GregsynthWizard's video: 1 Your Song Elton John - Live In Sun City: 12 10 1993

After the string of late 1993 uploads from North America, we have finally reached our goal of uploading Sun City 1993. This is the last night of a four-night run at the city and it thankfully has a recording available. This copy of the show has pretty good quality, although there are some sound disturbances from time to time. This show is somewhat infamous for having things go wrong throughout. During the show, there are high winds that can actually be heard on the microphones (and humorously mess with Elton’s hair weave which was seen on the video of this concert). There also was the issue of insects swarming Elton and flying into his mouth. All of these issues not only directly affected the performances on stage, but certain songs were shortened, and others were omitted completely. While not the best show by any means, this recording still has some nice performances with Elton sounding particularly good during the first half of the show. It’s a shame that Elton played in less-than-ideal conditions because this had the potential to be a top tier show. Oh well - can’t win them all! Now… time to go through everything… “Your Song” is a lovely version with Elton’s delivery of the lyrics being smooth and highlighting his robust baritone voice. “Skyline Pigeon” has some great vocal control as Elton seamlessly navigates his voice through the classic ballad while maintaining a great tone. “Sixty Years On” has a remarkably clean vocal performance as the higher belts during the final verse and refrain sound pure without any hint of strain or rasp. Elton’s phrasing throughout is also top notch and it’s a great showcase of how fantastic this era was for him as a singer. “I Need You To Turn To” also highlights Elton’s vocal prowess during this era as his overall tone has a pleasant and delicate edge to it which helps add to the already great delivery of the lyrics. “The Greatest Discovery” is an excellent version with a very sincere-sounding vocal take and the combination of Elton’s softer approach with his late 1993 voice is a winning combination. “Talking Old Soldiers” features some fantastic and tasteful vocal phrasing throughout. Along with the age and experience of a middle-aged Elton compared to his younger self (when the song was first recorded), the performance is elevated to a level that wasn’t really attainable back during the 70s. “Sacrifice” sounds really nice with Elton’s soft tone sounding especially lovely during the verses. “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” contains more vocal overdrive compared to versions from North America and Elton also adds a bit more of a twangy approach to his vocal. While the solo section is very nice, it is definitely held way back compared to the North American versions where he goes bonkers on the keys. “Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters” is a really nice version with Elton’s voice nicely gliding through the lyrics and having a strong tone. “Where To Now St. Peter” sounds nice, but some of the earlier versions from the tour have cleaner deliveries of the falsetto sections and more relaxed singing. “The North” is a very strong rendition with Elton giving a bit more edge to the vocal dynamics. “The One” contains a mix of aggressively overdriven vocal lines along with softer sections that highlight Elton’s versatility as a live singer. Concluding this section, “The Last Song” features an excellent vocal performance that’s full of passion and emotion. “Tonight” has some very smooth-sounding vocal sections that wouldn’t sound out of place during the 1985-1986 tour, but other sections have rushed and chopped phrasing (likely due to the outside issues that are rampant throughout this show). “Better Off Dead” features some highly overdriven parts (likely from frustration/anger due to the venue issues) which fit into the song’s mood. “Levon” is sung more conservatively compared to the North American versions, although the falsetto notes are surprisingly sung better compared to a number of earlier versions. “I Think I’m Going To Kill Myself” has a few rough vocal moments, but still is pretty decent overall. “Daniel” sounds pretty good considering the high winds and other things impacting the show. “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” is affected a bit by the outside forces (Elton not singing some words), but is salvaged and isn’t a bad performance by any means. “Take Me To The Pilot” has some gutsy vocal moments early on and Elton channels his frustrations into delivering an energetic (but shorter) rendition. “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” has Elton singing conservative phrasing in the second verse. “Bennie And The Jets” is full of aggressive singing with overdrive galore. “Pinball Wizard” has great energy present and Elton really pushes his voice to great effect. Lastly, “Candle In The Wind” sounds pretty nice with the outroduction vocals sounding nice and clean! ENJOY!!!