The midnight show Elvis gave on February 2nd certainly is a good one. The singer is in fine voice and even includes "Sweet Caroline", a favorite of his father-in-law. Compared to the other live shows of this set, this one is the best. The sonic quality is a tad below the other recordings, sometimes the digital manipulation can be heared while Elvis talks. But still the result sounds much better than a lot of the stuff FTD has released. 

The pre-show is over and everyone has used the break to order another drink or two. The lights are dimmed and the orchestra plays the "Einleitung, Oder Sonnenaufgang" from Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra". The band takes over with the "Opening Riff" and Elvis appears on stage. Charlie Hodge hands him his black guitar and soon the show is underway.

The king opens his personal appearance with "See See Rider", which gets a dynamic outing.

Elvis thanks the audience and sings the word "well". Then he pauses and says "That's it, folks!". Of course it's not and the singer launches into Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman". It's another fine rendition with a few bars of "Amen" thrown in. Afterwars Elvis gives his guitar back to Charlie Hodge and acknowledges the applause with a quick "Thank you".

Now Elvis presents his previous years single "Until It's Time For You To Go". In mid-song he accepts a gift from a fan, otherwise it's a serious and heartfelt performance.

Surprisingly the band begins to play "Sweet Caroline", a tune Presley has abandoned after his "Elvis Summer Festival 1971". At two points he fluffs the lyrics, but otherwise it's a good presentation of the well known Neil Diamond hit. Afterwards Elvis says "I'd like to dedicate that to Col. Beaulieu, and I almost forgot the words to it".

Up next is "Steamroller Blues", a song from his current "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" television special and also his forthcoming single. Today he invests more energy than a few weeks earlier in Honolulu and therefore I'd say he surpasses his effort on the record.

The dramatic "You Gave Me A Mountain" was also first released on the "Aloha" soundtrack, even though the king also sang it previously in his "Elvis On Tour" movie. Once again he delivers a fine performance.

Barely waiting for the applause to end Jerry Scheff starts the bass-intro of "Fever", a song from the album "Elvis Is Back", which was released some 13 years ago. During the presentation the king cleverly moves his legs and generates screams from the otherwise mature and well-behaved ladies. Elvis obviously has fun doing so and at times hardly can keep himself from laughing.

The next oldie is used for handing out scarfes. The females eagerly grab for the souvenirs.

Elvis continues his series of oldies with a good and fast rendition of "Blue Suede Shoes".

Now the king announces, that his first movie was "Love Me Tender" and that he likes to sing a little bit of the title song. As expected he uses the celluloid schmaltz to kiss the ladies, which is fun to watch.

With "Johnny B. Goode" the tempo is raised again. Elvis doesn't perform it as wild as back in 1969, but with much more zest than on the current "Aloha" soundtrack.

Mr. Presley teases the crowd with the first bars of "Hound Dog" and meets the reaction by claiming, the people wouldn't know what he's gonna do yet. He also jokes about Ed Sullivan filming him from the waist up to save the audience from his movements. First "Hound Dog" is presented in slow tempo, then the group launches in the usual rock'n'roll style. Elvis simply repeates the same four lines over and over again, but he invests enough drive to make it entertaining.

Now the king returns to his current material. "What Now My Love" is another one of the new songs on his "Aloha" album and today's rendition sounds even better. Elvis' voice sounds stronger and he appears more lively than in Hawaii. To make it short: It's an impressive performance all the way!

Of course the audience wants to hear "Suspicious Minds", Presley's number one hit from 1969. He delivers it well, moves to the music and ad-libs "No, not much" after having sung "You know, I've never lied to you". Elvis also kisses some lucky ladies in mid-song and ironically promises to be back.

A short break is taken to introduce the members of his crew.

The country song "I Can't Stop Loving You" is sung with zest and it's obvious, that the king likes it a lot.

Without doubt "An American Trilogy" is the highlight of the "Aloha" soundtrack. Today's version doesn't have to hide, I'd even say, that Elvis is in better voice than he was in Honolulu a few weeks earlier. It's an impressive performance and also a proof, that the king has surrounded himself with the best musicians available.

Elvis says "If we have done anything to make you happy, we've done our job" and launches into "Can't Help Falling In Love". Without a break the band starts to play the "Closing Riff" and the curtain comes down. Elvis shakes a few hands, bows in every direction and vanishes behind the curtain.