Artist: Elton John
Album: Here and There
Worth Buying? Yes
You Will Be Interested in this album if you are a fan of: Elton John during the 70's,& great Live albums like Frampton Comes Alive, Kiss Alive, etc.
Tell Me More: It's funny how an album can affect you one way at one age and a different way at another age. Something you may not have liked when you where younger, you might find yourself enjoying when you get older....But of course it helps when the original presentation is improved on.
Growing up, I was a big fan Elton John's 70's output. And during the 70's (and at the height of his popularity during that decade) He released a single disc live album entitled Here and There. One side was recorded in England and the other side recorded in New York. I think the story goes that if you bought the album in the States, New York would be the "Here" side but if you bought it in the UK, England would be there "Here" side.
I remember hearing my bigger sister's copy of this album (on vinyl), and not being to thrilled with it. I decided I wouldn't purchase it. So I never did.
Later on I would learn that this album was just very quickly released in order to fulfill a contractual obligation to Dick James Music (Elton's Publisher). I would read that Elton didn't want the album released and even told fans not to buy it.
But my disappointment had to do with the the fact that it didn't sound like the studio recordings.
......Yes, I know, but I was young back then. And I guess I was also quite anal. I was also not a musician yet I hadn't realized that a studio album is just a snapshot of the songs as they where played by that particular group of musicians at that particular time. Maybe it had to do with the strict classical piano lessons I was taking, But I was of the opinion that once songs where recorded, they where somehow etched in stone. That no note could ever be played any other way than how they where played on that studio recording.
I didn't realize that the whole point of going to a live show was to see: How they would do it live. And that a group of (really good) musicians would grow and change and that the material would change with them.
How boring I was.
Of course now, I know better now. And I am obviously a lot less anal than I used to be. Because now I listen to this album and think, what amazing live band this is! This is the original classic EJ band with Davey Johnstone (one of the great unsung guitar hero's in my book), Nigel Olsen on Drums, Ray Cooper on Percussion and Dee Murray on Bass.
Originally released a single vinyl disc, you where only getting a sampling of the entire show. The albums CD counterpart has correct this. This CD contains more than double the amount of tracks! Now instead of just being given a smattering of a two live shows, it feels like you are given two complete live shows. By way of comparison The New York side originally had only 4 tracks but on CD it contains 13 tracks. The England side is upgraded from 5 tracks to 12 tracks
On Disc one (The Here side) Elton gives a performance to Britain's Royalty at the Royal Albert Hall. It is a retrospective performance starting with Skyline Pigeon from his very first album Empty Sky and moves chronologically ending with Saturday Night's all right for Fighting from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. In spite the concerts location, This performance comes off as very intimate.
Disc two (the "There" side) is recorded in front of a lively New York crowd on Thanksgiving day at Madison Square Gardens and opens with Funeral For and Friend/Love Lies Bleeding from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Among the many tracks not featured on the albums vinyl release is three tracks featuring special guest John Lennon. Lennon joins the band Elton's remake of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (A big hit at the time), Lennon''s Whatever Gets You Through the Night, and I Saw Her Standing There (A song that Lennon didn't originally sing on).
Sadly as it turns out, these tracks would end up being John Lennon's last live recorded performance.
Both England and US performances feature Your Song and Take me to the Pilot. Now this might seem redundant to feature these two songs twice, but it really gives you the chance to hear what can be so special about live a performance. Because each performance is different. The British side features a solid rocking performance that is mostly faithful to original studio version (with slightly longer jam session at the end) but the American side clocks in about 2 minutes longer. It features a completely new opening and a hot improv callback answer section between elton and guitarist Davey Johnstone
This remastered and expanded CD version came out in the late 90's and I ignored it for a long time because of my childhood memory of it's vinyl counterpart. I am sorry I didn't catch up to it by now.
So now I wonder, what if Here and There had been released as a double Vinyl album back in the 70's? Listening to this expanded version, I think it might have become a classic live album in the vein of Frampton Comes Alive, or Johnny Cash live at Folsum Prison.
What About the Packaging? Standard Jewel Case . Some new retrospective notes. But that's about it.
Listen to samples and Get Here And There on CD here
The mp3 version is here, but it's the same price as the CD version
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