The Million Dollar Piano
Elton John
Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Release Date: July 01, 2014
Review Date: June 29, 2014

I became a fan of Elton John’s back in the summer of 1973.  “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” ruled the airwaves and, for some reason, it resonated in my thirteen year old mind.  My cousin and I wore out the 45rpm copy we had of it as well as a friend’s eight-track of Elton’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”.

Since that time, I bought every album that I could afford to lay my hands on, started wearing platform shoes and, as an adult, saw him in concert one time in Phoenix. These days, I’ve replaced the vinyl with CDs and now have a near complete library of concert and documentary DVDs, including the brand spankin’ new “The Million Dollar Piano”.

This amazing show was filmed in high definition and simultaneously released on Blu-ray and DVD. The Million Dollar Piano is packed with Elton John classics including: “I’m Still Standing,” “Rocket Man,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “Your Song,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Circle Of Life,” “Blue Eyes,” “Bennie And The Jets,” “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” “Crocodile Rock,” “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues,” and many more.
 
The Million Dollar Piano was filmed over multiple nights in 2013 at Elton John’s residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The show has been running since September 2011, with the most recent leg spanning 16 shows between March 29 and April 26 2014.

The concerts are the culmination of Elton John’s decades long partnership with Yamaha pianos. This film features classic Elton John tracks from across his extraordinary career performed either with his band, solo, or with percussionist Ray Cooper. The multimedia staging is phenomenal with vast screens behind the stage illustrating the songs and the piano itself acting as a screen for graphics and animations.
 
As well as 19 songs from the residency set, the DVD includes as a bonus “The Making Of The Million Dollar Piano”, a feature which tells the story behind the concerts.  In addition, there are four extra tracks filmed in Kiev in 2012: “Candle In The Wind”; “Sacrifice”; “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” and “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.”
 
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, is one of the most highly acclaimed and successful solo artists of all time. He has achieved 35 gold and 25 platinum albums, has sold more than 250 million records worldwide, and holds the record for the biggest selling single of all time. Over the five decades since his career began in 1969, Elton has played almost 4000 concerts worldwide.  He has been awarded  numerous accolades including five Grammys, twelve Ivor Novello Awards, an Oscar, a Tony, the BRITs Icon Award, induction into the Rock‘n’Roll Hall of Fame and the Kennedy Center Honor. He is the third most successful artist in the history of the American charts, behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles.
 
Elton John is the ultimate live showman, with live dates scheduled in June, and more to come in November [see eltonjohn.com]. The Million Dollar Piano is the definitive Elton John concert experience and should be in every fan’s person video library.