Elton John Live: Abschied vom Dodger Stadium

There are actually quite a few reasons why "Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium" shouldn't work. No one has the singing chops at 75 years old that they did in their prime, while an Elton John show isn't necessarily the most conducive to television (basically one man sitting at a piano). But "Farewell" is still a pretty compelling experience. Why? Because it is more of a tribute to John's legacy than anything else.

I don't want to say that the music here is bad--it most certainly is not. When Elton absolutely needs to, he can hit the key vocals and still retains that iconic sound the world knows and loves. But the limitations of the performer are inherent. There's isn't a ton of movement other than his hands flying across the piano.

What director Paul Dugdale does to make up for those limitations, however, is to turn these three hours into as much a celebration of Elton John's legacy as anything else. What really "works" are the pre-show interviews and in-show shots of costumed individuals--young and old--all having a wonderful time. Not only is John's music timeless, but he has also become an icon of and for the LGBT community. The melding of all those varying audiences--especially with zero overt political or social commentary whatsoever to bolster the point--is truly a sight to behold.

Overall, I enjoyed this special and found myself singing along more than I thought I would. What it lacks in the "original" 1975 Dodger Stadium concert in sheer energy it more than makes up for with the legacy component.

Excellent vitality and good old Elton! I've seen him live a few times but this last performance kills it! His voice is great and his fingers fly across the keyboards like feathers - and the band is spot on fabulous.

I liked how he would stop and talk to the audience about some of the songs - something he didn't do very often in live shows.

And my god for 75 he played like in his youth - ok so he can't be as outrageous as he used to be but in fact he's more outrageous because of his energy and the fun he was clearly having!

I can't imagine a world without Elton John and I'm glad I could see this on Disney as I wasn't able to go to his live farewell tour. Great job Disney! And thank you Elton, I'm glad I could share this generation with you!

... or you'll fall asleep. As timeless as Elton's music is, and as iconic a performer he once was, sitting at a piano playing decades worth of songs isn't entertaining and can get quite laboursome to sit through especially if nothing else is happening. Sure, there are happy jump cuts to the audience pleasantly singing along, and the band, but you'd be better off watching his music videos or listening to his songs at home instead. The show was boring and he didn't bring much personality. I certainly wouldn't have paid to see this show... maybe 30 years ago when he had more energy. Very underwhelming.

...I kind of got annoyed watching his orchestra members trying to upstage him.

I know they have been with him a long time, and with Elton pretty much stuck at the piano singing, some of his back line was going crazy, especially that 'lead tambourine-player'/percussionist at the center-top of the stage; they were all well dressed, in jacket and ties (most of the time) The music was terrific, and the mixing top notch !Interesting that it was a Disney production, but did not include Circle of Life, The "O" in Sir Elton's EGOT !

Great guest performances, and just a few essential VIP intro's !

While I did not see it live, the images and colors were very good. The stream was, IMHO better than dealing with being there, and stuck in one place, with probably a limited view, though nothing could beat the experience of this legend live in concert !!

I had high hopes for this but what's happened to his singing style?

He sings like he's got hiccups or something, like an old Irish jig. I can't put it into words but it's very strange, like the words are not joined together.

His band are older than Noah, not that there's anything wrong with this but the production lacked energy.

Elton's add libbing and extra Irish jig shouts got really annoying so I could take no more and switched it off 10 minutes before the end.

If I had tickets for this at the ridiculous amounts he's been charging I'd try to get a refund or sell them on now!

He's a music genius but just leave it at that now!