After a seven-year-long hiatus from recording new music, pop icon Sir Elton John released his 30^th solo album, “The Diving Board,” in the United States on September 24.

The album is a refreshing break from the modern scourge of machine-made hits, with the poetic lyrics and simply beautiful piano playing that have earned him the status of a legend. The songs all have a jazzy feel to them and are perhaps more mature than anything the 66-year-old has done yet.

The draw to “The Diving Board” is not the promise of catchy tunes for the morning drive but the promise of quality music that will still be relevant and powerful in 20 years. John’s long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin has written songs that not only showcase the star’s resonant voice, but also his ability to evolve without forgetting that elusive sense of consistency that so many acts lose by their sophomore album.

“Chalk up one more crazy notion / Imagination running wild / But if I needed confirmation / I would have gone that extra mile,” John sings in the happily-not-obnoxious love song “Can’t Stay Alone Tonight,” affirming that a modern-day serenade does not have to be vulgar to get the point across.

John displays his talent at the piano bench in all nineteen tracks of the Deluxe Version, but on three tracks in particular (“Dream #1,” “Dream #2,” and “Dream #3”) he lets this talent do all the talking, opting to give fans an auditory palate cleanser with these three short instrumentals interspersed throughout the album.

“Take This Dirty Water” serves as the album’s most inspirational number: John sings, “Take a chance and make it fast / If you break some bones on landing / You know you’re built to last.” The generally nostalgic tone of “The Diving Board” may drive some listeners to question whether it’s just the wisdom of age that inspires this new music, or if fatherhood may have something to do with this more subdued version of John. He and partner David Furnish have two sons by surrogate; the album is dedicated to Furnish, their sons David and Zachary, and his assistant “the wonderful Laura Croker.”

John sums up his career thus far in the title track, singing, “The planets alight / Those dizzy heights / And the view from the diving board.” It’s a jump that fans new and old are happy to take with him.