I had a bit of of an inspiration as I was surfing Youtube tonight. I found some really good clips, and thought I'd post 'em. Enjoy a live concert without leaving your house!
Enjoy 30-some years of Elton John, in concert. The selections are heavily skewed towards his early performances, before vocal problems and an operation on his vocal cords in the 90's prevented him from hitting the higher notes. All were selected because of their audio quality, and where possible, video quality. I tried to avoid the big stadium performances. They seemed to be more about showmanship than music.
Burn Down The Mission - BBC TV 1970
The ones from the BBC are fantastic. Elton's vocals have NEVER been better, and the recording and mix were very good.
The Greatest Discovery - BBC TV 1970
I'd never heard this one before, but Elton's vocals are great
Someone Saved My Life Tonight (solo live 1976)
Just Elton at the piano. I love the studio version for it's great piano, heartfelt vocals, and evocative lyrics that paint such vivid images - Bernie Taupin at his best. This version isn't a letdown.
Elton John - Rocketman (In Think It´s Gonna Be A Long Time)
Again, Elton alone on stage. So much of his music works so well pared down. I think that says something about the strength of the song, the lyrics, and the vocals.
Shine on Through - the Morcambe and Wise show 1978
Another solo performance, and another song I'd never heard of before, and another great vocal performance.
Tiny Dancer(live 1971)
This looks to be from some music clip show, as you can tell from the annoying intro and the text they have at the bottom of the screen. Still, his vocals, like so many of his earlier ones, are so good I had to watch/listen closely to be sure it wasn't a lip-sync, so I included it.
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word - BBC TV 1976
Elton alone at the piano. This is turning out to be nearly an "Elton Unplugged" concert.
Imagine
Elton covering John Lennon's "Imagine". 1976-ish, if I had to guess.
Empty Garden - Saturday Night Live, 4-17-1982
A song written in memory of his friend John Lennon. You might not realize it by the crap that shows up on SNL these days, but in their 30-some years, SNL has had hours and hours of jaw-droppingly awesome performances (That might be an idea for a future thread of clips). This is one of them.
Don't let the sun go down on me - with Billy Joel 1998
I wanted to avoid the much-seen version with George Michael.
Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) - 1984
OK, now we get a full band stadium performance. A solo performance at the piano just wouldn't do here 🙂
Bennie and the Jets - Edinburgh, 1976
OK, I know you'd want the full band treatment here, but I was looking for earlier performances, and the ones I saw with the full band had video or audio problems. This is a good version anyway.
DVD Extras:
Elton John & The Who - Pinball Wizard
My favorite version. Elton, with The Who backing him. It's a studio cut, of course.
Enjoy 30-some years of Elton John, in concert. The selections are heavily skewed towards his early performances, before vocal problems and an operation on his vocal cords in the 90's prevented him from hitting the higher notes. All were selected because of their audio quality, and where possible, video quality. I tried to avoid the big stadium performances. They seemed to be more about showmanship than music.
Burn Down The Mission - BBC TV 1970
The ones from the BBC are fantastic. Elton's vocals have NEVER been better, and the recording and mix were very good.
The Greatest Discovery - BBC TV 1970
I'd never heard this one before, but Elton's vocals are great
Someone Saved My Life Tonight (solo live 1976)
Just Elton at the piano. I love the studio version for it's great piano, heartfelt vocals, and evocative lyrics that paint such vivid images - Bernie Taupin at his best. This version isn't a letdown.
Elton John - Rocketman (In Think It´s Gonna Be A Long Time)
Again, Elton alone on stage. So much of his music works so well pared down. I think that says something about the strength of the song, the lyrics, and the vocals.
Shine on Through - the Morcambe and Wise show 1978
Another solo performance, and another song I'd never heard of before, and another great vocal performance.
Tiny Dancer(live 1971)
This looks to be from some music clip show, as you can tell from the annoying intro and the text they have at the bottom of the screen. Still, his vocals, like so many of his earlier ones, are so good I had to watch/listen closely to be sure it wasn't a lip-sync, so I included it.
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word - BBC TV 1976
Elton alone at the piano. This is turning out to be nearly an "Elton Unplugged" concert.
Imagine
Elton covering John Lennon's "Imagine". 1976-ish, if I had to guess.
Empty Garden - Saturday Night Live, 4-17-1982
A song written in memory of his friend John Lennon. You might not realize it by the crap that shows up on SNL these days, but in their 30-some years, SNL has had hours and hours of jaw-droppingly awesome performances (That might be an idea for a future thread of clips). This is one of them.
Don't let the sun go down on me - with Billy Joel 1998
I wanted to avoid the much-seen version with George Michael.
Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) - 1984
OK, now we get a full band stadium performance. A solo performance at the piano just wouldn't do here 🙂
Bennie and the Jets - Edinburgh, 1976
OK, I know you'd want the full band treatment here, but I was looking for earlier performances, and the ones I saw with the full band had video or audio problems. This is a good version anyway.
DVD Extras:
Elton John & The Who - Pinball Wizard
My favorite version. Elton, with The Who backing him. It's a studio cut, of course.