#1 - Tonight - Elton John - Live in Chicago 1986

My next upload is one of the new shows we got from the year of 1986. The picture shows one of my favorite costumes that Elton ever wore and he wore that particular outfit at this show, which is from the 23rd of August 1986. The recording is 98 % complete (cuts between performances mostly), but in a very poor quality, but I have tried to listen to what is going on at this show the best I could.
While the North American tour has been criticized a lot about Elton's voice condition, many new shows show that some shows were just as good as some European performances. And this show is one of the better from the North American tour with mixed performances.
The show starts with Tonight which is a good performances where Elton nails the falsetto in the end of the song. What I noticed was that Elton played a wrong chord during the song, but who cares? Next song is One Horse Town which has always been a favorite of mine from this tour. Elton's voice sounds a bit strained, but he does give a decent performance of the song. Better Off Dead is good, but again Elton's voice sounds a bit strained due to his throat troubles which would develop and worsen later on the year. Rocket Man is great with a strong falsetto near the end. Philadelphia Freedom is also great with non-conservative phrasing which at this period of time is quite amazing -- actually this version beats a lot of the North American versions! Burn Down The Mission is good with Elton going for higher notes which he hits and as always the band plays very tight. Someone Saved My Life Tonight is often a good indicator on Elton's voice condition. He does get out of it very well and Elton still hits some of the C5's in the coda, but he does leave his voice out a few times.
The Bitch Is Back is quite fast but good with a few falsettos in it. The track is cut unfortunately so it is not much we get to hear of it. The Medley is good overall, though A Song For You is not among my favorites -- Elton is on the border on an angry bird note on the "darling" spot. Levon is great with Elton avoiding the conservative phrasing which he would use a few days later -- however he does the "Saratoga angry bird" which can be found in the line: "Jesus, he wants to go to Venus"! Paris is great with Elton nailing the song and Restless is also a great performance with a reasonable tempo. A fan near the recorder screams that much before Bennie And The Jets that it is almost painful to listen to -- the song itself is experimental and unstable at spots and Elton uses the famous Homer Simpson phrasing. Love Song I really good with great harmonies -- I just love how the band nails the other voices. Sad Songs (Say So Much) is great, but my favorite version comes from New York 09/14.
This Town is very good and a song that I have missed for a long time in Elton's live set. I'm Still Standing is not one of my favorite versions as the intro disappointingly boring and it contains angry birds. Nikita is great and suits Elton descending voice brilliantly! A flying version of Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) with mostly great vocals by Elton is played here. Candle In The Wind is fantastic, though I still prefer Sydney 1986. Daniel and Your Song are the two enders of a great, great show which unfortunately was one of the last shows of the classic era where Elton still would have his 'real' voice intact.
- Enjoy!

[@EltonJohnGigs]

It sure can! Such a great performance!

[@TheChristian0515]

Hey! I've been a huge Elton John fan for years and just recently, I began to collect all of his studio albums and even some of the harder-to-find stuff... I've only listened 2 of the albums in their entirety so far since I've been so busy and I really want to give each album the full attention that it deserves... Well anyway, since you are pretty much the sorcerer of knowledge when it comes to Elton's concert history, I would like to know what some of your favorite versions of some of Elton's best songs... I've already heard a few of his shows from his solo tours throughout the late 90's (with MSG 1999 and Paris 1998 standing out in my mind) but when it comes to his 80s shows, I don't even know where to begin! All I know is that I LOVED the 1986 Australia show, as his stylizing/riffing was spot on (especially during "Bennie and the Jets" and "Rocket Man") even though his voice wasn't... If you could get back to me on what your opinions are, that would be great!
Sincerely,
Christian