Let's jump from 2007 to 2009. More precisely to Palais de Congres, Paris, France 2nd of October 2009. This is a complete soundboard recording from Elton John and Ray Cooper's tour during the fall of 2009. I've once uploaded Amneville and Nantes from the same tour which only consisted of 7 concerts in the UK, Italy, and France. Amneville and Nantes doesn't feature a complete description of the show, and that's because they were uploaded before I knew Adam and Greg. These guys inspired me to make a description of the show. Their uploads features every time a great description so go check them!
Now to the show. As I've always thought that Elton had a rather bad voice doing this tour this tour, Elton shows improvement during this show (which is the final of the tour). Elton's voice is very rough and sharp in the edges which sometimes causes rough notes. Elton voice does however get better as the shows progresses. Don't forget he was suffering from a cold during this tour!
As this is a French audience we, once again, get to hear Elton's French skills. What Elton says is mainly the same as he usually says in English so we're not missing anything. Now I've been talking about Elton's bad voice, but that doesn't mean that there aren't positive things about this show (I must mention that these are among my favorite Elton/Ray concerts of all time!). Elton plays a wonderful version of The Greatest Discovery -- it's among my favorites! Also Come Down In Time is an excellent version as Elton's rough voice suits the song brilliantly and Ray Cooper's percussion which gives the song a whole new depth. A stunning performance of Indian Sunset where you really can hear the power of Elton's voice in the acapella section in the beginning of the song.
It's a common fact the Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes takes place in the eighties, but Elton specifies the exact year of the incident -- 1981. Funny note!
Another thing is that Elton says that Original Sin is his most requested song as many fans wright "...can you play that song etc." in the letters to Elton.
A lot of rare songs are in the setlist. The Emperor's New Clothes, Blessed, American Triangle, Weight Of The World, and Original Sin. What is different to Amneville and Nantes is that House is NOT in the setlist during this concert. It is replaced by Nikita.
Ray Cooper proves his worth on the stage. Throughout the show he's doing fantastic percussion on every song and gives the song its own identity. Especially Honky Cat, where he's hilarious, Come Down In Time, Funeral For A Friend/Tonight, and Better Off Dead.
Notice that Elton flubs lyrics on Better Off Dead and forgets lyrics on Levon!
All in all a great show, with a great set list, a great audience, great musicians, and a great recording!
- Enjoy!