Elvis Presley had proved to the world that he could still
bring some musical magic with the ’68 Comeback Special on NBC. The following
year, The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll began a residency at a then-new International
Hotel in Las Vegas.
Another longstanding Sin City engagement – his third - commenced
during the summer of 1970. Several of those concerts were filmed and the
results combined for an acclaimed documentary feature directed by Denis Sanders,
"Elvis: That's The Way It Is."
Earlier this month, RCA/Legacy Recordings put out a super deluxe
reissue of the accompanying original LP in 8CD/2DVD box set and 2CD configurations
– just in time for the annual Elvis week festivities in Memphis to commemorate Presley’s
death on Aug. 16, 1977.
This new release marks the first time the album and documentary
have been available in a single package, with ample bonus unreleased material,
remixed and remastered audio, backstage and rehearsal footage and a new 80-page
book comprising event facts, songwriter and musician interviews.
(See elsewhere on this blog for the complete rundown on
the box set)
Initially, That's
The Way It Is combined eight studio tracks and four live concert performances recorded in Vegas.
For the 2CD configuration, Disc 1 includes the original 12-track
album, the four original singles and five outtakes. Insightful, detailed liner
notes were penned by musician/author Warren Zanes, formerly of The Del Fuegos.
There are photos from the performance and rare memorabilia.
Standout songs include the easygoing groove of the Barry
Mann & Cynthia Weil-penned BJ Thomas tune “I Just Can’t Help Believin’
(live),” the full-bodied vocals of “Twenty Days and Twenty Nights,” the
acoustic guitar and piano-driven “How The Web Was Woven” and the upbeat groove
rock and female call and response action in top 20 single by Eddie Rabbitt, “Patch
It Up (live).”
Elsewhere, Presley and his large band pull out all the
stops amid the gospelized “Just Pretend,” guitar shuffle “Stranger in the Crowd,”
gorgeous lush ballad “The Next Step Is Love” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge
Over Troubled Water.” The outtakes include interesting studio chatter, with
“Patch it Up (Take 1)” sounding quite different minus backing vocals.
On Disc 2, the lively 17-track dinner show - all but four
selections unreleased - from August 12, 1970 includes several of Presley’s
Fifties hits done in quick, medley style. Always one to banter with the
audience, he jokes about people eating dinner on “I Got a Woman” and states that
“Hound Dog” is “a song I did when I was a baby…they call it a gutbuster.”
Tour pianist Glen Hardin recalls in the reissue liner
notes that Elvis was “very spontaneous.” For “Love Me Tender,” ladies in the audience
squealed as Elvis gave them brief pecks on the cheek.
“We were all shocked that he even did that,” says
longtime Presley guitarist James Burton. “I’m sure [manager] Colonel Parker was
too. But it was great.”
Other highlights: the ultra dramatic Mann & Weil composition
(for the Righteous Brothers) “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” and Dusty
Springfield-popularized “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me.”
All told, Presley is in top vocal form here. A highly
recommended listening experience.
Also in stores now through RCA/Legacy Recordings is a 2CD
deluxe remastered edition
of Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In
Memphis to mark the
40th Anniversary release on July 7, 1974.
It features tracks
left off the original album (because of vinyl format limitations) and rare material.
The booklet has several photos, newspaper clippings and RCA invoices.
Having already toured
elsewhere in the south in the spring of ’74, Presley finally made it back home
to Memphis for his first shows there in 13 years. According to pianist Hardin
in the liner notes, The King wasn’t nervous though.
“Elvis was
never intimidated by anything; he knew the reaction was gonna be good.”
Instead of
staying home at Graceland, located just eight miles from the Mid-South
Coliseum, he held court at a Howard Johnson’s motel down the street from the
concert venue to feel like he was still on tour.
The two
complete shows here have basically identical setlists. But the first one performed
at the Richmond Coliseum on Disc 2 was only recorded as a test run for the main
Memphis gig and presented in mono with reverb as the artist preferred.
Nearly half the songs on Disc 1
were not included on the original LP. Elvis sounds totally relaxed and still injects
humor at every turn. He gets backing singer JD Sumner to bring his baritone down
as low as it can go on “I Got A Woman/Amen” (the same trick later in the set, amid the Sumner & The Stamps sung gospel of “Why Me Lord,” is really annoying).
Presley turns in a strong take on
James Taylor’s “Steamroller Blues” and “Suspicious Minds,” the pleasant country
of Larry Gatlin’s “Help Me,” loose 'n' twangy “Let Me Be There” and spirited “My
Baby Left Me.” Disc 2 sounds far better in mono and reverb. Among the standouts
are the above mentioned, plus a vigorously belted “Trying To Get To You” and “I
Can’t Stop Loving You.”
The five demo quality tunes (three previously
unreleased) from an August 1974 rehearsal for a Vegas engagement are loosely
structured, minus some of the vocals and instrumentation that would appear on
official studio or live versions. Presley can be heard working out some
vocalizations on “Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues” and a story intro about “Softly
As I Leave You.” Ewan McColl’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “The
Twelfth Of Never” round things out.
There’s plenty to satisfy casual and
diehard fans alike on Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis.
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