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Once again… The band with a human click track. Awesome performance.

Don't know if I'm convinced they were "The Best" but definitely one of the best of the era. Thanks for an amazing time and loved all the great music. Cheers!

Great !

Great job here Jon . . . can you give the address to the vids from "Here and There" ... I've never seen these and would love to see them. Blessings . . . . BTW . . . Saw EJB November, 1975, McNichols Arena, Denver, touring for Rock of the Westies . . . 3.5 hour show, my first ever.

😂

Amazing video Jon. You’re not wrong nor did you miss anything. RIP Elton John Band 1970-1975. Im even ok with Westin’s and Blue Moves. London 77….great show. After - the music and the overall vibe….I’ll pass. Again excellent video Jon.

Very nice overview. I was right with you when you indicated particular things to listen for. These guys were all rare and exceptional.

Voluminous.. prolific.. Danny Bailey..

Hey Brother. I dig your emotional truthfulness. Very groovy Keep on keeping on ✌🏻

Show the visuals and use your vocals, but don't show your face. You have a face made for radio.

Nigel's kick timing was alien-tier. Better Off Dead, Love Lies Bleeding .. not pushing, more like teasing.

Thrill of a lifetime: Greatest Hits tour launch Feb 2011 in Victoria, BC, Canada. Every bar played flawlessly by Davey and Nigel (and EJ was on fire). No tricks or gimmicks.

Superb insights, given me a whole new understanding of the music I've listened to since 1973. Heard the band live at the Preston Guildhall for the 'Louder than Concorde but not as pretty' tour. Salutations from the mother country.

So glad I lived through this era as a young enthusiast - it all sounded special and wonderful at the time but you never knew it was a unique period in music history - something that hasn’t been repeated since, in my view. Great video - you did a great job !

I wonder if elton serviced each member of the band after each show.

I always said music went downhill when "American Idol" went on the air & died back in 2006 when Taylor Swift & Nikki Minaj signed their record deal.

Ironically,the great Barry Morgan played drums on the album version of 'Take Me To The Pilot', I believe.

That's another thing - he didn't need backing singers - the band were fantastic harmonisers!

this video is so spot on.................and needed to be made . you are RIGHT. WOW!

Great video Jon, thoroughly enjoyed it! On a bit of a side-note, I was hoping to get your take on something.... Are you familiar with Leo Sayer's 'How Much Love' ? I've always felt it sounded very Elton John-ish, and recently I've discovered that Nigel Olsson and Paul Buckmaster were in the studio with Leo to assist on it. Pretty wild. The song went to #7 on the Pop charts, but I can't help think if Elton sang it, it would have gone straight to #1 like a moonshot. Oh well, just my 2 cents 😅

Take Me to the Pilot, Yes ! I’ve always seen this, since the 70s, as one of his most underrated tracks. Elton and band KILLING IT live, with the funk and blues !

I’m so glad I was a teenager back then. We’ll always know what heights popular music CAN reach, no matter how it sounds now, because we saw and heard it happening, right in front of us.

don't get me wrong... i love all this music (11-17-70 was one of my favorites growing up), but i always found Nigel's playing to be kind of stiff compared to drummers like Charlie Watts, Dino Danelli, and Levon Helm for example. Having said that, I do think he was influential. His style kind of sounds like later arena rock drum styles before its time.

Hearing this music was the very thing I needed today. These songs and records were my childhood. After having studied “serious” music, my appreciation for these musicians soars each time I hear them. Thank you!!

I saw Elton John in 1973, 1974 and in 1975…before he fired his band. Those were great years…before EJ went off the deep-end with drug use. By 1975 he was just starting to get weird. I later saw Elton in Moscow in 2007 and in Stockholm in 2012 when he was back playing with Dave and Nigel again. Elton John’s a big part of the soundtrack of my life.

The vast majority of Hip-Hop & Pop stars today can't actually sing, play an instrument, or write a song with more than one chord. They can't reproduce their music live, so they lip-sync & have prerecorded music tracks when performing. This was a perfect amusing & sad commentary on the state of popular music today.

Your enthusiasm for Elton and The Band is contagious. This is my favorite Elton / Bernie time period. Very influential on my musical path. Thanks for doing this video!

I always felt everything after Capt Fantastic was unremarkable now I know why. I am also one who dismissed Here & There you have convinced me otherwise. However big fan of 171170 love the version of 60 years on despite the lack of orchestration. Many thanks 🙏

Great video thanks so much.

Thanks for this, Jon! I agree wholeheartedly with your comments regarding Fantastic. The MCA CD is my gold standard for how good a digital release can sound. The analog source recordings were outstanding, and then it was digitally mastered with enough headroom to avoid distortion, which is unique in itself. It’s phenomenal. On a side note, I used to be a drummer and the title track was one of my top 5 favorite practice songs to play along with.

It’s possible that Nigel is objectively the most perfectly consistent drummer in the business. It actually jumps out at you. The guy has a metronome in his brain.

Thank you! I'm with 100% on this!

Thanks, Jon. After watching this, I’m in my happy place.

Elton should have never; let cocaine dominate his life after 1973; never recorded in America .. too many yes men; fire Nigel and Dee, who were with him from the beginning, he should have retired at least from pop music in 1976.

I know you put a ton of time into these videos. Thanks Jon - very well done. And Captain Fantastic is without a doubt one of the best albums ever made!!

Sounds like Dee was influenced by McCartney in that he, too, plays melodically and helps drive the song forward. They "play" their instruments.

THANK YOU for so much you put in this episode! Tons of video, still photos and insights from you. This has been the best thing I've seen in ages!

Back when I was 18 or 19 I became overwhelmingly smitten with a girl who was a full-blown Elton fanatic, and although I was already aware of his existence, she was the catalyst of me doing a deeper dive into album cuts. What a discovery!!! Initially I did it for her, but it immediately became my thing for me. I was just starting to play acoustic guitar, and I was mesmerized by the use of acoustic guitars in rock music. Sixty Years On and Madman Across The Water were only 2 of many that had acoustics high in the mix, and I was in so deep. I lost her but I will never be without my acoustic guitars. But I still think of her. Great video my man!!!

Fantastic video and band. Early 70s Elton John was amazing. What a great live band too. I had never seen or heard some of those recordings so thank you for this video.

No word of a lie, the rapid ascendance of stupidity culture began with, "America's Funniest Home Videos". Prove me wrong.

I'm so with you Jon!! How can I contain myself to a comment section on ones so profound and prolific as Elton John, Bernie Taupin & Dee, Davey and Nigel! I watched the Gershwin awards 3x as a self check. 1st, crushing BIG on Nigel at age 9 as an aspiring drummer, I was STUPEFIED at camera fixed on THE OTHER (dancing) percussionist. Where the hell was Nigel?? He only launched Elton's career and fortune. Did the floor crew screw up the notes? Unless Nigel specifically said, "I have acne, don't put me on camera," I don't get a mistake of that magnitude. That's straight out of the box my TOP complaint. Unforgivable. I do love Annie and Brandie...So no quibbles. They did what they do and they did it flawlessly. Their voices worked with the tone of the music and they held to its feel. Kept reminding myself that, yes, Jon, in fact Elton hand picked these performers. I could critique each but you already did and I agree with you adding I admire the genius of Joni's recordings, and God bless her for crawling back from a stroke. But... 😮 My overall take is Elton has made a point to be relevant with performers who he thinks are on the rise, especially LGBTQ, so the rising tide lifts all boats, keeping him relevant at 75. This makeover I long attributed to David Furnish, a strategy to provide ongoing income for Elton's notorious spending and a nest egg for the children. Frankly, I think Elton doesn't give himself and his music enough credit. A revenue stream often follows self esteem. Perhaps it is an after-effect of growing up gay in his generation despite his global success. That's the only explanation I can find for some of his musical affiliations, on the Gershwin show and off, who shall remain nameless. While I thought some of the show's performers we're charming, I would rather have a dynamic more straight up to the music than theatrics, as you reference. But again it's what Elton wanted; and there was some talent there, save 2 pitiful performers. The audience can figure that out. My Elton John in 1973, age 8, was my first musical passion. First album collection. Grew the catalog backward and forward every birthday and Christmas to Rock of the Westies & Here and There. I saw Sir Elton in the 2000s, 2nd row Boston Garden, gobsmacked to be in his aura and wept throughout. He could have filed his nails on stage and that would have been fine for me. And like you, I don't need to hear him live anymore. I will adore him always, and weep like a baby should he proceed me. But he is now the stuff of legends and not the passionate singer-songwriter who touched this child's soul.

Dee, Nigel & Davey were not only great musicians that were so telepathic & tight, but as Jon mentioned, they were also amazing background singers as well. "Rocket Man" & "Harmony" are just two songs with amazing background vocals. Great presentation & analysis of the musical interplay of the EJ Band 1970-75.

As a fan of the Beatles (they are my favorite), imagine if Lennon had been in a better mental state and the Elton John Band had devoted a section of the MSG concert to backing Lennon on a set of his songs. Also, The bass lines you point out must have been inspired by McCartney.

Thank you for your videos. I had wondered for a long time why exactly I don't connect with Elton's stuff after the 1970's. And, no, you are not crazy. Nothing landed for me either among the Gershwin award performances. It was better and richer work in the early days. Makes me want to go back and dust off those albums!

There was indeed this window of just a few years, 1970 - 1975, when they made these amazing records. Madman Across the Water, Tiny Dancer. The jazzy vocals heavily influenced by Laura Nyro. Then that was it. The rest from Elton John is all crap.

Yes I played your Not Dressed CD a few times. I will comment on that in a personal message. Also to hear my own versions of Elton obscurities-- including "Mellow, Ticking, Seventeen and Twenty, No Title, Blue Wonderful..." YT: "Truva Kaplan Elton". Then subscribe like I did for your channel! Truva

Jon. This is the video that got me interested in your channel. I didn't realize you are "sort of a drummer" as well as a producer. I have been studying Elton since 1974. The First Time I heard Caribou and Don't Shoot Me was Dec 13, 1974 - the same night my little sister was born across town. I love all those deep tracks too. My personal favorite obscure one is the Song that Has No Title. I wish someone filmed those 1970 American shows, since we only have photos... Truva

You comments on "Bennie and the Jets" are so relevant to me. I recall thinking, "wow, I have never heard a song like this before" when it was released as a single in 1974. That song and "Rock On" by David Essex just blew me away when I first heard them. Then "Philadelphia Freedom" came out in early 1975 (your are totally right, incredible bass by Dee on this one) and I became a fan for life! It was Dee's bass & Elton's vocals plus the Gene Page arrangement that first caught my ear on "Philadelphia Freedom." Thanks for the journey back to an era of master musicianship!

I have memories of my mother yelling "turn the music down" I played 17-11-70 as loud as my old stereo could manage. It was the album that really got me hooked on Elton