Live In Australia With The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra [LIVE] - John, Elton (CD 2001)

Elton John Live In Australia With The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra" (MCA Records, released 1987) is an incredible album. Elton John is a showman and musician extraordinaire in his own right, but when coupled with a symphony orchestra backing him musically, the results are phenomenal. Every song is powerful; one not only hears the music, but feels it. The fourteen tracks bear a sound that outdoes the original recordings.

As stated on the jacket's back cover, the concert took place on December 14, 1986 before an audience of eleven thousand people in Sydney Entertainment Centre. The album's length is approximately 68 minutes, and contains the second half of the performance when Elton and his 13-piece band are joined by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Newton Howard--a man not unknown to Elton fans for his involvement with many of E.J.'s studio recordings. The tracks are: Sixty Years On, I Need You To Turn To, The Greatest Discovery, Tonight, Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, The King Must Die, Take Me To The Pilot, Tiny Dancer, Have Mercy On The Criminal, Madman Across The Water, Candle In The Wind, Burn Down The Mission, Your Song, and Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me.

One of the most impressive performances on this album is The Greatest Discovery, about a young boy's reaction to the arrival of his "brand new brother." The original recording on the "Elton John" album is touching, but hearing this version gives the tune much more feeling. Not only does the orchestra add a depth that builds to the song's end, but Elton himself lends an extra sensitivity to the lyrics through his performance, despite the difficulties he was having with his voice at the time (prior to his throat surgery).

Another song originally on the "Elton John" album is Sixty Years On, again performed with a revitalizing sound that gives it a breath of life that listeners might even prefer to the original recording.

This album ranks at the top of my collection, and is one that everyone I have forced to listen to it has enjoyed immensely, whether fans of Elton John or not--including my late mother-in-law (who was in her early 70's at the time), who kept telling me to "turn it up some more!" The concert is also on video, covering both halves of the performance; it is very difficult to find but well worth the hunt.