Bernie Taupin Calls His New Album a ‘Late Life Manifesto’: ‘I Could Never Have Made This Record’ Before Now (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Bernie Taupin wrote both the words and melodies for his first solo album in nearly 40 years

• The reflective record was inspired by writing the longtime lyricist’s memoir and revisiting his childhood village for a documentary

• Taupin’s daughter also sings on a deeply personal track about family and his legacy

Bernie Taupin has spent decades putting words to some of Elton John’s most iconic songs. Now, he has a deeply personal project of his own.

The legendary lyricist, 76, is releasing The Sea Has No Mercy, his first solo album in nearly 40 years. And after a lifetime of writing stories for other people to sing, Taupin says he’s finally at a point where he can tell his own story exactly the way he wants.

In fact, he doesn’t think he could have made the album any sooner.

“I could never have made this record at any other point in my life but now because it’s such a reflective piece,” Taupin tells PEOPLE. “I called it at one point a late life manifesto, which I think is a good terminology for it.”

That reflective mood came in part after spending two years writing his memoir, Scattershot, a process he describes as cathartic. He also began work on a documentary about his life, which was in the final stages of completion at the time of the interview. Both projects prompted Taupin to look back — something he doesn’t necessarily enjoy.

“I’m not somebody who enjoys recounting the past. I live very, very much in the present,” he says. “I like to be inspired. I like to be invigorated by things, you know? And that’s why I made this record.”

The album also gave Taupin the chance to try something new. Unlike his decades-long collaboration with the 79-year-old “Crocodile Rock” singer, in which Taupin typically writes the lyrics and his musical partner brings them to life, he wrote both the lyrics and melodies for The Sea Has No Mercy.

“The wonderful thing for me was that I was branching out because on this record, I wrote all the songs myself,” he says. “And that was such an invigorating, eye-opening achievement for me.”

Taupin wrote the lyrics first, then developed the melodies, giving him room to shape the music around his words.

“My album would never have been the kind of record that it’s turned out to be had I farmed out the lyrics to other people to write songs because it’s way too personal to let somebody else handle the melodic side of it,” he explains.

He also kept the music simple, working with an approach that suits his storytelling instincts.

“The thing is that I’m not a proficient musician. I’m a great believer in three chords and the truth, which I can handle, you know?” he says. “And these songs are simple, but at the same time, I think they’re melodically pretty strong. But they’re also emotionally strong.”

The album’s title, meanwhile, comes from something Taupin finds genuinely frightening: the ocean.

“It’s not a little fear,” Taupin says with a laugh. “It’s a bit of one. I am terrified of the ocean.”

Having nearly drowned twice in his life, he has no plans to venture into the water, but he appreciates its beauty from a safe distance.

“When you see the vastness of it, it’s so impressive,” he says. “But at the same time, yes, it has an intimidating, dangerous beauty to it that fascinates me.”

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Another longstanding fascination is the American West. Though he grew up in England, Taupin was drawn to the region’s stories and landscapes from an early age.

“I grew up wondering why I wasn’t born here, which is probably why I’ve lived here way over half of my life,” he says.

His childhood in Lincolnshire, England, also left its mark on the album. One track, “Old Church Road,” takes its name from the street where he grew up, though the actual road was called Church Lane. Taupin revisited his childhood village while filming his documentary, reconnecting with the places that shaped his imagination.

“I liked ‘Old Church Road’ better because it just sang better. Lane is not really a great rhythmic word, you know?” he says. “But writers are allowed to play around with things. That’s what we do.”

The documentary features appearances from some of the musicians and friends Taupin has encountered throughout his life, including John, Brandi Carlile, Pete Townshend, Ringo Starr, James Hetfield, Annie Lennox and Rodney Crowell. His friend Gary Oldman serves as executive producer.

Naturally, John’s decades-long partnership with Taupin is part of the story. The two have worked together since 1967, but Taupin says their friendship has lasted in part because they lead such different lives.

“I think the key to our survival is the fact that we’re two incredibly different individuals with incredibly different lives — and it’s as simple as that,” he says. “We don’t live in each other’s pockets, you know? We talk occasionally, but I don’t know what he’s doing half the time, and he doesn’t know what I’m doing, and we probably like it that way.”

Still, that distance hasn’t diminished their bond.

“But at the same time, we’re sort of clinically attached, I think, is probably the word, and we always will be,” Taupin says. “I love the guy to death, and I think he feels the same way about me, but we don’t infringe upon each other’s lives very much.”

Family takes center stage on another track, “One Hundred Ways,” which features Taupin’s youngest daughter, Georgey, singing alongside him. The song is especially personal: Taupin describes it as a reflection on his life and what it will mean to his family after he’s gone.

“It’s not really a complete song. It’s sort of a section. It’s almost an afterthought, but it’s very, very personal,” he says. “And the fact that she got to sing on it with me because it wouldn’t have made sense to have another female singer sing on it because it’s me singing about their life when I’m gone. It needed to be one of my girls, and she happens to be the one that sings.”

Georgey, who is studying at the University of Tennessee, may have more music ahead of her, too.

“I told her, ‘This is just a test run because you’re gonna be doing a lot more on the next one,'” he says with a laugh.

The Sea Has No Mercy is now streaming.

Read the original article on People