Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player (studio album) by Elton John

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player by Elton John
Year: 1973
Overall rank: 3,245th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 238 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1973 (64th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (579th)
Award Best albums of all time (3,245th)
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
ELTON JOHN Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player 1972 MCA-2100 GF LP Booklet
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
Elton John Don't Shoot Me... vinyl LP 1972 EX/VG+ Original w/booklet MCA Records
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
Elton John Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player CD 1973 Polydor
Condition: Good


  My favourite store:  

Elton John bestography

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player is ranked 6th best out of 56 albums by Elton John on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Elton John is Goodbye Yellow Brick Road which is ranked number 211 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 7,554.

Elton John album bestography « Higher ranked (1,440th) This album (3,245th) Lower ranked (3,245th) »
Honky ChâteauDon't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano PlayerDon't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player

Upcoming concerts

Sep
19
Fri
19:30
A Tribute to Elton John
Meyer Theatre, Green Bay, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Sep
21
Sun
19:00
Greggie and Big B: The Elton John and Ray Cooper Experience
Daryl's House, Pawling, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Sep
26
Fri
19:30
Billy Vs. Elton: A Tribute To Billy Joel And Elton John
Jefferson Perf Arts Center, Metairie, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick
Rating: 87 (107 votes)Comments: 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
3.
Rating: 81 (59 votes)Comments: 1
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
8.
Rating: 74 (51 votes)Comments: 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
9.
Track pick
Rating: 85 (111 votes)Comments: 2
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
10.
Rating: 81 (53 votes)Comments: 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify

Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player rankings

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player collection

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player ratings

Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 238 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 238 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 Report rating
09/11/2025 07:27 cicadelic  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 10,56873/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
06/17/2025 23:32 machiaj  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 72071/100
 
20/100
 Report rating
05/04/2025 05:50 Proto  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,42134/100
 
90/100
 Report rating
04/02/2025 12:51 jokerman1965  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 11583/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
03/06/2025 20:33 SomethingSpecial  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,71081/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 7% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.5/100, a mean average of 74.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.5.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player favourites

Showing latest 20 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 27 members

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player comments

Showing all 10 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 05/18/2023 14:07
This could have been one of his best with some absolute concentration and care. A couple of fillers...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 07/27/2020 15:34
Please Don't Shoot Elton. Rating (75.50)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 06/17/2016 14:44
Another in that incredible run of LP's Elton John released in the seventies. Great songs as always including, Daniel, eldebery wine, and, crocodile rock. I don't think it's as good as some of his other albums around this time but it's stil a good record. Elton really was on a roll at this time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 02/01/2015 22:29
Amazing top tracks, but it drops off. He always seems to have 75% of a brillian album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (3 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
From 01/31/2015 15:33
Best Track: Crocodile Rock
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (2 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
From 01/12/2015 03:13
"This is a largely melody-based album- Its purpose is to find its way into your brain and stick there. There are piano hooks, lush vocal harmonies, and easily-clappable drum beats. There are cheesy lyrics, dated 70s moments, and clean production. Here on BEA we typically see those aspects as detriments to an album's quality, but that view is largely ignorant of albums that use those aspects to their advantage. Don't Shoot Me takes those attributes and utilizes them better than any album before or after."
^From my chart description of the album

I probably give Don't Shoot Me a bit too much credit…but I have a great emotional connection to the record and truly love it on every level.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 04/25/2012 15:36
More piano pop goodness from Elton, continuing the embellished groove he and his band team found on "Honky Chateau", he apes his musical heros well, especially on "crocodile rock".
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/09/2011 15:25
Fifth high quality album in a row by Elton John. The bonus tracks on the CD release are also great.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (3 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 10/04/2010 20:27
another not great album, but "elderberry wine" and "Skyline Pigeon"(Not originally on this album) are really good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 05/09/2010 20:03
"Elderberry Wine" is classic Elton John
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (3 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1973
1. The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
2. Innervisions by Stevie Wonder
3. Houses Of The Holy by Led Zeppelin
4. Selling England By The Pound by Genesis
5. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John
6. Quadrophenia by The Who
7. Band On The Run by Paul McCartney & Wings
8. Raw Power by Iggy And The Stooges
9. Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
10. Future Days by Can
11. (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd) by Lynyrd Skynyrd
12. For Your Pleasure by Roxy Music
13. Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock
14. Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield
15. Closing Time by Tom Waits
16. Berlin by Lou Reed
17. The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle by Bruce Springsteen
18. Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye
19. Larks' Tongues In Aspic by King Crimson
20. Paris 1919 by John Cale
Back to Top