Thursday, March 22, 2007

New ej.com debuts

Check it out! A huge improvement!

EltonJohn.com

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"a dramatic piano intro"

Excellent review, but me thinks this guy is not familiar with Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding when he refers to the first half as a "dramatic piano intro"...oh well, it's still a positive review.

Elton Dazzles in Hartford
March 21, 2007

By ERIC R. DANTON, Courant Rock Critic

Las Vegas it's not, but Elton John made his own glitz and glamour Wednesday night at the Hartford Civic Center. That other piano man ventured away from his long-running gig in Sin City to rehearse songs for his 60th birthday party, which he's holding Sunday in New York. It meant a set full of vintage Elton John tunes for the Hartford crowd, as the singer dug deep into his catalog for a few less-heard numbers, some of which were by request.

"In choosing some of the songs, we've taken into account people going to the website and asking to hear a song," he said early in the show.

Dressed in a dark blue shirt and black tails adorned on the back with a glittery likeness of himself from 35 years ago, John's voice sounded thick at times, as if maybe he drank too much Dr. Pepper before the show and was having trouble clearing his throat.

His slick, virtuosic band helped with the high parts on a few tunes, including the gorgeous narrative ballad "High Flying Bird," and John didn't even try to reach the falsetto parts on "Rocket Man." He was still able to belt, though, which he did on a robust version of "Honky Cat."

Whatever vocal difficulties he had didn't affect John's skill on piano. He played dazzling, speedy fills on "Burning Down the Mission" and thumped the keys with authority on the stutter-step rock of "Bennie and the Jets."

John turned the middle of the 2 ½ hour show into a tour through some of his ballads, which was a study in contrasts. Despite its now-or-never message, "The Bridge" from last year's "The Captain & the Kid" was mired in light-rock treacle. "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters," on the other hand, provided some of the most stirring moments of the evening when the expository verses resolved into the clean, soaring melody of the chorus.

The best-known songs, of course, brought the biggest cheers, and the crowd all but let out a collective "awww" when John played the opening notes to "Tiny Dancer." He let the audience sing the refrain on the juiced-up boogie of "Crocodile Rock," and seemed to delight in the five-letter word flashing in huge letters on the screen behind him on a rowdy version of "The Bitch is Back."

John ended the regular set with "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and then returned for a two-song encore. After the first number, a version of "Love Lies Bleeding" with a dramatic piano intro, he thanked the United States for having welcomed him "from the word go." He dedicated his final tune, "Your Song," to the crowd for its support over the years.


Sixty Years On
Madman Across The Water
Where to Now St Peter
Hercules
High Flying Bird
Holiday Inn
Burn Down the Mission
Take Me to The Pilot
Daniel
Honky Cat
Rocket Man
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
The Bridge
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
Bennie And The Jets
All The Young Girls Love Alice
Tiny Dancer
Something About The Way You Look Tonight
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
I'm Still Standing
The Bitch Is Back
Crocodile Rock
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Your Song

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Elton back catalog on iTunes

Elton finally moves into the 21st century, technologically speaking;
iTunes scoops Sir Elton John catalogue exclusive
Sir Elton John will release his entire catalogue through iTunes next week

Jonny Evans

Sir Elton John this morning revealed plans to make his entire catalogue of releases available exclusively through iTunes starting next week.

The entire catalogue of 400 tracks will be made available through the store starting 26 March, his artist management agents explained. The music will be available exclusively there until 30 April, when it will be made available through other music services.

The artist explained: "I've wanted my music to be available for digital download worldwide for some time, but I knew that the entire catalogue not just the hits needed care and attention to be released in this way. Now that it's happening, I'm pleased for the fans' sake. The world has certainly changed since Philips Records issued my first single on seven-inch vinyl 39 years ago this month."

While some albums are already available through iTunes, the artist will now make over 30 albums available online.

The move coincides with the global release in physical and digital formats of a new, 18-track compilation of his work, Rocket Man The Definitive Hits, from Universal's Mercury Records imprint.

A selection of Sir Elton's biggest hits will also be made available as mobile-phone realtones for the first time, while a selection of his music videos will also be made available online.

Sir Elton celebrates his 60th birthday this weekend with a concert performance at New York's Madison Square Garden.

The artist has sold over 200 million albums worldwide since 1970, and is one of the most successful touring performers and top-selling recording artists of all time.



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Elton 60th Live on MSN

Elton John's 60th Birthday Concert from Madison Square Garden on March 25 (his birthday!) is going to be webcast live on MSN.



Here is the link to view the show;



Elton John's 60th Birthday Concert Live from MSG



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Monday, March 19, 2007

"Sixty Years On" to open MSG show?

According to the UK Independent;
As he hits 60 next Sunday, he will be at one of three ostentatious celebrations to mark the milestone. This one will be a little more public than the other two, with 19,500 fans watching him at New York's Madison Square Garden, opening the show with a fitting rendition of his 1970 song "Sixty Years On".



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