6. Have Mercy On The Criminal (Elton John - Live In Los Angeles: 9/23/1988)

For the next Reg Strikes Back Tour upload, the first of three Los Angeles shows will grace this Youtube channel! The quality isn’t too great as it was recorded from the nosebleeds, has low fidelity, and has constant crowd noise around the taper (although that has its own charm and helps with the atmosphere). Thankfully, the recording is almost complete thanks to this upgrade from "EltonStuff."

This Los Angeles show is a strange one as it barely bears any similarity to the last recorded show in Milwaukee. In between Milwaukee and this Los Angeles show, Elton John played one show in Denver and since there’s no circulating recording of it, it’s all guesswork on how things went down. At Los Angeles, the recording highlights Elton with an inconsistent voice that features much more growl to it and his natural tone being sacrificed for rougher vocals. It’s a shame because when Elton backs off of the more aggressive and rough singing, his more natural singing still sounds quite good at this show. The rest of the band are in good form tonight, but they sound a bit more loose at times compared to Milwaukee and their prowess would improve at the later Los Angeles shows. Now… time to get through the performance paragraphs.

“Sixty Years On” sounds fairly good vocally for the opening number as Elton’s voice isn’t too rough for most of the performance. “I Need You To Turn To” has pretty solid vocals with Elton’s tone having a cleaner sound throughout. “The King Must Die” has a handful of very unpleasant-sounding notes that showcase Elton running his voice into the ground. “Burn Down The Mission” showcases Elton thrashing his voice with excessive growling and an overdriven delivery. When he backs off of that delivery style, his natural tone still sounds good with the bridge section having some good notes sung. “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” features Elton changing his vocal delivery to a softer and more natural-sounding one which is a welcome change from the previous couple of performances. “Have Mercy On The Criminal” contains a number of overdriven vocal notes that have a rancid tone to them which contradicts some of Elton’s vocals in the verses (which have a better tone). “Love Lies Bleeding” has great energy (the band sound fantastic on this rendition) with Elton giving a good vocal effort despite his tone not being as clean as earlier shows. “Tiny Dancer” features a decent vocal performance from Elton as the growling and rougher vocals are toned down in favor of a cleaner approach. “The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-34)” has much rougher vocals compared to the earlier renditions on the tour leg as there is a thrashing approach to the delivery. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” highlights the great crowd atmosphere as audience members sing along with the choruses which help to hide Elton’s angry birding throughout. “Philadelphia Freedom” has a wide range of different vocal styles and phrasing choices as Elton throws his voice around like a toy. “The Bitch Is Back” has a botched introduction and it takes a few extra bars for Elton to come in with the vocals. Despite the musical slop and inconsistent vocals, the energy and atmosphere is top notch. Concluding this section, “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” features some great vocals in the introduction with Elton’s falsetto making appearances. The main song is full of hideous growling that grows more prominent as the performance progresses.

“Goodbye Marlon Brando” surprisingly isn’t hideous-sounding as Elton keeps the growling from getting too out of hand for the most part. “A Word In Spanish” sounds great musically with Davey’s guitar work being a highlight and Elton’s overdriven and gruff vocals providing contrast. The first part of “Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters” has mostly good vocals with Elton playing around with the cadences. The second part has a good jam going for it and while Elton’s vocal performance isn’t the greatest, he still gives the higher parts a good attempt. “Daniel” features one of the better vocal performances of the evening as Elton sings with a cleaner tone and re-introduces a softer approach. The piano work is also very nice. “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” is full of angry bird phrasing that highlights the battle between the cassowaries and vultures that have taken over Elton’s voice. “Candle In The Wind” features cleaner vocals early on and as the performance progresses, Elton introduces more growl into the delivery. “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” has rough vocals, strange phrasing in the second chorus, and no C5s being attempted. On the other hand, the crowd atmosphere is fantastic. “Your Song” is very surprising vocally with Elton singing the classic hit single cleanly and not doing the “I’ve ever seen” octave embellishment. Finally, “I’m Still Standing” has botched lyrics, angry birds galore, and vocal phrasing that mixes elements from all of the legs of the 1985-1986 world tour!

ENJOY!!!

Видео 6. Have Mercy On The Criminal (Elton John - Live In Los Angeles: 9/23/1988) канала GregsynthWizard