Although I have always been a big Elton John fan, I probably would have passed on this new concert DVD had I not seen the amazing set list and all of the rare bonus footage that was included.
I already own Sir Elton's excellent live greatest hits DVD, One Night Only, from 2001 so Elton 60 would have to offer something pretty damn special for me to shell out more of my hard earned money on this aging legend performing these same songs again.
Not only is it special, but it is also one of the best bargains of the year. Setting aside the 33-song, three-hour, main concert feature, which is pretty incredible in its own right, you also get an additional two hours worth of live, rare, and unseen bonus material to boot. We're talking previously unreleased live performances going back as far as 1970. The bonus material alone would have been well worth the asking price for this DVD.
The suitably titled Elton 60 marked Elton John's record-breaking 60th sellout performance at Madison Square Garden, New York City, which just so happened to also take place on his 60th birthday. The performance was recorded on March 25th, 2007 and was televised to a worldwide audience.
The format for this concert was commendable. I was half expecting it to start off with some kind of garish birthday tribute featuring adorations from all of Elton's celebrity friends but surprisingly it got right down to the business at hand - the music. Elton walks out to a dimly lit stage and receives a warm ovation from the celebrity-filled New York City crowd.
He takes an appreciative bow and dispenses a few waves of the hand to his fans, then he takes to his piano and launches right into the damn-near 60-year old song "Sixty Years On" from his 1970 self-titled second album. Great start so far.
I was sitting there with this huge shit-eating grin on my face throughout the entire first part of the show, because it featured mostly lesser known, and rarely performed, gems like "Holiday Inn," "Hercules," "Ballad of a Well Known Gun," and "Where to Now St. Peter?" from his early '70s masterpieces like Honky Chateau, Tumbleweed Connection, Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player, and Madman Across The Water. These are what your local rock radio station might refer to as "deep cuts."
Most people, unfortunately, only know Elton's music from his greatest hits albums, but these brilliant performances show that those fantastic early albums really had to be appreciated in their entirety.
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