Live From Moscow 1979 by Elton John with Ray Cooper (CD, 2020, 2-Discs, Rocket)

Description: Live from Moscow 1979 by Elton John with Ray Cooper (A BBC Recording) [Remastered] [Cardboard Sleeve] [2-CD] Track Listing: - Disc 1 - 1 Daniel2 Skyline Pigeon3 Take Me To The Pilot4 Rocket Man ( I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)5 Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me6 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road7 Candle In The Wind8 I Heard it Through The Grapevine- Disc 2 - 1 Funeral For A Friend2 Tonight3 Better Off Dead4 Bennie and the Jets5 Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word6 Crazy Water7 Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting/Pinball Wizard8 Crocodile Rock/Get Back/Back In The U.S.S.R.Two CD set. 2019 is the 40th anniversary of Elton John's historic first tour of Russia - he was the first Western rock star to ever perform in the country. The show in Moscow on 28th May 1979 with Ray Cooper was broadcast on BBC radio in the UK. This 2020 release is taken from the original broadcast masters, which have been remastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. --- Live from Moscow 1979 is the first official release of a heavily bootlegged show Elton John performed in Moscow on May 29, 1979. It was the last show of his groundbreaking tour of the U.S.S.R., where he was the first rock star to play behind the Iron Curtain (he was preceded by Cliff Richard, who can't quite be called a rocker, especially in 1979), and the occasion was commemorated by a broadcast on the BBC. The tour was historically important, but John was at a bit of a personal and creative crossroads in 1979, separated from his songwriting collaborator and most of his regular backing musicians. That makes Live from Moscow 1979 a bit of a quiet reprieve, containing none of the ersatz pizzazz of A Single Man or the desperate disco of Victim of Love, thanks to how the shows consisted of nothing more than John himself, occasionally supported by longtime percussionist Ray Cooper. The intimacy is appealing but flying solo gives John the freedom to stretch out, which he does often: three of the sixteen tracks are well over ten minutes, with many others bunched around the seven-minute mark. Each of these performances are extended with lots of piano runs, a display of prowess that's alternately dazzling and languid. As the album rolls on, the performances feel a bit formless, an effect that makes the occasional tight number -- such as the quick blast through "Better Off Dead" -- hit harder, but also suggests that this tour was a way for John to explore his songbook, trying to reconnect with pieces that would resonate with him while he was wandering through the wilderness. That may not make for a dynamic concert album, but it does make for an interesting one. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Price: 29.95 USD

Location: Tarzana, California

End Time: 2025-02-05T10:11:07.000Z

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