Elton John
Here and There

And after the worst of his live performances, here's the live show that's surely the most representative of Elton John's career, and shockingly not yet reviewed here: Here and There, namely the Royal Festival Hall in London and Madison Square Garden, with John Lennon! Year 1974.

The '76 edition's setlist consists of only nine tracks, but I prefer to talk about the double CD released 20 years later, which contains 25 songs, two of which are performed twice!

The Here side features a beautiful version of Skyline Pigeon, which opens magnificently.

My favorites on the first CD are Country Comfort, Bad Side of the Moon, with its splendid initial arpeggio, Burn Down the Mission, and Saturday Night's Alright, in a very long version. In general, the length of the pieces is extended by repeating the same chords and crowd encouragement.

On the There side, it's impossible not to love the monumental Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, 11 and a half minutes of pure talent! Among the hidden gems is a version of Grey Seal that I adore to madness, but what gives the album historical value are the three songs by John Lennon sung in a duet, in what will be the Beatle's last live appearance.

The other tracks are all valuable, both in selection and execution. Chronologically, it reaches 1974 with You're So Static and The Bitch is Back, and the latter closes the second CD.

This live show also represented the first great test of the Elton John Band live.

I recommend listening in the dark, experiencing each CD as if it were, and indeed it was, a concert. Five stars to the album.