14. Candle In The Wind (Elton John - Live In Los Angeles: 7/8/1988)

Awhile back, I posted a poll on my Community tab in order to see which era of Elton John shows would get the most votes for some Youtube uploads. Quite surprisingly, the years 1975 and 1988 ended up being neck and neck for some time. After a few days, 1988 pulled ahead and so the next few uploads will be from the Reg Strikes Back era! While the late 80s tours have gotten their fair share of criticisms, they also have their fans and some subscribers greatly enjoy the shows from this time period. This is a re-upload of Elton’s first “official” post-surgery concert (with a proper set-list) as the sound needed to be cleaned up and given a much better synopsis. While the sound quality is slightly better compared to my old version, it still isn’t the best-sounding listening experience as the rough mix and the prominent slapback delay somewhat hamper things. Despite the quality issues, the recording is nearly complete and this 78 minute upload is definitely worth a listen as it’s the start of a new live era for Elton. In addition to being the first “official” post-surgery show for Elton, this recording also highlights the first appearance of the Roland RD-1000 on stage for a full show (not counting the TV show appearances Elton did in 1987-1988) on a circulating recording. The musical style has also changed as this show debuts Elton’s new R&B-influenced band. Davey Johnstone (who became the musical director around this time) went out and recruited Jonathan “Sugarfoot” Moffett (drums) and Romeo Williams (bass). The new band also added Guy Babylon (keyboards) to join forces with Fred Mandel and the backing vocalists were Alex Brown, Marlena Jeter, and Natalie Jackson. While the new band would have their fans and critics (mostly around the R&B sound trying to do Elton’s music justice), there’s no doubt that the members had energy on stage and displayed some strong prowess. Elton sounds pretty strong at this show and his voice has settled into its post-surgery form when compared to the TV appearances he did over the past year. While sounding a bit coarse, Elton’s singing is pretty flexible and he retains most of the range that he had during the mid 80s (before the nodules appeared). His falsetto is back in good form after being completely destroyed by late 1986. Overall, this show is a great “comeback” for his live voice and is a welcome relief after what happened during the second half of 1986! Now… time to go through the performances! “Sixty Years On” is miles better from a vocal standpoint compared to the Australian versions from 1986 and while Elton’s tone isn’t pristine, it’s nowhere close to the disaster from nearly 2 years earlier. “Philadelphia Freedom” is full of energy with Elton nailing the “shine the light” falsettos with great power and sounding extremely boisterous with his vocal delivery. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” is the first recorded version with a band in the non-medley format and the performance has some highlights that include Elton turning up the overdrive. While Sugarfoot overdoes the drumming in places, there’s no doubting his energy and enthusiasm behind the kit. “Town Of Plenty” has more growl and grit compared with the studio version and it’s the only true live performance of the song to date as the song wouldn’t make the cut for the Reg Strikes Back Tour. “Your Song” features confident vocals from Elton along with some creative vocal flourishes. “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” is a straight-forward version compared with performances from the upcoming tour as Elton goes right into the song and the backing vocalists sound great. “Burn Down The Mission” introduces new conservative vocal phrasing which sounds pretty decent as Elton’s tone is strong and he nails the demanding bridge section about as good as he did during the UK 1985/6 tour leg. The still-unreleased “Love Is Worth Waiting For” sounds really nice and it’s a shame that the song was never played live after this date as it could’ve been a concert staple. “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” is a solid and straight-forward version with good vocals and no lyrical flubs. “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” features Elton singing most of the falsetto notes and he delivers a nice embellishment before the final verse. “The Bitch Is Back” has Elton aggressively delivering the song with the same vigor as the prime live era. Davey however has some trouble during his solo. “I’m Still Standing” features some really gutsy vocals from Elton as he nails Bb4 embellishments like he did during the 1985-1986 tour and this performance is the only one from the era with an instrumental breakdown after the main round of choruses. “Candle In The Wind” isn’t as refined phrasing wise as later on in the era as Elton is more experimental with his delivery and rushes the cadences. Lastly, “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” is a lively version with the instrumental breakdown being a highlight with Elton’s vocals sounding strong. ENJOY!!!