Elvis Live 1969

When "Elvis Live 1969" was released, the dinner show the king performed on August 24th was already known from the boxed set "Elvis Live In Las Vegas", which had been issued 18 years earlier. "Heartbreak Hotel" had been a part of the "Collector's Gold" box in 1993, the recording of "Yesterday" even was known since 1980. Back then RCA had released the track on the boxed set "Elvis Aron Presley".

As usual we hear the count-in, the "Opening Riff" and a firy version of "Blue Suede Shoes".

Elvis sings the word "well" and is answered by his harmony singers. Then he storms through "I Got A Woman".

The king wakes up his legs, repeats the joke with the word "well" and surprisingly feels as if his horse just left. "All Shook Up" is attacked in high speed mode, today Mr. Presley alters the lyrics and sings "I'm a little screwed up".

Now Elvis greets the crowd and makes his usual jokes. During "Love Me Tender" he doesn't kiss as many ladies as usual.

Of course we get to hear the joke about the size of the records, but otherwise the king keeps his intros short. He also doesn't change the lyrics. Maybe he doesn't feel like joking today, maybe his producer told him, that serious renditions of the songs were needed for the live album.

The monologue before "Hound Dog" also is shorter and less wacky. The song itself is presented with as much drive as before.

Instead of the usual "Memories" the king presents "I Can't Stop Loving You". Maybe he's trying to come up with further material on the fly, because here and there he stumbles upon the timing and the lyrics.

As usual Elvis grabs his guitar, but instead of "Mystery Train" / "Tiger Man" he sings a cover version of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode". This time everything works well and Mr. Presley easily proves, that he's still the one and only king of rock'n'roll.

After the two new songs Elvis sits down for the usual monologue about his life and career.

The more or less funny skit is followed by a cool and relaxed rendition of "Baby What You Want Me To Do".

Today Mr. Presley doesn't introduce the song, James Burton simply starts to play the opening chords and the performance is on its way. However, that doesn't mean anything negative, the rendition itself is as good as always.

Even though "Are You Lonesome Tonight" is a regular feature of the show, Elvis dedicates it to Marie Parker, the wife of his manager. Despite recovering from an operation, she still came to Vegas to experience the live comback of her husband's client. "Are You Lonesome Tonight" is her favorite song and therefore the Colonel had asked Elvis to record it. As we all know, he did so in 1960 and even produced another number one hit.

The somewhat serious mood of the evening also affects the performance of "Yesterday", which doesn't include the "stud"-joke. Maybe his producer or someone from RCA had asked him to deliver something releasable.

After having announced to introduce the band, Elvis jokingly introduces them to each other and says "Charlie, this is Jerry". Later he also greets the actor George Hamilton, who's in the audience tonight.

His current hit "In The Ghetto" is introduced without any jokes and the performance itself also is a serious one.

Even though the single is already available, Elvis still claims that it would be released in two weeks. However, the performance itself is as breathtaking as all previous ones.

As usual Elvis leaves the stage during "What'd I Say" to pretend the show was over. But of course he returns and finishes the song. Today he wants to get done with it quicker than usual and catches his band somewhat off-guard. But of course these guys are pure professionals and need just a second or so to adjust themselves to their boss' wishes.

With the usual "We'll do this song especially for you" Elvis segues into "Can't Help Falling In Love" and ends the show. In a few hours he'll be back to do it all over again.