The final two compact discs of the set are dedicated to the fake recording session on March 30th and the rehearsal session on March 31st. MGM wanted to show the king in the studio and also during the preparations for the concert tour. Because Elvis had no intention to have a camera crew around while recording songs, he simply faked a session and re-recorded some of the stuff he had taped the previous days. He also usually didn't rehearse before a tour, because the preparations were done before each Vegas stint. The tour concerts simply mirrored the casino shows and didn't need additional preps. But being paid a million dollars for the movie, he still went through some of his concert songs. The "rehearsals" were done with the same musicians, with whom Elvis had recorded the previous days. So the bass player was Emory Gordy instead of Jerry Scheff and The Sweet Inspirations were not around, too. Of course the orchestra also didn't participate in the rehearsals. However, it's interesting to hear the concert standards without the female harmony voices and the orchestra. In many cases the simpler approach sounds even better, especially because some of the tunes were taken at a slower tempo.

During the first performance Elvis gets lost in the lyrics and finally has to stop. During the second attempt the king jokingly alters the words and sings "...the flames are now licking my peter", which cause him and Charlie to laugh. Finally Elvis and the band archive a serious performance, good enough to be shown in the movie. As usual Felton Jarvis is happy and tells his boss "It's a gas!".

The first take is a rehearsal. Elvis and The Stamps try out some harmonies and the band plays various parts of the song. Take number two is stopped by the king close to the end of the song, because he hears too much of himself on his headphones. To check out the new setup he sings a bit, then the harmony vocalists as well as the band join in. When everything sounds right, they stop the procedure for another serious attempt to record the ballad. Facetiously Elvis alters the first line from "don't look so sad, I know it's over" to "don't look so bad, put on some make-up". The following rendition of "For The Good Times" is a solid effort. Before the next take is started, the king wants to hear a little more of Charlie's voice. To tease him, he adds "very little". The performance itself once again is a very good one. At one point James Burton has to add a few bars, because Elvis missed his cue. But if one doesn't know the song, it doesn't sound like a mistake. The king wants to do another take, because he thinks that Charlie and he were not 100% in sync. After the performance, which again was very good, Elvis intones a few lines of "El Paso". Now someone asks "What are we doing?" to which Elvis replies "Same thing". At this point, I don't know why the king was singing "For The Good Times" over and over again. MGM had a decent version in the can, so there was no need to repeat the song. The next attempt starts well, but then Elvis forgets the words and has to stop. He tries once more and this time everything works well.

Even though the group had not recorded "Johnny B. Goode", they want to do a studio version of the Chuck Berry classic for the cameras. The first take is cancelled by Elvis, because he cannot hear the electric guitar on his headphones. The second attempt doesn't work, because now the king cannot hear himself. After the set up is fixed, the king and his crew finally produce a complete version of "Johnny B. Goode". MGM would later use the recording for the opening credits of "Elvis On Tour". However, the digital release and the blu ray editions of 2010 and 2023 featured "Don't Be Cruel" due to copyright issues. But back to "Johnny B. Goode": The rendition is much slower and tamer than the king's live recording from 1969. Elvis also doesn't invest as much energy and sounds much less agressive. To be honest, he doesn't sound agressive at all. But somehow it works and sounds quite good.

The performance is already underway, when the recording is started. Jokingly Elvis sings "tell me, that your sweet ass hasn't died". Shortly afterwards the performance falters and Ronnie Tutt is asked to lower the microphone, so the toms are picked up better. The king threatens Felton Jarvis to sabotage his recording machine and apologizes afterwards, claiming not having wanted to hurt his feelings. During the next attempt Elvis gets lost in the lyrics and repeats the "ass" joke. He mutters "Shit, the sooner we get over with it, the better". What follows, is not just a complete version of "Always On My Mind", but a performance, that's just as great as the official master!

The first attempt is complete, but taken at a very slow tempo. Red West, Elvis' bodyguard and writer of the tune, criticizes this and Elvis passes the matter to Ronnie Tutt. The king also thinks, that he can do it better. He certainly is right, the second take isn't just an improvement, but downright as good as the official studio master. During the fade-out Elvis toys a bit with the "ooooohhhh"-part and finishes the performance by singing "we should be out by now".

The rehearsal-part of the discs start with "Proud Mary". Because the orchestra isn't present, there are no trumpets around. And tell you what? They are not missed.

Elvis announces "Never Been To Spain" and adds "...but you've been there". At the beginning he's clowing around, but then a full-blooded performance evolves. Once again the usual horns cannot be heared anywhere and once again they are not to be missed.

After intoning the "Mule Skinner Blues" the king starts "You Gave Me A Mountain", but stops the performance due to a feedback. He starts over again, but doesn't manage to present a complete rendition of the power ballad, because he has forgotten the lyrics.

Compared to the studio recording this version is played a bit faster, which fits the song well. It also sounds much better without the strings.

This one also works well without the orchestra, but I wouldn't say it sounds better. Compared to the live versions of the period, "Polk Salad Annie" is taken at a slower tempo. It's also funny to hear The Stamps sing the part of The Sweet Inspirations.

The rehearsal version of "Love Me" is also played slower than the renditions on stage. It fits the ballad way better, because back in 1972 Elvis started to rush it. Even though the tune was sung during every concert, the finale doesn't work out and the king and his crew start all over again.

In the studio environment "All Shook Up" is performed exactly like in concert.

Elvis asks for the key and jokes a bit with the band. Because the female backup harmonies are missing, the king jokingly says "C'mon, Inspirations". At one point a member of The Stamps imitates them, which causes some laughter.

The medley sounds like it does on stage.

The same applies to "Hound Dog". It's completely pointless to "rehearse" all these oldies, because the group does them every night and presumably can do so in their sleep. I don't know why Elvis felt the urge to sing these tunes for the MGM cameras.

The king announces the song, starts to sing and the band joins in. He wonders if there was an intro and after a tryout the ballad gets a proper start. Here and there Elvis misses a note, but in general the performance works well. Without the orchestra it sounds less bombastic. At the end the king notes, that the tune should be played a bit faster. The group tries a few bars, then Elvis moves on to "A Big Hunk O' Love".

Without the orchestra the song sounds more like rock'n'roll than the stage version. Due to some confusion during the first walkthrough, Elvis sings the song twice.

The rehearsal of "See See Rider" begins with the drum roll of the "Opening Riff". It's a solid rendition with Elvis sounding much more alive than during "All Shook Up" or "Hound Dog".

Elvis intones "You Gave Me A Mountain", but then suggests "Let's do this ballad...For The Good Times". During the performance he wants Charlie Hodge to provide a harmony voice. At one point he also misses his cue and forgets to sing. Afterwards Elvis says "We wheren't together on the harmony" and wants to go through the ballad once more. Unfortunately he forgets the lyrics and ends the performance by saying "I blew it". The next try doesn't work out, because his voice cracks. Finally Elvis and his group manage a complete and satisfactory rendition of "For The Good Times".

Elvis starts to sing "Well, hello there", but the band doesn't join in. The second try works better, but after some time the king says "It's too fast, just a shade too fast". It's somewhat strange, because the musicians play the song just like they do on stage. However, the next attempt is taken at a slower tempo, which fits the song very well.

The country ballad is followed by another version of "Burning Love". During the finale the group isn't sure how often to repeat the "hunk-a-hunk-a burning love" part. The performance falters the the guys start all over again. This time it works better, but the nobody seems to know how to end the song. Finally Elvis asks "But how we gonna fade it on stage?". Even though the problem remains unsolved the king moves on to the next song.

Compared to the version on the album "Elvis Now" the ballad is taken at a faster pace, which is an improvement. It also sounds better without the strings.

For whatever reason the king wants to sing "Can't Help Falling In Love". Jokingly he pretends to sing "fags" instead of "fools". Somehow the stupid, corny joke matches the pointlessnes of this "rehearsal".

For me this is the highlight of the final disc. During the "Elvis Summer Festival 1975" many people wondered, how the king and his band were able to fulfill requests for songs like "Young And Beautiful" within a second, even though theses tunes had never been part of the live show. The reason is simple: At some point these songs were planned to be performed live and had been rehearsed! After a false start and a little joke (Elvis sings "You're so young and I'm so...") a really nice performance evolves. It's a pity, that the king never worked on stuff like this and made it a regular feature of his show.

This is another highlight. It's played a bit slower than on stage and without the orchestra and the truckload of harmony singers "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" is a real gem. At the end Elvis says "Everybody was right, but Charlie".

In 1972 the king didn't sing "Release Me" all that often. Once again the rehearsal version is played a tad slower and once again it improves the song.

Starting with a drum roll, we get to hear another rendition of "See See Rider". It's as good as the first one.

Simulating a real concert, Elvis continues with "Proud Mary". It's another solid effort!

Just like on stage the king follows with "Never Been To Spain". Once again it's done very well.

Standing around the piano (played by Charlie Hodge) Elvis and the group perform some gospel songs, mostly from his current religious album "He Touched Me". It's obvious, that the king loves this kind of music. But it's also obvious, that Colonel Parker might have suggested to do a little promotion while presenting the spiritual side of his client.

Charlie starts to sing "Rock My Soul" and the guys instantly join in.

After searching for the right key the boys throw themselves into "You'd Better Run". Charlie Hodge sings the lead vocals, Elvis tries to be a bass singer. But of course he is a baritone and isn't able to sing nearly as low as JD Sumner.

Compared to the version on the album "He Touched Me", the song is taken at a slower tempo. At one point the correct note is missed big time, but considering that we hear just a few guys standing around a piano the performance is awesome.

The group starts with "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus", but quickly moves on to "Nearer My God To Thee". They especially seem to enjoy the harmonizing during the chorus.