In April, Elton John released the archival concert album Live from the Rainbow Theatre wih Ray Cooper as a limited-edition vinyl LP as part of the 2025 Record Store Day event. Now, the album will get a wide release on CD, vinyl LP, and digital formats on July 25.
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Live from the Rainbow Theatre features performances from a run of concerts the British pop-rock legend played at the historic London venue in May 1977. John performed solo on piano for the first half of the shows, while percussionist Ray Cooper joined him for the latter half.
The concert series featured Elton digging deep into his catalog to play some tunes he’d rarely, if ever, performed live.
For the vinyl release of Live from the Rainbow Theatre, John selected 12 songs from the shows. The CD and digital versions will include an extra bonus track, a performance of his 1971 ballad “Goodbye.” The updated edition of the album also will include additional liner notes.
The Rainbow Theatre concerts were the first of 233 shows that John played as a duo with Cooper. The album features renditions three songs from Elton’s then-latest album, Blue Moves— “Tonight,” “Cage the Songbird,” and “Idol.” The latter two got their live debut at the shows. Other tunes that John performed for the first time at the Rainbow were “Roy Rogers” and “I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford).”
Among the many other rarities included in the set were “The Greatest Discovery,” “Ticking,” “Better Off Dead,” “Sweet Painted Lady,” and “Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future).”
Elton John’s Comments About Live from the Rainbow Theatre
John shared some reflections about the album in a statement.
“I’m delighted that Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper will be available for my fans to enjoy,” he said. “It’s an album I’m incredibly proud of, and listening back to it, I’m astounded by how great it sounds. The freedom I felt playing with just the two of us is something I will always remember.”
Elton offered some further comments about the album in a post on his social media pages.
“These 1977 [shows] at London’s Rainbow Theatre were unlike anything I had done before,” he noted. “[They featured] just the two of us on stage with the songs we loved – that kickstarted over 230 Ray-and-I-only shows that we would go on to play. … I can’t wait for you to hear it!”
Live from the Rainbow Theatre can be pre-ordered now.
The live album’s release follows the April arrival of Elton’s latest studio effort, Who Believes in Angels?, which he recorded in collaboration with Brandi Carlile. Who Believes in Angels? debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. albums chart and peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200.
Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper Track List:
- “The Greatest Discovery”
- “Border Song”
- “Cage the Songbird”
- “Where to Now St. Peter?”
- “Ticking”
- “Better Off Dead” (with Ray Cooper)
- “Sweet Painted Lady”
- “Tonight” (with Ray Cooper)
- “Idol” (with Ray Cooper)
- “I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)” (with Ray Cooper)
- “Roy Rogers”
- “Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)”
- “Goodbye”*
* = available on digital and CD release only.
(Photo by Watal Asanuma/Courtesy of Shinko Music)
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