Elton and company first put out the "contractual obligation" version to help fulfill recording requirements in 1976. "Here and There," pulled from a show in London and one in New York two years earlier, was just a single LP back then, though the songs included were pretty choice, even with limited side space available.
In the later 90s, the album's (and Elton's) original producer, Gus Dudgeon, remixed and expanded the album for CD, adding a ton of extra songs from both shows. Added were, among other things, the John Lennon tracks from New York that were sadly his last concert performances. On a more positive note, if these were to be the former Beatle's last stage recordings, they're at least a worthy part of Lennon's (and Elton's) great musical legacy on their sheer power and charisma alone. They certainly left an impression on Elton, who still cites that show as his greatest concert memory of all time.
As much a band album as a vehicle for Elton, all the musicians get superior treatment in the new mixes and were on fire during these shows, easy to see why they were picked for release. Some of the versions of Elton standbys are wonderful variations..."Honky Cat," "Love Song," both versions of "Take Me To The Pilot" and "Your Song," "Bad Side of The Moon" all take on a life of their own live.
Both discs have their own atmosphere - a little more showy on Disc 1 in London, a little more straight up rock 'n roll on Disc 2 in New York, but put them together and you get a great snaphshot of Elton's range, esp. during his mid-70s heyday.

Este Album Doble es una verdadera Obra Maestra de Sir. Elton John quien es uno de los mas prolificos artistas que ha tenido y tiene los generos rock y pop. Cada vez que lo escucho me agrada mucho mas. Lo recomiendo como un Disco de Coleccion por el inigualable talento musical que contiene.

This is a great double CD set featuring two concerts from when Elton was at the eight of his fame. Both shows are good. If you enjoy Elton alone with just a Piano you may prefer the London concert as he does start this solo.
the London concert is a little more formal, because of the precense of royalty but in most respects is just as good as the US concert. The difference with the US concert is the famous last ever stage performance by John Lennon. This makes the US concert of considerable historical interest. These are both superb shows and with the extra tracks now make this the best live audio recording of Elton John you can buy.

The reason I have said nearly perfect is because if you listened to these concerts on vinyl for as long as I did, you will notice that in the remastering process, Gus Dudgeon has managed to digitally remove certain sounds. So for example at the beginning of Funeral for a Friend when a girl in the audience screams "Elton" this has now gone. In the sleeve notes we are advised that Gus has managed to fix the occasional musical mistakes.... Why!! It was there on the night and was an integral part of the recording and the atmosphere. Its a minor quibble but live is live as far as I'm concerned.

Includes John Lennon's last live concert performance. A must for all Beatlemaniacs! Elton is also pretty good.

Originally a single disc album with ten songs, "Here and There" was a contractual obligation album that Elton disavowed. But in 1996, as part of the ambitious "Classic Years" remastering project, "Here and There" was given a deluxe redo, expanding the album to a pair of CD's, over two hours of music and the classic New York appearance on John Lennon with Elton for three songs. This is also now a terrific document of the extravagance and sheer exuberance of Elton's mid-seventies concerts.



The "Here" segment was a benefit Elton performed in 1974 at the request of Princess Margaret, and is the more reserved of the two shows. It is also an interesting show in that Elton dipped into his oldies and played the likes of "Skyline Pigeon" and "Love Song." The British respond with typical stiff-upper-lippedness...until "Crocodile Rock" comes along. They jump from their chairs at the last minute, for "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting." But for the most part, Elton leans hard on the piano based early tunes like "Border Song" and "Candle In The Wind."



The reserve is totally blown off for the "There" concert, Thanksgiving in Madison Square Garden 1974. The crowd is already roaring by the time the opening graveyard wind whistling of "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" breaks into its meaty main verses, and hardly wanes from there. While John's voice is a little raw from the constant touring (you can hear his voice crack on "Rocket Man"), he's obviously having a blast. You also get a couple songs here that have long since been trimmed from the live shows, like "Grey Seal" and "You're So Static."



Even with all that energy, when Elton introduces Lennon, you can almost feel the Garden shaking. Little did these folks know that they were witnessing history; Lennon never played in public again. As history records, Lennon accepted a dare from Elton that "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" would not hit number one on the pop charts. Likely because of Elton's popularity and his piano playing on the single, the record did top the charts, and Lennon made good on the deal. The reward for us now is that Elton and Lennon's version of "Whatever...," Lucy In The Sky In Diamonds" and a loose, raucous version of "I Saw Her Standing There" are preserved for posterity.



The remastering is exquisite, and when you figure the sonic improvements along with the extra tracks AND the inclusion of the Lennon songs, "Here and There" is the best of Elton's live albums. For all the live albums that glutted the seventies, "Here and There" can now be counted among the best.