On July 24th Elvis and the group continued to rehearse, but this time at RCA Studio C in Hollywood/California. On the 27th and 28th of the month he also rehearsed there. All these sessions were not part of the shootings, because the men needed time to focus on the preparations. However, on July 24th Rick Ruggieri and Mickey Crofford made professional 16-track recordings. Back then this was pure hightec (most studios still used 8-track machines) and RCA planned to use the equipment to record the forthcoming live shows. Compared to the previous recordings of this set, this one is a huge step up. Everything sounds crystal clear and the mix is very good, too. https://jbw.al/showthread.php?tid=4272&page=143

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The performance starts with a drum intro, then James Burton joins in with his guitar. It's not as smooth as in the movie, but by now it's clear, that the show would be opened with "That's All Right". The tempo also matches the one of the live performances. https://jbw.al/showthread.php?tid=4262&page=561.....poRnAnCroNOItRAt

Elvis hums the first bars of the Ray Charles hit, then starts to sing it. Because "I Got A Woman" had been performed during his previous stints at the International Hotel, the song works right from the start. Afterwards he imitates an old man and says "Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here. Because it's our first show, we will take it easy". In the same style he also intones "I Got A Woman" and sounds like a senior citizen right before dozing off.

After some fooling around Elvis announces to try "The Wonder Of You". Jokingly Glen Hardin plays the intro like a lounge-pianist, but then the power-ballad is performed the usual way. Once again everybody knows their part, just the lead vocalist can't remember all the words and at times sings pure drivel. Afterwards the group rehearses the finale.

Of course the new single is to be presented on stage, too. Compared to the performance on July 15th the current presentation sounds much more secure, in-between Elvis cues the band by saying "heavier", when he wants a bigger difference to the soft parts. Once again the king gets lost in the lyrics.

Despite his problems Elvis moves to the next song. By now it's not surprising to hear him muble away some of the words, at the end Ronnie Tutt obviously wants to finish the performance while his bandmates want to continue. Again the problems are no cause to repeat the song, maybe the group assumes to iron out the errors during the following rehearsal sessions.

This new song works well, albeit Elvis mixes up the times and therefore destroys the meaningfulness of the lyrics. By now it's obvious, that the instrumentalists know the tunes better than their boss.

Compared to the other tunes, this one shows the biggest need for rehearsals. Once again the band knows their part, but Elvis stumbles upon the timing and the phrasing. Nevertheless he leaves it at that.

The Beatles' hit works much better, even though the timing causes Elvis some trouble. It's may not be surprising for you to read, that the musicians perform flawlessly.

Because it had been performed regularly during the previous Vegas stint, "Don't Cry Daddy" works well. Here and there the king fools around with the lyrics, sings "...as I think of throwing up" (instead of "giving up") and changes the chorus to "don't cry Charlie".

Now Elvis wants to perform the tune a tad faster. This time he turns the serious ballad into pure comedy. He sends the daddy on a horror-trip, tells him to get off his ass and the children get beaten. Certainly not sensitive or politically correct, but very funny! Afterwards we hear dialogues and jokes, Jerry Scheff starts to play "Polk Salad Annie". In the background someone says, he has to use the bathroom before the session can be continued. Elvis comments "We can take a break first".

Elvis sings "When I said", but the band doesn't join in. The second try fails, too. These mishaps cause some laughter. When the group finally finds into the song, a very listenable performance evolves.

Once again Jerry plays the intro of "Polk Salad Annie" and this time everyone joins in. The tune has been a regular feature of the previous stint, so it works right from the start.

At first the group wants to do a walkthrough of "Patch It Up", but then Elvis settles for "Bridge Over Troubled Water". In contrast to many other songs he takes this one seriously. In mid-song he says "I phrased that wrong" and corrects himself. Here and there he misses a note and emotionally this take isn't as strong as his live performances. But in general the performance works and the details can be ironed out later.

The classic was performed during both of Elvis' previous stints, so this rehearsal is nothing but a little brush up.

Even though "Just Pretend" is a new song, it works very well, too. The king experiments a bit and sings some parts in lower pitches than he has done in the studio or will do on stange. The finale reminds Elvis of "Love Letters" and he practices the part with Ronnie Tutt. Afterwards the singer fools around a bit, turns "Don't make me wanna go home" into "Don't make me wanna go to the bathroom" and intones "Love Me Tender" and "Sweet Caroline".

James Burton picks it up and starts to play the intro of "Sweet Caroline". After some fooling 'round the group finally performs the tune. As expected it works well, after all it has been done each and every night during the previous engagement at the International. Just like he sometimes does on stage Elvis changes the lyrics and sings "...and spring became the mattress".

In July/August 1969 the Bee Gees' hit "Words" has been performed on several occasions and Elvis obviously plans to include the tune this season as well. Apart from the lead vocalist missing a note the performance works well.

Of course Elvis knows, that the audience wants to hear his previous years' smash hit "Suspicious Minds". It also has been a regular feature of the show, so this walkthrough is just a little refresher.

James Burton plays the intro, but the rest of the group doesn't follow him. Now Elvis starts to sing and the guys join in. But it doesn't sound fully developed, nobody isn't sure about what to do. Afterwards certain parts of the song are rehearsed, finally the king says "Let's take it from that start, that I know where I am". The second walkthrough is taken at a slower pace and works better, albeit it's not perfect yet.

Up next is "Tomorrow Never Comes", but Elvis misses several notes and the band also doesn't really know what to do. The king repeats his joke from the studio sessions and intones "Running Scared".

Here the group and their lead vocalist are much better prepared. I am pretty sure, that "Mary In The Morning" was a serious candidate for the live show, while "Tomorrow Never Comes" was nothing more than a half-hearted try-out.

The rehearsal is continued with another new ballad, which is also working quite well. In-between Elvis cues the band, for example he can be heared saying "now the modulation". The king's vocals are not perfected yet, at one point he looses his step and sometimes his voice sounds strained. Afterwards the finale oft the song is rehearsed separately.

Now Elvis asks "Does anybody remember MEMORIES?". Obviously that's not the case, so he continues with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". It's not a serious walkthrough at all. Elvis misses the notes on purpose, changes the lyrics to "you make me just feel like shitting, 'cause baby, I feel like quitting" and produces hysterical sounds.

Once more the group picks up "I Just Can't Help Believin'". By now everybody knows what to do, James Burton tries out some new licks. However, they don't work all that well and so he later returned to the previous ones.

I guess "Heart Of Rome" was a contender for the show, because everybody knows their parts. But Elvis doesn't take it seriously, sings in hysterical style and changes the lyrics to "I take a piss in every fountain". Not all that sophisticated, but funny.

After all the group rehearses "Memories", but everyone obviously considers the ballad to be a joke. The guys produce animal sounds and the lead vocalist changes the lyrics. The result is very entertaining.

The previous walkthroughs were more or less comedy skits, but now Elvis and the band get serious and present a great, hard rockin' rendition of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode". The king runs at full throttle and James Burton cuts loose on his electric guitar. Great stuff!

During the intro Elvis sings "oh shit" and he also has to laugh in-between. But in general this is a serious rehearsal and the country ballad works quite well.

Suddenly the king starts to sing the blues "Strarnger In My Own Hometown". As usual the band is on their toes and jumps right in. The result is a great blues jam, which I would have loved to see live on stage. Of course Elvis can't help to include some offensivenesses and also changes the lyrics to "I'm goin' back down to Memphis, I'm gonna start drivin' that motherfuckin' truck again".

The band plays an instrumental, to which Elvis starts to sing "I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water". It's obvious, that the group doesn't know the song too well, but it's fun to hear the king and his crew jamming along and having fun.