Elton John

11-17-70 (1971)

1.Bad Side of the Moon
2.Amoreena *
3.Take Me To The Pilot
4.Sixty Years On
5.Honky Tonk Woman
6.Can I Put You On
7.Burn Down the Mission
Including:
My Baby Left Me
Get Back
* bonus cd track

By the end of 1970, Elton John had effectively conquered America. Just a few months earlier, he had played a now-legendary run of shows at Los Angeles’ Troubadour Club—an event many now cite as one of the defining moments in rock history. Still largely unknown outside the UK, Elton exploded onto the U.S. scene with a blend of unshakable piano chops, offbeat charm, and the type of theatrical energy that critics didn’t quite know how to categorise. The tide had turned. The British Invasion, it seemed, had acquired a piano.

11-17-70 captures a separate, equally vital moment in this meteoric rise—a live radio broadcast from a small New York studio before an audience of roughly 100. Thankfully, the tapes were rolling. What followed was an hour of pure, unfiltered Elton: ragged, rollicking, and utterly electrifying.

If Elton John and Tumbleweed Connection had introduced a songwriter of considerable sensitivity and breadth, 11-17-70 revealed the fire underneath. Backed only by Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums—no guitar, no orchestration, no frills—Elton turned in what remains the hardest-rocking release of his career. The absence of a lead guitar, rather than a limitation, becomes a feature. His piano fills the space with ferocity, alternating between barrelhouse bashing and nimble flourishes, while the rhythm section pushes the set ever forward.

Take Me to the Pilot, Can I Put You On, and Bad Side of the Moon are given new life here—sped up, stripped down, and delivered with breathless enthusiasm. The transformation is not subtle; it is volcanic. Sixty Years On, originally an orchestral lament, is reimagined as a taut, percussive epic, proving that Elton could reinvent even his own recent material when the mood struck.

There is also time for homage. Covers of The Beatles’ Get Back. The Rolling Stones’ Honky Tonk Women, and Elvis Presley’s My Baby Left Me are not tossed-off novelties but muscular reinterpretations—each a nod to his rock ‘n’ roll roots and an assertion that this seemingly mild-mannered pianist was, in fact, a true rock performer.

The charm of the recording lies in its immediacy. There is no polish, no overdubbing, no attempt to refine the edges. The audience, clearly caught up in the moment, erupts after nearly every song, though one suspects few in the room truly grasped the extent of what they were witnessing. Elton was 23, and America was just beginning to take notice.

Critics may point to the rough production or the occasional ragged vocal, but these are mere artifacts of a live recording caught in full flight. What the album may lack in finesse, it compensates for in sheer momentum. It is not so much a concert as a declaration: Elton John had arrived, and he wasn’t asking for permission.

11-17-70 has since earned a deserved cult status. For the committed fan, it remains an essential listen; for the casual one, perhaps a revelation. One might wish for a time machine to revisit that cramped New York studio on that unremarkable November day. Failing that, this recording remains the next best thing.

Go back to the main page
Go To Next Review