11-17-70 [Live, Original recording remastered]

 

 

Create your own review

When 11-17-70 was originally released in April 1971, it was significant for showing those who were buying Elton's records but hadn't yet seen him live that he was just as incredible a performer as he was a songwriter! This album may not have succeeded in its mission, but only because its sales paled in comparison to the slew of other Elton albums released in 1971-- Tumbleweed Connection, the Friends soundtrack and Madman Across the Water. 11-17-70 also had vinyl bootlegs to contend with, many of which included the entire radio concert from which the album was culled, as opposed to the mere six songs on the official release.
Until this album was remastered by Elton's (mainly) 70s producer, Gus Dudgeon, it was Elton's greatest live album and one of his best albums overall. In April 1971, people could clearly hear the mania in his singing and playing; indeed, every piano note came to the surface with aggressive abandon. Elton's non-verbal exclamations were also in abundance, as were multitudinous audience screams and clapping. Until Gus remastered it, 11-17-70 had a quality that increased one's heart rate and level of exhilaration before the first song was over! But Gus has erased the excitement by lowering the brightness of Elton's piano, muffling many of his non-verbal exclamations as well as those of the audience and erasing much of the clapping. What a horrible disappointment!
I would advise anyone interested in hearing this album who owns a functioning turntable to seek out the vinyl. If all you've got is a CD player, try the Polydor CD. Forget about this remaster!

I will start out to say that this is the best live album that was ever made by Elton John. I have some questions. First of all What is that mugging "Stop it I say stop it man!" that everybody keeps talking about? If this album was remastered then how come with the new technology we have today the rest of the show wasn't included and made into a double album like "Here and There" inspite of the bonus track "Amoreena"? Why was the original colorful cover of Elton sitting at the piano used like from the UK 17/11/70 instead of having that black and white shape of him hunched over. With that out of the way I will begin my review 1."Bad side of the Moon" Yes the flip side of Border song. If you thought it was boring with Paul Buckmasters Strings then soon you'll change you thoughts. This version only with piano, bass and drums is an awesome opener espcially with over 125 people clapping in the backround. Its length is almost five minutes long unlike the studio version which is a little over three minutes. 2."Amoreena" Instead of being sincere with regret like the version on Tumbleweed Connection it bounces along with a tone like No Shoe String On Louise. It is the only song that is shorter than the studio version on this album, reaching 4:50 not counting the seconds of clapping. 3."Take me to the Pilot" Compared the studio version to this, makes the studio version sound tame. Its length is almost twice as long then the studio version making it almost six minutes not counting the clapping and cheering. 4."Sixty Years On" The studio version was sad and depressed. Instead this version sounded excited and angry. Gus adds echos and other trickery to this track until the very end. This song has the least amount of singing practically making it an instrumental. Its length is almost seven minutes. 5."Honky tonk Women" Unlike the Rolling Stones version which was country and bluesy, this version was uppity jumpy, and the audience was laughing and cheering plus a two minute medley to close the song. 6."Can I put you On" It was really good off of the Friends Album but this version beats it hands down. The extended medley makes this song better than ever reaching over eight minutes. 7. "Burn Down The Mission/My Baby Left Me/ Get Back." It is so hard to explain this awesome highlight but I'll tell you this; The Intire track is over twenty minutes long and it changes tempos. Plus "Burn Down The Mission" is so much faster and what a rocker it becomes as it moves into a chorus of My Baby Left Me causing the women to scream bloody murder Lastly it swirves into "Get Back" by the Beatles which makes the crowds go wild and shout MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE! As I conclude my review I have some things to say about people who griped about this new remaster. Ok for those of you commented about the clapping removed. GET A LIFE! Gus left a reasonable amount of clapping after each track. I wanted to hear music not clapping. For those of you that whined about the "Stop I said Stop it!" or what ever Elton said. SHUT! UP! I don't care if that part was removed. If you want to here Elton Talk then watch Behind the Music or Greatest TV Moments. If you want to hear him sing then buy this! Also for those who mentioned the echos that Gus put in there should clam up and enjoy the concert. He didn't put a lot of echos there like you thought. For Sixty Years on it sounded 200% appropriate for the studio trickery because it mixes in perfectly with the anger Elton expressed. Also for the highlight meledy the echos help make the concert sound more like a concert instead of a studio take. Even remixing the songs was in better taste and at least he added Amoreena as a bonus track instead of no bonus tracks at all. As for all the unsatisfied customers you should be thankful that you can actually own such a flawless live album such as this. Bottom line: Buy this album, keep it and treasure it!

There are 8 - 10 great live albums of all time. This is one of them.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 44 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Too bad about the engineering
I had this on vinyl years ago and it was one of my favourite performances. The energy of EJ's singing and playing survived but it sounds like his mike was across the room from... Read more

Published on Jun 16 2009 by Music man

5.0 out of 5 stars Elton John before all the pretense
In his youth, Elton John was an extremely aggressive performer with a very dark sense of humour. The youth and fire is captured on this recording of a live radio broadcast on Nov... Read more

Published on Sep 19 2004 by D. R. Chevalier

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
This early EJ is like magic. You can see the start of the growth of a very gifted musician!!

Published on July 14 2004 by J. McAndrew

1.0 out of 5 stars Just a brief dip, he would improve again!
Tumbleweed Connection raised Elton to his initial peak audibly with the hit single Country Comfort, and that legendary epic, Burn down the mission. Read more

Published on May 17 2004 by radiogold

3.0 out of 5 stars Elton Goes Live
Neither overrated nor essential for non-Elton fans, "11-17-70" is a solid, flavorful offering which captures Elton John at a transition point in his then-fledgling... Read more

Published on Feb 1 2004 by Bill Slocum

5.0 out of 5 stars Elton's First Live Album
In the early 70s it appeared that Elton John had quite a few firsts, all in the span of a few years. Read more

Published on July 10 2003 by Lonnie E. Holder

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW Part 2
This is an addition to my earlier review. Please see my first review. I had to add that "Can I Put You On" might be the finest live song ever done on any album.. Read more

Published on Mar 6 2003 by captkav

4.0 out of 5 stars I thought I was there.....
While I'm a bigger fan of the original recording, even on my crummy little cassette player, I love this session. Read more

Published on Dec 23 2002 by Scott

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have Live Album
I just got this CD today. I was blown away! As soon as he is introduced...bang! a rip roaring version of Bad Side of the Moon starts. Read more

Published on Dec 15 2002 by captkav

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Look At Elton's Early Live Performances
Long before he was the gaudy, over-the-top piano player who used an array of musicians and did wild theatrics during his performances, Elton John was a quiet showman, whose... Read more

Published on Dec 8 2002 by Anthony Nasti

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 44 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!