(C) Sony Music Entertainment /RCA Legacy
It's August 11th and the daily routine starts. From now on Elvis has to do two shows per night. RCA's recording of the dinner performance had stayed in the vaults until the release of this boxed set, so at the time the fans got to hear something new.
That's All Right
The band plays the "Opening Riff", Elvis enters the stage, gets his guitar and starts the show with a powerful rendition of "That's All Right". Once again he wears a new outfit. It's a white jumpsuit, whose collar and lapel are decorated with metal plates. In the Elvis-World the outfit is known as the "Concha Suit". It can be seen on the cover of this set.
I Got A WomanThe king sings the word "well" and claims, that this was all. Then he jokingly harrumphs three times and segues into the well known Ray Charles hit from 1954. Back then Elvis included it in his own show and kept it as a regular feature. He obviously still likes it after all these years.
Hound DogIronically Elvis tells the crowd, that he already had sung this tune when he was a child. According to him it's a message song and he needs to get in the right mood. Suddenly he screams the word "you" and goes straight into "Hound Dog". The rock'n'roll king simply repeats the same four lines over and over again, but he does it with a lot of power and gets the people on their feet.
Heartbreak HotelBefore singing the next song, Elvis jokes a bit about his first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and his sports-drink (Gatorade). He also asks the audience, not to throw the cameras. At first the intro of "Heartbreak Hotel" doesn't work due to a timing issue. The second try is a success and Elvis delivers a humorous and entertaining rendition of his first national number one hit.
Love Me TenderNow Elvis tells his fans that he and his band had learned 50 songs for the show due to MGM making a movie. Then he grabs a little plastic guitar and intones a funny ditty in squeaky voice. Of course he uses "Love Me Tender" to kiss some ladies, afterwards he jokingly claims to extend the performance in the future, so he will be able to come to the other side of the stage and the balconies, too.
I've Lost YouThe king continues with "I've Lost You", his current RCA single. The ballad is played faster than in the studio, which is an improvement. It's a very good performance, indeed. In contrast to the opening show Elvis now includes more of his own material. I guess he had realized, that the fans want to hear his originals and not just cover versions of other people's hits.
I Just Can't Help Believin'Of course that doesn't keep him from including some of them. After bestowing several ladies with kisses, he tells the audience, that BJ Thomas has out a new record, which he doesn't like. He soon proves, that he was just joking, because his rendition of "I Just Can't Help Believin'" is very good. Today he makes a small mistake and sings different lyrics than his harmony vocalist.
SomethingLike he had done yesterday, the king demonstrates a laughter bag. This little thing seems to fascinate him a lot. Then he kisses a few more women and sings The Beatles' "Something". Compared to the opening show today's rendition is a tad better. Even though he doesn't add anything new, the song fits him well.
I Can't Stop Loving YouBefore he's able to sing the next song, Elvis has to drink a zip of water. Then he proceeds with a powerful performance of "I Can't Stop Loving You". Of course the fans know the tune from his double album "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis".
Sweet CarolineThe king stays with the materal from his live albums, this time he presents a track from his current one "On Stage - February 1970". Compared to Neil Diamond's original recording Presley's cover version is a major improvement, today's rendition even is better than the one on his aforementioned longplayer.
You've Lost That Lovin' FeelingDue to a feedback Elvis stops the intro and has his band start all over again. At the beginning of the second verse he makes a mistake and sings the lyrics of the first one. For some unknown reason the producers of this set decided to edit the recording. The compact disc, that accompanied FTD's book "Writing For The King" features the undoctored performance.
Polk Salad AnnieReturning to his live album "On Stage - February 1970" Elvis presents his interpretation of Tony Joe White's "Polk Salad Annie". In contrast to the version on the record the king fools around with the spoken introduction, which is quite entertaining. The performance itself is a powerful display of musical ability and Body English. Elvis shakes and moves in athletic and impressive style. As a result women in their 30s and early 40s turn into screaming teenagers.
IntroductionsTo get his breath back the king takes a minute or two to introduce his band. He also mentions the singer Sonny King, whom he met back in 1956 in Vegas and who is in the audience tonight.
Bridge Over Troubled WaterElvis continues his show with Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water". He makes the song his own and turns it into pure Presley. It's almost better than the original.
Suspicious MindsBefore closing the show the king once more wants to present his patented moves and does it with a 6-minutes performance of "Suspicious Minds". Yesterday he used his current track "Patch It Up" to do so, but I guess he thought the tried and tested "Suspicious Minds" was the better choice. As expected the ladies are beside themselves.
Can't Help Falling In LoveAudibly out of breath he kisses another woman, then Elvis starts to sing his closer "Can't Help Falling In Love". The show is over, in a few hours the king will be back.