'Play That Piano, Reg'

I've never been a big fan of remixes, the Pnau thing was the ultimate nadir of the genre. However there's been some crackers over the years. I'm Still Standing with the longer intro, Who Wears These Shoes with the guitars and drums emphasised to even better effect. Heartache All Over The World isn't long enough and the Hard Kiss remix of Believe which is a spellbinding until the techno bit kicks in. More about those tracks over the next while. Today's example, which isn't on Youtube for those who use it as a resource (even Elton does!) is the Just Elton and His Piano remix. The song with just his vocals and the Roland piano (sounding better in the studio than onstage) doesn't suffer from the lack of backing. The live solo version around the turn of the century is the glowing embodiment of the songs strength. The killer kick is the middle eight, the backing vocals of Nigel, Dee and Davey sound crystal like, clear with strength. The workout by Elton at the end is terrific, his left hand is percussive power and precision. A great version that compliments the original (a classic, of course) perfectly. It's a pity Elton doesn't add it to the setlist again, the live versions on the 97/98 tour (with Charlie Morgan) were the ultimate performances. Though the One Night Only example nearly beats the lot of them, John Jorgenson throwing some neat little electric guitar licks in. God knows how that version would have evolved...out of this world I'd expect!