Alright ladies and gentlemen! Now that I've gotten my UK 1985 uploads completed, it's time to move on to new eras! During the spring and summer months of this year, I will be participating in debates ranging from the Reg Strikes Back debate--to the Big Picture debate! Over the next several weeks, you will see a wide variety of uploads (a decent amount will be focused on those two eras)! For my first upload, I will be uploading a concert that not only was requested to me several times, but since it's such a special concert--I have to upload it! This is the very first show on Elton's Reg Strikes Back tour of 1988-1989, and it is one of Elton's finest vocal shows of the late 80s! Although the concert is complete, the quality isn't too hot (to make matters worse--the tape degrades after "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding"). If there is a positive about the quality, Elton's voice is fairly easy to hear (even when the quality worsens)! For the Reg Strikes Back Tour, Elton has parted ways with his beloved Steinway piano (I love that piano) and replaced it with a Roland RD-1000 digital keyboard. While this new keyboard works wonderful on his then-current songs (the late 80s and early 90s stuff), it doesn't sound as good on some older songs (where you need a "real" piano to get the maximum musical effect). He also changed his band considerably (the only members left from previous bands are Davey Johnstone and Fred Mandel) which gives the older songs a more soul/R&B; flavor to them. He also was promoting two albums on this tour ("Live In Australia" and "Reg Strikes Back") which makes for a very interesting set-list! Now for Elton's section! This is the first full show he did after his vocal cord surgery (the Aids Benefit Show from 1988 was a "test" gig), and the results are fantastic! His voice is fully healed from the operation, he has a richer tone compared with his pre-surgery voice. Although the operation was a success, there are a couple lasting effects: His vocal stamina is slightly reduced (which would become a big problem as the tour progresses), and some of his vocal register switching isn't as clean (although that's not too noticeable unless his voice is shot out). Despite that, his voice still sounds strong after the surgery and many false statements ("He lost his falsetto after surgery," "He can't sustain notes," etc) can be debunked by listening to shows from this tour! For this first show on the tour, Elton's voice is in fantastic shape (although it would quickly deteriorate within a week) and every song sounds great! Now, onto the songs... "Sixty Years On" sounds fantastic with Elton singing the song clean (unlike some notorious versions from the previous tour and other versions from this tour), "I Need You To Turn To" sounds great, "The King Must Die" is one of the best versions ever (Elton sings the entire song clean), "Burn Down The Mission" uses a drop/conservative phrasing style for this tour (which I don't like too much), but this version is one of the better versions from this era, "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" has Elton nailing nearly every falsetto part like the pre-surgery days (take that post-surgery haters), "Have Mercy On The Criminal" features some growling--but it's nowhere near as bad as future versions (**cough Chicago cough**), "Love Lies Bleeding" has Elton completely nailing the song like the prime live era, "Tiny Dancer" has Elton singing the original lyrics and displaying great phrasing choices (which makes this one of the best post-surgery versions), "The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-34)" sounds epic and shits all over the 70s versions, "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" sounds excellent, and "Philadelphia Freedom" is one of the best versions from the tour! "Nikita" sounds so nice at this show (sounds like the UK 1985 versions with a slightly richer voice), "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" is great, "A Word In Spanish" has Elton singing the song clean (unlike certain versions later on), "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters Part 1" is the best version from the tour (it's the only version where he phrases like it the 70s versions plus he sounds nearly identical to his younger self), "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters Part 2" has fantastic vocals, "Daniel" sounds nice, "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" has Elton in perfect voice to sing the song (plus sings it closer to the studio version compared with other live versions), "Candle In The Wind" combines 1985-1986 phrasing with some new phrasing, and when you add Elton's "new" voice into the performance--it turns into the best version of the song on the tour! "The Bitch Is Back" sounds great, "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" has Elton hitting a C5 on the third chorus, "Your Song" sounds brilliant, and "I'm Still Standing" has Elton goofing up the lyrics--but delivers a great performance in spite of that! ENJOY!!!
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