"It Was A Helluva Show"

I have a confession to make. The last couple of years my pile of unopened FTD concert releases has gotten higher and higher. Therefore, two days ago, on July 4, I thought the timing just right to remove the shrink-wrap from the Elvis: The Bicentennial Show 2 CD set released in 2017 and listen to CD 1 and Elvis' performance in Tulsa on Independence Day, 1976.

Before pressing the play button I checked out the review of this release on the Elvis Information Network, where it had this to say about the sound quality:

Tulsa was recorded on reel-to-reel and so would sound fabulous, as did the July 3rd Fort Worth soundboard, were it not for some awful distortion. While it can be interesting to hear alternate mixes with various instruments high in the mix, the Tulsa show sounds terrible for having James Burton’s guitar wound up ridiculously high and so distorted. Obviously his guitar level was way over-driven on the original recording and it sounds terrible. 

Surely it can't be that bad, I thought, but it was. Which is a shame, as the show is a pretty good one, including highlights such as "America," "An American Trilogy," "Hurt" (sung twice) and "How Great Thou Art." And judging by the screaming fans it must have been an exciting way to spend the Fourth of July that particular year. This is what Bill Donaldsson of the Tulsa Tribune had to say about Elvis' performance:

He gave his fans about the best concert any pop singer can. He sang songs ranging back to the beginning of his career, several new ones, and he didn't shortchange the faithful. Remarking that he had only one show to do Sunday, and therefore could extend his performance, the star held the stage for more than an hour. [...] If Presley repeats with the same voltage he displayed this time around, his devoted fans will be fully repaid for their efforts to get those tickets. It was a helluva show.

Elvis concluded this particular tour in Memphis the very next day, on July 5, with a great show. Maybe it was the fact that it was an evening show and not an afternoon show like the one in Tulsa, maybe is was because it was Elvis' home town. Probably it was a combination of both. Elvis is focused, is clearly having fun on stage and delivers such gems as "Softly As I Leave You," "One Night," "Blue Christmas" and "That's All Right."

The Memphis show has been bootlegged twice on CD, and the sound quality is very good (with James Burton's guitar exactly where it should be in the mix). Had I been at the helm of the FDT label,  I would have included this concert as CD 2 on the Elvis: The Bicentennial Show instead of the one from Duluth, October 16, 1976, that was RCA's Joan Deary's initial choice for the 1980 box set, according to the before mentioned review on the Elvis Information Network. 

Or come to think about it, the best thing would probably have been to swap the order of the CD's and rename it Elvis: Mid-South Magic or King Of Rock 'N' Roll Day (as proclaimed by then Memphis Mayor Wythe Chandler). Including the Tulsa show as kind of a bonus CD due to the terrible mix would have been a more logical move, at least in my book.

That said, the shrink-wrap has been removed and I have finally listened to Elvis: The Bicentennial Show. I wonder what concert will be next?

Additional reading:

• Elvis: The Bicentennial Show - in depth review (Elvis Information Network)

Elvis Las Vegas 1975: April Fool's Dinner

Today I punched the date April 1, 1975 into my time machine and attended Elvis' dinner show at the Las Vegas Hilton showroom. Actually, I went there twice.

THE AUDIENCE RECORDING

The first time around I found myself seated at the end of one of the tables located perpendicular to the stage. In front of me was an Elvis souvenir menu. I absentmindedly ordered a "Seafood Cocktail Supreme" that was promptly delivered before the lights dimmed to the sound of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" blasting through the room.

Glancing at the guy sitting opposite me, I saw him fiddling with something under the table. Leaning over and taking a closer look, I realized he was pressing the play and recording buttons on a portable cassette recorder. Looking up at me, he smiled and made a "shusing" gesture, holding his index finger in front of his mouth. I smiled back and handed him the menu. Gratefully, he placed it over the cassette recorder so only the part featuring the microphone was visible.

When Elvis entered the stage he looked a little heavy, but the voice was stronger than ever. As for the show, it was a no nonsense, contemporary affair, with highlights like "And I Love You So," "Big Boss Man," "My Boy" and "Fairytale." Almost all of the quick renditions of songs from the 50's were gone, except "Hound Dog." Obviously, he took his singing seriously.  

At the same time, Elvis was in good spirit, joking and interacting with the audience, clearly enjoying himself. ("Oh yeah, the second part of the show has been cancelled, so ... April fool!") As for me, I sat so close to the stage that I could clearly make out the pattern of the light blue and silver ornaments on the shoulders of his two-piece suit.

All too soon, though, it was over. "It's been a pleasure working for you, so 'til we see you again, take care, God bless you," Elvis told the audience, before launching himself into "Can't Help Falling In Love." I could be mistaken, but before the curtains came down, I am pretty sure he smiled right at me. 

The last thing I saw before travelling back to 2021 was the guy with the cassette recorder hiding it from security. It would eventually find its way to a bootleg LP released in 1980 with the title Rockin' With Elvis April Fool's Day, and later on with upgraded audio on the bootleg CD April Fool's Dinner from 2009.

THE SOUNDBOARD

The second time I punched the date April 1, 1975, I was aiming for the midnight, closing show that took place a couple of hours later. But somehow I must have messed up the time control, as I was transported to the afternoon show once more. Only, this time, I found myself standing in the back of the showroom, next to sound engineer Bill Porter and his mixing console. 

Wearing a checkered jacket and with a TCB necklace around his neck he was clearly frustrated over something, turning knobs and pressing buttons. But as the lights dimmed and I once more heard the the iconic opening of "Also Sprach Zarathustra," I turned my attention to what was happening on stage instead.

This time, the details of Elvis' two-piece suit weren't as recognizable as before, nor was his face. That didn't stop me from feeling that he sang for me and no one else. By the look of the mesmerized faces around me, I was pretty sure everyone in the audience felt the same way.

At the end of "See See Rider" Elvis said quickly in his microphone, "I can't hear on stage, Bill." As I casted a glance to the side, I noticed Bill Porter adjusting a couple of fader controls. That seemed to satisfy Elvis, who soon found himself busy responding to someone on the balcony shouting several times, "Look up here!" 

But clearly something else was wrong, as Bill Porter muttered to himself, "The soundboard recording has stopped." He continued to press buttons and turning knobs, and just as Elvis ended "I Got A Woman/Amen," I saw relief in his face. Clearly, the recording of the soundboard was back on track.

"Love Me" and "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" followed, and a couple of songs later it was time for a nice surprise. Dropped two years ago from the set list, "Burning Love" was back again, and Elvis delivered a great, funky version. "I'll Remember You" and "How Great Thou Art" at the end of the show were strong performances, too. 

Before returning to 2021 a second time, I saw Bill Porter pressing down a button on the mixing console as the closing vamp came to an end, stopping the recording of the soundboard. It would take 41 years before it surfaced courtesy of the FTD label in 2016, on the second disc of the double 5" release titled Elvis Las Vegas 1975 (featuring the March 22 midnight show on the first disc). 

You could to worse than pick it up and travel back in time, like I did today. But if you want to experience the balcony dialogue as well as "I Got A Woman/Amen," you will have to find the bootleg version instead.

SET LIST, APRIL 1, DINNER SHOW

01. Also Sprach Zarathustra (missing on the audience recording)
02. See See Rider
03. I Got A Woman/Amen (missing on the soundboard)
04. Love Me
05. If You Love Me (Let Me Know)
06. And I Love You So
07. Big Boss Man
08. The Wonder Of You
09. Burning Love
10. Introductions
11. My Boy
12. I'll Remember You
13. Let Me Be There
14. How Great Thou Art
15. Hound Dog
16. Fairytale
17. Can't Help Falling In Love
18. Closing Vamp

Additional reading:

• Rockin' With Elvis April Fool's Dinner
• "Get On With The Next Song!"  

The Essential Soundboard Collection

While waiting for the new soundboard release from FTD, Another Saturday Night (Shreveport, June 7, 1975) to arrive, I've been thinking about what other official soundboards I'd like to see in the near future. The reason for this is the interview with Ernst Jorgensen that I quoted in my latest post, where he also answered a question about how longer he thinks he can continue to release soundboards. “A shot from the hip – two to three years? Ask me again then,” was his answer.

The Shreveport concert is an example of a soundboard that has not been released on bootleg before, not even as an audience recording. And though Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon try to release unreleased soundboards whenever possible, in later years a couple of albums that have previously been out as bootlegs have been put out by FTD as well. That is something I applaud, as concerts such the ones in Dallas and Birmingham in December, 1976 (Showtime!) and in Boston in November, 1971 (Elvis As Recorded At Boston Garden '71), all have a given place in the official Elvis catalog.

So, continuing on that line of reasoning, I'd like to present three imaginary FTD releases, all of which consists of soundboards that have been bootlegged before. To me, they represent concerts that are so essential that they should be officially released as well.

From Opening To Closing Night – January & February 1970: 2 CD

This would be the perfect companion to the recently released On Stage FTD classic album. Featuring the January 26 opening show, as well as the February 23 closing show (released by the import label Madison in 2008 and 2007, respectively), both concerts include the show opener “All Shook Up,” a track that was never professionally recorded by Elvis' producer Felton Jarvis for the original On Stage album. The shows are first class, with gems like “That's All Right” and “True Love Travels On A Gravel Road” from January 26, and “Blueberry Hill”/”Lawdy Miss Clawdy” (Elvis plays piano) and “One Night” (Elvis plays electric guitar) from February 23. And although the sound isn't as perfect as on the multi-track recordings RCA did during February 15-19, it's still very good.

An Afternoon In The Dome: 1 CD

When I read about a week ago that Elvis afternoon show in the Houston Astrodome from March 3, 1974 has just been re-released by the import label Venus under the title The 8th Wonder Of The World (it was originally released as Elvis – Event Number 8 in 2000 by Madison), my first thought was that this must get an official release as well. What's so interesting about it, is that Elvis did not use an orchestra, just his rhythm section and back up singers. This gives you a taste of what Elvis would have sounded like had he chosen to go on tour with a smaller group of people on stage. It's a special, great sounding show, including highlights such as “Trying To Get To You,” “Johnny B. Goode” and “Polk Salad Annie.” Maybe Elvis gave an extra effort because the crowd was so big (43,974 fans) or so far away (he performed on a portable stage that was moved into the center of the arena).

Mid-South Magic: 3 CD

A favorite concept of mine since I wrote about it in 2009, Mid-South Magic includes all three soundboards available from Memphis, one from March 16, 1974 , another from June 10, 1975 and finally the last concert Elvis did in his hometown, on July 5, 1976. The first two were released as Bringing It All Back Home by the Venus label in 2009, but FTD still has a chance to do it better, by including the 1976 concert as well, which is one of the best from the bicentennial year (it was re-released by the Audionics import label under the name of The Final Homecoming in 2009). Then, if Ernst Jorgensen presented the whole thing as an “audiovisual documentary,” together with an accompanying book packed with great photos, as well as written liner notes covering the stories behind the pictures and the shows, we should have us a real winner.

This post only cover soundboards, not audience recordings (although I feel that FTD should release Elvis' last concert from Indianapolis on June 26, 1977 in this form, just as they did with the Pittsburgh show from New Year's Eve, 1976). It doesn't cover all the officially unreleased rehearsals or concerts from That's The Way It Is or On Tour either, or the rest of the professionally recorded shows from 1969. That they should be released is obvious.

Unedited Masters – Nashville 1970

In my recent post about the bootleg Unedited Masters – Stax 1973, one of the tracks I mentioned was the overdubbed master of “Loving Arms” with backing vocals. As they sounded far too prominent, I can sympathize with producer Felton Jarvis decision to remove them.

Another example of dubbing that was found to be a little over the top can be found on the companion release Unedited Masters – Nashville 1970, also by the Venus label. “Only Believe” originally featured horns, making an already unimaginative arrangement sound even worse. But apart from that one song, the rest of the album is a delight to listen to. 

And just like on Unedited Masters – Stax 1973, the majority of the tracks included are the complete overdubbed masters, some of them running longer than when they were originally released. At times this lends a certain song more drama, as Elvis keeps belting out the final chorus over and over, wringing out every possible emotion with his performance.

“The Sound Of Your Cry” perfectly illustrates this, running for about four and a half minutes (more than a minute longer than the original single, and some 30 seconds longer than the version released on the Greatest Hits Volume 1 LP in 1981), when Elvis near the end sings “Sleep my love, as I kiss you good-bye. Then I won't hear the sound of your cry-ai-ai-ai, ai-ai-ai-ai, ai-ai-ai-ai, ai-ai-aii” in time with the beat from Jerry Carrigan's frantic drumming. Amazing stuff! 

So is “Twenty Days And Twenty Nights,” where Elvis effectively adds an “Oh, God” after one of the “Oh, How I miss her” lines as the song nears its conclusion, with those two words succeeding in conveying feelings of hurt and loneliness (this could also be heard on FTD's treatment of the That's The Way It Is album, but here the song goes right to the tape cut at the end while it was faded on FTD's version).

In fact, all the tracks run until the musicians stops playing or the tape is turned off. More often than not this makes it possible to hear a comment from Elvis or his producer after a a master has been completed. Like on “I've Lost You,” where Felton Jarvis exclaims, “That is unreal!”

Other highlights include “Got My Mojo Working/Keep Your Hands Off Of Her,” “I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water” and “Cindy, Cindy” (all three unedited and overdubbed) as well as the undubbed master of “The Fool.” Finally, I have to mention “Make The World Go Away,” where we get not only the overdubbed take 3, but also the overdubbed work part take 1 (the original master was a splice between the two, obviously after they were both overdubbed separately).

For a full review of Unedited Masters – Nashville 1970, please check out Keith Flynn's excellent article over at Elvis Australia.

Unedited Masters – Stax 1973

When I reviewed Promised Land in FTD's classic album series last December, one of my minor complaints was that the unedited master of “Thinking About You” was missing. The edited master used on the original album was faded out before Elvis started to sing the chorus, something that became apparent when a longer edit was released on Our Memories Of Elvis Volume 2 in 1979 (as can be heard on FTD's recent Our Memories Of Elvis package).

As it turns out, the unedited master was made available on the bootleg CD Unedited Masters – Stax 1973 in 2011 by the Venus label, although in it's original overdubbed form. Running one and a half minutes longer than the version on Our Memories of Elvis Volume 2, it reveals yet another guitar solo after Elvis singing the chorus, and then Elvis having a go at the chorus once again before the song ends.

I actually like the idea to present unedited masters this way, as a lot of them were edited prior to their original release. Another example of this is “Love Song Of The Year,” which was shortened by about 30 seconds for release, the longer version available on Unedited Masters – Stax 1973 as well. (but not on on the Promised Land FTD version).

All in all 14 unedited masters from Elvis' 1973 December sessions at Stax are included (together with 11 bonus tracks from Elvis' “Post-Concert Insert Songs Session” after the Aloha From Hawaii Concert), most of them the original overdubbed masters in unedited form. As far as I know it's the first time “Your' Love's Been A Long Time Coming” as well as “Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues” and “Talk About The Good Times” are released with their overdubs without being shortened (the unedited undubbed masters were released on FTD's Promised Land and Good Times, respectively).

But it's the first two tracks (together with “Thinking About You”) that are the real highlights to me. Finally, we get to hear the complete unedited master take of “Promised Land” (take 6) with harmony vocal overdub by Elvis (an edited version was used in the movie This Is Elvis). And the undubbed master of “It's Midnight,” (take 19) is another treat, including some entertaining dialog:

“That's a gas, Elvis,” Felton says after the dramatic ending, Elvis replying, “I don't believe you.” “No listen,” Felton protests, Elvis answering, “Alright, I'll listen.” (I guess Felton refers to listening to the recording together.)

Another interesting listening experience is the overdubbed version of “My Boy” without the spliced ending, as well as “If You Talk In Your Sleep” with only the backing vocal overdub (the fully overdubbed version with strings and brass is included as well).

One of the tracks reveals that Felton Jarvis at times actually dropped some of his overdubs. Evidently “Loving Arms” (originally released on the the album Good Times) had backing vocals overdubbed, but listening to the unedited master I'm thankful they were removed.

Hawaii Sixtyone

Earlier this week it was announced that the next CD/book release from the Memphis Recording Service (MRS) will be Elvis' benefit performance in Hawaii for the USS Arizona Memorial. Titled Such A Night In Pearl Harbor the press release promises a re-mastered CD where "The quality is of this concert is far superior than anything of this ever released before."

Also included on the CD is a 30 minute radio broadcast from Hawaii presented a week before Elvis’ arrival. It promoted the concert for the memorial fund, playing selected tracks from Elvis’ Christmas Album and His Hand in Mine, released at that time including words by Elvis Presley.

Now, the funny thing is, I learned of the existence of this broadcast only a few weeks ago. Visiting the excellent Elvis In Norway site I stumbled upon a bootleg I had forgot I had in my collection. It had been awarded to me aboard the bus used by the Danish fan club Elvis Unlimited during Elvis week 2005. I had a great time traveling with all those Danes and visiting Elvis places such as Memphis, Tupelo, Nashville and so on, but that's another story...

Now, this particular copy of the bootleg, titled Fever Pitch, was missing the backside of the cover so I really didn't knew what was on it (although I could make an educated guess as it featured a shot of Elvis from the benefit concert in Hawaii).

Unpacking all my stuff when I arrived back home in Sweden, I gave it a quick spin. But I skipped the second track after a couple of seconds when I heard it featured the song "House Of Sand." The rest of the CD included a couple of songs from the actual concert, an interview with Elvis made on the set of Blue Hawaii and rounded off with "Sand Castles." As I really didn't think the album offered anything new I put it away on a shelf and forgot all about it.

Anyway, reading about the bootleg on the Elvis In Norway site I noticed that track 2 was listed as "House of Sand" (one line only) followed by "Radio Broadcast." Digging out my copy of Fever Pitch I played track 2, and there it was, after 15 seconds of "House Of Sand," the radio broadcast promoting Elvis' benefit performance a week later. Turned out I'd skipped that track too fast while listening to the album seven years ago!

I found the broadcast interesting, featuring among others, a U.S. Navy admiral talking about the construction of the memorial and thanking Elvis Presley and his supporting troops in the show. After I played it, I made a mental note to write a post about it, suggesting that FTD release it together with the show in improved sound quality (after all, the audio restoration technique must have improved since 1980, when the show was released on the box set Elvis Aron Presley).

But the Memphis Recording Service (and apparently another label as well) beat me (and FTD) to it. Still, I hope FTD will go for the same concept, including the interview from the Blue Hawaii set as a bonus. In the interview, Elvis talks candidly to Hawaiian DJ Tom Moffet about the Arizona war memorial benefit show:

Tom Moffet: Where you happy with the turnout and the response in the show?

Elvis: Oh yeah, I sure was. And I was glad everybody was yelling and everything, it covered up my mistakes (laughter). Because I hadn't had any rehearsals, you know, and I'd been out of practice, hadn't been on stage since 1957. The band had forgotten the songs and I had forgotten the lyrics to most of the songs. In fact, a lot of times, I said the same lyrics over and over, used the same line.”

A Reconstructed Rehearsal

It's almost like Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon didn't want it to sound like a rehearsal. That's one of the impressions I have after listening to FTD's latest release Stage Rehearsal, featuring the show rehearsal Elvis did on August 10, 1970, the same day as the opening show of the engagement.

This rehearsal was first made available on the bootleg Hang Loose back in 1991, where it was presented in it's original recorded form, that is, with almost all of the takes being incomplete because the starts were missing. Owning a copy of it, I've spent a great deal of time today comparing it with the official release. Here are my thoughts.

What really works in favor of Stage Rehearsal is the great sound quality, much better than the one offered by the bootleg. With that in retrospect, on some level I can understand the decision to reconstruct the opening of the incomplete performances, using live versions recorded on the same 16-track tape machine. But I still think it was the wrong one, as it's manipulation and doesn't present the songs in a historically correct way.

What's more, the live intros are just that, and in some cases applause can be heard, like on "I Just Can't Help Believin'" and "Something," totally destroying the "rehearsal feeling." And speaking of "Something," the live version is used longer than necessary, obliterating the original text ("Attracts me like no other mother"). Another low-water mark is the use of the same intro on both versions of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me."

But what really, really annoys me, is "Polk Salad Annie," which is a splice/edit of the two versions Elvis did on his show rehearsal, both of them available on Hang Loose. My guess is this was done to avoid some suggestive lyrics by Elvis, but parts of it can still be heard anyway, sounding far away, like the line "... overweight old woman ..." The end result is a more "plain" version than the two original ones, one of which has Elvis having fun with the line "Polk A Little Sock Salad" (not included on the spliced version). Why it isn't even mentioned in the sparse liner notes on the inside of the cover that "Polk Salad Annie" is a combination of two takes is beyond me.

The same technique (editing out some of Elvis talk) is used on the second version of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," where lines like "Won't you hold the bass right here" can be heard just barely on the official release. And on one of the few songs that was caught on tape with the intro intact – "Sweet Caroline" – Elvis muttering "All right, all ready" before the start of the song has been removed too. Why this method was used I have no idea. To me it only serves to erase all traces of listening to a rehearsal and make it more of a live experience.

As you've without a doubt guessed by now, I would've preferred if Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon had left the recordings alone in their original format, with late starts and all. Or at least included both the reconstructed and the incomplete recordings. With a running time of about 78 minutes that would've been possible, by removing the bonus songs (rehearsals from 1972 and 73). While interesting enough, these could've been included on another release.

Stage Rehearsal is an FTD album that I suspect will divide the fans. You'll either like it (after all, the reconstructed opening of songs is technically perfect) or, like me, wished the label had opted for a more historically correct approach, without new intros and vocal edits. I for one also find it hard to forgive the tampering with "Polk Salad Annie" in the way it was done.

Oh, I almost forgot. A second take of "I've Lost You" is featured on the bootleg Hang Loose, but not included on Stage Rehearsal. Probably because it's incomplete at the ending as well (tape stops). But as there are plenty of live versions available that particular ending could've been reconstructed too, surely?

Stage Rehearsal

I was pleased to notice that one of the upcoming releases from the FTD collectors label will be a CD titled Stage Rehearsal. Dealing mainly with Elvis' show rehearsal at the International Hotel in Las Vegas on August 10, 1970, it offers a couple of bonus rehearsal tracks recorded on the same stage during other engagements as well.

Basically, the album is an upgraded version of the bootleg CD Hang Loose, released in 1991 by the Bilko label. Studying the complete track list for the rehearsal, published in FTD's first audiovisual documentary The Way It Was (page 21), I noticed that "You Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (released back in 1980 on the Elvis Aron Presley box set together with "Sweet Caroline" from the same rehearsal) was not included on the bootleg.

Then, comparing the list with the Stage Rehearsal CD, I was a bit surprised to discover that not only is one take of "Polk Salad Annie" missing on the upcoming FTD album, but also a take of "I''ve Lost You" (two takes of each song are featured on the bootleg Hang Loose).

Here's for hoping the track list presented by FTD is incorrect and that the two songs will be included. I know I'm not alone in looking forward to this release, and if the sound quality is anything like it is on the Elvis Aron Presley box set (a vast improvement over the one offered by Hang Loose) we should have a winner.

A final thought. I wonder why the August 10 rehearsal wasn't recorded in its entirety? As it is, all the tracks are labeled "Incomplete - Late Start." Strange, isn't it?

A Golden Opportunity Missed?

The bootleg series Welcome To The Jungle featuring the famous Jungle Room Session from 1976 has been critically acclaimed by both fans, fan club magazines and Elvis sites. It's easy to understand why.

So far three volumes have been released (as recorded at Graceland in February 1976), and a fourth one is on its way (including the October material). Each one contains about an hours worth of masters, alternate mixes and most important, outtakes, presented in the chronological way they were recorded.

Granted, not everyone likes to listen to take after take of songs such as "Love Coming Down" or "Never Again." But it's a great way to learn more about how Elvis approached his work during what was to become his last recording sessions.

When FTD released The Jungle Room Sessions back in 2000, it presented the 1976 recordings in a much more positive light than was the case with the original albums From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee and Moody Blue. The Welcome To The Jungle releases puts the truth somewhere in-between.

Being able to listen to the sessions this way, it's clear that Elvis is committed at times, but also occasionally more unfocused than during earlier recording sessions. "She Thinks I Still Care" is a perfect example of the former, "Moody Blue" of the latter.

Maybe that's why Ernst Jorgensen and crew hasn't chosen to release another volume of what is one of the most popular FTD titles with the fans. If so, I have to agree with the Elvis The Man And His Music magazine who put it this way:

Sadly, FTD seemed to have missed an golden opportunity to offer a deluxe version of this former release, allowing others to fill this void.

But maybe it isn't too late. A lot of dialog seems to be missing on the Welcome To The Jungle albums, and they were released as individual CD's. Maybe FTD can fill that void with the box set Behind Closed Doors - the complete 1976 studio sessions?

• Review: Welcome To The Jungle - Solitaire CD (Elvis Australia)
• Review: Welcome To The Jungle - Never Again CD (Elvis Australia)
• Review: Welcome To The Jungle - The Last Farewell CD (Elvis Australia)

At The Boston Garden

I for one applaud FTD's decision to release Elvis' November 10, 1971 concert at the Boston Garden (scheduled for September 14 this year). It's one of the 14 shows Elvis did during his only tour that year, and just listen to what Stein Erik Skar has to say about it in his book The Concert Years:

"The tours still represented something of a challenge – enough to make Elvis yet again take the audience's breath away with glittering shows. Some karate finishes on "Suspicious Minds" were so fantastic that the audience wouldn't stop clapping, like in Boston. Boston also experienced that the introduction of "Polk Salad Annie" was again filled with humour and improvisation, and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" got such ovations at all of the concerts that Elvis often sang the last verse twice."

The Boston gig has been bootlegged twice, first as The Power Of Zhazam! and then as One Night Only! But as this is the only available show FTD now chooses to release it as "We believe that this is of such historical importance, that it should be available to everyone."

I agree. The concert in Boston shows Elvis at his best in 1971, and it deserves a place in the official Elvis catalog, as do the recently released shows featured on Showtime! from December 1976.

Another move by FTD is to try to announce their schedule for new releases further up front. Like Tygrrius wrote in a post on his The Mystery Train Elvis Blog, that's certainly a huge step in the right direction.

"You by God watch me!"

In my latest post, I mentioned the last concert Elvis did in his hometown, on July 5, 1976. This show was recently re-released by an import label under the name of The Final Homecoming and is a lot more exciting than the one from Forth Worth recorded two days earlier and re-issued by FTD on Rockin' Across Texas.

Actually, the Memphis show is one of Elvis' greatest from the bicentennial year. Listening to it, I'm reminded of the concerts from the December tour, like the one from Dallas on December 28, found on the bootleg A Hot Winter Night In Dallas.

On July 4, on the actual National Day, Elvis held one of his best shows of the tour in Tulsa. "It was a helluva show," one critic wrote. Apparently, Elvis was determined to give his hometown fans more of the same the next day.

Not only is the show Memphis a great one, it's also long, lasting approximately 90 minutes. During that time Elvis sings "Softly As I Leave You" for the second and last time on tour, as well as over 20 other songs, including such rare gems as "One Night," "Blue Christmas," "How Great Thou Art" and Fairytale."

I also have to mention the introduction to "That's All Right," which is awesome: "The first record that I did here in Memphis was, you know, "That's All Right Mama." I heard a couple of people say, you can't do that anymore, well you by God watch me!"

It's obvious that Elvis is in a good mood, enjoying his work. He sounds focused, not slurring through the songs, and his humor is present as well. A fine version of "Help Me" is jokingly introduced as being from a two year old album called "Elvis In The Gutter" and after Ronnie Tutt's incredible work out during the drum solo he exclaims, "That was fair."

The Final Homecoming was originally released as Goodbye Memphis by the Fort Baxter label in 1997. It's a shame that FTD didn't re-release it first, going for the show from New Haven instead, recorded almost a month later, and not anywhere nearly as exciting.

Mid-South Magic

About a week ago, it struck me that FTD should release an album or a box with concerts that Elvis did in Memphis. And then, maybe a day later, I found out that an import label had been thinking along the same lines, planning to release Bringing It All Back Home, featuring two concerts recorded in Elvis' hometown, one from March 16, 1974 and the other from June 10, 1975.

But FTD has a chance to do it better. My thinking goes like this: Release all the soundboards available from Memphis, not only the two mentioned above but also the last one Elvis did in his hometown, on July 5, 1976. And why not include the professionally recorded show Elvis held on March 20, known as Elvis As Recorded Live In Stage In Memphis, as a bonus?

This way, FTD would cover all the tours when Elvis played the Mid-South Coliseum. (He made three more appearances in Memphis during the tour in March, 1974, but these have not yet surfaced on soundboard, and only one as an audience recording.)

If I were Ernst I would present the whole thing as an "audiovisual documentary" like Live In L.A., only this time done right. With that I mean that the accompanying book would be an informative one, packed with great photos (in focus, thank you!) and with well written liner notes covering the stories behind the pictures and the shows. Original reviews from the press at the time should also be included.

I think this would be an exciting package. Not only was the atmosphere in the audience always incredible when Elvis held a concert in the Mid-South Coliseum, but the shows themselves were great. Mid-South Magic.

PS: Sometimes I'm afraid I spend more time thinking about the headline of a post than the post itself. This time alternative titles were The Memphis Homecomings and A Memphis Trilogy (the last one only working if the March 20 show isn't included).

From Sunset To Las Vegas

There's been a lot of criticism leveled against the latest FTD release From Sunset To Las Vegas, featuring Elvis' rehearsal on August 16, 1974, recorded a couple of days prior to his Las Vegas engagement. After listening to it for the first time yesterday, here are my thoughts:

Many critics complain about the sound. Granted, it's not much better than it was on the bootleg From Sunset Blvd to Paradise Road released back in 1996, but there's only so much you can do with a tape that clearly wasn't professionally recorded in the first place. Actually, I think the sound is a little bit clearer on the official FTD release, although but not by much.

More serious is the omission of the first version of "It's Midnight," a take that was included on the unofficial release 13 years ago. Why is it missing? Is it because Elvis is using bad language at the beginning of the song ("Where's the fucking words?") or is it something else? I guess only Ernst Jorgensen knows the answer to that one.

Another complaint I concur with is that some of the live recordings on the second CD aren't unreleased. Both "Trying To Get To You," "Help Me" and "It's Now Or Never" were featured on the Live In Las Vegas box set in 2001.

It also annoys me that we get bonus songs in this way. What irritates me the most are the last two last tracks, performed by Sherill Nielsen on the closing show, September 2. FTD, as a collector's label, should be offering us the whole closing show, not snippets like this leaving the collector wanting more.

To me the whole problem with From Sunset To Las Vegas is that the bootleg From Sunset Blvd to Paradise Road is better content wise. On the unofficial release the second CD features the opening show, a more logical choice as most of the songs Elvis rehearsed are sung on that particular show as well. The next day songs such as "Down In The Alley" and "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues" were dropped and the concert program back to the usual one again.

All this said, the rehearsal from 16 August is essential listening. It's fascinating to hear Elvis work with songs such as "Promised Land" and "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)": "What's so difficult about doing lo-o-o-ving-you. Well god damn, it's simple to me," he exclaims at one point, not being satisfied with the ending. That the sound isn't the best simply isn't that important, this is not an album you play in the background, it's a recording you study to so you can learn more about Elvis.

I only wish Ernst Jorgensen and FTD had treated this historical recording with a little more respect. That could have been done with the help of some better packaging, an informative booklet and a complete concert instead of the bonus tracks. If that would've meant a 3 CD album, so what? Elvis is worth it, don't you think? Come to think of it, so are the fans.

The bootleg battle

The battle between the bootleggers continues, fueled I guess, by the never ending demand for live material. A couple of months ago the fight was between the two labels International and Audionics, both making available identical shows from Elvis August 1970 engagement in Las Vegas. (One of the shows was also released by FTD as The Wonder Of You.)

About a week ago two bootleggers joined battle again. Barely had The Gravel Road Music import label announced a double CD set called A Day In Dayton, featuring Elvis' two performances from October 6, 1974, when a new label called Boxcar (created by International and DAE) let us know that they would release the same two shows together with a book under the name of Dayton Reloaded.

Obviously, it's no coincidence that these two labels release the same shows simultaneously, and as double CDs as well. At least one of them (I bet both!) has to know what the other one is doing, and is rushing to do the same thing, only sooner. How they know about each others plans, I have no idea. I also don't know how they both come to have what they claim to be the original soundboard tapes in their possession.

One thing I know, however, is that the battle between these two import labels (my guess is that it's the same guys running both Audionics and Gravel Road Music) is leading to very professional products, that are miles ahead of FTD when it comes to cover art and booklets. Usually the booklets are packed with photographs from the shows in question and has well written liner notes.

One such example is the recent release from Gravel Road Music titled The Return Of A Prodigy (featuring Elvis dinner show from August 3, 1969), that includes a booklet 32 pages thick with over 50 shots of Elvis on stage, as well as a review from a fan that was lucky enough to see an Elvis show at the International Hotel 40 years ago.

For the millionth and the last time: How I wish FTD would learn from this. As long as the label doesn't, I can understand the fans having a hard time keeping their hands away from releases such as The Return Of A Prodigy. Of course, there is always the problem with which one to choose if two battling bootleg labels release the same show.

Maybe FTD hopes that the fans will be so confused that they'll buy neither. Or on a more serious note, maybe the strategy is to let the bootleggers drive each other out of business. So far, it hasn't been working.

Elvis on autopilot

Seems like FTD is ending the year specializing in 1976. Not only will we have the CD only re-issue of Rockin' Across Texas as well as The Jungle Room Sessions on vinyl. Now it turns out that the previously announced soundboard is going to be a concert from 1976 as well.

Titled New Haven '76, it features Elvis' appearance at the Veterans' Memorial Coliseum on July 30. A live version of "Return To Sender" is included as a bonus track from Hampton Coliseum on August 1.

As a matter of fact, the Hampton Roads show was released on the Fort Baxter label as The Bicentennial Elvis Experience in 1994. I seem to recall it beeing a very bad concert, and playing it today, I sadly have to say I remembered correctly. Elvis sounds so exhausted, and his voice is so weak, that it's actually painful to listen to him struggling through the songs.

That's why I don't have very high hopes for New Haven'76, recorded just two days earlier. During this particular tour "Elvis often lacked any spark and the shows were monotonous... Elvis had switched on the autopilot - and no radar was necessary to realise that the course was wrong," as Stein Erik Skar puts it in his book The Concert Years.

Better then to pick up the Rockin' Across Texas CD if you don't own the original book/CD release. Not only do you get a much better 1976 concert, recorded in Fort Worth on July 3, 1976, almost a month earlier than the New Haven gig, you also get a 1974 concert from Amarillo, recorded on June 19.

Or, if you only can afford one of the upcoming FTD releases this year, you could do worse than to wait until December and buy Good Times in the classic albums series. To use a worn expression: Worth waiting for...

Are you laughing tonight?

I've always liked the way Elvis laughs. The first time I heard him do it must have been in the early eighties when the laughing version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight" was played frequently on the radio. In Europe it was released as a single, taken from the Elvis Aron Presley box set, and went on to become a pretty big hit.

"There's something touchingly childlike in Elvis' uncontrolled laughter, and this performance has become a classic for the way it shows a side of Elvis that rarely surfaced in public," Colin Escott writes in the CD reissue of the silver box set. That got me thinking about other songs where Elvis gets the giggles. This is what I came up with:

On the above mentioned box set, there is another laughing version, that has in its own way become a classic, at least among the fans. I am, of course, referring to the infamous "Datin'" from Paradise, Hawaiian Style that has Elvis cracking up a number of times on numerous takes of the song. It's highly entertaining and I always smile when I listen to Elvis struggling with the silly lyrics and completely loosening it.

Another soundtrack song that has Elvis breaking up is "Beach Shack" from the movie Spinout. Thanks to FTD and its classic album series we can hear the first three takes, and right from the start it's clear that Elvis finds the lyrics he's reading from the lead sheet highly amusing. Giggles become an enormous laughter as he ad libs "What you think I am" right before he and the Jordanaires are about to sing the line "dum-di-dum-di-dum."

Trying to pull himself together he exclaims, "It's got to be the silly hour," before loosening it again on the following take. I guess humor was the weapon with which to survive those soundtrack sessions in the mid 60's. It's great fun listening to and my favourite laughing version with Elvis.

It wasn't just during studio hours that Elvis got the giggles. As you all know he often laughed on stage both between and during songs. "I'll Remember You" from FTD's Takin' Tahoe Tonight! featuring the 3 AM show he did on May 13, 1973, no doubt qualifies as a laughing version.

The reason for this is Elvis having fun changing the lyrics to fit the early hour of the show: "Long after this, long morning is through... I'll be horny, ..lonely, oh so lonely." He also, for some reason, cracks up right at the end of the song, after which he laughingly announces, "Well, that's about enough!"

Another live laughing version that comes to mind is "Love Me Tender" from Murfreesboro recorded on May 6, 1975, and included on the FTD release Dixieland Rocks. As I've written about that one before I wont go into any details, except to say that it's really funny.

The final song I come to think of the rehearsal version of "Memories" from July 24, 1970, only available on bootleg. It's really hilarious and has Elvis changing the lyrics, making peculiar noises and almost laughing his head off. You have to listen to it to fully understand what I'm talking about.

So there you have it. Six laughing versions that show the funny side of Elvis. Of course there are more of them out here. Can you help me out?

Summer of '69

I just returned from a pleasant one week vacation in a little cottage on the western coast of Denmark. But as there was no connection to the Internet whatsoever, one of the first thing I did when I was home again was to visit the newly resurrected ElvisNews.com site as well as a few others to get myself up to speed again on things Elvis wise.

Half expecting the next FTD release to have been announced sometime during the week, I was a bit disappointed to find out that was not the case. What caught my eye instead was a couple of news items associated with Elvis exciting return to personal performances in Las Vegas 40 years ago:

1. A soundboard of the August 3, dinner show in Las Vegas, released in 1993 by Ford Baxter under the misleading name Opening Night, is to be re-released under the name of Elvis - Return Of A Prodigy. It's supposed to be edited, as to why I have no idea.

I own a copy of Opening Night and gave it a spin today. In short I found it pretty similar to the shows recorded professionally by RCA a couple of weeks later. Elvis is clowning around quite a bit, but maybe not as much as a bit later into the engagement. I guess he was still feeling a bit nervous as this was only the sixth show he gave.

Some of the arrangements also sound different, this is particularly true on "Are You Lonesome Tonight" where there is no high voice singing, instead that part is being played by a violin.

2. EPE's latest marketing item is a backstage pass where "you can explore Elvis’ dressing room as it may have looked during his historic 1969 engagement at The International Hotel. Included in the virtual online experience, are photos, artifacts, audio and video clips and lots more online fun." Coming from EPE, maybe not surprisingly this "fun" costs money, $1.99 for 24 hours of access.

3. Much more interesting is the Elvis: Vegas '69 book written by Ken Sharp, the guy who also put together Writing For The King, among others. Elvis Australia, another great Elvis site I favour, posted a review and after reading it, I have to say it sounds like a promising book.

Not only does it include a lot of previously unseen photographs, it also features first hand accounts of those who "where there." One of those, a lucky Mr Ian Fracer-Thomson, not only succeeded in sneaking into the opening night invitation only show, he also watched and listened to a large part of the dress rehearsal.

4. And finally, something I obviously didn't read about but wish was true: A CD box from FTD featuring the remaining shows recorded by RCA in the summer of '69 that so far has not been released in full. After all, if a bootlegger and a writer can pay attention, why can't Elvis official collectors label? (Although I applaud the Sony BMG release of From Elvis In Memphis Legacy Edition.)

Soundboards - where do they come from?

Studying the complete tour list from 1975 on the excellent Elvis In Norway website and comparing tour number 14 (May 30 to June 10) with tour number 15 (July 8 to July 24) it's easy to spot one big difference between the two. Nearly every show from the former has been released on CD (mainly bootlegs) while from the latter, almost nothing is available.

Taking a closer look, of the 17 shows Elvis did during his fourteenth tour, 15 are available, and all but one are soundboards. But how many soundboards are there from the following tour? That's right, not a single one. In fact, only six shows from Elvis' July tour have been released, and each and every one of them is an audience recording.

This got me thinking about soundboards and why they were made in the first place. Maybe I'm showing my ignorance here, but I seem to recall soundboards were recorded so that the musicians could study them afterwards, see what worked and what didn't. Also, that a soundboard was something to put in the hands of a new musician so he could get familiar with the songs.

But if that was the case, why was a soundboard recording done of what seems like every show in June 1975? Why wasn't one or two enough? And why hasn't a single one turned up from the July tour?

To try to come up with an answer I searched the Internet, but drew a blank. I did find out however, that according to Ernst Jorgensen, there are about 200 soundboards in total (I guess he's talking about the ones owned by BMG/FTD). Also, that the majority of them seems to be from the '74-'77 period. But nowhere did I discover anything about why they were recorded in the first place, and why sometimes so many from the same tour or engagement exist.

Another thing I've never been able to figure out is why a lot of soundboards started to appear at the same time all of a sudden? During the 80's, all we had were audience recordings available on cassettes, but then the soundboards started popping up. Now here's a theory I've come up with:

For whatever reason, it was often standard practice to make soundboard recording of all the shows during a particular tour or engagement. These soundboards were recorded on cassettes or reel-to-reels then ended up in the possession of musicians, sound engineers, collectors and others. Then in the late 80's someone started to sell off his collection of soundboards to the bootleggers. These were put out on records that were noticed by other owners of soundboards who, for financial reasons maybe, sold their tapes too. And so the ball was put in motion, so to speak.

But not everyone wants to part with their soundboards. If one is to believe a contribution on the kings court forum from February last year, "Bruce Jackson, Elvis sound engineer owns a lot of soundboards but has stated he will not part with them for any amount of money as he feel's these recordings are spoiling Elvis' image due to the nature of the recording. Ernst has tried to buy some tapes from him but he refused, he is rumoured to own some July 75 soundboards and the famous Pittsburgh 31.12.76 show."

So maybe that's where the July 75 soundboards are? What do you think?

Pieces Of My Life

Listening to and writing about Dixieland Delight about a week ago, renewed my interest in the concerts Elvis did during the summer of 1975. And if the May/June tour was successful, then the one a month later was even better.

Elvis looked impressive in his jumpsuits during the July tour, had lost weight and was in an excellent mood. Also, the demand for tickets was high, and two or more shows had to be arranged at most places.

The song line up was basically the same as the one used during the previous tour, but as the tour progressed, the more varied the shows became. My favourite is the afternoon show Elvis gave in Nassau Coliseum on July 19 (released as America's Own), featuring "Bosom Of Abraham/You Better Run."

The last three shows were held in Asheville, and the last one of these, an audience recording titled Pieces Of My Life, I listened to yesterday. What's unusual about that one is that the audience could put requests in a box before the show, which resulted in Elvis performing such rare numbers as "Return To Sender" and "Wooden Heart."

But as Elvis doesn't know all the words (haven't sung them in about 15 years, I'm surprised he remembers as much as he does), that's not what makes this concert stand out. Instead it's the exciting atmosphere created by a hard working Elvis. From the driving "That's All Right" to the powerful "How Great Thou Art," this is Elvis in great spirit delivering the goods.

The musicians too should take credit. Even the introductions are exciting, with Ronnie Tutt exploding behind his drums during his solo, and James Burton restarting "Johnny B. Goode" at a command from Elvis.

And of course, the only live version Elvis ever did of "Pieces Of My Life" is something of a treat. It's very similar to the studio version recorded a couple of months later, sung beautiful by Elvis.

What I don't understand about the shows in Asheville though, is what I've read about the audiences being somewhat reserved and never giving a standing ovation. This is mentioned both in The Concert Years by Stein Erik Skar and in Lee Cotten's Did Elvis Sing In Your Howntown, too?

But, listening to Pieces Of My Life, it's obvious the audience is anything but "somewhat reserved." On the contrary, most of the time it sounds like they scream at the top of their lungs, and I have to admit I have a hard time believing they manage to do so sitting down the whole time.

After "How Great Thou Art," when it sounds like the whole auditorium is cooking and the roof is going to lift off, Elvis himself exclaims, "Thank you ladies and gentlemen, you're fantastic. Thank you, I appreciate it. It makes it all worthwhile." I have a very hard time believing the audience isn't standing up right there and then.

The crazy TTWII saga

Seems not only is there a battle going on between FTD and the bootleggers at the moment. The bootleggers are also fighting each other.

I'm talking, of course, about the recordings from Elvis' third stint in Las Vegas, in August 1970. A total of six shows were recorded from August 10 to August 13, and so far FTD and BMG have released three of them. FTD's next offering The Wonder Of You will be the fourth, containing the dinner show from August 13.

As for the last two shows, these are due for release by the Audionics label. Containing the dinner shows from August 11 and 12 respectively, they are titled Something and Twenty Days & Nights. Incidentally, it was this very label that rush released exactly the same show as the one FTD plan to put out on their The Wonder Of You album.

As if this isn't enough, then enters the International label, the one behind the unofficial CD/DVD package That's The Way It Is: The Complete Works. Not only does International apologize for having made a blunder, releasing the shows on the set in mono instead of stereo. The label also claim the sound on the Audionic releases is in poor quality stereo. "To make a wrong made right," the International label therefore decided to make the shows available as downloads for free, in full stereo.

How all this is going to end, I have no idea. What is pretty clear, though, is that the battle or whatever one chooses to call it, is caused by the high demand among the fans for the complete shows that RCA recorded in Las Vegas during those four nights in August, 1970.

That's why I think Ernst Jorgensen would've stood a better chance leading FTD to victory against the bootleggers if he had released all six shows in a box, together with a nice booklet and maybe even a DVD, instead of picking only the one from August 13. After all, two of the three shows released officially so far have had the introductions edited out, and the fans want them to be complete. Isn't that what a collectors label is all about?