2. One Horse Town (Elton John - Live In Columbia: 8/31/1986)

Since Columbia 1986 won a poll on my Discord server, it’s time to upload it to Youtube! This is an upgraded copy compared to others on Youtube since it’s sourced from a lower generation cassette without digital noise and compression affecting the sound. Apart from “Love Song” having a cut, this recording is musically complete with generally great sound quality (although it’s a bit distorted during louder moments). Elton’s voice has recovered slightly compared to last night’s show in Saratoga and while he still doesn’t sound great, there are some improvements in his vocal stability and tone. Unfortunately, he still insists on thrashing his voice and oversinging randomly which eventually causes his voice to somewhat blow out during the encore section which then leads to faltering vocals and pitch issues. The band sound very strong at this show with the warm mix of the recording highlighting the rhythm section and David Paton sure has a great night at the office! Now… time to go through everything… “Tonight” features Elton carefully navigating through the song and while he does an okay job, the strain is ever-present and he struggles on the falsetto at the end. “One Horse Town” highlights Charlie Morgan’s impeccable drumming and Elton gets through the performance without it being a major vocal train-wreck. “Better Off Dead” has flubbed lyrics in the second verse and Elton still insists on unnecessary overdriven vocals which don’t help out his vocal issues. “Rocket Man” is full of very nice instrumental work and the improvisational section is chock-full of creative musical ideas. Despite Elton’s voice not sounding the greatest, he still has enough in the tank to sing with a degree of flexibility during his improvisational bits. “Philadelphia Freedom” can be described as a “sister version” to Saratoga’s as Elton struggles with all of the “shine the light” chorus notes and while the musical energy is fantastic, the ravaged nature of Elton’s voice is very noticeable. “Burn Down The Mission” contains quite a noble vocal effort from Elton as he still sings the bridge decently and keeps his voice fairly stable throughout the song. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” highlights Elton’s delicate and brittle vocal tone, but he still gives the song a good go and the band sound excellent with the harmonies also being on point. “The Bitch Is Back” has a false start due to technical troubles from the guitars, but once the song is performed proper, the results are highly energetic with Elton overdriving his voice and embellishing in places. “Song For You” has a surprisingly effective delivery as Elton gives his ravaged vocal cords a workout. “Blue Eyes” features some nice vocal harmonies in the choruses and Elton’s husky vocal tone is able to fit into the song quite nicely. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” contains some excellent band chemistry with Elton’s piano and Charlie Morgan being highlights. “Levon” has Elton pushing his voice too hard which causes some really rough moments and the “wants to go to Venus” section sounds bad. Concluding this section, “Paris” sounds really nice with the band displaying strong musical prowess, showcasing excellent vocal harmonies, and Elton doing a pretty decent job on the vocals! “Restless” features a highly energetic performance that shows off David Paton’s rhythmic and punchy bass playing along with some excellent guitar work from Davey Johnstone. “Bennie And The Jets” has a fun improvisation section with David Paton showing off his bass guitar chops and Elton’s piano work is very creative with a spirited edge. “Love Song” is cut, but what’s featured is some excellent backing vocals which help mask some of Elton’s tender and ragged tone. “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” is full of energy which helps combat Elton’s worn and fragile vocal shape. “This Town” contains excellent keyboard work from Fred Mandel and Elton sings the song a lot more sensibly compared to the previous two performances. “I’m Still Standing” showcases quite a bit of vocal fatigue from Elton as he struggles with his pitch on a number of notes during the choruses. ”Nikita” has Elton using his weary and worn voice to good effect during the main bulk of the song, but has a rough time during the outroduction section. “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” highlights Elton’s slowly disintegrating voice as has a hard time in the second and third chorus sections with many intonation issues present. “Candle In The Wind” is full of tired-sounding phrasing and despite Elton sounding very strained throughout, he modifies the phrasing at the outroduction in a nice way to compensate. “Daniel” features some great harmony work from the band and Elton gives a good effort on the vocals despite sounding very rough. Lastly, “Your Song” has Elton forgetting the lyrics in the second verse and still singing the final verse and chorus in a higher octave in spite of his damaged voice. ENJOY!!!