Come What May

I brought this one in on pure justification. In many ways the movie years were the biggest waste of talent in the history of music, and "Harum Scarum" is often looked upon as being the absolutely rock bottom. Well, the movie is a little silly, but the music is not bad at all - beats the music from all the "beach films" by miles!

I have always been intrigued by the mysterious guitar sound they managed to create - you know the ringing, echoing sound. And Elvis' voice is deep and powerful throughout. "Hey little girl" has a more genuine rock feeling than many other film songs and the ballads "Wisdom of the ages" any "Kismet" are as good as any.
To me, the high points are "So close yet so far" with its desperate build-up and "Animal instinct" ...who can resist turning up the volume when those earthquake evoking bass lines hit your stereo?

True Love Travels on a Gravel Road

This CD spans Elvis' second season in Vegas - we are treated to both Opening Night and Closing Night, edited into one show. It is interesting to hear the difference between the two shows. The last six songs is sung by a performer who is, quite understandably, nervous - would he be able to repeat his success from six months earlier? It's nothing less than fascinating to hear the first live version ever of the classic-to-be, "Polk salad Annie", plus first live versions of both "Sweet Caroline" and "Kentucky rain" - and a rare "True love travels" (hence the title).

The first 13 tracks are from the Closing Show, and I believe this is a slightly different Elvis, with newly won self confidence, he is as solid as a rock. "All shook up" is still a pounding rocker, not just a throwaway, and I can never get enough of "Long tall Sally". But to me, the true highlight is when Elvis announces "Walk a mile in my shoes", but changes his mind and lets "CC Rider" loose - and it is a complete mind-blower!

Hang Loose

After having rehearsed on several occasions with his rhythm group, Elvis was on stage with the full band rehearsing for the upcoming "Summer Festival" in August 1970. And Elvis is as loose as a goose, joking away his premiere nerves. Especially "Polk salad Annie" gets a funny treatment - you have to hear it for yourself!
But it's not just jokes and pranks, it's also fantastic music progressing into perfection. Elvis is focused when needed, and "I've lost you", "I just can't help believin'" and "You don't have to say you love me" are all done beautifully - not to mention "Bridge over troubled water". It is hard to imagine that this is a new song for Elvis - it is already impeccable.

"Patch it up" is as wild as ever - this was a favourite when I was ten years old, and I still feel it's a shame that Elvis didn't do more contemporary upbeat material, like this one.

Opening Night 1972

Back in Vegas with new songs, new outfits and new jumpsuits - No flu this time, and no Vegas boredom evident on the first night. If you don't have this one...you should get it, because it is every bit as good as it is said to be!

"CC Rider" has replaced "That's alright" as the opening number - Elvis sounds a little tense, but gradually he loosens up. You can tell that both Elvis and the band are well-prepared. We are given first live versions of "Never been to Spain", "You gave me a mountain", "Until it's time for you to go" AND "An American trilogy", and they all sound incredibly good. They are each a good reason why I recommend this album.

In "Bridge over troubled water" you can tell that Elvis' voice is a little rough, and this is even more evident in "A big hunk o' love" - here is some of the rough edge to his voice that was so apparent when he made his comeback three years earlier. James Burton is mean and sharp in his solo - too bad he shows so little of this ability in present day's "Elvis the Concert".

Blazing into the Darkness

This is probably the best show I've heard from Vegas, August 1972. It is a dinner show and Elvis says that he had just gotten up from bed - normally this means a slow start, but not this time. Elvis is up and going from the start. "CC Rider" is fast and explosive, with good vocal treatment. With no further ado, he is off with "Proud Mary" - I prefer this kind of opening, to later years' "I got a woman/B52/Amen, Love me".

Elvis is not very talkative and the tempo of the show is high set - very impressive. Impressive is also the word for the two new songs for the season: "What now my love" and "My way" - to me an indication of the direction Elvis was heading. Some of the old songs are done carelessly, but then again, he gives a terrific, laid-back version of "Hound dog".

Back in Portland

I was only six years old when I watched "Aloha from Hawaii" on TV, but I remember it clearly to this day. I was totally overwhelmed by the majestic man in white. When I watch "Aloha" today, I'm always slightly disappointed with the tense and rigid Elvis - I always have to watch "On Tour", or something afterwards to get the "Right" Elvis feeling back.

So, I was quite happy when I first heard "Back in Portland". This is the old Elvis back, or perhaps it is the new Elvis heading for the rousing year of 1974.

Anyway, Elvis' voice is strong and more adventurous then in January and February. You can hear that the crowd is overjoyed with the performance they are witnessing. Elvis doesn't do a bad job on any of the songs, and the energy level is striking. Listen to "Little sister/Get back" (too bad he left that one out of "Aloha") or "Help me make it through the night" - pure magic!

Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind

March 1974 and Circus Elvis was spinning faster and faster. 25 shows in 21 days, including two record-breaking shows in the gigantic Houston Astrodome. We all know the final show of the tour, "Live On Stage in Memphis"/"Steamroller Blues" - I grew up on this concert, I know every note and every sound by heart from this fantastic show. But, I must say that Elvis was even better in Richmond, two days earlier. The title of the album is no exaggeration - what we have is a winning combination of the high-powered Elvis from the early 70's, and the rich and mature Elvis of later years.

Here is, hands down, the best version of "Steamroller blues" I've heard to date and the rock-medley is a notch or two better than two days later in Memphis. "Polk salad Annie" is both playful and bombastic, and "Suspicious minds" swivels at the speed of sound.
The only negative thing I can think of, is that there are no surprises - a "My baby left me" would have been the icing on the cake.

If You Talk in Your Sleep - Opening Night 1974

I hate to say it, but this may very well be Elvis final attempt of artistic renewal. Well-rehearsed and armed with a new set of songs, Elvis made a great effort to make progress in his stage routine. As it turned out, this would be the only night and it's deplorable that the crowd wasn't flexible enough to give him a reception that would encourage him to continue his "experiment", but that's another story. I'm glad that this album exists, so that we can all take part in what happened on stage in Vegas, August 19th, 1974.

For the first time since 1970, "2001" is omitted and "Big boss man" is opening number. Elvis seems to be in a good mood, although the audience is a bit hesitant. Lots of new songs, and songs not sung in a long time - in fact, there are only three songs (the last three) that were used in "Aloha from Hawaii" the year before! "Never been to Spain" is magnificent, not to mention "It's midnight" and "If you talk in your sleep". Well...I could go and and on...but I won't.

Holding Back the Years 

The conditions for the first tour of the bicentennial year were rather turbulent. The TCB-band was on the verge of breaking up and Elvis wasn't looking at all well. Still, he managed to give impressive shows. Surprisingly enough, the band sounds tight and together. With all due respect to Ronnie Tutt, the new drummer (Larry Londine, who also played on Elvis' final concert) comes down with thunder and lightening, and he certainly adds a little extra spark to the show.

The audience is going wild as Elvis gives a massive rendition of "Steamroller blues", definitely better than the "Aloha" version three years earlier.

Elvis' voice may seem a tad tired and uninspired in the old songs, but when it comes to the newer, bigger numbers like "You gave me a mountain", "America" and "Hurt" he has never sounded as good. "Hurt" is new for the tour, and the version here is slower and much closer to the original than the versions that would develop later.

Chicago Beat

The summer of 1976 had not been very kind to Elvis. But things took a sudden turn in October, when Elvis showed up in Chicago for his 22nd tour - he had lost several pounds and the slow and heavy performer from just a month ago had disappeared. And Elvis worked hard on stage, which is clearly evident on the video shot that evening - and he is even said to have thrown up back-stage out of sheer exhaustion after the show.

Elvis is focused and not that rushed or speeded as he had often been during the summer tours that year, and you can actually hear the words of "Jailhouse rock", and it's done very well.

Hurt is even more powerful than usual, a real show-stopper. The reprise is without a doubt my favourite version of all and one of the reasons why this album is among my choices."Hound dog" is thrown away, but a robust "Mystery train/Tiger man" makes up for that.