7. Candle In The Wind (Elton John - Live In San Francisco: 8/28/1984)

I tell you guys - I don’t have a good sleep schedule anymore since reviving this channel! I’ve been getting constant requests, answering questions, replying to comments, and uploading several shows a week! While it sounds like a chore, I’m having a ton of fun doing all of this work and I won’t be quitting anytime soon! For this upload, it’s an “EltonStuff” masterpiece and he was able to help eliminate a fake recording that would circulate. There are extremely bad copies of this show floating around that use the date from Elton’s Tacoma concert from the tour (which will be uploaded after this concert). With the help of “EltonStuff,” we have gotten the correct dates aligned with the correct recordings. Stay tuned for more uploads! This recording has reasonably good audio quality and is mostly complete. I hope you subscribers enjoy this show and make sure you give a shout-out to “EltonStuff” for his tireless work on helping to get this tour leg cleaned up! With a handful of shows under their belts, the band members are in a much stronger and consistent form compared with Tempe and Tucson. The musicianship by this point is mostly on par with shows from the European Express Tour. Elton is in excellent voice overall, and this is a candidate for his best vocal gig on the Breaking Hearts Tour since he sounds much closer to his European Express form when compared to nearly every other gig from the tour leg. Now… time to discuss these performances! “Tiny Dancer” is cut, but the performance features Elton sounding cleaner compared with Tucson and he sure has a “pretty smile” during the last verse! “Levon” doesn’t have the crazy studio note attempt that the previous two performances have, but Elton still does a great job vocally and he sounds very consistent on the tune. “Li’l ‘Frigerator” is a bit more conservative vocally from Elton, but he still sounds great and the guitar work sounds excellent on this version. “Rocket Man” is an excellent version as Elton’s vocals are strong and he experiments with his lower register during the fantastic improvisation section. “Daniel” has Elton’s voice giving out in the last verse, but the performance is otherwise excellent with the vocal harmonies sounding strong. “Restless” sounds fantastic with Elton turning up the aggression on the vocals and everybody puts in a great performance. “Candle In The Wind” features a unique pre-introduction bit from Elton and a great performance from everybody involved. Elton also goes for a different take on the ending embellishment where he changes the melody and doesn’t overdrive his voice at all. “The Bitch Is Back” is sloppy at the beginning (where nobody can figure out how to begin the first verse), but everything gets back on track and the rest of the performance is really good overall. “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” sounds excellent overall with Elton delivering a great vocal that wouldn’t sound out of place on the European Express Tour. “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” is an excellent rendition with Elton showing off his cleaner voice and his overdriven style in a nice balance. “Bennie And The Jets” has Elton completely forgetting the lyrics in the second verse, does random phrasing in the second chorus, and has fun with his voice at the end of the third chorus. The entire performance features Elton having fun and it’s amusing to hear what he does with his voice. “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” is a very solid rendition in general, and “Philadelphia Freedom” is an improvement over Tucson’s performance in every category. “Blue Eyes” sounds excellent with everybody putting in a strong performance. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” singing the first half of the song with mostly his natural voice, but as the performances progresses, he turns up the rougher/overdriven vocals. “Kiss The Bride” is one of the best versions from the tour leg as the energy, vocals, and musicianship are at top levels. “One More Arrow” is also one of the better live versions from the tour leg as Elton sounds much cleaner vocally compared to other versions and the band sound very tight. “Too Low For Zero” is just as good as most European versions with Elton singing passionately and the vocal harmonies sounding great. “I’m Still Standing” has a great guitar introduction from Davey and the main song sounds very consistent. “Your Song” has Elton singing the first line nearly identical to the record version and the rest of the performance sounds strong. “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” features aggressive vocals from Elton, high energy from the band, and excellent musicianship. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” has Elton enjoying Tequila Sunrises during the second verse (which probably explains why some of the chorus high notes aren’t as sung cleanly as other versions). Concluding things, “Crocodile Rock” is full of energy and Elton stops playing and singing in the last verse (most likely to get something that was thrown on stage). ENJOY!!!