Editor
The worlds of glitz, glam, and pop-rock fused immortally on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, born of the formidable partnership of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. This 1973 double album may well have been the peak of their collaboration. Ranging from perennial favorites like "Candle in the Wind," "Benny and the Jets," and the title track to more ambitious compositions like "Funeral for a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding)" and everything in between, Goodbye is unmatched in its depth and scope. This entry in the Classic Albums series of DVDs documents the often tumultuous writing and recording sessions for that masterpiece through vintage clips of the musicians in the studio and new interviews with Elton, Bernie, producer Gus Dudgeon, and the band members. We may never know how the John-Taupin team achieved their magic, but this release offers a both a peek at the process and a few reasons why the album endures today.
Director
Recorded in St. Goarshausen, Freilichtbuhne, Loreley, Germany 18 July, 1987. The recording, made during the first leg of the 1987 Clutching at Straws tour, documents the band at the peak of their commercial success in the mid/late 1980s. The show was attended by an audience of 20,000; support acts were Magnum, The Cult (cancelled), and It Bites. Featuring Fish on vocals, it comprises songs from the four studio albums they released up to that point, i.e. Script for a Jester's Tear (1983), Fugazi (1984), Misplaced Childhood (1985), and Clutching at Straws (1987).