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(More customer reviews)Elton's Geffen Records contract had run its course and his old home, MCA, made him an offer he couldn't refuse. MCA also wanted to bring Elton back into prominence, to regain the respect and sales he'd accumulated in the 70's. How better to do that, then, than to revisit those early songs in a live context? Better yet, Elton enlisted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and James Newton Howard to create a televised extravaganza with eyes towards a live album. The set list leaned heavily towards the early years (nearly half the "Elton John" album is here) and tapping some underrated songs like "Tonight" from "Blue Moves" and "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player's" "Have Mercy On The Criminal."
The orchestration is magnificent, utilizing the original Paul Buckmaster and James Newton Howard arrangements, and on CD they are absolutely majestic. Elton made one of his last forays into costume drama, showing up in full Mozart gear and powdered wig. "Live In Australia" even paved the way for "Candle In The Wind" to finally become an American hit, hitting number 6 in 1987. It is a gorgeous album, lush in sound and giving justification to all claims of the brilliance of Elton and Bernie's songwriting.
Only one problem: Elton's voice was almost shot. He was mere weeks away from major, voice threatening throat surgery and the roughness on his vocal chords shows. He can't sustain the highs and his falsetto is gone. On some of the songs, he makes up for it admirably. In fact, he sounds really good on the songs where range isn't a major requirement (like the dramatic "The King Must Die" or "Take Me To The Pilot"), but the ballads occasionally show the frayed spots (like "Tonight," where the orchestration is very Gershwinesque, or "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"). Had it not been for those moments where Elton's voice betrays him, this could have been a five-star definitive work, on a par with "Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra." While "Live In Australia" is still pretty darn good, the definitive live Elton remains the remastered "Here and There."
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