gins a vicious cycle that can frustrate marketers as companies search for ways to one-up themselves. For marketers, increasing expectations in an economy of hyper- competition creates constant pressure to evolve the brand. Retailers, for example, face the pressure of positive comps (increased sales at the same stores compared to the previous year), constantly refreshed product offerings, and ultimately expectations to make better earn- ings every year than the year before. Rock stars deal with a lot of the same pressures, heaped on them by their fans, their managers, and themselves. As Johns personal life embraced excess-in terms of     food, alcohol, drugs, and fame-so too did his on-stage persona. Nonetheless, concerts remained the primary way for John to showcase his musical talents, project his personality, and connect with his fans. Elton John, the personality, became the center of the Elton John concert experience to the point that it overshadowed the music. "In the end," admits John, "it (the costumes) got too much." Many critics would agree that the feathers and sequins ultimately became more of a distraction than an enhancer to the core of the Elton John brand. It would be something that he would adjust in the latter part of his career.     Rocket Man   Following the release of Elton John, John and his band embarked on their first world tour in the spring of 1971. This would mark the beginning of a five-year period, which John today refers to as the years in which he could do no wrong. By the end of the tour, the band would have four albums in the top 40. The 1972 album Honky Chateau was a sales breakthrough, with hits such as "Honky Cat" and "Rocket Man." It was followed with more chart toppers including "Crocodile Rock," "Daniel," "Bennie and the Jets," "The Bitch Is Back," and "Yellow Brick Road." Tumbleweed Connection contained rich acoustic sound on tracks such as "Love Song" (a duet with its writer, Leslie Duncan) along with some of Johns most expressive songs. He enjoyed the high of having a string of seven number-one hits. There seemed to be no stopping Elton Johns success in the 1970s. In 1975, Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy, his twelfth album in five years, became the first album ever to enter the Billboard charts at number one. It included the smash hit "Philadelphia Freedom." Bernie Taupin recalls, "As soon as that happened we went, oh were in trouble now because where do you go from number one? Then the next album we had out was Rock of the Westies, and that went in at number one too, and we thought now were really in trouble."