware for Atmos: a complex AVR receiver that can decode the data, at least seven speakers with all the corresponding wire and amplification, and a room suitable for all this equipment. It's a complicated rig typically only found in a home theater setting.

If you have access to a good Atmos setup, you must listen to the Atmos mix of Rocket Man. It's a brilliant use of the technology. Notably, Rocket Man was the first song ever mixed for Dolby Atmos. The already luxurious production of piano, synths, slide guitars, and gang vocals swirls around the room, perfectly complimenting the otherworldly psychedelic vibe of the track. It is an astounding and utterly transporting miracle of modern technology and art, a timeless flight indeed.

Editor's note: I usually let the weekly bonus track speak for itself, but I'm not going to recommend a lot of Dolby Atmos mixes, so I want to call this bonus track out. It's the Atmos remix of Take On Me by a-ha. And it's fabulous. Drum machine, backing vocals, guitar, and synth work are all superbly deployed. These two tracks are my go-to demos for how you can use an Atmos setup to enjoy music in a whole new way, and they are jaw-droppers. Anyone with a good Atmos setup should have these in their rotation.

Data

Song: Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time)
Album: Honky Chateau
Artist: Elton John
Genre: Classic Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Year: 1972
Length: 4:42
Composer: Bernie Taupin, Elton John
Producer: Gus Dudgeon
Atmos Engineer: Greg Penny (2017)