Fan report by Si Owens.

It is generally considered that one of the must-have albums in any Elton John fan's collection is 1986's "Live In Australia". That album focussed on Elton John's unique concerts featuring the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the project was a major success, spurning a world-wide hit single with it's recording of "Candle In The Wind".

It could be for two reasons that the LP was such a success. On the surface, the sheer grandeur of scale and ambition of the event itself were enough to entice interest from most strands of music fan, Elton John orientated or not. Look beneath the surface, however, and into the early and name-making work of Elton John, and you begin to understand why such concerts are so important to the millions of supporters the man has amassed over his career.

The fact is, that there is so much more to enjoy in Elton John's CDs than a voice, a piano-player and a collection of soul-tapping works. The many musicians and, perhaps more importantly, arrangers who have accompanied Elton John's LPs have each added their own unique stamp to each unique track to make any Elton John album more than your average rock and roll record.

Elton himself has always been eager to publicly compliment and appreciate the various bands, orchestras, choirs and arrangers with which he's worked over the years, and also to credit the Royal Acadamy Of Music for it's own role in his success. Ever the altruist, these orchestral concerts, then, were surely a matter of "when", rather than "if".

Those who missed out on the 1986 tour of Australia, or the benefit shows with the orchestra last year, didn't miss the opportunity to snap up tickets for Elton John's shows in Birmingham and London this time around. I was one such person, and what I very soon realised was that no amount of listening to "Live In Australia", and at whatever volume, could prepare me for the richness, quality and size of the sound experienced in the arena hearing this concert live.

Starting by simply walking on stage with no fuss or introductory music, Elton sat at the piano, addressed the audience, introduced the concert and, with the rest of us, immersed himself in the sounds of "60 Years On". Next followed "Greatest Discovery" and "I Need You To Turn To", and it was difficult to believe your ears that you really were hearing such amazing songs set to such an amazing sound.

The music was to step up a gear again, however, when Elton started "Border Song" and was joined by his touring band (brilliant performances as usual, guys) and the choir. It really is impossible to explain how good this music sounds by this point in the evening, and "Border Song" was the highlight of the event for me.

In terms of the set, it was as per the show on July 2, 2004. It's hard to single out particular songs in such an all-round masterpice, but the tracks for which all facets were used were the tracks that hit the audience with full power. "Burn Down The Mission" was particularly memorable, and the guys seemed to be having a great time reviving the Philladelphia sound in "Tell Me When The Whistle Blows" and "Philadelphia Freedom". Elton revealed that he regards the arrangement to Philadelphia Freedom as the best ever to grace any pop record.

Elton himself seemed to be having a tremendous time performing in this context, despite apparently battling against less than satisfactory monitoring levels. He was jovial and funny, while at the same time elegant and informative. As you would expect, the band were superb, particularly Bob Birch during "Burn Down The Mission", Davey Johnson during "Madman Across The Water" and "Have Mercy On The Criminal", and John Mahon's percussion through "Believe" (my favourite Elton song of the nineties, and a personal highlight).

It also needs to be mentioned that is easy to forget that the Royal Acadamy is just that - an Acadamy. These people are still very young musicians, yet the quality of their skills you will not hear matched anywhere else.
Also, I noticed that it was the same security team who were on duty at the Ipswich concert, and I'd like to say what a superb job these guys do - doing their job effectively whilst never being over-the-top and always friendly and curtious with the audience.

The phrase "not-to-be-missed" is an over used set-piece in mordern marketing, but this concert was undoubtedly worthy of that accolade. Will these shows ever come around again? Who knows. But Elton John at Wembley Arena on the third of July 2004 will live long in the memory of those who were there.

Following is the complete set list from the London show on July 3, 2004:

• Sixty Years On
  
• The Greatest Discovery
  
• I Need You To Turn To
  
• Border Song
  
• The King Must Die
  
• Burn Down The Mission
  
• Believe
  
• Come Down In Time
  
• Tell Me When The Whistle Blows
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• Madman Across The Water
  
• Holiday Inn
  
• Levon
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• Have Mercy On The Criminal
  
• Carla/Etude
  
• Tonight
  
• Take Me To The Pilot
  
• Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
• Your Song

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