I Heard It Through The Grapevine [Live]

[BiteUrLip]

Single release.

[BiteUrLip]

Although the song is one of the biggest soul and r&b classics and Elton does great improvisation, I can't handle that long bare piano and vocals.

3½ stars.

[dougs]

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" from LIVE FROM MOSCOW 1979:

Elton and Ray Cooper finally had that famous 1979 tour of Russia show up as a formal release on vinyl for RECORD STORE DAY 2019.  It eventually found its release onto other formats within the year.  Having a major "western" rock star show up to play concerts in the former Soviet Union was huge news at the time - 1979.  The Cold War was most certainly "on."  The concerts received worldwide press.  Select songs found their way onto video (later onto DVD) for the TO RUSSIA WITH ELTON release.

Elton played "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" in 1977 at his comeback & retirement (!) concert at Wembley Empire Pool on November 3rd. EJ always had a passion for R&B and Motown music and he did a commendable job this particular evening.  The song was brought back for the A SINGLE MAN tour beginning in February 1979 and continuing through to December 1979 on his BACK IN THE USSA and A SINGLE MAN tour legs. 

For the Russia 1979 concerts and the LIVE FROM MOSCOW 1979 album, Elton played a version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" approaching 11 minutes or more (11:47 for this review).  He played only a couple of songs on electric piano on this tour and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" got such a nod.  He played it without any accompaniment from Ray Cooper who had yet to be introduced. It was all about Elton's voice (with a few special effects) and tons of keyboard improvisation.  The critics applauded Elton's efforts in reworking this 3:16 Marvin Gaye single version into his own 12 minute version without losing the core or essence of the song.  It is extremely impressive listening to Elton storm up & down the keyboard on this song and also play with his vocals as he did.  This is why I go to concerts.  Long extended versions of songs are not everyone's cup of tea but it can show the musician's creativity and musicianship and hopefully it works!  For "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" it is a real pleasure to hear Elton do his thing on this Motown classic.  Elton stated about the Moscow concert that it was "probably one of the best concerts I've ever given in my life."

Lots of YouTube versions appear for his concerts in cities like Boston and New York and others on that famous 1979 tour with great versions of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."

Rating: 5 stars

Doug

[BiteUrLip]

I am sure that as long as 11 minutes and only piano and vocals it really couldn't be better than what it actually is (minus sound quality). Elton is an extremely talented and obviously also the most popular piano player of the world, and that shows in this track. Vocally, he is not in the group of absolute masters like Elvis, Freddie, Aretha etc. but of course he was/is also one of the best vocalists of the world.

A five stars version (from me) would have required a full band, and probably variation between piano and guitar on solos, I think. But generally, when thinking about piano + vocals, five star recordings would require a brilliant melody and lyrics (usually a ballad), but especially a short length. Elton's solo version of "Your Song" on "Here" I gave five stars.

I also feel that when the number of instruments decreases, the lyrics will get an increased attention. This happened with "Ticking" - I used to think it's a three stars song before I finally concentrated on the lyrics, and understood the touching story that can literally bring tears to the eyes. Of course, that song has some synthesizers and backing vocalists too.

And oh, "The Bridge" is one of my very favorite Elton songs although it's only bare piano and vocals, plus the instrumental choir part.

[dougs]

BiteUrLip:

Interesting thoughts and comments about "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and about songs played live.

I can still give a 5-star rating even for an instrumental whether progressive rock, classical, electronic, whatever.  I just came across a 20-minute version on YouTube of "Madman Across the Water" from the autumn of 1973 recorded at Bloomington, Indiana.  It made my head spin it was so good.  Again, probably not everyone's thing but certainly mine.

Yeah, your comment about "Ticking" is oh so true.  What an incredible song.  A tremendously cinematic & powerful lyric from Bernie delivered superbly by Elton.  The really interesting thing about "Ticking" was that it is a rarity for EJ in how it was recorded;  Apparently, Elton did the vocal and the piano together and not on two separate tracks.  "Ticking" was a highlight to see live with the band in 1982 and then again solo on three more tours since 1999.

Doug

[newloneranger]

Its ok, never been a big fan of this song but Elton did a good job with it.

3 1/2 stars

[Commodore Orpington]

Usually his covers seem pointless to me, but I love this one. It's only slightly behind the Marvin Gaye version for me, miles ahead of the Gladys Knight.

[rocketman]

I finally purchased this recording on CD (I just had to wait for it to be offered for $7 off the list price - can't be buying things at full price now, can we?) but a friend once burned it to CD for me anyway so I have some familiarity with the Moscow concert.

Still, I've only heard this song once or twice at most, so I can't reliably rate it.

I will say this - I don't think Ray Cooper adds much to this performance. The first disc, which contains the Elton solo part of the show, seems better to me. Perhaps my impressions will change upon further listening.