1986 is one of my favorite years of all time. The shows are of such a high quality, both technically and musically. Also this year has some of Elton's best vocal performances and unfortunately his absolute worst vocal performances of all time! This show, Elton's 20th show at Madison Square Garden, New York 12th of September 1986, is a kind of mix between bad and good with the good side being the heaviest. The recording is in a great quality despite being an audience recording and is almost entirely complete (cuts on Tonight and Your Song). 

What is strange about this period (August/September and later) is that Elton sometimes would be in a horrible vocal shape on one day and on another day some days later he would be in a rather good vocal shape. This show is an example of that as Elton had done some pretty bad performances before this show -- Saratoga being the absolute worst. And now, a couple of weeks later Elton seems to have improved a lot and sings really good versions of the songs. Also, this show is pretty late in the year when it comes to Elton's voice getting into problems, but he manages to give an excellent show! 

Tonight has a severe cut, but what we actually hear is great! In the end he makes a tender falsetto which sounds good. On this show Elton isn't as modest with his falsettos as on previously shows. Elton still sings songs conservative (One Horse Town, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Rocket Man etc.), but the versions are really good versions of that character. On the other hand, Elton sometimes airs the notes on some songs which don't sound good. Also, Elton doesn't always make the right falsettos -- he completely fails on the "magazine" note on Bennie And The Jets (this particular falsetto is the last for 11 years -- he did it in 1997). On the same song Elton makes one of his famous piano improvisations which I adore. They're fantastic! A good version of Someone Saved My Life Tonight as Elton seems to feel comfortable in the key (unlike Saratoga where he almost can't sing the song!), though being conservative in spots. Another good moment is the Medley where Elton sings an excellent version of A Song For You. Levon is also good, being one of his most requested songs at the time. Elton is as usual playing guitar on Love Song and does a great job and sings a good version of the song. Great version of I'm Still Standing with Elton scatting in the intro. Nikita is also good! Candle In The Wind is awesome, but for me it doesn't beat Sydney 1986; Elton's voice is more rough on Sydney, but he makes nicer phrasings and the roughness suits that particular version! Really good version of Your Song (well, what we hear of it) and if it had continued it probably reached Prince's Trust standards! 
What makes this show even better is that the audience is fantastic! They're also contributing to make this show a pearl for 1986! 

- Emil, EltonJohnGigs

For my last upload before the debate (and my last 1985-1986 upload for a while), I thought that I would honor Elton Bootlegs by uploading another one of his shows! This was one of the very first (if not the first) show he purchased, and from that point onwards, he became one of YouTube's best Elton John channels! Make sure you thank Elton Bootlegs for this show! This recording has great quality and captures the wonderful atmosphere very well! It is mostly complete as well ("Tonight" and "Your Song" are cut, and there's a few cuts throughout the recording)!

When you combine Elton John + his wonderful band + Madison Square Garden, you get a fantastic show! The audience is very enthusiastic throughout the show, and really shows why MSG is known for excellent performances! This show (and the next night) ranks high for the North American 1986 tour, and both shows are among my favorites for the tour!

Despite finding out that he developed vocal nodules (Elton Bootlegs’ book tells a story about Elton's voice), Elton's voice seems to be in pretty good shape by later 1986 standards! Although he still has some of the "sick tone" remaining from earlier gigs (AKA Saratoga), it doesn't really affect the performances to the extent of the earlier gigs. He sounds fairly strong throughout the show, and is able to sing some good renditions of songs! Examples include: "One Horse Town," "Better Off Dead," "Rocket Man," "Philadelphia Freedom," "Burn Down The Mission," "Levon," "Restless," "Bennie And The Jets," "Love Song," "This Town," and "Candle In The Wind."

Note: This recording has the only known time from the North American tour, where Elton attempts a falsetto note on "Bennie And The Jets" (the first "magazine").

Note 2: Elton fucks around with "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" (he makes up lyrics and inserts random phrasing throughout the song). The brass section also make up their own key signatures in spots!

- Greg, GregsynthWizard