I love this video & agree 99%. The year 1979 is too early. There was a lot of great music in the early to mid 80s. Dire Straits' BROTHERS IN ARMS is fantastic and was released in 1985. It was also digitally recorded. The album NEW YORK by Lou Reed is a masterpiece & was released in 1989. I could list others but i won't. I was stunned by The Carpenters clip. And seeing Sinatra live with the orchestra was out of this world. Bravo 👏

Looking fwd to Ram

Great video, but I’m hoping you’ll do a video on AND YOUR BIRD CAN SING

Yes, I agree with you. Today's music has become de-humanized. With so many so-called songs written with unstructured progressions repetitive patterns which become the prominent feature rather than the melody or the quality of the singer's performance. Musicians of the earlier periods had a traditional musical background and understood music theory. Had an understanding of the12-bar blues format which provided the foundation for a lot of music that was written between 1950 and 1990. And you can go back even further back to America's blues and country roots before the 20th century. Somehow that was all lost very recently --- like only in the past 20 years or so. I think things like pro-tools had a lot to do with it. I disagree with you vehemently about music of the 1980's. Too many great songs, to many great innovations in music and the whole 'indie band' phenomena which enabled more musicians to be heard and get their music recorded in short order as opposed to the old regime where the snobby record companies and producers were the 'king-makers' in the industry. The 80's brought a whole new sound to the world and many recording techniques and audio processing too numerous to mention, were developed that are still in use today. I realize this is not always going to impress the classic rock dinosaus who grew up on Beatles, Dylan, Stones, Grateful Dead, and Woodstock and bemoan anything written after 1975 but it must at least be respected for the impact it had on the music industry.

Paul is everything you describe. I geek out on his nuances!

The Beatles were pure energy, novelty, invention & musicality

I wanted so hard to like the song Spies Like Us but it's just so empty and trivial. It seems like he made the whole song during lunchtime.

"This One" from Flowers in the Dirt should have been a major hit but hair metal was still a big thing when this came out.

I drew my own comic books every waking moment when I wasn't in school. I had the first album but didn't like Blue Moves so I settled on the 6 albums played over again relentlessly. Thanks to Elton, I finally became a professional comic book artist! Thanks, Elton!

don't dig it.

Two things forever turned EJ into a mediocre artist after 1975: 1) he fired his original band and 2) he came out of the closet. Both of those nailed it shut.

now we are talking....hell yeah.

Jon, i just found you & this video tonight. I got tears in my eyes a few times listening to the isolated tracks. I have subscribed to your channel now. Thank you!

Completely agree!!!

Little Richard praised Paul copiously tho'

What are your thoughts on the Paul replacement theories (Billy Shears)? That would make an interesting video

I have the entire 11/17/70 NY concert on cd. Took me years to find it. The abbreviated cd is, unfortunately, the British remix. The US lp version is superior, but not available on cd. The complete radio broadcast is awesome.

I think it sums up to two things, 1. I disagree is technology, it's lazyness, the beatles used it to their advantage and to serve their creativity it's the opposite today, because 2. There's focus groups to cater to people's wants like it's a product, nobody wanted or expected a bowie, etc history shows labels shouldn't cater to what people expect

I've seen a trend of people that start hating on the music of their time specifically during their teen years onwards, I noticed it in myself too so it's really a matter of perspective Where I'm standing I'm certain in the next couple of years we will start to see the music of the 80s as loved and artistically relevant as the music from the 60's to the bewilderment of older generations

What USED to be beautiful Seattle, Washington, not anymore. I lived there for 24 fantastic years from 1977-2001 and really loved it. I'd often thought about going back. But now, I wouldn't go there if you paid me.

So glad I found your channel you and I are about the same age and have very similar taste especially regarding the recognition of the greatness that was the band not just Elton during 70-76. He was my first favorite artist and Captain Fantastic is one of my all time favorite albums of any genre any time. And they were a band, Elton was the musical arranger, lead vocalist and piano player of this exceptionally tight band, he was not a solo artist until later and you eloquently expressed what happened and where his head was at. He is not alone though so many of our musical heroes from the Golden Age of music have turned out to be real authoritarian putzes. :-(

Please, don’t say that music sucks. Music doesn’t suck! Maybe, it’s the music that surrounds YOU that sucks…

I'm saving this. Since I first heard "Close your eyes and I'll kiss you" on the first Ed Sullivan performance, I've been totally in love with that voice. My favorite line he's ever written is from No More Lonely Nights. "May I never miss the thrill, of being near you". I can just feel that thrill.

Whatever his reason was, it was a huge mistake. After the firings, Elton's future output was destined to be relegated to the music bin of mediocrity.

I sooo agree! And holy heck you only sampled a tiny bit of their work 😂

Back in the 70's, Colombia Records ran a regular ad in Rolling Stone about it's current releases. The words at the top of the ad said, "The Man Can't Bust Our Music!" Nowadays, I wonder.

Where's Part 2? Been waiting over a year.

Great video! You could make one like this on each of the Beatles. John was the genius behind the group, especially in the early years. It's amazing that he would go home with the movie title to "A Hard Days Night" and come back the next day with the song written.

All is a criminal. Worship the devil.

no

The music industry killed music. The business end got so engrossed in profits that it became more and more about making money, and less and less about making good music. There was a time when artists were signed to labels, and given a sense of artistic freedom. Now everything is formularized, and structured around unadulterated greed. Add to that, MTV, and VH1, which may have been well intentioned at first, but eventually got the greed virus, and went the way of money over music, devolving into jokes. Money, greed, lust, violence without a cause, and playing politics. That's today's music. Chords, melodies, structures, and writing great songs based on those ingredients, are gone today, replaced by jokes. I think you could use ANY technology, 4, 8, 16, 24 track machines, digital recording on computers, A.I., whatever the tech of the year is, and STILL create great music. Its not about the machines, it's about US, we, the people doing the music. WE are NOT making great music anymore, we have turned the music industry into a greed machine. I agree that the greatest music of the modern era came BEFORE the end of 1979, BUT I do think that the 1980s still gave us some great stuff, Duran Duran, The Eurythmics, and The Rolling Stones were/are still there. To boil it down, i don't really think the technology of the day is to blame. I think it's how WE have become slaves to today's technology. Think about the great songs of The Beatles, The Stones, Elton, ELO, and Dylan, done by humans using today's technology. Those songs would still be great. Don't blame the tech, blame the humans. P.S. It's amazing how we agree on these things, but even though Sinatra died when I was a kid, I am now a big fan. And YES, Elvis Presley, was a GREAT singer, and he had that star magic.

¡Absolutamente!

It's very simple: Bean Counters and Clear Channel, media moguls etc. control the mega-media entities. These entities consider music a commodity. Then, there are tech tricks, like auto tune, that cheapen the costs of content creation further. Many indie artists exist--but, it's fragmented. It will never reach major traditional channels: TV and radio. People will continue to do as they always have. Then, there's online: That has deepened my appreciation of the past. Increasing numbers of old cli ps pop-up. That clip of Janis Joplin wasn't available before--right? The past was not all that great: DJs and and labels acted as gatekeepers. DJs cut down the number of tracks played, by legendary artists, like Mountain. Mountain did more than "Mississippi Queen,." OK? Nonetheless, the industry was far more willing to take risks. That's gone....

Elton John Live at Randwick Racecourse Sydney. 1971 in OctoberI think. Sheer brilliance.

The isolated vocal tracks are what really sets the Beatles apart from their peers (especially the Stones). They were true chameleons.

So cool that you are such a Beatles fan. I think you and I are about the same age, and I remember how lonely it was through the seventies being a Beatles fan. Wish I had known own you then.

What this is about the 15th time I've watched this and every time I watch it I love it even more you've made a masterpiece John

Great video as always, Jon. I am planning to watch the full version tomorrow. No question that Paul is above all else as far as recording artist and vocal artist. I can never tire of listening to The Beatles and of course Wings.

John have you ever heard Ian Moores version of Hey Bulldog

I can't understand why I can watch documentaries on Studios and Studio Musicians making great music, and now nobody seems to be making the great music anymore.

Thanks John ❤😊good to see you again

He had a awesome vocal. 🍎 🍏 records

Paul is awesome still have his double cassette. Wings 🪽 were the best

That would be Paul

I saw Elton and the Band twice, in '72 and' 91. But today I want to recount an unusual encounter I experienced concerning Elton in 1984. I was in the vicinity of 16th street and 7th Avenue in St. Petersburg.... I was sanding a rocking chair. So, anyway, I notice a red helicopter skimming the tops of the trees. It was scarey, I felt this wave of nausea go through me when I thought of the occupants, but it flew on. Almost 10 years later, my local St. Petersburg Times, ran a nutty story how Elton, in 1984, showed up acting somewhat suspiciously in the lobby of the Don Cesare Hotel. The story mentioned something about him peering around the columns in the lobby. So, the story goes when Elton chose to depart, he instructed the helicopter Pilot to fly low to Tampa Airport. I read this and thought, "No, it CAN'T be!" But it was! A direct bee-line from the Don Cesare Hotel to Tampa Airport took his flight over me. Like Elton and Bernie said, "From the end of the World, to your Town."

Love 70’s Elton the most!

My opinion of Elton John's music during the "ick years" is shaped by my own experience of the US cultural zeitgeist of those times, added to his history of drug use and eating disordered living. The music he put out during those years expresses the US cultural values and pressures of the time: conform, be the same, be surface/don't go deep, short attention span/hot tonight & passe by the morning. I'm glad I survived and I'm glad I don't have to live through those years again. I'm also really glad that I can make my own playlist and leave off the songs that make me cringe.

That guy can sing anything!!! Phenomenal voice and when these guys came together it was like the planets aligned, the wind shifted and a new sound was born! Fantastic video Jon - I know you could have gone on with this subject for 3 day ❤

Caleb even produced the sessions that came out as Regimental Sgt Zippo, I think, as well as playing guitar. His playing on the title track is great. It sounds like he'd been listening to Hendrix!