Elton John has a method. Earlier this year, he released selections from an archival solo concert (OK, solo with percussionist Ray Cooper). Live from the Rainbow Theater has 13 songs recorded May 7, 1977. The complete concert was on BBC Radio. Because of this broadcast, the full set has long been circulating as a high fidelity bootleg.
John made selections from this concert available for Record Store Day 2025, followed by its compact disc release. But why? A few years back, he released another solo concert (also with Ray Cooper). This one was recorded in Moscow during a 1979 tour. It has a similar history – recorded and broadcast by the BBC, heavily bootlegged, with a Record Store Day release to follow—this time a double album.
But even over the space of two records, 11 songs from this Moscow concert were not included on the release. Left off was the Jim Reeves cover “He’ll Have to Go” and the oft-heard “Your Song.” Also, John chose not to include some deep cuts he played that night, things like “Idol,” “Roy Rogers,” and “Where to Now, St. Peter?”
It’s curious, then, that this new Rainbow release of a 1977 show has those three songs included, as well as other off-the-grid Elton John numbers. “Cage the Songbird,” “Sweet Painted Lady,” and “Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)” are all here. So is “Ticking,” the harrowing portrait of a school shooter.
Live from The Rainbow is definitely not a hits collection; it’s not even a gathering of other familiar Elton John songs from the 1970s. I think he released these 13 tracks for the same reason many of them were left off the Moscow release. John didn’t want them to be buried among his hits. These songs had endured that fate on their original albums. Now, John brings them center stage, forcing the audience to give them its full attention.
There’s no waiting around for “Rocket Man” on this set, and there’s no “Candle in the Wind” here. Instead of hearing about Daniel or Levon, we get tales of Robert Ford, Dan Dare, Roy Rogers and St. Peter. It’s a collection of Elton John songs that could be unfamiliar even to many professed fans.
And it’s great. Like finding a high quality bonus disc to a favorite record. These songs never became hit singles, but each is a strong and overlooked part of this artist’s canon. John clearly thinks so. In the liner notes to his Jewel Box collection, John says he always considered himself “an album artist” and not a hit singles machine.
These Rainbow songs, and so many others, make the case for the strength of those ’70s albums — as albums. The accompanying essay to Live From the Rainbow Theater release says this set represents what Elton John would have been like in a club had he not enjoyed such amazing chart success. Maybe. But no matter how it’s contextualized, this is solid material.
John’s first live album was another radio broadcast, this one from New York City. It too was heavily bootlegged, which forced an official release, 11-17-70 – an attempt to beat the pirates. At that 1970 radio concert, John played the freshly written “Indian Sunset.” Before performing the song, he acknowledged that, while not yet recorded, he was sure “it is just about to be bootlegged.”
“But never mind,” he continued, “there is a method in our madness, I tell you.” If by madness he means finding a way to get his songs in front of an audience, Elton John’s methods work well.
- Doc Pomus – ‘You Can’t Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos’ (2025) - November 21, 2025
- Elton John – ‘Live From the Rainbow Theatre’ (2025) - November 13, 2025
- ‘Cold War Country,’ by Joseph M. Thompson: Books - December 2, 2024
