Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A ghostly voice echoed in my head at the London Palladium. It was the memory of Elton John speaking from the headliner\u2019s stage at Glastonbury in 2023 about \u201ca very special and emotional night for me, as it may be my last show in England\u201d. Yet here he was, beaming at us from beneath a smooth thatch of straw-coloured hair at a grand piano.\u00a0Of course, Elton has never been the retiring type: witness a wardrobe famed even in the outr\u00e9 sartorial circles of pop for its flamboyance. At the Palladium, the 78-year-old wore a stylish pastel blue suit and chunky red-framed spectacles. Beaming alongside him in a striking cream three-piece suit was the US singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, a fan from childhood with whom he has made an album coming out next week, Who Believes in Angels?The event was a high-grade showbiz affair, with an audience comprising hardcore Elton fans, some Brandi ones too, and the top end of London\u2019s liggerati. Cameras filmed it for television broadcast in the UK and US. It opened with Schitt\u2019s Creek actor Dan Levy quizzing the two principals about their joint album, or rather soft-soaping them. \u201cWe need to get on,\u201d Elton barked, not yet ready for a life of sudsy anecdotage. \u201cWe need to play.\u201dWhat followed was a proper set of 80 minutes, a double-cream affair rather than the skimmed brevity of the promotional circuit. Elton sat stage centre at the piano. Carlile stood across from him. They were joined by an intriguingly cobbled-together band. It included Carlile\u2019s accompanists, twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth, on bass and acoustic guitar, the Red Hot Chili Peppers\u2019 drummer Chad Smith, his ex-bandmate Josh Klinghoffer on keyboards, and Who Believes in Angels?\u2019s producer Andrew Watt on electric guitar.They opened with the album\u2019s title track. Carlile took lead vocal, with Elton shadowing her: his singing became more forceful as the song progressed. It made a rather too obvious return to his 1970s pomp, toggling between big choruses and ornate calm. But \u201cSwing for the Fences\u201d had the audience on its feet, a dashing synthesis of his piano-rock and her Americana. \u201cLittle Richard\u2019s Bible\u201d was another winner, a boogying tribute to the original rock\u2019n\u2019roll pianoman, sung by Elton with the bullish vigour of the next in line to the throne.Carlile, 43, has form as a generational foil for an older star: she played a vital role helping Joni Mitchell return to music after ill health. Elton cuts a frailer figure himself these days. At the Palladium, he moved with difficulty when not sitting at his piano stool. But he performed without fragility. His piano-playing was richly exuberant, scattering notes like a millionaire, including a few false ones. Vocally, he muscled his way through songs. Carlile, a powerful and expressive singer, complemented him to a tee.\u00a0She had a standout turn with her own song \u201cThe Joke\u201d, doing a keening country-rock belt. Elton\u2019s immense back catalogue was filleted for a rarity, \u201cI Need You to Turn to\u201d, from his self-titled 1970 album: it resembled Leonard Cohen with added glitz. Several classics followed \u2014 \u201cTiny Dancer\u201d, \u201cDon\u2019t Let the Sun Go Down on Me\u201d, \u201cI Guess That\u2019s Why They Call It the Blues\u201d \u2014 performed solo by Elton at the piano.\u00a0\u201cWell, look at me, I\u2019m coming back again,\u201d he sang in the closing number, a vibrant full-band rendition of \u201cI\u2019m Still Standing\u201d. Love of the limelight is a compelling inducement for a star not to exit the stage. But Elton really does seem to come alive while playing music, as if motivated by an impulse that goes beyond applause or the numerous ovations that he was awarded at the Palladium. His partnership with Carlile is not a fresh start, but rather a sign of unfinished business.\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2018An Evening with Elton John and Brandi Carlile\u2019 is on ITV and ITVX in the UK on April 19, and on CBS in the US on April 6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A ghostly voice echoed in my head at the London Palladium. It was the memory of Elton John speaking from the headliner\u2019s stage at Glastonbury in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":254776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-254775","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254775"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254777,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254775\/revisions\/254777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}