Elton John – Here and There (1976) Review | Tales from the Transatlantic Troubadour
Kronomyth 13: Maggie, Madison and all the young girls love Elton.
Here and There marks the end of an era in which Elton John could do no wrong. That changed with Blue Moves and the albums that followed (although A Single Man had its moments). The album is split between a London performance that included Princess Margaret in the audience and a New York concert at Madison Square Garden that undoubtedly had a few queens in attendance. Historically, this has never been high on my list of Elton albums, but I don’t know why; maybe the original elpee version sounded dry. Here and There is, in fact, a very good live album. Sure, it’s too short—which was corrected on the double-disc reissue—but the performances are just swell. The album opens in London with Elton at the piano introducing an evening of “semi-nostalgia” before pulling Skyline Pigeon out of his hat for a stirring solo performance. The band joins him eventually for Border Song, followed by a rousing rendition of Honky Cat, a lovely duet with Lesley Duncan on Love Song and the ever-exhilarating Crocodile Rock. Even without Princess Margaret, we’re clearly in the presence of royalty. The New York side is more exuberant and less nostalgic. It opens with Elton’s proggiest entry to date, Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, before soaring into the rock & roll stratosphere with Rocket Man, Bennie and the Jets and Take Me to the Pilot. The live versions are faithful to the originals but include a few surprises (e.g., what sounds to be a cuica solo during “Honky Cat”) and sound remarkably clean, at least on compact disc. I even prefer these versions of “Love Song” and “Skyline Pigeon” to the originals. Of course, Elton fans will want to forego the original single-elpee record in favor of the complete 2CD collection reissued in 1995, which probably stands as the definitive Elton John live album.
The Product
A1. Skyline Pigeon (4:44)
A2. Border Song (3:23)
A3. Honky Cat (7:32)
A4. Love Song (Lesley Duncan) (5:41)
A5. Crocodile Rock (4:04)
B1. Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding (11:47)
B2. Rocket Man (4:48)
B3. Bennie and the Jets (6:17)
B4. Take Me to the Pilot (5:55)
All music by Elton John, all lyrics by Bernie Taupin unless noted.
2CD reissue version
A1. Skyline Pigeon
A2. Border Song
A3. Take Me to the Pilot
A4. Country Comfort
A5. Love Song
A6. Bad Side of the Moon
A7. Burn Down the Mission
A8. Honky Cat
A9. Crocodile Rock
A10. Candle in the Wind
A11. Your Song
A12. Saturday Night’s Alright (for Fighting)
B1. Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
B2. Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long Long Time)
B3. Take Me to the Pilot
B4. Bennie and the Jets
B5. Grey Seal
B6. Daniel
B7. You’re So Static
B8. Whatever Gets You Thru the Night
B9. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
B10. I Saw Her Standing There
B11. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
B12. Your Song
B13. The Bitch Is Back
The Players
Elton John (piano, vocals), Ray Cooper (percussion), Dave Johnstone (guitars, backing vocals), Dee Murray (bass, backing vocals), Nigel Olsson (drums, backing vocals). Produced by Gus Dudgeon; engineered by Phil Dunne and Gus Dudgeon.
The Pictures
Art direction and design by David Larkham. Photography by David Nutter.
The Plastic
Released on elpee and red vinyl elpee, cassette and 8-track on April 30, 1976 in the UK (DJM, DJH 20473/DJLPH/ZCDJL/Y8DJL 473), the US (MCA, MCA/MCAT-2197), Israel (DJM, DJLPH 473) and Japan (DJM, IFS-80535) with picture innersleeve. UK 8-track switches the order of the NY and London concerts. Reached #6 on the UK charts and #4 on the US charts.
- Re-issued on compact disc and cassette (MCA, MCAD/MCAC-622).
- Re-issued on compact disc on March 25, 1993 in Japan (Phonogram, PHCR-6090).
- Re-issued on cassette in 1995 in Canada (Rocket, I41 28164).
- Re-issued on expanded 2CD in 1995 in the US (Rocket/Island, 1575-2) with bonus tracks.
