Elton John Album: “One Night Only”

Those fortunate enough to have been at the two concerts ELton John performed at Madison Square Garden last month will find the new live cd, "One Night Only", an inadequate representation of the stellar performance. As with many live sets and compilations, One Night Only falls short of its potential as a great cd. For any casual or diehard fan of Elton John's music, it is a must have. Elton's voice sounds the best it has in recent years, and his tight band played with the perfect blend of rock-n -roll energy, and polished musicianship, often sounding more full than the studio arrangements. The cd, like the concert, was immaculately mixed, thanks to producer Phil Ramone. The haste in which the cd was recorded and released is evident right from the title. Elton played two concerts at Madison Square Garden from which the selections were taken, yet chose to call the cd, "One Night Only". The ideal recording would have been the full show of the Saturday night concert, which was considered the better show. Live albums are geared towards an artist's fans, so having a double live cd would not make much of a difference in sales. Perhaps the most annoying part of the cd, was the choice of the song order. My favorite part of the show was the opening, where Elton performed the first four songs from his 1973 masterpiece, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. In the live cd, Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, possibly his best album opener, was cut, and the rest of the songs were scattered randomly throughout the cd. Elton took the time to write a great setlist for the concert, and the cd should have reflected that. While, One Night Only is a welcome addition to my cd collection, it falls short of the amazing concert experience it was.

This is a solid CD and I recommend it. I was at Madison Square Garden and had seats that gave me a great view of Elton at work. You can hear what a great pianist he is but you had to be there and see him in action to truly appreciate just how good he is. This CD accurately captures the great sound and the fine work that he did in the live show but, some of the electricity is lost on the CD. But then again, that is of necessity true of any live CD .. it can't quite be like actually being there. The CD includes great versions of his rockers like Saturday Night's Alright and Crocodile Rock and I can tell you that at the actual concert, everyone was up and dancing in the aisles. This is an example of what you miss on a live CD. If I hadn't actually been there, I might well have given this 5 stars since Elton's singing is good and his piano playing and backup band are great. However, I have the actual live show to compare it to. Still, a very solid 4 stars to a CD that for the most part, creates the excitement of a fine live performance.

This 2000 Elton John album was recorded live in concert at Madison Square Garden isn't his best live album ( 1976's

HERE AND THERE holds that position ), but it nears the

top. The album opens with GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD, one

of Elton's best live songs. We then get songs like I'M STILL STANDING, ROCKET MAN, CROCODILE ROCK, BENNIE AND THE JETS,

SACRIFICE AND CANDLE IN THE WIND. The album's only weak spot is

its guest stars : Bryan Adams fails to add any spark to SAD SONGS, Irish singer Ronan Keating destroys YOUR SONG, and Anatascia massacres SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR FIGHTING. The

only good duets are DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART with Kiki Dee and

I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES with Mary J. Blige. The

songs are good for the most part, though. The sad thing is that the dvd of the concert, also titled ONE NIGHT ONLY, had 27 tracks, including SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT, SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD, BLUE EYES, TINY DANCER and LITTLE JEANIE,

great cuts that should have been included on the album. So I recommend you get the dvd as well, because combined with this album, you have a great Elton show

This cd was rushed out to the shelves in record breaking time. You can't say that Elton doesn't have a flair for the dramatic. The cd is taken from two preformances in MSG this October. That belies the title "On Night Only" but as live recordings go that may be it's only flaw. The recording is crisp and clean.You can hear the crowd on it but it is never a distraction. The songs are a collection of his greatest hits, or at least a selection that Elton must consider his best. I attended the first night and there were too many distractions. And arena sound looses qualities that the soundboard and the musicians capture. This recording captures them. I have never been overwhelmed by the band. Too often in the arena they overpower and you loose much. I was impressed with just how good they are. Kudos to the engineer and kudos to Elton and the band for giving a worthy product. For the diehard fan, this is the album you have been waiting for and for the casual fan this is the album you should own. The only shame is that "I Guess Thats Why They Call It The Blues" is too long for commercial radio. Mary K. Blige is stunning.

U won't find nothing new on this album, but if you never heard Elton before then you will like it. It's mostly his songs from 70'es on this album so that's reason why i call it nostalgia. There are missing some great songs like THE ONE, NIKITA, YOU GOTTA LOVE SOMEONE, MADE IN ENGLAND but that doesn't mean that this album is bad,it's perfect and every normal person will like it. It has rock songs like Saturday Night's...or I'm Still Standing and easy listening like Can U Feel The love Tonight or Your Song, by the way this album has everything. I'm big Elton fan and i'm never listening this album too much cause i have all his albums and this is more than i need. But if u wanna hear how sounds one of the greatest composer in twentieth century(and 21st century)live, then buy this album. This album is tribute to good music and that is enough for it to be good.