''17-11-70'' (known as ''11-17-70'' in the United States) is the fifth official album release for English musician
Elton John and his first live album.
Background
The recording was taken from a live radio broadcast on 17 November 1970, hence the album's title. According to John, a live album was never planned as a release. Recordings of the broadcast, however, were popular among bootleggers which, according to John's producer,
Gus Dudgeon
Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...
, eventually prompted the record label to release it as an album. It has been said that the release by an eastern
bootlegger of the whole 60-minute air cast rather than the 48 minutes selected by Dick James Music significantly cut into the US sales of the live album. However, the entire concert was an 80-minute affair, and double-LPs containing the entire concert were more common than those containing only 60 minutes.
Another contributing factor to the original album's soft sales could have been the glut of Elton John product on the market at the time. John also had in release 2 full studio albums (''Elton John'' and ''
Tumbleweed Connection
''Tumbleweed Connection'' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John. It was recorded at Trident Studios, London, England in March 1970, and released in October 1970 in the United Kingdom and January 1971 in the United Sta ...
'') and a movie soundtrack (''Friends'') when the live LP was issued. Nonetheless, it became the fourth of John's records simultaneously to land in the Top 100, making him the first act to do so since
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
.
According to longtime NYC radio personality
Dave Herman (who can be heard at the beginning and end of the album), Elton John cut his hand at some point during the performance, and by the end of the show, the piano keys were covered with blood.
John and his band performed 13 songs during the radio broadcast. The original album included only six of the songs; a seventh, "
Amoreena," appeared as a bonus track on the album's 1996 CD reissue. The other six performances remained until 2017 officially unreleased: "I Need You to Turn To", "
Your Song
"Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single.
"Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...
", "Country Comfort", "
Border Song
"Border Song" is a song by Elton John with music by John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin. The song initially appeared on the 1970 album ''Elton John'', and was released in the spring of 1970 as the LP's first single. After failing to chart in the U ...
", "
Indian Sunset" and "
My Father's Gun".
John has stated in several interviews that he believes that this recording is his best live performance. He has also cited the album as a great showcase for the musicianship of drummer
Nigel Olsson
Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...
and bassist
Dee Murray
Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band.
Biography
Murray was born in Gillingham ...
. It is also the only officially released example of what John's live band sounded like prior to the arrival of guitarist
Davey Johnstone
David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a British rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band.
Career
Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in ...
, who wouldn't be a member until the release of ''
Honky Château
''Honky Château'' is the fifth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in 1972, and was titled after the 18th century French chateau where it was recorded, Château d'Hérouville. The album reached number one in the US, t ...
'' in 1972.
To commemorate the 10th Record Store Day, on 22 April 2017, John served as the first-ever worldwide Record Store Day Legend and released an expanded, double-vinyl version of the album. Retitled ''17-11-70+'', the release reinstates seven additional songs from the concert, making it the most complete official edition of the show available in any format. "Amoreena," previously available on the 1996 CD reissue, makes its first appearance on vinyl.
Track listing
All songs by
Elton John and
Bernie Taupin, except where noted.
Original LP album
1995 Mercury and 1996 Rocket CD reissues
The 1996 Rocket Records edition changed the running order and added "Amoreena" as a bonus track. This version is also different from the earlier US releases in that album producer Gus Dudgeon remixed the tracks to create a notably different sound from the original US LP mixes. In addition to level changes, Dudgeon's version also added some echo and other effects not present in the earlier mixes, which has drawn mixed reactions from fans.
2017 Record Store Day 2-LP reissue
The 2017
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
special reissue features the six remained-unreleased songs from the concert, plus "Amoreena" (featured on the 1996 CD).
The track listing for the first two sides is the same as the original 1970 release.
Full set list
# "I Need You to Turn To"
# "
Your Song
"Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single.
"Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...
"
# "Country Comfort"
# "
Border Song
"Border Song" is a song by Elton John with music by John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin. The song initially appeared on the 1970 album ''Elton John'', and was released in the spring of 1970 as the LP's first single. After failing to chart in the U ...
"
# "
Indian Sunset"
# "
Amoreena"
# "
Bad Side of the Moon
Bad or BAD may refer to:
Common meanings
*Evil, the opposite of moral good
* Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect
* Unhealthy, or counter to well-being
*Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good
Acronyms
* BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolley ...
"
# "
Take Me to the Pilot"
# "Sixty Years On"
# "
Honky Tonk Women
"Honky Tonk Women" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released as a non-album single on 4 July 1969 in the United Kingdom, and a week later in the United States (although a country version called "Country Honk" was ...
"
# "Can I Put You On"
# "
Burn Down the Mission" (including "
My Baby Left Me
"My Baby Left Me" is a rhythm and blues song written by blues singer Arthur Crudup.
Original recording
It was first recorded by Crudup in Chicago on November 8, 1950, with Ransom Knowling on bass and Judge Riley on drums, and was released as a ...
" & "
Get Back
"Get Back" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Beatles and Billy Preston, and written by Paul McCartney though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to ...
")
# "
My Father's Gun" (encore)
Note
*An alternate version of the set list was presented on several 1970–1971 bootleg album issues of the concert. It presents a concert with a somewhat different flow, and although crossfades of the UNI/MCA/Mercury issues present applause where it did not occur in the original concert, the setlist as presented on these bootleg albums does seem to clear up a few problematic references in Elton's comments.
# "I Need You to Turn To"
# "Your Song"
# "Bad Side of the Moon"
# "Country Comfort"
# "Can I Put You On"
# "Border Song"
# "Sixty Years On"
# "Indian Sunset"
# "Honky Tonk Women"
# "Amoreena"
# "Take Me to the Pilot"
# "Burn Down the Mission" (including "My Baby Left Me" & "Get Back")
# "My Father's Gun" (encore)
[cite web, url=http://www.bootlegzone.com/files.php?section=10&pub=&letter=9&sort=1&words=&first=0&filter= ]
Personnel
* Elton John – piano, lead vocals
*
Dee Murray
Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band.
Biography
Murray was born in Gillingham ...
– bass, backing vocals
*
Nigel Olsson
Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...
– drums, backing vocals
Production
*
Gus Dudgeon
Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...
– producer
*
Phil Ramone
Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business pa ...
– recording engineer
*
David Hentschel
David Hentschel (born 18 December 1952) is an English recording engineer, film score composer and music producer who engineered on George Harrison's ''All Things Must Pass'' and Elton John's ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', as well as for such a ...
– reduction (mix) engineer (US LP)
* Clive Franks – reduction (mix) engineer (UK LP)
* Matt Howe – reduction (mix) engineer (Rocket reissue)
* Coordination: Steve Brown – coordination
* Joe Disabato – coordination
*David Larkham – design, photography
* Gus Dudgeon – liner notes
*
John Tobler – liner notes
*
Dave Herman – emcee
Charts
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon
1971 live albums
Elton John live albums
Uni Records live albums
DJM Records live albums