Customer Reviews

11-17-70

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

11-17-70 has always been one of my favorite live albums. Here, Elton John, Dee Murray, and Nigel Olsson make the simple combination of piano, bass, and drums sound like more than the sum of their parts.

As many have already observed, however, the overall feel of the album was substantially altered in the remastering process. The album has obviously been remixed, with the strict stereo separation of the original abandoned in favor of a more conventional, everything-in-the-center placement of the recording's key elements.

By itself, the tinkering with the stereo mix is not necessarily bad. What ultimately mars this remaster is the application of unnecessary effects, often creating a very watery, flange-y feel that only serves to distract one's attention from the music.

Another sin is that part of the original recording is actually missing. No longer is Elton's "stop it, man, I said stop it!" mugging present after "Take me to the pilot" (or was it "Honky tonk women"?). A minor omission, perhaps, but the point of remastering is usually to obtain a higher-quality transfer of the original analog master, not to alter an album's content.

Still, this album is definitely worth having. But you may also want to look for a used copy of the 1992 (1993?) Polydor re-issue, which was (supposedly) taken from the original British master...

In the early 70s it appeared that Elton John had quite a few firsts, all in the span of a few years. Elton almost exploded onto the American music scene in 1970, and was so popular that the albums could hardly be released fast enough. From a business perspective, it made sense to release as many albums as possible from a young artist that hit the top 10 with his first two U.S. releases. Further, live albums were relatively popular in the early 70s, and it appeared important for Elton to have one. Thus, this album was one of four 1971 releases for Elton. This particular release went to #11 in the charts.

The energy on this album is fantastic. A young, very energetic Elton John pounds out blues flavored rock. Included is an eighteen and a half minute single that includes "Burn Down the Mission," "My Baby Left Me," and "Get Back." This particular combination is a free-wheeling rocker that just seems to go on forever. Elton was clearly having fun with this set, with the piano and drums often at the forefront. Later the style changes to the blues again, consistent with Elton's early style.

This album also includes "Can I Put You On," a track from the now hard to find "Friends" soundtrack. The movie was relatively forgettable (though I actually saw it in a theater), but the soundtrack was decent and a foreshadowing of the many soundtracks that Elton would later write and perform.

"Honky Tonk Women" is a well-performed cover of the Rolling Stones' classic. The song starts without instrumental accompaniment, to the amusement and delight of the audience. Unsurprisingly, the song is played with blues overtones, and Elton's piano is also flavored with a bit of honky tonk.

"Amoreena" is another "Tumbleweed Connection" song that appears, in addition to "Burn Down the Mission." While many of the songs on this CD are embellished or even changed, "Amoreena" survives in the style in which it was performed on "Tumbleweed." This song has always been one of my favorites, and the live version is a bit pared down from the album, as the special effects used in the studio version are missing.

"Take Me to the Pilot" and "Sixty Years On" from the "Elton John" album are both given excellent treatment in extended versions. "Sixty Years On" particularly is well performed in this live setting.

In several cases, I prefer these recordings over the studio versions. Elton and his band had time to improve their style over the course of a year or more of playing the songs and being together. "Burn Down the Mission" and "Sixty Years On" are two examples of songs that I think came off quite well in this CD. It may also be that Elton's young voice and incredible energy show so clearly in this CD, that they infuse every song with an essence that sometimes gets diluted or disappears in a studio setting. Elton John has always been a great performer in front of audiences, and this CD proves he had this talent back to the beginning of his career.

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!

As a longtime Elton John fan, my all-time favorite album was 11-17-70, an in-studio performance that shook the house and showed that Elton John was one of the greatest live performers ever. In particular, his cover of "Honky Tonk Woman" honored the Stones original with a blast of energy. His "Burn Down the Mission" finale (touched with bits of Elvis' "My Baby Left Me" and the Beatles' "Get Back") was in many ways better than the original studio track on "Tumbleweed Connection." In any event, I played that album over and over until my father would bang on the walls. Those younger folk who only know Elton's recent work would do well to listen to this recording to see just how brilliant Elton John was in his early days.

Imagine my disappointment when I picked up this CD, remastered by Gus Dudgeon. His reverbs and crummy effects, added to Elton's voice being muddied, don't do the night justice. Shame on you, Gus! I love the music, and give it 4 stars for Elton, Nigel Olsson's drums and the late, great Dee Murray's bass, but Dudgeon's botched remaster prevents me from rating a perfect recording a perfect CD.

If this is all you can get, then buy it. But it leaves out the elements that lifted the original from good to great. I often talked about "11-17-70" as an example of the "before" in an artist's "before" and "after" comparison.

What I mean is that before an artist is a star, he will usually issue really tight, focused work with every note/word polished. The insecurity is part of what makes a great rising artist great. Then, once they get well known, many if not most artists tend to slack off and they lose much of what made them great.

"11-17-70" is Elton John at his best before he became rock and roll's Liberace. It is one of the most intense live recordings I've ever heard. I have the vinyl, and it's almost as if you can hear the beads of sweat falling off Elton's forehead as he sings. The creative tension is overpowering to the point of being almost mystical. My favorites are "Can I Put You On," "60 Years On" and "Burn Down the Mission." Man, what heat.

A lot of that is missing from the re-mix, which is very strange. Why would the re-mixers actually take out what made it great? Why would Elton tolerate it? If you can get the vinyl, go for it. Even on CD, though, "11-17-70" chronicles a rising star at his very best. It reminds you of what Elton John was, and could have been.

What a wonderful masterpiece!! This is Elton John's first documentated live appearance (in a broadcast studio), and it is one of the best live albums of all time!! Incredible to think the music is so perfect that you don't even miss a guitar solo here (the band is only Elton, a bassist and a drummer), and the sound is so good you can imagine that there are several musicians performing, and it's just the three of them!!! Excellent drumming by Nigel Olsson in all songs, and Dee Murray shows himself as a terrific bass player as well. Elton's cover of "Honky Tonk Women" is just too much!! The whole album is too much!! I highly recommend it. THIS IS A LIVE PERFORMANCE!!!

I first heard this album on WNEW radio in 1981 (the ten year anniversary radio broadcast) and was BLOWN AWAY! I went to my local used record store and found an original copy. I plunked down my $1.99 plus tax and listened to it quite often. Years later I decided to buy it on cd and was quite disappointed at the first MCA issue which was budget priced. The fidelity was low and very hissy. I kept listening to my original record instead. When Polydor re-released Elton's catalogue is when I should have bought this again - but I didn't. I waited for the Rocket version and was mortified at what I heard. If you've never heard the original you won't know what I am talking about. I liked the bonus track and the re-sequencing but that was about it. At this point the Polydor releases were out of print, but I was lucky to find a copy in a cd store that would let club members listen before purchasing. After sampling the POLYDOR version I quickly took the last remaining copy to the cash register and bought it. THIS IS THE VERSION TO HAVE! Look for it and pay any resonable price. As for the 5 stars, why should Elton's great music take a hit because of a bored engineer who wanted to try something different.

I find myself in an unusual position regarding this re-master. Normally I am upbeat regarding the sound on an album because the music is what I usually focus on. I do not consider myself to be an audiophile, which must be true because my stereo [was inexpensive]. But this time I have to say that the re-mastered CD sound is not as good as the original vinyl. I know that Gus Dudgeon tried to take care of some of the flaws in the original recording, but he succeeded in eliminating some of the good stuff with the bad... The poor sound quality gets 2 stars, a very serious rarity in my reviews.

As for Elton's performance and the performance of his band, they get somewhere around 4 or 5 stars...

You'll find that Elton really had a lot of blues in him when he sang these songs... Others, such as "Take Me to the Pilot", are just plain old rockers. I really enjoy the final medley of "Burn Down the Mission/My Baby Left Me/Get Back". A really classy end to the concert. Also included is "Amoreena", another hit from the album "Tumbleweed Connection", along with "Burn down the Mission"... There are parts of this album I didn't care for in its original release. However, as I've grown older and mellowed, I appreciate the artistry of the album much more. Further, I realize that live albums by their nature are intended to show the art of the artist as much as possible, and few artists are truly perfect live. The performance here is pretty darn good.

In summary, Elton's early performance here is fresh and a reminder of his beginnings, certainly a valuable piece of music history. The sound of the re-master is really not up to par, and could have been much better. The CD gets 4 stars only because of Elton, and could I have given it 3.5 stars because of the sound, I would have.

This music has "Burn down the House" energy 30 years after it was recorded. It's my absolute favorite live album of all time. I've nearly worn out my vinyl, so I ordered this CD barely in time for the exact 30th anniversary. I should have saved my money. The pathetic attempt to undo the 'softening' of the 25+ year-old tapes (as described by Gus Dudgeon in the album liner) is what I call "cranked reverb". It echoes from Dave Herman's first words on the album and offends the senses until Elton says "keep smiling" at the end. My God, they nearly ruined it. How could this happen? Cripes, it's the new millennium! No wonder we're not driving hover cars and living on Mars, they can't salvage the best of the past in spite of supercomputers. Only the intensity of the material saves the CD. Somebody please get the original tapes and do it right, PLEASE. I'll buy it.

If you never heard the vinyl, you'll still love this album. You can't NOT like it. These 3 guys are ON and the 'Burn Medley' rocks. The playfulness in 'Honky Tonk Women' just shows that the guys are having fun, despite what the naysayers post here. Oh, to have been in that A&R studio that cold November night.

I'll still listen to the CD 'cuz it's convenient. But I'll break out the superior vinyl on occasion, too. Its pops and scratches are music to my ears.

In late 1969, word caught on about a English singer-songwriter named Reginald Dwight. He had released several cover albums worth of stuff in the late-1960s under his stage name Elton John (these albums can be found here on Amazon: Search "Elton John 1969-1970" and you'll get some results) and in 1969, he landed a deal with Polydor Records. He released his debut LP that year, 'Empty Sky,' which went largely unnoticed in all areas of the world.

What a difference a year makes, however. By 1970, Elton John had released his sophomore album, which was self-titled, and it sold very well. Featuring the hit single 'Your Song' and the popular album track 'Take Me to the Pilot,' the 1970 album proved to be quite a turning point for 23-year old Elton's career.

Eventually, America caught on about Elton, realized his talent, and on November 17, 1970, Elton took the stage to a crowd of about 150 people at a local radio studio for a short live performance. Little did anyone know the impact this live performance would have on the young and fledgling John's career.

Fans and critics raved about John's performance at this radio show; by early 1971, it was widely bootlegged. Eventually, to satisfy the bootlegger's and the rapidly-growing Elton fans, Polydor Records, Elton's label, released the concert on an album called '17-11-70' (now retitled '11-17-70' for the CD reissue).

There's the background on this performance. Read on for the review.

To this day, this is in my opinion the best Elton John live album (although 'Live in Australia' comes close -- but that's another review). The sound cannot be beaten. It's incredible. Elton's band is clearly having a blast, and despite the small crowd, clearly they are as entertained as one could be by the young Elton. Right from the moment fellow DJ Dave Herman introduces Elton to the stage to open the album (and the show), you know this is going to be something special.

The best version of 'Take Me to the Pilot' appears on this album, with Elton just singing his heart out and pounding the crap out of the keys on his piano. Clearly the crowd is really enjoying Elton's showmanship here, and more importantly, his incredible playing skills too (Elton knows how to play the keys -- no denying it).

A fascinating cover of the Stones' 'Honky Tonk Women' is also here. This cover is an interesting one, no doubt, definitely one of the better Rolling Stones cover songs out there (believe me -- the Stones are one hard band to cover). Elton sings with great range here, and his band (as always) supplements him quite nicely as well.

But the real highlight is the finale. 'Burn Down the Mission' in all of its 20-minute glory. 'Tumbleweed Connection' would not be released for another month, so at the time of this show, this song was unheard of. But boy, does Elton and company jam. The piano playing on this version is AMAZING -- proving what a wizard Elton is behind the piano, and also showcases Elton's backing band as well. This is truly one of the all-time great moments in rock and roll's live concert history.

Overall, if you do not own '11-17-70' yet, buy it NOW. This live album made me an Elton John fan, and I will almost guarantee you, it will make you one too. The playing here is perfect, Elton is in tip-top shape, and this proves that Elton could really do it all -- play like a virtuoso, sing brilliantly, and entertain the crowd despite its small size. This was the album (if you ask me) that truly showcased the young Elton's skills and proved that he was going to be a star for a long time.

However, if I may offer some advice: Buy the Polydor edition used because the sound quality on that edition is much, much better. The Rocket remaster has remixed the tracks (to a certain extent) so the sound is slightly different. I prefer the original Polydor CD issue. That's the version to track down. However, in contrast, if you are a true Elton fan or a fan who doesn't feel like tracking down the original Polydor issue, buy this edition for 'Amoreena,' which was added here as a bonus track and does not appear on that issue. 'Amoreena' is offered here in a stellar version, however, one must wonder how it would sound un-remixed...

I strongly recommend '11-17-70.' Go for the Polydor edition (or both -- if you are a die-hard fan), sit down, relax, and enjoy the show!

Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended.

ENJOY!!!