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The final concert RCA recorded for this project was the dinner show on August 13th. It was first released in 2009 by Follow That Dream Records on an album called "The Wonder Of You". At the time the audio mix was based on the original "That's The Way It Is" album, but this set offers a new perspective and sounds more crisp and vital.

 

That's All Right

The band plays the "Opening Riff" and Elvis enters the stage. This time he wears a white jumpsuit with a red ladder trim on the neckline. Today the outfit is known as "White Red Ladder Suit". Charlie Hodge hands his boss a brown guitar and the show is underway. As usual "That's All Right" is sung with a lot of energy. 

I Got A Woman

Elvis sings the word "well" and claims to have just eaten. He's obviously referring to the audience, who had been served supper an hour earlier. The old Ray Charles tune gets a fine outing. 

Hound Dog

Once again the king jokingly introduces himself as Fats Domino and claims to have recorded the next song just before the great stock market crash (1929). OK, it might have been some 37 years later, but it's obvious that he regards "Hound Dog" to be a song from a different age. He doesn't take it seriously and fools around with it. Nevertheless he injects quite a bit of energy and delivers an entertaining performance.

Love Me Tender

Now Elvis gives his instrument back to Charlie and apologizes to the audience for drinking so much water. It's not surprising, that he uses "Love Me Tender" as a tool to kiss some lucky ladies.

Don't Cry Daddy / In The Ghetto

The king turns to his more recent material and presents a medley of two of his previous years' hits. The sentimental ballad and the message song fit well and it's a good idea to present them in form of a medley.

I Just Can't Help Believin'

Of course Elvis claims not to like BJ Thomas' latest record, before he presents his own version of "I Just Can't Help Believin'". Today he mixes up the lyrics and finally has to laugh about his own mistakes.

Stranger In The Crowd

Maybe the mistake causes him to tell the audience about the movie project and the fact, that he and his band had to learn more songs as usual for the occasion. After claiming, that the next song would be released sometime in 1982 (twelve years after this concert) he sings "Stranger In The Crowd". Once again Elvis doesn't know the lyrics too well and mixes up the exact times, which are important for the story of the song. However, apart from these glitches the performance works quite well. The king himself obviously was not convinced of the song, after this single rendition he never sang it again. So it's good to have his one and only live performance of "Stranger In The Crowd" on an album.

Make The World Go Away

Ironically Elvis announces the next tune as a country song, that was written before Roy Acuff was born (back then Acuff-Rose Music Publishing was by far the biggest publisher of country music, so it was "unbelievable" that any song of that kind could have been written before Mr. Acuff had been born). His rendition of the ballad is very good.

Sweet Caroline

Even though he performs "Sweet Caroline" on a regular basis, Elvis gets lost in the lyrics and has to start all over again. The second try also isn't perfect and the king once again has to laugh about his mistakes.

You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling

The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" is performed well, but once more Elvis stumbles upon the words. Obviously the man is somewhat unfocused tonight.

Polk Salad Annie

As it might be expected, "Polk Salad Annie" isn't performed without a mistake, too. But this time it's not Elvis, but a trumpet player, who misses a break. Of course that doesn't keep the king from moving like a maniac and driving the ladies wild.

Introductions

While the audience still applaudes, Elvis starts to introduce his band. In-between the king also flirts with a lady in the audience. He also mentions the comedian and actor Art Carney, with whom he had appeared on "The Stage Show". However, the king mixes things up and claims, they had appeared on "The Jackie Gleason Show". The mishap is caused by the fact, that Gleason was the producer of "The Stage Show".

The Wonder Of You

Now Elvis talks a bit about his beginnings. Suddenly he realizes, that he had forgotten to introduce Millie Kirkham and quickly makes up leeway. Even though he had just talked about the good old days, the king now sings "The Wonder Of You", his penultimate single release. The performance is not as strong as the one on the record, but also worth listening to. Elvis is doing a lot of unusual stuff tonight, so I guess RCA and MGM had asked him to do certain songs on the last day of filming and recording.

Heartbreak Hotel

The series of oldies is kicked off with "Heartbreak Hotel", his first number one hit.

Blue Suede Shoes

Just like yesterday Elvis asks for an a-chord, but he sticks to the usual short version of "Blue Suede Shoes" and leaves out the guitar solo.

One Night

The r&b song once again is played slower than on the first days of the engagement and Ronnie Tutt seems to try a few things out.It's a strong performance by any means.

All Shook Up

Elvis meets the applause by claiming to have another 42 songs on the agenda, but soon adds "not really". His mega seller from 1957 is presented within a minute or so.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

By saying "Let's get serious" the king moves over to "Bridge Over Troubled Water". It's another heartfelt and vocally impressive rendition.

Suspicious Minds

Elvis uses his previous years' number one hit to pick up the tempo and present some more Body English. He also makes use of his harmony singer's nervousness and startles her.

Can't Help Falling In Love

"You're a beautiful audience, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all very much" says the king and starts to sing "Can't Help Falling In Love". The curtain comes down, the show is over.

 

 

 (C) Sony Music Entertainment /RCA Legacy