Elton John

Here and There (1976)

Disc 1:
1.Skyline Pigeon
2.Border Song
3.Take Me to the Pilot
4.Country Comfort
5.Love Song
6.Bad Side of the Moon
7.Burn Down the Mission
8.Honky Cat
9.Crocodile Rock
10.Candle in the Wind
11.Your Song
12.Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

Disc 2:
1.Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
2.Rocket Man
3.Take Me to the Pilot
4.Bennie and the Jets
5.Grey Seal
6.Daniel
7.You're So Static
8.Whatever Get's You Through the Night
9.Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
10.I Saw Her Standing There
11.Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
12.Your Song
13.The Bitch is Back

Originally issued as little more than a contractual bow-out—a stopgap designed to fulfil Elton John’s ten-album obligation to Dick James Music—Here and There might have slipped into the background as a footnote in the artist’s catalogue. The original 1976 release, split neatly down the middle, was constructed of two live performances from 1974: one in London (Here), the other in New York City (There). As such, the album found itself oddly bipolar. Side One, taped in front of a rather stately crowd including Princess Margaret, erred on the side of polite—technically precise, but emotionally antiseptic. Side Two, recorded at Madison Square Garden on Thanksgiving, was the complete opposite—raw, raucous, occasionally messy, and all the more exciting for it.

The limitations of the original LP format did it no favours. Five tracks per side, unevenly balanced in both tone and impact, left the listener either underwhelmed or mildly jarred. The contrast between drawing-room balladeer and arena rock star was simply too stark. One got the impression that, with a bit more room to breathe, the material might have fared far better.

And breathe it eventually did. When the album was reissued on CD nearly twenty years later—remastered, resequenced, and, crucially, expanded—it finally came into its own. Now spread across two discs, the release was transformed from minor curiosity to essential document. Sixteen additional tracks were added, many of them fan favourites or hidden gems: Grey Seal, Burn Down the Mission, Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding—the sort of live performances that show Elton not simply playing hits, but interpreting them. The arrangements are different, the moods divergent, and in some cases (Take Me to the Pilot, Your Song) repeated—but forgivably so, given the contrasting atmospheres between the British and American gigs.

The historical centerpiece, however, is indisputably the Madison Square Garden set. Not for the song selection alone, but for the cameo appearance of none other than John Lennon—his last ever public performance. Elton had, cheekily, wagered with Lennon that Whatever Gets You Thru the Night (which Elton had guested on) would hit number one. Lennon, skeptical, agreed to appear on stage if proven wrong. He was, and to his immense credit, he honoured the bet. What followed was a mini-set of almost mythic stature: Whatever Gets You Thru the Night, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and, poignantly, I Saw Her Standing There—a McCartney-penned Beatles rocker sung by Lennon as a kind of full-circle moment. All three tracks appear on the CD reissue, now burnished with the glow of historical importance.

Here and There may have started life as an afterthought, but the expanded edition makes a compelling case for its reappraisal. More than a live album, it is a time capsule: Elton John at his absolute zenith, flanked by one of his heroes in a moment of unrepeatable magic. Expensive on release, perhaps—but the value, both musical and archival, is beyond question.

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