SR's "A Thunder In The Night" was issued in 2006 and features an audience recording of the midnight show on August 1, 1971. The audio quality isn't all that great, but it's one of the very few (almost) complete recordings of one of these early Tahoe shows. The album is accompanied by a booklet of eight pages.

Even though Elvis recently had started to open his shows with the "Einleitung, oder Sonnenaufgang" from Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra", the fan didn't record the new intro. He switched on the equipment shortly before the king opened his mouth to sing "That's All Right". It's a powerful rendition, very similar to what can be seen in "That's The Way It Is".

Of course everyone knows that one from the previous years' album "On Stage - February 1970". However, the arrangement is new. The song is played faster and the bass singer of The Imperials has a prominent part. I like this "new" version much better, because it has more drive.

Now Elvis greets the audience and clowns around a bit. Then he moves on to "Jailhouse Rock", which hasn't been performed all that much since August 1969. Maybe it's a spontaneous idea to present the tune, because it sounds a tad underrehearsed. Nevertheless it's fun, especially because the king is really into it.

Elvis tries to sing "All Shook Up". Maybe it was a bit too daring, because the song cannot be staged off the cuff. After a few false starts the entertainer gives up.

The king makes up for the failed attempt by singing "Love Me Tender". Of course the ladies love it, especially because Elvis hands out some scarfs and even kisses a few lucky females.

The power-ballad gets a serious treatment and is sung just as well as on the record.

Elvis continues with material from his album "That's The Way It Is" and presents "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". For a second or so he looses track, but otherwise it's a very emotional and big-voiced performance.

During his recent Vegas stint Elvis often had left out the spoken introduction. Now it is back, even though garnished with some jokes. It's quite entertaining. The song itself is presented with a lot of Body English. Say what you want, but this man surely knows how to move his body! Afterwards the singer is completely out of breath and the band fills the time with an instrumental. Jokingly Elvis intones "If I Can Dream", the signature song of his television special.

Surprisingly the king continues the show with another rocker. Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" is stage in fast and furious style.

Of course Elvis knows, that the people come to hear the old stuff. So he sings "Love Me", a ballad from his second longplayer. It's a very nice rendition, quite close to the original.

The classic "Blue Suede Shoes" is combined "Whole Lotta' Shakin' Goin' On", which can also be heared on the recent "Elvis Country - I'm 10,000 Years Old" album. The medley is fun and the king runs at full throttle.

Elvis continues with a bluesy, modernized rendition of his first number one hit.

It's a good idea to present the mega hits in form of a medley. Elvis obviously has fun singing the old stuff.

The pop hits are followed by a ballsy rendition of the r'n'b classic "One Night". The only letdown is, that the fan had to turn over the cassette tape (the older ones might remember) and therefore a part of the performance is lost. 

Elvis makes fun of his appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show back in 1956 and fools around with the intro of "Hound Dog". Even though the king simply repeates the same four lines over and over again, he does it with so much power, that nobody cares about it. James Burton offers a nice guitar solo, which fits in very well.

Now Elvis moves over to the recent tracks again. His number one hit from 1969 gets a performance of five minutes, which includes another batch of physical action. None of the younger ones moves like good old Elvis!

To catch his breath the king now introduces the members of his band. In contrast to his previous engagements the guys are playing an instrumental while their boss is introducing them.

The program is continued with "I'm Leavin'", the king's brand new single. Today he doesn't take it too seriously and can't help but to clown around a bit.

As planned the band begins to play "Bridge Over Troubled Water", but Elvis wants to sing "The Impossible Dream" instead. Obviously this one was considered as an alternative, because everyone is on their feet and the song is started immediately. It's an emotional rendition, which also demonstrates the greatness of Elvis' voice.

Elvis returns to the golden 1950s and sings a track from his debut album. Nowadays "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" gets a fine, bluesy treatment. Great stuff!

This one could be found on the album "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" two years ago. The king still has fun with it and toys around with the final "yesterday".

Elvis has changed his mind and wants to do "Bridge Over Troubled Water". But he isn't really focused and has trouble remembering the lyrics and getting the timing right. Finally he gets his stuff together and delivers a big-voiced, very emotional finale.

Surprisingly Elvis comes up with the gospel "I, John". He recently had recorded the song in Nashville and it obviously was rehearsed for this season. Everyone on stage knows what to do. At the time the fans didn't know, that they had to wait for almost a year, before the song emerged on the gospel album "He Touched Me".

Without saying goodbye Elvis segues into his closing song "Can't Help Falling In Love". Because the tape ran out after 15 seconds, the song wasn't recorded in its entirety.