If you guys thought that the first Los Angeles show was fantastic, you'll find this one even more amazing! Once again, we have amazing music being played by Elton John and his wonderful band (I love Fred Mandel and David Paton)! We also have a great crowd (that enjoy Elton's banter between songs), great sound quality, and the recording is complete! Elton's voice is in excellent shape for none of the show, and he sounds rough/bad on 100% of the show!
Speaking of Elton's voice, it is faltering throughout the show! The nodules are slamming into his vocals cords at practically every note he sings--which SOUNDS FUCKING AWFUL!!! Songs that sounded decent at the previous show now don't sound as good! Almost every performance at this show is WORSE than the previous show! Elton sounds fucking terrible on "Tonight" (he AIRS one falsetto attempt, and barely makes the other falsetto A4), "One Horse Town" is dreadful (even Fred Mandel hits wrong notes in the intro), "Better Off Dead" is the absolute worst version ever (so many bad-sounding notes), "Rocket Man" has terrible vocals (though the music is amazing), "Philadelphia Freedom" is the worst version on the North American tour (hitting multiple notes at once, airing whistle notes, and giving out on 3rd octave notes), "Burn Down The Mission" isn't too great, "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is awful, "The Bitch Is Back" isn't too hot, the medley is actually OK overall (compared to most of the songs), "Paris" doesn't sound great, "Restless" is awful (bad notes throughout, and hitting about 4 notes at once towards the end), "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" is dreadful (the intro is cringe-worthy), "This Town" is one of the worst versions ever, "I'm Still Standing" is the absolute worst version in the history of versions (SO MANY ANGRY BIRDS), "Nikita" sounds fucking awful (and it's a low-ranged song), "Candle In The Wind" is awful, and "Daniel" is hideous (one of the worst versions ever)!
There are plenty of positives though: The music is excellent (with a brilliant piano improv on "Bennie And The Jets"), and Elton delivers some decent versions of "Levon," and "Your Song." The "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" is better than the previous show, and "Love Song" doesn't sound too bad!
Note 1: Elton mentions David Lee Roth before "Paris." The audience apparently isn't too fond of him!
Note 2: Perhaps due to his voice, Elton lets Davey Johnstone do the band introduction!
Note 3: Due to Elton's bad vocals, this show (and the previous one) has been compared with Melbourne and Sydney! I don't know what everybody else will think, but I think some stuff on these two Los Angeles shows sound WORSE!
- Greg, GregsynthWizard
I'm back with the second Los Angeles show of 1986 which unlike most sources of the concert, this one is complete with great soundboard quality (just like the first!) and is probably the definitive recording from the whole tour! From here, I have decided to change the description slightly as having listened to the show more closely, I have extra findings which aren't friendly on the ears! Plus, a disclaimer, after I upload this show, two BRAND NEW 1986 shows that have never been heard before by the majority of you will be put on YouTube!
Like the first show, Elton's voice is suffering really badly from over-touring and vocal nodules but this show is WORSE as the nodules have settled in and make life extremely hard for Elton! With that said, these 1986 shows are a prime example though of Elton's band being some of the best musicians around during this time period and this show is no exception
Prime examples to both statements above being the majority of the setlist! Tonight is one of the worst on the tour however at least Elton uses a real sounding piano compared to the keyboard sound of the previous night plus he hits falsetto (how I don't know!), One Horse Town which has wrong notes by Fred Mandel during the intro plus Elton sounding bad especially just before the guitar solo, Better Off Dead which has been described as the worst version ever but I believe the first night's version is, Rocket Man which has been described by some as worse than Sydney in spots, Philadelphia Freedom with Elton airing notes and hitting random 7th octave notes, Burn Down The Mission which is similar to the first night (not the exact same as some think!), Someone Saved My Life Tonight where his voice gives out badly but again to give credit at least his voice mainly stays stable, The Bitch Is Back which isn't too hot, the medley which is roughly the same as the previous night, Levon which again is probably the best vocal performance of the night but this isn't as good as the previous night but he does try, Paris which is oversung to death, Restless with him hitting too many multiple notes near the end of the song and Bennie And The Jets which is another great performance with an awesome solo from Elton!
We have the last performance on the tour of Love Song which is a nice performance, Sad Songs (Say So Much) which is one of the worst versions ever, This Town where Elton's voice gives out on the first line, I'm Still Standing which is another song which was once a candidate for the worst version ever with far too many angry birds, Nikita which for a low range song sounds disgusting, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting which is better than the previous night but Elton does have some very unstable moments vocally but Caleb Quaye does join the band onstage to make it even bigger, Candle In The Wind which falls victim to vocal nodules plus bad tone, Daniel which is better than the first night but still bad and Your Song which ends the show nicely as Elton is still able to sing that well! Enjoy this epic show!
Note 1 - Poor old Davey Johnstone is forced to do the band intro!
Note 2 - The audience do not like David Lee Roth when Elton mentions him before Paris! Davey and Fred decide to dedicate 5 seconds of playing time to him!
- Adam, Elton Bootlegs