Live In Australia

This was a gem to discover but on frequent listening the rasp in Elton’s voice and him struggling with his throat nodules made me feel uncomfortable. That said the beauty of the album is the orchestral arrangements. Buckmaster and Newton Howard work their magic on Elton’s songs.

I had steered clear of this, assuming it to be an 80s best of collection with 80s album tracks thrown in. More fool me. Instead, it is over an hour of beautiful reinterpretations of largely deep album cuts, many from the 70s. These are fantastic songs, every one of them, and all are enhanced by the sweeping arrangements. This is the last time the old EJ voice was recorded. It was showing the strain but still incredibly evocative. Given the set list - I have always loved 60 Years On and Tonight, but never thought I would hear them brought to life live - and the emotionally charged performance (and the perfect musicianship which we tend to take for granted), this is one of the finest albums our greatest piano man has ever released. I envy anyone who has missed it, and can get to hear it for the first time.

I have had this cd since it was first released and have transported it around from Russia to Turkey and eventually back to the UK. It has been my solace and inspiration for many years. The fact that poor old Reg had his throat operated on just after this gorgeous recording, is almost apparent from the slightly rasping, yet divine, quality of his voice from this concert. From the very opening bars of the opening song, 60 Years On, you know that something very special is about to happen. He plays a variety of favourite tracks, including Your Song, Tonight, Have Mercy on the Criminal, each being perfectly orchestrated and enhanced by the Sydney orchestra. Having destroyed the central part of the disc during my various peregrinations, I have just received the latest remastering, which is MASTERFUL! The strings are smoother, the voice more real and the room just fills up with this mellifluous sound. It is one of the must-haves of any cd collection and I only wish there were a DVD, because it would have been a winner.

Revisiting the past, with these tracks. Would love to have been there.Sounds like it would have been a fantastic gig.

No complaints with delivery/packaging and just a brilliant album.

Another classic Elton album but this time live. Some great tracks done differently with the orchestra.A must for true fans.

I had the vinyl album and had forgotten how wonderful it was until I bought the CD. It is like listening to an opera, the production of the songs is incredible and the idea of listening to it in Australia makes you feel on holiday. Well worth waiting all these years to buy it again and rediscover this treasure.

Very good live recording of E.J doing not only expected numbers but also some interesting other material !