Elton John Album: “To Russia with Love [Video]”

THIS 1979 CONCERT FIL DOCUMENT'S ELTON'S TOUR OF RUSSIA WHEN THE BERLIN WALL WAS STILL SEPERATING EAST AND WEST GERMANY. IT WAS ELTON'S IDEA TO DO A SHOW WITH JUST HIM AND PERCUSSIONIST RAY COOPER. THE FILM KICKS OFF WITH INTERVIEWS BEFORE WE SEE WHAT WE WANT TO SEE AS ELTON PERFORMS CLASSICS LIKE " YOUR SONG ", " 60

YEARS ON ", " BETTER OFF DEAD ", " I THINK I'M GONNA KILL MYSELF ", " CAN'T GET STARTED WITH YOU ", " CANDLE IN THE WIND ", " BENNIE AND THE JETS ",AND A MEDLEY OF " SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR FIGHTING " AND " PINBALL WIZARD ". THIS SHOWS WHAT ELTON JOHN SHOULD BE LIKE. IT'S AN EXCELLENT VIDEO, AND IT'S A " MUST HAVE " FOR ANY " DIE - HARD " ELTON FAN.

I had the opportunity to attend a "Single Man" concert in 1979 when Elton played in Israel (right before he flew to Russia. It was the same concert seen in this video. Never before (and after) in my life had I seen such a breath taking Rock performance. Elton John and Ray Cooper mastered the applauding audience with Elton performing his songs via a one grand Steinway piano and an electric CP80 and Ray Using a barricade of drums and percussion instruments. I even had the honour of giving Elton my Watford FC scarf,which he carried with him all the way to Russia (seen in the video!)

By 1979, Elton John was in a creative slump. He broke up with his longtime lyricist, Bernie Taupin. His hit streek was dwindling vastly, and his 1978 album A Single Man flopped. But in 1979, Elton's career started on an upward swing. He started a

solo tour with just him and percussionist Ray Cooper. They embarked on a world tour that took them to places they never performed in before. Someone said that they should try performing in Russia, which at first they thought was impossible. But they were wrong. Elton became the first pop star to perform behind the Iron Curtain. Elton and Ray's stripped-down

performances of songs like Bennie and the Jets (great version of

the song), Part Time Love, Funeral for a Friend, Tonight, and I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself come alive with flare. Elton does a few performances without Ray. His solo performances of his megahits Rocket Man, Candle in the Wind, Your Song and Daniel are good, but cannot be compared to his haunting version of Sixty Years On, with haunting photos of Russia's poor people. But the highlight is the closing Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting/Pinball Wizard medley. Elton and Ray use just piano and drums here, and they give off a hard-rocking medley of the classic Elton tracks. This tape is an excellent video.