"White Lady White Powder", an ode to cocaine, was written about the beginning of Elton's cocaine addiction and features Glen Frey and Don Henly of The Eagles, among others, singing back-up vocals and is guaranteed to be a sing-a-long favourite.

"Give me the love", written by Judie Tzuke, is an excellent track with superb piano, clear and happy trumpets, and a jazzy disposition that is asking for love. This is easily one of the better tracks on "21 at 33".

All in all, an excellent album. From this reviewer's point-of-view, this is one of Elton's best of the early '80's.

Dr. Sloane Towns

Mediocre at best
This is Elton Johns most mediocre album. It's not bad enough to be bad, but definatly not good enough to be good. It's just THERE. Anyway, there's some decent stuff to be heard. Chasing The Crown has some good electric guitar work on it. Sartorial Eloquence is a good song with a catchy chorus. White Lady White Powder is good, if not depressing hearing Elton sing about the start of his drug problems (that came to a head and almost killed him in 1990). Never gonna fall in love again is pleasant. The rest are totally forgettable. Overall, just a very lightweight mediocre album with some nice bits. Better than Jump Up, I think at least.

Romantic late 70's music.
I do like this album a great deal. That's be 4 1/2 that rating. I just cannot give it the full five because some of these songs, notably the rockers, which were all the Taupin lyrics, go on too long. Chasing the crown, however, is perhaps one of Elton's best rockers. I really like the backing vocalists, Venette Gloud, Carmen Twillie and Stephanie Spruill [the last one first appeared on Victim of love] who add a very Gospel sound. Steve Lukather really rocks too. The song might be about the Devil, 'I was chasing the crown when he bight the apple, I was licking my lips when his Son come down ... taking a turn in the right direction by leaving his soul in the lost and found ...' but it's very obscure and hard to say. Two rooms has very experimental backing vocals, enjoyable fanfares and interesting piano. The backing vocalists by the way are Elton dubbed in many times. White lady, white powder, about cocaine, is a very melodic rock song, complete with the Eagles as backing vocals. The romantic piano relates to Elton's feelings fro the cocaine and the harsh guitar licks represent the dangers behind it all. Well that's how it comes across to me. But my favourite song here is the beautiful, serene, Never gonna fall in love, again. The production really captures a gentle atmosphere. The acoustic guitar really conjure up the image of a few friends around a campfire and to me the lyrics is one of them telling a story. Actaully this album does have a folk feel. I don't think it would be out of place somewhere between Honky Chateau and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Even the same synthesiser sounds used on 'Daniel' are used on this album. And like 'Don't shoot me' it has brass featured on a few tracks. It's just this sounds too late seventies melodically. Give me the love is an unusual, jazzy, reggae number, Elton sings rather oddly but it's well-received. There is some good imagery in the lyrics, like 'I am an eagle but my wings are all tied up, you've got the power to fly me again ...' Judie Tzuke wrote that songs' lyrics. Little Jeannie is on here, with a touching melody and Elton's lower register in full swing. The brass really elevates it too. Not that it wasn't great already. Sartorial Eloquence is a fine pop song with an energetice, gospel-like chorus 'Don't you wanna play this game no more?'. Dear God is a touching Gospel song though I don't want to hear Gary Osborne denigrating God to sound like Bernie Tapuin and become popular [remember 'If there's a God in Heaven?'. Musically it's great. Take me back is an adorable country and western number. How can anyone with a sensitive heart not be touched by Elton's beautiful electric piano playing. The song is also, otherwise beautiful.
In short, an overlooked gem from the late 70's.

And the 70's shifted out of gear....he was an idol then :-P
The glory days of the 70's and the height of creativity had gone by, his face had changed, his voice was beginning to change and we had arrived to the 80's (well technically of course this album is recored in 1979!). You won't hear the high soaring falsetto here or any other album ever again, that shining voice you were used to during the classics of the 70's. Shame. This album is a nice comeback after the ventures in disco, a comeback to the pop charts and to the more familiar material for the fans. The over 5 minute rock opener 'Chasing The Crown' (penned by Taupin) contains some good instrumentations around the...well, a bit silly lyrics. It's a good opener considering what the previous album had been like and perhaps it's time I stop comparing everything to to horridness of 'Victim Of Love', they can do better than this and everything will seem golden if compared to that trash. 'Little Jeannie' by Tom Robinson, gave Elton a hit after a while of misses. This is a cheesy ballad, but some cheese is good. Very soft instrumentation with the usual "cheesy love ballad elements" of a saxophone solo and soft drums/synth (not to mention Elton's singing), hyper-cheesy lyrics 'I want you to be my acrobat, I want you to be my lover" add to the mold of this radio friendly hit-single. It is deadly catchy at times and I can't help to like it even though I know it's cheese (same way as I like Billy Joel's 'Just The Way You Are'), though if listened too often this will get hopelessly irritating. The 'Stepped in to my life...' bit is the best part to me. Let's all have cheese! 'Sartorial Eloquence' by Tom Robinson, another radio friendly and catchy song with clever lyrics that make you look for the dictionary at parts, very enjoable addition. A poppy ballad with some great piano, clever lyrics and a chorus that sticks. Perhaps underrated, but not by me (so does that mean I'm overrating). " I believe I'm feeling indisposed...." 'Two Rooms At The End Of The World' a Taupin penned pop-rocker about..friends keeping in touch ? That's the way I saw it anyway. Too much instrumentation with the horns and guitar at parts burying the vocals, yet sometimes very enjoable. At over five minutes, after the two clear pop-cheesers this seems long. Time for one of the best cuts on the album. The Taupin penned 'White Lady White Powder' is another deadly catchy tune about...well cocaine. A prime pop rocker with good lyrics (at points maybe silly) and a sweet piano hook. Elton's vocal delivery is also on the spot for this one. Perhaps a scizo-mix of seriousness with a bit of tongue-in-cheek carefreeness and yet quite sad considering Elton got clean after rehab some 10 years later from this album. A song you should never skip. 'Dear God' why are we given another Gary Osborne lyric to listen to, spare us god. Perhaps out of its place in the ...pseudo-spiritualism and holy harmonies after a song about 'white powder'. This "winder" is under four minutes long so time to make a cup of coffee. 'Never Gonna Fall In Love Again' seems to follow the standards of 'Little Jeannie' both penned by Tom Robinson. This song follows the same thin red line in its soft instrumentation and a standard sax solo. So this is 'Little Jeannie part two'? Radio friendly cheese with slight catchyness, but I guess 'Little Jeannie' was more than enough for me in this field. Cut the cheese already! And never say never.... If 'Dear God' was out of its place, then 'Take Me Back' (also by Osborne) will top that. A country flavoured mellow love song with steel guitars and even fiddles! (No fake southern accent, thank God) Now let's all go marry our sisters after the barn dance.... Right. The album ends with a flashback to the miserable ventures in disco in the form of a "shock" disco-flavored soft ballad 'Give Me The Love'. The song has the familiar instrumentation of strings and horns that has been badly overused and only pulled off successfully on 'Blue Moves' and even there on occasion. So 'Victim Of Love' was not enough punishment and even this album had to have one 'dance' flavoured cut, why? The lyrics by Judy Tzuke are repetitive or perhaps the entire song is just winding at over five minutes. Not the best ending for an album that actually brings something good to the table after a while. An indifferent cut. 21 at 33 is far from the brilliance of his classic catalogue of the early and mid 70's, but still a decent comeback considering the two previous products. A temporary return to pop success with 'Little Jeannie' and an overlooked jewel 'White Lady White Powder' with some standard rockers and a whole lot of cheese (not to mention disco and country). It's clear the creative peak is gone and not coming back. Say goodbye to the glory of the 70's and get used to this if you want to venture further into his 80's work. Let's make it clear though that this is despite everything, my favorite album of his 80's catalogue in a whole. I'd recommend it to fans and completists naturally. Not the album you'd want to buy as your first ever Elton John album (naturally), still a digestable cut with a hint of creative genius in the puddle of mediocrity that Elton seems to be stuck on for this period

Brilliant
every song is good, and elton shows us why he dips in every gendre of music, because he can and does it with excellence. From homoerotic ballads that chicks love to country songs, to disco"victim of love" stuff to songs about cocaine, to songs about playing the devil and stealing your soul "give me the love give me the key to your heart" OK. I love this album it's in the top 3 with single man and jump up, Dear God, great song. not that i'm religous i just like it. Elton you should have stayed on drugs tying up call boys in the woods, your music was much better in the late 70's and early 80's then it is today
Canadian pressing of 1980 album for MCA that's out-of-print domestically. Nine tracks including three co-written with Bernie Taupin & the hit, 'Little Jeannie'.
A Transitional Album for the Legendary Piano Man that Yielded the Hit "Little Jeannie"...except It was his First that Didn't have Bernie Taupin's Name in the Credits. Taupin Returns to Cowrite Most of the Album's Nine Tracks after Sitting Out the "Victim of Love" and "a Single Man" Sessions. Still, John Managed to Write with Gary Osbourne Again (Featured on "a Single Man") and Singer/Songwriter Tom Robinson, who Had Just Emerged from Postpunk England.