Elton’s 1986 tour of Australia followed almost immediately on the world tour he’d started the year before, which was initially in support of Ice On Fire but went on to attempt to put some life into Leather Jackets. What was different about the leg down under was the approach: 26 performances were spread throughout five venues, and each featured his band in the first half, then Elton performed accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra while bedecked in powdered wig, beauty mark, and colonial costume a la Mozart. Such an event was just screaming to be documented, and the following year a live album highlighting the orchestral portion appeared, alongside a home video with selections from both halves. In the US, the album was pointedly released on MCA, signaling that he too had had it with being on Geffen. (A few songs weren’t included, partially due to the then-limited capacity of a CD.)
From the start he sounds raspy; indeed he would have throat surgery immediately after the tour. But it’s an adventurous program, beginning with three deep cuts from his second, eponymous album. The grand spectacle of “Tonight” is followed by the more recognizable “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” from the same album. “The King Must Die” goes back to the second album, and does the more rocking “Take Me To The Pilot”, and by now he’s really enjoying himself. The band nicely balances the orchestra on “Tiny Dancer”.
“Have Mercy On The Criminal” was one of Elton’s personal favorites, he says, specifically because of the original Paul Buckmaster arrangement, fleshed out here but still with plenty of space for Davey Johnstone to solo. “Madman Across The Water” has power but not enough menace for our taste, but the surprise hit single was “Candle In The Wind”, performed by Elton solo with some keyboard help (plus vintage Marilyn Monroe footage in the video). This would become the song’s go-to version for the next ten years. “Burn Down The Mission” gets a little derailed at the end with backing vocalists chanting “burn it down,” but “Your Song” is treated a little more respectfully. While “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” was the standard closer, here it’s omitted and replaced by “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”.
After the embarrassment that was Leather Jackets, Elton was back, so to speak. He’d insist he was never away, but Live In Australia was still a nice reminder of what he could do as well as what he had done, and managed to please long-suffering fans along with new converts.
Elton John Live In Australia With The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (1987)—3
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