15. Nikita (Elton John - Live In Cologne: 11/19/1998)
398 بار بازدید -
2 سال پیش
-
I remember that I have
I remember that I have to upload “punishment shows” since I came in last place at a rigged TierMaker event about the Big Picture Tour of 1997. This is the second of those “punishment shows” and a special shout-out goes out to “TSS_Killer” as he loves torturing me with these uploads from this tour leg! Thanks to the efforts of “EltonStuff,” this show has a proper recording that is free of digital artifacts, has great quality, and is complete!
While the final leg of the Big Picture Tour doesn’t rank highly for me due to Elton John’s inconsistent vocal performances and Jack Bruno’s drumming being a shadow of Charlie Morgan’s, there are still performances worth listening to and some gigs are better than others. This Cologne show falls into that category as the band sound inspired throughout the recording and they display some really solid musicianship. Elton’s voice is pretty rough at this show (especially when he’s singing the non-ballad songs or trying to cut loose with his vocal deliveries), but this doesn’t stop him from trying demanding notes or embellishing in random places. His tone has a bit of a tired and husky sound to it with his higher register not being very cooperative at times. Now… time to go through these performances!
“Circle Of Life” is a pretty strong opening performance as Elton delivers the song well enough and is a bit adventurous with the vocal delivery. “I’m Still Standing” has Elton struggling on just about all of the higher notes in the song (although he somehow sings the Ab4 after the guitar solo pretty decently) and his tone and intonation beyond the middle notes is questionable at best. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” has Elton pushing his voice in the chorus sections (which cause his intonation to slip), but the band sound good and the harmonies are excellent. “Honky Cat” is full of rough vocal moments and while Elton tries to cut loose with the phrasing, his voice isn’t in the best shape to pull things off. The musical improv section is the highlight with the guitar work and energy being stand-outs. “Hercules” is one of the better versions from this tour leg as the band sound into the song and things seem to gel nicely. While Elton’s vocals aren’t the cleanest, he does give a good effort and he sounds into the performance. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” sounds pretty strong as Elton effectively sings the song and the band put in a good performance. “Levon” is a strange version vocally as Elton strains his voice in places and doesn’t sing some notes on top, but other sections contain surprisingly good upper notes that contradict his vocal shape. He also plays an excellent piano solo to top things off. “Simple Life” has a surprisingly gutsy Elton as he plays around with vocal flourishes that wouldn’t sound out of place from earlier legs of the tour. “The One” has an inspired-sounding Elton, but his tone has a generally rough sound to it and Jack Bruno adds in random fills. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” has Elton flubbing a chord in the bridge, but he otherwise delivers a solid rendition. “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” starts off shaky as the mix isn’t completely settled in, but things quickly get fixed and Elton plays a fantastic piano solo. While the vocals are very forced-sounding, Elton does play around with the phrasing to keep things interesting. “Daniel” highlights Elton’s weary tone, but he still sings the song effectively enough and the harmonies sound fantastic. “Rocket Man” has some fantastic musicianship and creative singing in the improvisational section. Concluding this section, “House” is an effective version with Elton delivering the Made In England deep cut competently.
“Nikita” sounds a bit lethargic compared to previous songs and Elton’s vocal melody choices are pretty bizarre in spots. “Crocodile Rock” has the energy level picking back up and Elton sings with a lot of overdrive and aggression. “Your Song” has a couple of piano clunkers, but is still a decent performance overall. “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” doesn’t sound too bad, but the final G4 belt goes off in an unplanned direction. “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” has Elton sounding tired throughout the performance, but he does go for the A4 belts. “Something About The Way You Look Tonight” has Elton pushing his voice on the embellishments for a more aggressive edge to the song. “Bennie And The Jets” features some questionable vocal intonation and Jack’s fills sound a bit out of place. “The Bitch Is Back” has guitar tuning issues and Elton’s aggressive vocal approach doesn’t do him favors. “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” has rough vocals, flubbed lyrics, and Davey Johnstone’s guitar still has tuning problems. “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” has a coarse and heavy vocal tone being prominent along with Jack and Elton getting out of sync early on. Lastly, “Great Balls Of Fire” has random baritone-style vocal phrasing that doesn’t make any sense.
ENJOY!!!
While the final leg of the Big Picture Tour doesn’t rank highly for me due to Elton John’s inconsistent vocal performances and Jack Bruno’s drumming being a shadow of Charlie Morgan’s, there are still performances worth listening to and some gigs are better than others. This Cologne show falls into that category as the band sound inspired throughout the recording and they display some really solid musicianship. Elton’s voice is pretty rough at this show (especially when he’s singing the non-ballad songs or trying to cut loose with his vocal deliveries), but this doesn’t stop him from trying demanding notes or embellishing in random places. His tone has a bit of a tired and husky sound to it with his higher register not being very cooperative at times. Now… time to go through these performances!
“Circle Of Life” is a pretty strong opening performance as Elton delivers the song well enough and is a bit adventurous with the vocal delivery. “I’m Still Standing” has Elton struggling on just about all of the higher notes in the song (although he somehow sings the Ab4 after the guitar solo pretty decently) and his tone and intonation beyond the middle notes is questionable at best. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” has Elton pushing his voice in the chorus sections (which cause his intonation to slip), but the band sound good and the harmonies are excellent. “Honky Cat” is full of rough vocal moments and while Elton tries to cut loose with the phrasing, his voice isn’t in the best shape to pull things off. The musical improv section is the highlight with the guitar work and energy being stand-outs. “Hercules” is one of the better versions from this tour leg as the band sound into the song and things seem to gel nicely. While Elton’s vocals aren’t the cleanest, he does give a good effort and he sounds into the performance. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” sounds pretty strong as Elton effectively sings the song and the band put in a good performance. “Levon” is a strange version vocally as Elton strains his voice in places and doesn’t sing some notes on top, but other sections contain surprisingly good upper notes that contradict his vocal shape. He also plays an excellent piano solo to top things off. “Simple Life” has a surprisingly gutsy Elton as he plays around with vocal flourishes that wouldn’t sound out of place from earlier legs of the tour. “The One” has an inspired-sounding Elton, but his tone has a generally rough sound to it and Jack Bruno adds in random fills. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” has Elton flubbing a chord in the bridge, but he otherwise delivers a solid rendition. “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” starts off shaky as the mix isn’t completely settled in, but things quickly get fixed and Elton plays a fantastic piano solo. While the vocals are very forced-sounding, Elton does play around with the phrasing to keep things interesting. “Daniel” highlights Elton’s weary tone, but he still sings the song effectively enough and the harmonies sound fantastic. “Rocket Man” has some fantastic musicianship and creative singing in the improvisational section. Concluding this section, “House” is an effective version with Elton delivering the Made In England deep cut competently.
“Nikita” sounds a bit lethargic compared to previous songs and Elton’s vocal melody choices are pretty bizarre in spots. “Crocodile Rock” has the energy level picking back up and Elton sings with a lot of overdrive and aggression. “Your Song” has a couple of piano clunkers, but is still a decent performance overall. “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” doesn’t sound too bad, but the final G4 belt goes off in an unplanned direction. “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” has Elton sounding tired throughout the performance, but he does go for the A4 belts. “Something About The Way You Look Tonight” has Elton pushing his voice on the embellishments for a more aggressive edge to the song. “Bennie And The Jets” features some questionable vocal intonation and Jack’s fills sound a bit out of place. “The Bitch Is Back” has guitar tuning issues and Elton’s aggressive vocal approach doesn’t do him favors. “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” has rough vocals, flubbed lyrics, and Davey Johnstone’s guitar still has tuning problems. “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” has a coarse and heavy vocal tone being prominent along with Jack and Elton getting out of sync early on. Lastly, “Great Balls Of Fire” has random baritone-style vocal phrasing that doesn’t make any sense.
ENJOY!!!
2 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1401/06/07 منتشر شده
است.
398
بـار بازدید شده