Sunday 26 July 2015

In The Ghetto - The first take

The 1960's were awash with protest songs from artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and whilst protest songs exist from both before and after the 60's it is with that decade that they are probably associated with most. The Civil Rights Movement and The Vietnam War are the two subjects most covered by the protest song in that period.
It took until the closing minutes of 'Singer Presents Elvis', or the 'NBC 68 comeback Special' if you prefer, for Elvis Presley to present any sort of material that in any way resembled a 'protest' song. 'If I Can Dream' was written by Walter Earl Brown at the behest of the program's producer Steve Binder after a conversation over Elvis' dismay at the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. Elvis and Binder had been looking for a song to replace 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' as the show's closing number and Elvis chose to try it despite Colonel Parker's objections. The song with Elvis' raw emotion and it's iconic status as the show's finale remains one of Elvis' most famous recordings. How much of a protest song it actually is is open to each individuals interpretation.
The same can perhaps be said of the Mac Davis compositon 'In The Ghetto' which also became one of the most famous of Elvis' recordings. At first perhaps slightly reluctant to record the song he eventually did and the result was a masterpiece.
Recorded in American Sound Studios on 21 January 1969 it tells the story of poverty in 60's Chicago and the difficulty in escaping that predicament.
This first take, the master was take 23, is almost a completely different song from the master in that it has almost the bare minimum of accompaniment. The song starts with just an accoustic guitar and then Elvis' vocal almost at a whisper and so it continues with just drums and organ for company.
Apart from a slight error with the lyrics and phrasing at the two minute this could almost have passed as an alternate master a folk version if you like and this could possibly have placed it squarely in the 'protest' bracket.
Here are the words of the song's composer Mac Davis on the song's inception and how it was originallly titled 'The Vicious Circle' :
'I never really dreamed of pitching that song to Elvis. I had been working on In the Ghetto for several years. I grew up playing with a little boy in Lubbock, Texas, whose family lived in a dirt street ghetto. His dad and my dad worked in construction together. So that little boy and I sort of grew up together. I never understood why his family had to live where they lived while my family lived where we lived. Of course back in those days, the word 'ghetto' hadn't come along yet. But I always wanted to write a song about that situation and title it 'The Vicious Circle.
I thought that if you were born in that place and that situation, then you grow up there and one day you die there, and another kid is born there that kind of replaces you. And later I started thinking about the ghetto as a title for the song. In the meantime, Freddy Weller had showed me a guitar lick he had been playing. I liked the lick and went home one night and used that guitar lick and wrote that song'. 'I didn't write the song for anyone in particular, but later while I was working on an album in Memphis, Chips Moman called me and said Elvis was recording and asked me if I had any songs for him. So I sent him a tape with 19 songs on it and Elvis recorded the first three songs on the tape, In the Ghetto, Don't Cry Daddy and another song they never released titled Poor Man's Gold. A lot of people have asked me about Elvis talking to me about In the Ghetto. I don't think we ever had a conversation about that song ... either before or after he recorded it'.


Sunday 5 July 2015

Sit down section - 12 August 1970 Midnight Show

Although the point of view is purely subjective August 1970 is probably Elvis at his absolute peak as a live performer. Having already conquered Las Vegas with both his return to live performances a year before or consolidating that position with a triumphant return in January/February 1970 whilst updating his setlist with more contemporary material, he reached another level entirely in August.

The stratospheric levels that Elvis would reach in this Vegas season would never again be reached with such consistency. Elvis would still have many more peaks and outstanding shows but not for a complete season and for that there were many reasons maybe not clear then but certainly now.
As every show throughout this engagement was of an exceptionally high standard it is almost impossible to find a show which is better than any other. Many fans however are of the opinion that the Midnight show of 12 August was that show indeed the linear notes from the 2000 special edition, 3CD version of TTWII, on which that show was first released makes reference to this.

The Midnight show of 12 August 1970 is without doubt an excellent show and includes the version of ' You've Lost That Loving Feeling' with a wonderfully unexpected reprise and the final live version of 'Words'. After the band introductions Elvis embarked on a twenty minute period that would never be repeated starting with a four song burst of 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'One Night', 'Blue Suede Shoe's' and 'All Shook Up'.

Fortunately all of this and what was to follow was recorded by MGM during the filming of what was to become 'Elvis - That's The Way It Is' as this was the fifth of six shows filmed. Whilst the first part of the aforementioned twenty minutes was included in the film why the second part was not is as inexplecible as it is unforgivable especially as it was still left out of the 2001 re-edit.

The first hint of this hidden gem was on the 'Las Vegas' disc of the 1980 'Elvis Aron Presley' boxset which had a medley of 'Little Sister' and 'Get Back' but at that point we had no idea as to how much more was after that. Just before this Elvis asked for a stool and with an electric guitar started singing as if in a jam session and the result was astonishing.
This video is that second part of those twenty of so minutes and you can see and decide for yourself if this is Elvis at his absolute best - relaxed and totally immersed in the moment!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ5C43YYfE8

Thursday 4 June 2015

Kentucky Rain - 26 January 1970 Opening Show

After the band introductions on 26 January 1970, the opening night show of Elvis' second Las Vegas engagement Elvis would perform the last of the ten new songs introduced during this show.

Just for the record the other nine first time perfromances in the order which they were performed, (and I've posted them all on my YouTube channel)https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv0cx32ceHpogzf59mnUlJA were - Proud Mary, Don't Cry Daddy, Teddy Bear (in a medley with Don't Be Cruel), Long Tall Sally, Let It Be Me, Walk a Mile In My Shoes, True Love Travels On A Gravel Road, Sweet Caroline and Polk Salad Annie.

The tenth and final was 'Kentucky Rain' which had been recorded in the studio amost exactly year earlier on 19 January 1969 in American Sound Studios, Memphis, Tennessee.

Whilst most versions of 'Kentucky Rain' during this engagement would include some humorous comments or lyric changes this first live version is one of very few played absolutely straight. This version is also very close to the original studio master but one very subtle lyric change would take place. This version and the original studio master has in the chorus ....'and here's another town that I'll GO walking through....' however later live versions would be sung as '.....'and here's another town that I'll BE walking through....'. The ending would also change with percussion becoming far more prominent in the song's climax.

The definitive live version of this song, and the very first version to be released officially was that from 16 February Dinner Show which was made available on the silver 1980 box set 'Elvis Aaron Presley' and is a version which is also played absolutely straight.
This version was released on the 2013 FTD release of 'The On Stage Season - February 1970' which contained both the opening and closing shows of this engagement. Several other live versions from this engagement have also been made available on FTD's 2004 album 'Polk Salad Annie' which featured the 15 February Dinner Show and on both the FTD and Legacy editions of 'On Stage'.

After this song Elvis would sing an excellent version of 'Suspicious MInds' before closing the show with the traditional closer 'Can't Help Falling In Love' completing and opening show with over half of the songs featured performed for the very first time.

As far as this song being sung live is concerned it would be performed at all six shows during the engagement at the Houston Astrodome immediately following this Las Vegas season but the final Houston show, the evening show on 1 March was the final time Elvis would sing 'Kentucky Rain' live.


Friday 29 May 2015

Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel 26 January Opening Show

On opening night of Elvis' second Las Vegas engagement, 26 January 1970 he introduced a mammoth TEN new song to the setlist. Of the first four songs half were new and the fifth and sixth would also be new but with a twist!

In retrospect with such a wide range of Elvis concerts now in the public domain it is almost unfathomable to imagine one (Aloha apart) without the Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruelmedley. In the later years of course Elvis would use this as a point in the show where he could catch his breath, throw some scarves to the crowd and have some audience interaction, usually with those of the female variety!!

In early 1970 however, this medley was just a fledgling performance and after this show he would sing it just twice more this season, at the Dinner Shows on 3 and 5 February and not again until January 1971. It would be a setlist regular throughout August 71 and all of 72. In 1973 however it would only make the odd appearance. It was from the beginning of the March 74 tour where it would become a permanent fixture in the setlist and would take on it's now familiar guise in the show.

As a stand alone performance 'Don't Be Cruel' was sung throughout the initial Vegas engagement in August 1969 and a handful of times in August and September 1970 but post 1970 it was almost always segued into a medley with 'Teddy Bear'.

Teddy Bear was of course written for Elvis' second motion picture 'Loving You' and it is perhaps within this context that the song works best. It was recorded on the Paramount Soundstage in Hollywood, California on 16 January 1957.

Don't Be Cruel is probably one of the early Elvis' most famous recordings and was recorded in New York at RCA's studios on 2 July 1956 at the same session which produced 'Hound Dog'.

If you think it is a case of "If you've heard one 70's Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel medley you've heard them all" then you really are in for a treat and a surprise. During this first 70's live version at times Elvis is almost growling the words of 'Teddy Bear'!!! This is almost night and day from the later 70's versions!!!!!



Wednesday 27 May 2015

Proud Mary - 26 January 1970 Opening Show

Of the fifteen Las Vegas opening nights that Elvis performed in six a half years it appears that the only one not have been recorded in any way is perhaps the most significant show - Sunday , 31 July 1969. This was of course his return to live performing after release from the movie contracts. Despite professional recordings of shows later in the season specifically for a live 'In person' album it is still surprising that the earliest soundboard recording is four days into the engagement on 3 August. Even if RCA had no intention of using any material from this opening night one would have thought that at least it would have been recorded from the mixing board for posterity given the magnitude of this particular show. With that in mind it is also surprising that any type of audience recording has not surfaced which would at least give some audio documentation of this historic event.
This would leave any evidence of the opening night's setlist sketchy at best with any sort of record only possible by piecing together biys and pieces from reports of the evening.

The first Las Vegas opening night to be recorded was that of his next engagement on Monday 26 January 1970. The previous August Elvis' setlist had it's emphasis mostly on rock 'n' roll with the odd cover (Yesterday, Words) and recent hits (In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds) thrown in for good measure. The January/February setlist would be somewhat different with a radical shake up in order to prevent the show from becoming stale. Many of the rock 'n' roll numbers would be retained into this new season as would the recent hits but there would be an introduction of many new songs and two new singles into the setlist.

On opening night alone Elvis would introduce TEN new songs, two of which were new singles an another two 50's hits not used in the previous engagement.  Later in the season more new songs would appear including 'Release Me', 'The Wonder of You' and 'See See Rider'. There was also a couple of personnel changes in the band and backing groups. Glen D. Hardin finally arrived replacing Larry Muhoberac on piano, Ronnie Tutt, having had a previous commitment was missing and his place was taken by Bob Lanning. and Cissy Houston had left The Sweet Inspirations leaving them without a soprano for this engagement.

Whereas Elvis opened every show during the previous August engagement with 'Blue Suede Shoes' this was now changed to 'All Shook Up' and after that came 'That's All Right'. Elvis would now introduce the first of his new songs......

'Proud Mary' a hit for Creedance Clearwater Revival a year earlier would be first heard on the 'On Stage' album.  This version is different even to the 'On Stage' version recorded three weeks later but the song would be dropped for the next two seasons before reinstatemant in August 1971 with a new faster arrangement and the omitted verse included akin to On Tour and MSG. Elvis would perform 'Proud Mary' for the final time at the third show of his August 1974 engagement in Las Vegas at the Midnight Show on 20 August.





Tuesday 26 May 2015

Moody Blue - 12 February 1970 Charlotte, North Carolina

Elvis' first tour of 1977 would be ten shows in as many nights in nine cities and five states. He would begin in Hollywood, Florida on 12 February and conclude with two shows on consecutive nights at The Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Having recorded the studio master in 'The Jungle Room' at Graceland on 4 February 1976, 'Moody Blue' would be both a single and the title of the final album to be released in his lifetime. The only time that Elvis would either sing or attempt to sing 'Moody Blue' on stage were at those two aforementioned shows in Charlotte.

At the first Charlotte show on 11 February and after singing 'My Way' Elvis tells the crowd "Our latest record is Moody Blue.....and I don't know it either! So if we make a mistake please excuse us because we've never done it except when we recorded it!" After much debate about where to start and in which key Elvis remarks "To hell with Moody Blue" and decides instead to sing 'How Great Thou Art". All of this is taken in good humour both by Elvis and the audience,

The following evening and still at the same venue Elvis this time remarks "I'd like to try to do my latest record... I tried it last night and didn't make it....I have to read it so if we goof it up please forgive us!". This time however there is no mistake and despite the obvious unfamiliarity with the song, with lead sheet in hand and with his eyes glued to the lyrics the only live performance of 'Moddy Blue' is still achieved and at the songs conclusion Elvis jokes:
"Well I'm sure glad you learned it..really.. 'cause I don't know the chord changes, the key or anything!"

This only live rendition of 'Moody Blue' was first released on the bootleg circuit in 1995 on Fort Baxter's 'Moody Blue and other Great Performances'. It would be 2007 before the track would recieve an official release by Sony through the FTD label released it as a bonus track on the Unchained Melody album in 2007. The main focus of this release was actually the 11 February show containing the aborted attempt and the full version was included as a bonus track.


Saturday 23 May 2015

What Now My Love - 4 August 1972

In terms of it's historical significance 'Aloha From Hawaii' stands apart from virtually everything else in Elvis Presley's career. It was the first worldwide satellite telecast by an entertainer and the most watched TV program in history with the original viewership estimated to be in excess of one billion people. It retains a place close to most fans heart as together  with the rehearsal concert from two days earlier it remains the only  complete Elvis concert to be officially released on visual home media.

Taken in isolation however, the actual concert itself is not Elvis best - not by a long way. By Elvis' own high standards the 14 January 1973 concert itself pales in comparison even with the aforementioned show from 12 January. It should also be added that every song in the show, 'An American Trilogy' and 'I'll Remember You' apart, had been performed better by Elvis at other shows. With the constant release of bootleg concerts both audience and soundboard and now with concerts being officially released both in mainstream and on the FTD label this view it could be argued is made purely in hindsight, Whilst there may be some truth in that argument the merits of the actual concert  with other Elvis shows with a fair comparison could be made as far back as Summer 1974 - a mere eighteen months after the event.

Within the main Aloha concert Elvis seems somehow disconnected with both the audience and the music and at points within the show his speech is somewhat slurred. This is particularly in evidence before 'Something' where he welcomes the audience and after 'Hound Dog' where he remarks 'I'm lying like a rug!'. It is likely that this is the effects of medication probably taken to combat the high tension and nerves that would be felt quite naturally with what was at stake that evening.

In order to make a reasonable comparison to this show it is necessary to take two shows both recorded and released around the same time. For this purpose we can take the two live albums released by RCA on either side of Aloha. In 'Madison Square Garden' recorded just six months earlier whilst Aloha is quite tame and sedate this 10 June 1972 evening show is full of power, energy and electricity with Elvis in fine voice throughout.

The second comparison is to be found in a show recorded fourteen months later in his home town of Memphis, Tennessee on 20 March 1974. This show originally released in a heavily edited form includes a grammy winning performance of 'How Great Thou Art and even despite Elvis' already having a heavy reliance of prescribed medication his speech is completely clear and the show is lots of fun and Elvis is fully engaged with both the audience and music throughout.

None of this is meant to suggest that 'Aloha From Hawaii' is a bad show but more to suggest that it's historical significance far outweighs it's actual content. - Discuss................

One of the songs synonymous with 'Aloha' is 'What Now My Love' which is one of the big ballads of the type Elvis loved to sing in the later years. Never recorded in the studio by Elvis it's most famous pre-Elvis recording is probably the Shirley Bassey version although it has been covered quite extensively since.

Before 'Aloha From Hawaii' Elvis had been performing the song in his live show for four months since introducing it in Las Vegas during the opening show on 4 August 1972. This first version is sung at a very slightly faster tempo and is given an intimate reading by Elvis at times almost speaking the words - at times in the future he would speak the entire song - adding to the songs intimacy.

An officially released soundboard recording including a performance of 'What Now My Love' is available on the FTD label from later in this Las Vegas Season, from the 12 August Dinner show on the album 3000 Paradise Road, the address of the Las Vegas Hilton, now called the 'Westgate Casino and Resort'.


Tuesday 19 May 2015

Bridge Over Troubled Water - 9 June 1972

If it wasn't for the satellite broadcast which accompanied the two show engagement at the Honoloulu International Center in Hawaii in January 1973 and the subsequent historical significance of that event it could be argued that the four show engagement in New York was the biggest of Elvis' career.

Those four shows at Madison Square Garden over three days with every show sold out to it's 20,000 capacity and was the only time that Elvis would perform in 'The Big Apple'. That New York engagement was only the first four shows of a twelve day, fourteen show tour which would conclude on 20 June in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Civic Assembly Center.

With Elvis in fine form throughout, the four shows had a pretty rigid setlist with just the odd song being interchanged from show to show. Only three songs were performed just once over the three shows, 'Reconsider Baby', which would be performed again in the first show after MSG in Fort Wayne, 'The Impossible Dream' at the 10 June Evening show which would the final time that Elvis would sing it live and 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'.

'Bridge Over Troubled Water' was sung for the only time at MSG during the 9 June opening show and since RCA only recorded the two middle shows on 10 June we only have an audience recording of the first show. That being said it is an astonishing performance and that more than makes up for the lack of a soundboard recording.

Not only did Elvis perform the song just once at MSG he would only sing it a further three times during this fourteen show tour at Fort Wayne, Indiana on 12 June, Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 14 June and on 19 June at the Henry Levitt Arena in Wichita, Kansas. It would almost a year taking in two Las Vegas engagements and three tours including Aloha before he would perform the song again in Lake Tahoe at the Midnight Show on 6 May.





Monday 18 May 2015

Let It Be Me - 26 January 1970 Opening Show

Elvis' return to live performances in Las Vegas went better than he could ever have imagined. On the crest of a wave after the huge success of the TV special and then a highly satisfying recording session at American Sound Studios in his home town of Memphis followed by 57 consecutive sold out shows at the International Hotel all to critical acclaim.

Whilst the August 69 season relied heavily on rock 'n' roll he would change the setlist adding a more contemporay flavour with some covers and even added some more recent hits of his own.

One of the covers that Elvis chose was the Everly Brothers 1960 hit 'Let It Be Me'. Originally written by French duo Pierre Delanoë (lyrics) and Gilbert Bécaud (music) and titled 'Je t'appartiens' it was given English lyrics by Mann Curtis and called 'Let It Be Me'.

In the ten years between the Everly Brothers hit and Elvis including it in his live stage show it wa covered by many different acts and perfromers Nancy Sinatra, Bobby Gentry and Tom Jones amongst them. It is perhaps the version recorded by The Sweet Inspirations in 1967 which resonated most with Elvis as they had incorporated a gospel feel into their version and this is certainly evident in the Elvis version.

The version which would become the RCA master and would subsequently be released on the 1970 'On Stage' album was recorded almost three weeks later than this version on 17 February at the Midnight show.


Saturday 16 May 2015

Rags To Riches - New Years Eve 1976 Pittsburgh PA

In the main 1976 had been a very poor year for Elvis. His reluctance to enter a recording studio had made it necessary for RCA to move it's mobile recording unit 'Big Red' into the grounds of Graceland and Elvis' den, what was to become known as 'The Jungle Room', became a makeshift studio in order for Elvis to fulfil his contractual obligations.

The live shows of 1976 were amongst the poorest of Elvis' career with the setlist probably at it's most rigid since 1969 but still the venues sold out but even stuck in this malaise Elvis still sometimes managed to produce an excellent show within a below par tour or even a moment of genius within a mediocre show although in 76 this had become more the exception rather than the norm.

Elvis only appeared in Las Vegas once during 76 and this was the shortest full Vegas engagement of the 70's with just 15 shows over 11 nights and the standard of show was generally high. After closing in Vegas on 12 December Elvis had a fornight off before emabrking on a short five show tour which began in Wichita on 27 December and would finish in Pittsburgh during the early hours of New Years Day.

Perhaps bouyed by the fact that he had performed his final Las Vegas show as no extension had been signed, Elvis' next five concerts were unquestionably the best of Elvis' shows in 1976 and there is footage of most of the show in Birmingham, Alabama on 29 December concert, a show which was a bootleg favourite for many years and has since been released officially on FTD in a two disc set with the previous nights show in Dallas - both excellent shows. The New Years Eve show at the Civic Center Arena was probably the best of the five with Elvis on stage for almost two hours!

On a Friday evening,16,409 people in Pittsburgh saw in 1977 with 'The King' and after three opening acts and a lengthy intermission Elvis walked on stage at 23.35 to a mass of flashbulbs and screams - you would have been forgiven for thinking it was already twelve!

When twelve did arrive the house lights went up and Elvis lead the audience in a rousing rendition of Rabbie Burns' 'Auld Lang Syne' wished the audience and band members 'Happy New Year' before resuming the show but nor before introducing his father, daughter and sound engineers!

By this stage the Elvis Presley shows' penultimate number was usually 'Funny How Time Slips Away' but on this particular evening he had sang this just before midnight and so since he was already at the piano having sung 'Unchained Melody' he decided to give the only live performance of 'Rags To Riches'.

The master of this song was recorded in RCA's studio B in Nashville on 22 September 1970 in an additional session to create some extra cuts to compliment the June sessions. In addition to 'Rags to Riches' Elvis also recorded 'Snowbird', 'Where Did They Go, Lord' and 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' at this session.

The original audience recording of this New Years Eve show was for many years one of the most sought after bootlegs and after the introduction of the FTD label they quickly bought the original recording from fan John Herman who had recorded it that evening, how much RCA paid is anyone's guess and it remains the only audience recorded show in the FTD catalouge. Released officially by FTD in 2003 it was titled simply - New Years Eve 1976. This however must only bring one to the natural conclusion that a soundboard version does not exist.


Wednesday 13 May 2015

Bridge Over Troubled Water - 11 August 1970 Dinner Show

By August 1970 Elvis was back on top, not just the king of rock 'n' roll but now arguably the King of entertainment. The six shows filmed by MGM for TTWII show Elvis at the height of his powers. he had managed to combine the theatrics and bombast of Vegas and incorporate them in his show which resulted in a performance that was almost as much Broadway as Las Vegas. Now Elvis had finally found a way in which to integrate all of his musical influences and country music for example finally had a place within the Elvis repertoire.

Probably the biggest influence on Elvis and that closest to his heart was gospel music and in 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' he found a song in which that influence could shine through. Wheras the original recording by Simon (the song's composer) and Garfunkel is somewhat subdued Elvis turns it into a powerful showpiece.

This performance from 11 August 1970 Dinner Show, only the second time that he had sung it live, is Elvis Presley at his absolute peak and anyone who hears this cannot possibly have any doubts as to his vocal prowess or to the magnificent entertainer that he had become. Many fans point to the performance at Greensboro Coliseum almost two years later, the rendition included in the 'On Tour' movie as their favourite. Whilst acknowledging that it is a fabulous performance it seems to lack the freshness of those from August 1970 and now by this time, three Vegas seasons, one Tahoe Season and three tours later it almost feels like a routine performance.

In his book 'Heartbreak Hotel' author and music critic Robert Matthew Walker writes of this performance:
'Presley's outstanding singing is not disguised; this is a fabulous version, burning with sincerity and power, and finding depths not revealed by it's composers'

It was widely written around this time that after after witnessing an August 70 rendition of the song in Vegas that Paul Simon said
'That's it we might as well all give up now'
although he has since denied saying those exact words.

However in Rolling Stone magazine interview:
Paul Simon later noted that Presley's rendition of his song was a "touch on the dramatic side." "But so was the song," he added. "When I first heard Elvis perform 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' it was unbelievable. I thought to myself, 'How the hell can I compete with that?'"

So now, put on you headphones turn the volume up full and witness Elvis at his absolute best!!!

The audio in this video has been replaced with audio from disc#3 of Sony's TTWII Deluxe Edition which contains the entire 11 August DS from which this performance originates.



Monday 11 May 2015

Inherit The Wind - 26 August 1969 Dinner Show


The studio master of 'Inherit the Wind' was recorded on 15 January 1969 and was the twelfth song that Elvis recorded during those landmark recording sessions at American Sound Studios in Memphis. 

The only live recording of the song first appeared on the 1991 RCA/BMG box set Collectors Gold on disc #3 which was titled 'Live In Las Vegas' and also featured the first official releases of the only live performances of 'This Is The Story' and 'Rubberneckin'.

In 2005 FTD released the entire 26 August 1969 Dinner Show, titled 'Live In Las Vegas 1969', from which this song was performed and finally placed the song into it's proper context.
26 August 1969 was a strange night as far as the setlist was concerned as that evening also produced the only live performances of Rubberneckin' and 'This Is The Story' at the Midnight show. Considering August 69 probably had the most rigid setlist that Elvis would employ with rarities at a premium those in attendance at these shows probably didn't appreciate how lucky they were that evening.

Considering this was Elvis' first live performance in eight and a half years the rigid setlist was understandable with band and singers all new and a tight setlist keeps any problems with unfamiliarity at a minimum and creates a comfort zone. As Elvis' confidence increased the rarities appeared,and as such this track was performed a full four weeks into the engagement.
The actual reason for performing this 'Memphis trio' was actually for inclusion in what would become 'Elvis In Person' a fact Elvis tells the audience before singing 'Inherit The Wind' at the Dinner Show, odd therefore that all three were ommited from the album and were only officially released 24 years later!




You'll Never Walk Alone - 19 July 1975

Although Elvis won three grammy awards and another posthoumously it is little known that he was also nominated for a further eleven including one in the Best Sacred Performance category in 1968 for the studio master of this song.

'You'll Never Walk Alone' was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for their 1945 musical 'Carousel' and Elvis recorded his version on 11 September 1967. It was in fact the last of seven songs recorded that night at RCA's Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee.

Despite being released as a single and achieving a grammy nomination it would take over three years before it would make it onto an album and even then RCA released it only on their budget label, Camden,

This, with Elvis at the piano and recorded during the evening show in the Nassau Veteran Coliseum, Uniondale, NY on 19 July 1975 is the only known live performance of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' by Elvis. Listening to this performance and Elvis' vocal it doesn't seem like eight years between this and the original studio master!


Don't Cry Daddy / In The Ghetto - 13 August 1970 Dinner Show

When the Lost Performances was released on home video in 1992 we all sat with mouths wide open at what we were seeing. Here in front of us, salvaged from an MGM vault contained within a disused salt line in Kansas and found during a routine inspection in 1986, was footage from TWII and On Tour that many suspected but never knew for ceratin existed. As the DVD sets 'TTWII - The Complete Works' and 'On Tour - behind the scenes' proved, it was only the tip of the iceberg.

The highlight of these new performances was regarded by many as being the back to back renditions of 'Don't Cry Daddy' and 'In The Ghetto' from the dinner show on 13 Auhust and seamlessly fused together almost as one.

Both songs were composed by Mac Davis and both recorded by Elvis at American Sound Studios in Memphis, Tennessee in 1969. 'Don't Cry Daddy' was the first to be recorded on 15 January and it is a song with a powerful narrative. The song tells the story from the mind of the protaganist and how he is struggling to cope with the loss of his wife or partner, whether through death or divorce is open to interpretaion, but it seems only the pleas of his young son are helping him to continue on.

'Don't Cry Daddy' was introduced to the setlist during the opening show of the previous Vegas engagement and almost always the fourth song sung during these shows. It was sung at every show at the Houston Astrodome but was sung only once during the August 1970 Vegas engagement and this would also be the final time it would be sung live by Elvis.

'In The Ghetto' on the other hand was a song with a completely different premise and one which was completely out of the 'Elvis comfort zone' in that it was a protest song dealing with social injustice and not an area Elvis would normally venture.
In spite of these reservations, Elvis recorded it on 20 January 1969 in American Sound Studios and it was a worldwide hit and reamains one of his most critically acclaimed recordings. It was included in the Elvis live show from the first Vegas show on 31 July 1969 and would be sung at virtually every show for the next year, which incorporated the six shows at the Houston Astrodome and the Jan/Feb 70 Vegas engagement. It would only be performed a further six times thereafter, this solo appearance during August 70, at five shows during the September 70 tour and finally in Vegas at the midnight show on 19 February 1971.

Here are the words of the song's composer Mac Davis on the song's inception and how it was originallly titled 'The Vicious Circle' :

'I never really dreamed of pitching that song to Elvis. I had been working on In the Ghetto for several years. I grew up playing with a little boy in Lubbock, Texas, whose family lived in a dirt street ghetto. His dad and my dad worked in construction together. So that little boy and I sort of grew up together. I never understood why his family had to live where they lived while my family lived where we lived. Of course back in those days, the word 'ghetto' hadn't come along yet. But I always wanted to write a song about that situation and title it 'The Vicious Circle.
I thought that if you were born in that place and that situation, then you grow up there and one day you die there, and another kid is born there that kind of replaces you. And later I started thinking about the ghetto as a title for the song. In the meantime, Freddy Weller had showed me a guitar lick he had been playing. I liked the lick and went home one night and used that guitar lick and wrote that song'. 'I didn't write the song for anyone in particular, but later while I was working on an album in Memphis, Chips Moman called me and said Elvis was recording and asked me if I had any songs for him. So I sent him a tape with 19 songs on it and Elvis recorded the first three songs on the tape, In the Ghetto, Don't Cry Daddy and another song they never released titled Poor Man's Gold. A lot of people have asked me about Elvis talking to me about In the Ghetto. I don't think we ever had a conversation about that song ... either before or after he recorded it'.

The audio in this video has been replaced with superior audio from Sony's TTWII Deluxe Edition's disc #7 containing this performance and the show from which it was performed.


Words - 12 August 1970 Midnight Show

As if to compliment the new varied setlist Elvis of August 1970 reintroduced one of the few comtemporary covers that he had included in his setlist for his return to live performing a year earlier, the Bee Gees' self penned hit - Words, which had been dropped for the January/February 1970 engagement.

At present there is only evidence to suggest that it been used five times in that comeback Vegas run - on 23 Aug DS, on 24 Aug MS, both shows on the 25th and at the Dinner Show on the 26th.

One of the first things that we heard in the original TTWII movie, during Culver City rehearsals, was that he was unhappy with the arrangement, the ending in particular and this would possibly explain it's limited use in August 69 and it's complete disappearance for the next engagement. Whether it was brought back because they thought they had fixed the problem or that it was performed purely for the MGM cameras is pure conjecture as he only sang it twice in August 70, on opening night and this performance from the Midnight Show on 12 August and then apparantly dropped it completely.

Despite filming both versions in August, neither made it into the final cut of either the 1970 or 2001 versions of the movie although both films contain rehearsal sequences of the song. The latter movie used 'Words' as a link to advance the movie from the International's Convention Room rehearsals to the stage rehearsals by switching half way through the song.

This live performance was first heard on Disc #2 of the 2001 TTWII special edition CD boxset amongst the entire show from 12 August Midnight Show. The original audio in this video has been replaced by audio taken from disc #6 of Sony's excellent TTWII Deluxe Edition which contains that 12 August 1970 midnight show.




Saturday 9 May 2015

Shake A Hand - 22 July 1975 (Asheville)

On 10 March 1975 Elvis entered RCA's Studio C in Hollywood, California and over four days would record the ten songs that would make up his next studio album 'Today'. The album would suffer from an uninspiring, unimaginative front cover which  was typical of RCA's lazy attitude towards Elvis' albums in the 70's and the on stage still of Elvis bears no resemblence to the album's content.
Despite the ridiculously poor marketing and publicising of the album by the  record company Elvis performed six of the ten tracks live during Spring/Summer 1975 and of those six 'And I Love You So' and 'Fairytale' would become setlist regulars until the end. The albums opening number 'T-R-O-U-B-L-E' would be a crowd favourite throughout the tours of the south in Spring/Summer 75 and the album's closing number 'Green Green Grass of Home' would be sung only three times and all in Las Vegas during 75. The two remaining songs would only be performed in Asheville in July, 'Pieces of my Life' would make it's solo live appearance on 24 July with 'Shake A Hand' performed three times on 22, 23 and 24 July.
This highly underrated and almost forgotten album was remastered and released by FTD as part of their 'classic albums' series in 2005 although the remastering of this album is probably one of the poorest efforts since the FTD label was established. Now hopefully Sony will give the album the respect it deserves as they have announced that they will be re-releasing it in their legacy range later this year. It will be a two disc set comprising of the original album, some alternate takes and live recordings of songs on tour in May and June 1975.


You've Lost That Loving Feeling - 12 August 1970 MS with reprise

In 2001 Turner Entertainment undertook a project to update Elvis - That's The Way It Is and in the main did an excellent job. There are however some major flaws two such being the ommitting of a pair of the finest live performances Elvis ever gave in 'I Just Can't Help Believing' and 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' both in the original movie and both from the 11 August Dinner show. Obviously running time constraints mean that some things had to be left out and you can't please everyone so the movie is what it is.

As RCA did in 1970 their succcessor BMG released an album to tie in with the cinematic release of TTWII, in 1970 the original TTWII album and in 2001 the 3CD TTWII Special Edition boxset. Whilst the original album would become a critically acclaimed classic the 2001 version featured some of the best live stuff to be released at that point.

2001 saw the release of three of the six TTWII shows recorded by RCA, 10 August Opening Show on FTD's 'One Night In Vegas', 11 August Midnight Show as CD#2 on the wonderful 'Live In Las Vegas' 4 CD box set and 12 August Midnight Show on the TTWII Special Edition.
The first disc of the new TTWII set was an expanded version of the original album and Disc 3 was a combination of a selection of unreleased live songs from the six shows but it was the second disc that was getting everyone excited as it was the much anticipated 12 August MS especially with FTD just a fledgling label live Elvis material was still at a premium.

On purchasing the new set on the morning of it's release I was straight home to put disc#2 into my CD player and my jaw dropped to the floor. In amongst this live show was the version of 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' from the original album - with a twist, it didn't end where we had believed it did - there was a reprise. Elvis started again just after the bridge, initially uncertain of his intentions the band realise that Elvis is singing the second half of the song again - what a treat! This video contains that complete performance reprise et al!

Originally recorded by The Righteous Brothers and produced by Phil Spector,  their version is widely regarded as probably the greatest and most famous love pop song of the 60's and as a true masterpiece.
Elvis however seems to take the song to an entirely new level, ever the master interpretor of a song he takes this composition and does something wonderful with it.
Firstly it is given a new arrangement starting off with some gentle bass from Jerry Scheff whilst Elvis creates just the right atmosphere by having the lights brought right down and starting his vocal with his back to the audience almost in complete darkness before turning round with his voice using most of it's power just as the lights come back on and the result is astonishing. It is amost as much great theatre as it a great piece of musicwhilst Elvis shows that he is totally in command of his audience and has them in the palm of his hand!
Just to add to compund an already magnificent performance and perhaps something to do with the fact that this is 12 August Midnight Show and Elvis seemed to feed of the electricity in the room tha night, he gives the audience a real thrill by reprising the final verse.
This was the version selected for the TTWII original album (with the reprise edited out) but strangely not for the movie itself. This is for me without doubt the piece de resistence of Elvis versions at least................

The audio has been replaced with that from disc #6 of the excellent TTWII Deluxe Edition which contains the complete 12 August Midnight Show with wonderful sound.


The Next Step Is Love - 10 August 1970 Opening Show

In just over a year and through two Las Vegas engagements Elvis had evolved his live show to where he wanted it and to where the audience seemed to enjoy it. On returning to live performing the setlist mainly comprised of  'Elvis standards' from the 50's and 60's, a couple of new recordings (In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds), a couple of covers, Del Shannon's 'Runaway,The Beatles' (Yesterday / Hey Jude medley) and The Bee Gees' 'Words' . He also included 'Memories' - a nod to the recent 'Singer Presents Elvis' TV special. Some contemporary covers and two more hits from the 'Memphis Sessions' were added for the Jan/Feb engagement and then via some highly succesful gigs at The Houston Astrodome Elvis arrived back in Las Vegas for his August 1970 Summer Festival.

This engagement would be no ordinary engagement. For starters MGM were there to film the first six shows over three nights which naturally would bring it's own pressures. As far as the setlist was concerned Elvis was now comfortable and confident enough to choose the styles of songs that he wanted to include in the show. He managed to fuse together a show which had country, pop and rock 'n' roll all included, Elvis truly had become the consumate all round entertainer.

Throughout the six shows filmed by MGM Elvis introduced a total of thirteen new songs and EIGHT on opening night and three of those introduced would never be sung live again. 'The Next Step Is Love' is the one of that three and was the only song from opening night of which that is true.

Recorded in Nashville just 2 months earlier (4 June) the studio version of this is excellent but I don't think it quite works live as the arrangement feels awkward and Elvis doesn't seem completely at ease in this performance. Maybe Elvis thought so too as he dropped it straight away and never sang it live again although his vocal is excellent.

This live performance was first heard on Disc #3 of the 2001 TTWII special edition CD boxset before the entire show was released on the FTD label that same year. The audio in this video is taken from disc #2 of Sony's excellent TTWII Deluxe Edition which contains the 10 August 1970 opening show from which this performance  is taken.



Friday 8 May 2015

I Just Can't Help Believing - 11 August Dinner Show

I've seen TTWII and I've seen and heard this song a million times so why should I watch this post I hear you say!  Well for one, the sound is different as the original audio has been replaced by the magnificent audio from Disc #3 of Sony's TTWII Deluxe Edition which contains this song and the complete concert from which it was performed but more of that later in the post.

If Elvis had decided to make a studio recording of this song, in Nashville during June 1970 for example, would it have been any better than this performance which became the RCA master? I personally have my doubts since this is beyond perfection and as such I must nail my colours to the mast and admit that this is my all time favourite Elvis recording.

To create a musical masterpiece within the studio environment, eg Suspicious Minds, is one thing when you have a top rate producer (Chips Moman) a single minded determined artist (Elvis) and the best possible material and tools (the song and band) where you can take as many takes as neccessary. To make a classic like this in one take in a live environment is something most singers can only aspire to.
If there is one line to sum up this song (and Bridge Over Troubled Water from the same show) and Elvis Presley in August 1970 in particular it is this - Many can sing but only few can perform!!
Released by B.J. Thomas earlier the same year this version shows Elvis at his very, very best as the vocal is relaxed yet powerful, both band and orchestra are virtually flawless. Elvis' singing of the word 'girl' at the end of the first verse is almost unbelievable!
This version, from 11 August Dinner Show, was selected both for the movie and to open the original TTWII 1970 album and due to public demand was released as a single in the UK reaching #6.

In August 2014 Sony Legacy released a new 8CD/2DVD box set of TWIII. This contained the original album (plus bonus tracks), the six shows used for TWIII and an eighth CD (all remastered) of rehearsals plus 2 DVD's containg the original 1970 movie and the 2001 re-edit.
Of the six concerts four had already been released. The opening show was FTD - One NIght In Vegas, the third show was Disc 2 from the box set Live In Las Vegas, Show 5 was Disc 2 of TTWII (Special Edition) and Show 6 was FTD - The Wonder of You.
This however presented a problem to Sony because all four were remastered differently and didn't even sound as if they were recorded at the same venue never mind on consecutive nights!!! Sony's solution was to put head engineer Vic Anesini in charge of the remastering project as he had done an amazing job on the Complete Masters set. Now it is almost impossible to distinguish one show from another sound wise!

Why talk about that here? Well if you listen to I Just Can't Help Believing from the original album and then to this (remembering that they are both the same recording) then some subtle differences make them sound almost completely different and for the better. There are two main differences which really stand out. Firstly, Charlie Hodge's harmony vocal is erased on this version in order to give complete attention to Elvis' wonderful vocal performance and secondly during the instrumental break the Trombones are moved back and the strings moved forward which make it sound more like the movie and improves it considerably!!!!



Thursday 7 May 2015

Mystery Train/Tiger Man - 12 August 1970 Midnight Show

Introduced to the Elvis Presley show on 31 July 1969 in Las Vegas on his return to live performing the Mystery Train/Tiger man medley was a  clever fusion of the old and new.
Mystery Train, the old, was recorded at Sun Studios on 11 July 1955 and Tiger man was the new, never properly recorded in the studio by Elvis but is perhaps synonomous with The NBC Special where it was first heard during the sit down segment although not included in the original TV show. The song itself from that sit down show at 8PM on 27 June 1968 was released on album 'Elvis Sings Flaming Star' in 1968, on the RCA Camden budget label!!
At the beginning of the first day of recordings in Nashville on 4 June 1970 an informal jam of this medley was recorded by Felton Jarvis and this was officially released on the FTD album 'The Nashville Marathon' in 2002.
Despite being an ever present throughout Elvis' inaugural Vegas engagement it was dropped completely for the January/February 1970 run but was reintroduced for opening night of the next stint on 10 August 1970 and that version would be played over the opening credits of the original TTWII 1970 movie. The medley would come and go on a show by show basis throughout the 70's and would latterly be used as an alternative penultimate number in the show instead of the usual 'Funny How Time Slips Away'.

This version filmed at the beginning of  the 12 August 1970 Midnight Show was also appeared in the original movie but only the 'Tiger Man' portion was used as it linked a fan club convention in Luxembourg with the second live section of the movie.

Only two songs into this show and Elvis is already in the groove! Just watch his face closely in Tiger Man as he pushes the song along and that breathtaking 'whoo' just before an amazing guitar solo by James Burton plus if you listen closely you can hear cheers of appreciation from the audience during the song!!


Tuesday 5 May 2015

Stranger In The Crowd - 13 August 1970 Dinner Show

Recorded in Nashville on 5 June the studio master would be released on the 1970 TTWII album. The only footage of 'Stranger In The Crowd' to make into either the 1970 or 2001 versions of the movie was a short clip of a high energy rehearsal in Culver City.
When 'The Lost Performances' was released in 1992 we were able to see songs from the 'lost' 13 August Dinner Show, the only show not to have footage included in the first movie. Strangely, the only song from this show to be filmed and omitted from 'The Lost Performances' was 'Stranger In The Crowd' and it was not until 2007 when a two disc edition was released on DVD featuring both the 1970 and 2001 movie that this song was officially released. With the footage still in it's raw state it was tucked away on the special features on disc 2 which contained the original 1970 movie.
Wearing the 'Red Ladder' suit, Elvis would sing 'Stranger In The Crowd' live for the first and last time at this show.
As seems to be the norm with Elvis of this period, the vocal is well judged with Elvis making the most out of the catchy choruses but not over using the power his new mature voice had. If you listen carefully you can hear the Latin-american arrangement coming through on this live version in the second half of the song, around the 3 minute mark.
The audio in this video has been replaced with superior audio from Sony's TTWII Deluxe Edition's disc 7 containing this show.

Sunday 3 May 2015

Down In The Alley - 19 August 1974 Opening Show

Down In The Alley was the third song laid down on the second day of recordings at Studio B in  Nashville during the May 1966 sessions which would create the Grammy winning gospel album 'How Great Thou Art'.  On the 26 May 1966 it would be the eighth take that would become the master and as was the norm in the late 60's RCA would stick regular studio recordings onto the back of soundtrack albums in this case 'Spinout'. The result of this practice was that as the CD era began many of these classic recordings were lost to a potential new generation of fans.

For Elvis' eleventh Las Vegas season beginning on 19 August 1974 he decided to go for a complete revamp of his setlist which included dropping the 2001 theme, See See Rider and I Got a Woman / Amen. The show now had a low key opening with Big Boss Man, Proud Mary before 'Down In The Alley' and 'Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues' neither of which would be perfromed live again and these were followed by the last live performance of 'Never Been To Spain'.
Both 'Proud Mary' and 'Never Been To Spain' had been absent from the setlist for almost two years to the day. Other new additions this opening night were 'Let Me Be There', 'If You Love Me (Let Me Know), Softly (As I Leave You) and three from his new album, the title track 'Promised Land', It's Midnight and If You Talk In Your Sleep. In short this meant that in one opening show Elvis either introduced or re-introduced more than have the songs (10 from 19) but of those 10 three would never be performed live again and another 'Proud Mary' never after the following Midnight show.
By the following show, the 20 August Dinner Show, the normal formula of the Elvis Presley show was restablished with the remaining six new songs dispersed throughout the show.
The reasons for this almost immediate u-turn have been a source of debate for the last forty years. It seems that Elvis was underwhelmed by the audience reaction to the new setlist and either due to panic or impatience he reverted to type the following night.
During August 1974 the shows were mostly of a high standard with Elvis in excellent voice throughout but it was clear that all was not right. Many shows contained monolougues on Karate or other subjects and this would culminate on closing night with 2 September becoming the most infamous show of Elvis' career and one that without being played in full and with parts taken out of context (ie in isolation) would be drive the agenda of many in the media particulary throughout the 80's!!!
This, taken from that opening show was first available on one of the most bootleg albums ever, a 2 CD set titled'From Sunset Boulevard to Paradise Road' which also included the rehearsal of the new songs. It was 2008, however, before the show was released officially on Sony's collector label 'Follow That Dream' titled 'Nevada Nights' which also contained the 21 August Dinner Show which gives a good contrast to the setlists.


Wednesday 29 April 2015

Hurt - First time performed Live 17 March 1976

When Elvis walked onto the stage at The Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tennessee on 17 March 1976, it was the first tour show Elvis had done since the closing show in Asheville, North Carolina on 24 July 1975, save for one show on New Years Eve in The Pontiac Silverdome.
There had also been a Summer Vegas season cut short after five shows due to ill health and the December season in Vegas to cover those cancelled shows from August.
Wearing his silver phoenix jumpsuit Elvis introduced two new songs to his setlst, America (The Beautiful) as 1976 was the US bicenntenial and Hurt.
Hurt had recently been recorded at Graceland the previous month and this live version is almost a carbon copy of that studio master.
Unlike subsequent live performances this version has no reprise, is at a slower tempo and does not have the big sliding ending as on the Elvis In Concert album from Rapid City on 21 June 1977.
Of note is that Ronnie Tutt is absent from this short tour, his place on the drums taken by Larry London.



Sunday 26 April 2015

Rubberneckin' 26 August 1969 Dinner Show

The thirteenth song that Elvis recorded during those landmark recording sessions at American Sound Studios in Memphis in 1969 and featuredin his final acting movie - Change of Habit.
This rare live recording first appeared on the 1991 RCA/BMG box set Collectors Gold without the false start included here.
In 2005 FTD released the entire 26 August 1969 Midnight Show, titled All Shook Up, from which this song was performed and put the song into it's proper context and it is also the same show from which the famous laughing version of Are You Lonesome Tonight originates.
26 August 1969 was a strange night as far as the setlist was concerned as the two shows also produced the only live performances of Rubberneckin' and Inherit The Wind especially since August 69 probably had the most rigid setlist that Elvis would employ with rarities at a premium.
Considering this was Elvis' first live performance in eight and a half years this was understandable with band and singers all new, a tight setlist keeps any problems with unfamiliarity at a minimum and creates a comfort zone.
As Elvis' confidence increased the rarities appeared, this track was performed a full four weeks into the engagement.
The actual reason for performing this 'Memphis trio' was actually for inclusion in what would become 'Elvis In Person' a fact Elvis tells the audience before singing Inherit The Wind at the Dinner Show, odd therefore that all three were ommited from the album and were only officially released 24 years later!
Listen out for Elvis singing a few lines of 'Loving You' after the song has concluded.




Suspicious Minds, 12 August 1970, Midnight Show

This is the very version of Suspicious Minds used in the original 1970 TTWII but not the re-edited version from 2001 and was filmed at the legendary 12 August Midnight Show.
Written by Mark James and recorded at American Studios in Memphis on January 23, 1969 Elvis immediately included it in his setlist on his return to live performances on July 31st 1969
The song itself would evolve in the Elvis Presley live show and it would become mariginally faster with each Vegas engagement, in fact the tempo even increased during the 1969 engagement . It would become a permanant fixture in the show in every tour and Vegas or Tahoe engagement until mid 74 and the end of Tour 13 in Salt Lake City on July 2nd. The exception would be at the Jan/Feb 71 Vegas engagement where it would be sang at only 8 of the 57 shows. After the Salt Lake City show on 2 July 74 Elvis would sing it only a further five times - at the Midnight shows on 22, 29 and 30 August 74 and on the first two shows of the abandoned August 75 Vegas engagement.
There was almost a final outing for one his most famous songs in LIncoln, Nebraska on 20 June 1977 although to be perfectly accurate after performing 'Help Me' Elvis says 'Suspicious Minds?' in response to a fans request and the band begins the intro but Elvis then remarks that instead 'he will be doing a new song' which would be himself on the piano singing 'Unchained Melody'! This concert, incidentally, was bookended by the two shows which would be filmed by CBS for 'Elvis In Concert'.
The video comes from the unofficial box set "Elvis - That's The Way It Is, the Complete Works" and the audio from the magnificent SONY "That's The Way It Is" deluxe edition. So turn your volume up loud, sit back and enjoy Elvis at his very best!


Bridge Over Troubled Water (03/08/73 CS) funny, unusual live version

The closing show to Elvis' ninth Vegas season was unusual to say the least. It was a fun show with Elvis having a lot of jokes both with the band and the audience.
What is evident occasionally during this show is that Elvis is also in a bad mood, not with the audience or band but with the Hilton hotel's hierarchy and their treatment of one of it's employees, Mario a favourite maitre'd of Elvis in the hotel's Italian restaurant.
This version of Bridge Over Troubled Water is unique in the Elvis musical library. It is obvious that the next song should be Suspicious Minds and the band start to play this but Elvis sings Bridge to the tune of Suspicious Minds and after some laughter decides to do Bridge. Still having fun he changes the lyrics and then loses track and forgets the lyrics. Charlie Hodge attempts to jog Elvis' memory by singing the words to which Elvis jokingly replies 'Two bit amateur' and the rest of the band and much of the audience respond by joining in unison to end the first verse to which Elvis gives a grateful appreciation - priceless, touching and great fun.
It must be said though, that having read many reviews of this show and they range from those who think this performance of 'Bridge' and the show in general is good fun to those who suggest that Elvis was being unprofessional to criticise the Hilton hierarchy in public whilst also in a lucrative contract with them and that he was being disrespectful to the music, his band and the audience for changing and clowning around with the lyrics so much, citing this track as prime example since in their opinion that is not what the audience paid for.
This show was released by Sony on the FTD label in 2004 titled Closing Night and many fans and reviewers criticised that decision saying this show should never have been released. It is worth noting however that this was the last of a 58 show run with two per night so why not have some well earned fun with the audience on closing night?



Saturday 25 April 2015

This Is The Story - 26 August 1969 Midnight Show

Only the second song that Elvis recorded during those landmark recording sessions at American Sound Studios in Memphis in 1969.
This rare live recording first appeared on the 1991 RCA/BMG box set Collectors Gold. In 2005 FTD released the entire 26 August 1969 Midnight Show from which this song was performed and put the song into it's proper context. This is also the show which produced the now legendary laughing version of Are You Lonesome Tonight,
26 August 1969 was a strange night as far as the setlist was concerned as the two shows also produced the only live performances of Rubberneckin' and Inherit The Wind especially since August 69 probably had the most rigid setlist that Elvis would employ with rarities at a premium.
Considering this was Elvis' first live performance in eight and a half years this was understandable with band and singers all new, a tight setlist keeps any problems with unfamiliarity at a minimum and creates a comfort zone.
As Elvis' confidence increased the rarities appeared, this track was performed a full four weeks into the engagement.
The actual reason for performing this 'Memphis trio' was actually for inclusion in what would become 'Elvis In Person' a fact Elvis tells the audience before singing Inherit The Wind at the Dinner Show, odd therefore that all three were ommited from the album and were only officially released 24 years later!




Only Believe (27/01/71 MS) only live performance

The three day Nashville sessions at RCA's Studio B from June 5-9, 1970 provided material for two of Elvis' most varied and contemporary albums - That's The Way It Is and Elvis Country. There was, however, enough material left over for a third album - Love Letters from Elvis. Having already produced two top drawer albums the third album, by definition, would be filled with the sessions leftovers and it suffers as a result. The blame for this lies not with Elvis but with RCA as the album was poorly conceived and poorly marketed, a trend that would continue right up to the millennium until SONY, having taken over BMG/RCA and by default the Elvis back catalogue, attempted to reverse that trend with varying success.
In the latter part of 1970 Elvis included songs from the first two albums in his setlist and this would continue into his next Vegas engagement although which of these included would vary show to show. For example, Bridge Over Troubled Water, which was sung at most shows in August would appear only three times and all at the end of the engagement.
The only song from the third album, Love letters from Elvis, to ever be performed on stage was this one time only perfromance of Only Believe which appeared at the Midnight show on 27 January - the third show of the engagement.


How Great Thou Art - First time recorded live

Elvis Presley won only three Grammy's in his lifetime all for spiritual performances. Whilst a travesty that he only won three and none for contemporary material it is perhaps no surprise that the Grammy's he did win were for the music closest to his heart - gospel music. For the record those three Grammy's were - Best Sacred Performance 1967 (How Great Thou Art album); Best Inspirational Performance 1972 (He Touched Me abum) and Best Inspirational Performance Song 1974 (How great Thou Art). In 1993 he was awareded a posthoumus Grammy for the double 1-side Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel as best rock song.
When Elvis began singing 'How Great Thou Art' live in November 1970 his next grammy win was still 18 months away and an award for this particular song 4 years away.
The studio master of 'How Great Thou Art' was recorded in Nashville at RCA's studio B on 25 May 1966 at a session specifically arranged to produce a gospel album.
The first live release of this song was on the 'Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis' album and this would bring his third grammy but this would be the only live perfromance officially released in his lifetime although the 'Elvis In Concert' album released just after his death would contain another live version.
Elvis also performed two, possibly three versions in front of movie or TV cameras but both would only appear posthumously. MGM fllmed one possibly two for 'Elvis - On Tour', the first during the evening show at Hampton Roads on 9 April 1972 which was first seen on 'The Lost Performances' and in San Antonio on 18 April 1972 and some songs from this show were included in 'On Tour'. The other version filmed was of course that filmed by the CBS cameras in Omaha, Nebraska on 19 June 1977 for what would become 'Elvis In Concert' and this would also become the final live performance of 'How Great Thou Art'
As the 70's progressed the song would come and go. sometimes ommitted from complete tours or Vegas engagements, sometimes performed at most shows and the delivery of the song would also progress. It would begin as it did in this show almost identical to the master the sincerity and emotion almost disguising the power behind Elvis' vocal performance, similarly to that Grammy winner in 74. From 1975 however Elvis would begin the chorus with a stirring powerful top A which would often be followed by a reprise.
This version was recorded in Portland, Oregon on 11 November 1970 and is actually the second live performance as the first was the previous night in the Oakland Coliseum but unfortunately there is no recording of that show either on soundboard or as an audience recording so this is the first live recording available albeit 24 hours late!!



Friday 24 April 2015

First Live perfromance of Burning Love

It is a common misconception that the first live perfromance of 'Burning Love' was in San Antonio, Texas on 18 April 1972, the one shown in the movie Elvis On Tour. The fact is however, that the first live performance took place four nights earlier in Greensboro, North Carolina, also a show filmed for 'On Tour' and was sung directly after the version of American Trilogy used in the movie.
The studio master was recorded just over a fortnight earlier on 28 March at RCA's Studio C in Hollywood, California. After those two performances in April, Elvis would not sing the song live again until 18 August Dinner Show in Vegas and then not again until 8 November during the first show of Tour #7 in Lubbock, Texas and out of the 11 shows on that tour it would be sung at all but two including the final three at the H.I.C. in Honolulu.
Elvis' next two live performances would also be at the H.I.C. in Honolulu eight weeks later - Aloha from Hawaii on 12 and 14 January and Burning Love would also be performed but apart from three shows in Vegas later in January it would be dropped completely for more than two years.
During Elvis' first show of 1975, the opening Vegas show on 18 March it would reappear and become almost a permanent fixture throughout that year but in 76 it would come and go on a show by show basis before it's final appearance in Fort Wayne as the show's penultimate number on 25 October.
As yet this show has not been officially released on CD but the original MGM audio has been replaced by that from an excellent soundboard recording of the show titled 'Blue Owl In Greensboro'.