My shaman is level 61 at the moment, and I just switched to elemental. My only problem seems to be that the mob gets to me quickly, and shamans have no CC (earthbind...frost shock...are you kidding, Blizzard?). Mail armor doesn't mitigate damage as well as a good ol' frost nova/blink can (i.e. mages don't get hit).
What do you experienced elemental shamans do with mobs so that you can keep on casting while they wail on you? When I group-quest there's no problem; but solo it's slower.