21. Levon (Elton John - Live In Winston-Salem: 10/10/1997)
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- Опубліковано 30 січ 2022
- After getting through all of the one-off concerts, guest appearances, and TV performances, it is now time to focus on the 1997 legs of the Big Picture Tour. Thanks to the efforts of “EltonStuff,” he has told me to throw out my previous copy of this show as he sent me a substantial upgrade. This copy is in excellent quality and is complete. With a show as special as this one, the upgrade was definitely needed.
Despite being only the second show on the tour, the band sound great and really compliment Elton’s piano playing and energy. While there are a few missteps, this is still a great show for the music and it’s a great preview to the later shows that have even tighter musical precision. Elton is the MVP at this show with his voice being in phenomenal shape and he displays some of his gutsiest live performances from the decade. He goes for phrases and notes that you wouldn’t expect him to sing. In addition, Elton clearly means business at this show as he even adds embellishments and falsetto bits to sections that originally didn’t have them! With the singing being at such a high level, certain performances on this show rank among Elton’s best for the year, decade, and even the general post-surgery time frame. Now, time to go through this special show!
“Simple Life” is a strong start to the show as the energy level is high and Elton sings the song with a ton of gusto. “The One” has Elton brilliantly delivering the song with a cleaner tone and he shows off his falsetto in a couple of places. “Grey Seal” is an excellent performance (despite a slight miscue after the first chorus) with Elton delivering a fantastic vocal rendition. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is one of the best post-surgery versions as Elton uses quite a bit of falsetto throughout. “Honky Cat” is one of Elton’s gutsiest performances from the era as he belts out the higher notes like he did during the pre-surgery days and he even nails falsetto notes that were skipped during the 70s and prime live eras (which makes no sense). “Take Me To The Pilot” is an energetic performance with Elton and the band clearly feeding off of each other. “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” showcases Elton’s power on sustains and he adds little vocal flourishes that sound really nice. “Tiny Dancer” has Elton singing the original lyrics during the second pre-chorus and he has a really nice tone throughout the performance. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” is an extremely spirited version with Elton delivering an excellent version. “If The River Can Bend” has a slight lyrical stumble early on, but is otherwise a great live rendition with excellent vocal harmonies. “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” has great vocal control and dynamics throughout. “Something About The Way You Look Tonight” is a very solid rendition that would get even stronger on future gigs. “The Last Song” has some hesitated phrasing early on, but Elton’s soft tone and vocal dynamics are highlights. “Daniel” showcases why the song worked amazingly during this era as Elton’s mid range and resonant tone elevate the performance. “Love’s Got A Lot To Answer For” is superior to the album version as the more natural band sound is more pleasant to listen to. To conclude this section, “Long Way From Happiness” sounds much better than the album version as the band can shine instead of being buried behind the synthetic production heard on the album.
“Made In England” is highly energetic and Elton really puts a lot into his vocal performance. “Believe” has Elton flubbing the lyrics in the second verse, but otherwise is a strong version. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” gets stronger as the performance goes on, and Elton sings with some nice flourishes. “Philadelphia Freedom” has Elton going for all of the chorus Bb4s on the first “Philadelphia Freedom” line and he sounds very assertive throughout the performance with his belts. “Levon” has Elton going for album phrasing during parts of the pre-choruses and he puts a ton of effort into his vocals. The band also compliment him nicely during the instrumental sections. “Bennie And The Jets” highlights the fantastic mood on stage. “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” is an experimental version as the song is cut by a verse and chorus. “Your Song” sounds fantastic with Elton’s resonant voice shining throughout. “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” has great energy, but Guy Babylon’s keyboards are muted early on. As good as the musicianship is, later versions highlight the band’s prowess better. “Sand And Water” is sung smoothly by Elton and the harmonies are pretty tight considering that it’s an early version. “We All Fall In Love Sometimes” is one of Elton’s greatest live performances from the post-surgery era as he sings soft falsetto and uses a gliding vocal style that sounds fantastic. He also nails the ending falsetto with authority. Lastly, “Curtains” sounds excellent with Elton’s matured voice which suits the song nicely!
ENJOY!!!
0:37 1:04 2:30 Studio phrasing on all three of these.
Not completely, but very close (1:12 for example)
@@gaminglegend he doesn't drop them tho
He should go up on "new YORK", he went down in this instance
@@LemonCoversAndLiveShows Thats not even what i timestamped?
Nvm, I thought you were referring to the entire pre-chorus and just using the timestamp as a placeholder for the entire pre-chorus