The Original Elton John Russian Tour
Elton John, in 1979, became the first western rock star to tour Russia. This was before
the days of Perestroika; the USSR had not yet broken up, and Russian communism was still strong.
It has been remarked
that musically, Elton was at a peak during this tour, and I think that is true.
Having already conquered the known rock world, maybe the desire to win over this new (for him and his music) audience
provided the necessary challenge.
In the clip below of this concert, Elton, great showman and consummate pianist that he is,
transitions (at :30 seconds in the video) into the Russian song Podmoskovnye Vechera
during his performance of Benny and the Jets -- to the obvious delight of the
Moscow audience. Those who have seen Elton in concert, or watched a concert DVD, know this is
Elton's modus operandi when performing Benny and the Jets -- he always likes to
add on an improvisational like (yet well rehearsed) extra piece for the live
show.
Now, you can search on Podmoskovnye Vechera, and you will find many nice performances, but you will not get one hit on
Elton's performance (as of this post, that is). This is partly because
the concert is no longer readily available on DVD, the DVD itself only
lists the performance as Benny and the Jets, and to recognize the song requires
familiarity with Russian culture... but I think it also is a statement about the quality
of data that is available on the internet. It is always superior to rely on primary sources
for ones intellectual food...and what
Wikipedia, Google searches, et. al. gain in ease of use they often lose in depth and accuracy of results.
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