Elvis opened the Vegas engagement on January 26th with a single concert. From the next day onwards he appeared twice each day, so the midnight show on this disc is the third show of the season. "Also Sprach Zarathustra" was not recorded, so the album starts with the "Opening Riff", to which the king appears on stage and receives his guitar from Charlie Hodge.

The performance of the opener mirrors the one taped a few days earlier for his "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" television special. It's a solid rendition, but it lacks the drive of what can be seen in the movie "Elvis On Tour".

The king toys around with the word "well" and jokes a bit with the audience. The Ray Charles classic "I Got A Woman" is presented in similar style, here and there Elvis injects a bit more energy. After a break the singer includes a few lines of the gospel "Amen", before he returns to "I Got A Woman" and throws his guitar back to his assistant.

Without welcoming the audience the king moves on to the next tune. It's the ballad "Until It's Time For You To Go". In-between Elvis kidds a bit with some ladies, but in general it's a serious rendition.

After saying "Thank you, you're a good audience" the singer presents a fine version of "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me".

As usual Elvis doesn't promote his records and so nobody in the Showroom Internationale knows, that "Steamroller Blues" will be his next single. Today he improvises a bit and sings the louder part as quiet as the first one. When he finally releases the braks, his singing doesn't match the music. His band is on their toes and reacts to their boss' slightest whim, but the large orchestra is much more stagnant. But Elvis always was a daring performer and never relied on the tried and tested procedures.

This is another new song from his "Aloha" soundtrack and it's also featured in the movie "Elvis On Tour". The king sings it well and with a lot of emotion, but he doesn't invest as much energy as he did last year when MGM filmed parts of his April tour.

After the new songs the king turns to his glorious past and performs "Fever" from his album "Elvis Is Back", which was released 13 years ago. He cleverly moves his legs to the beat and turns mature women into screaming teenagers. And I cannot blame them for making noises. Elvis is in great form, very slender and nicely tanned. He's a beauty, that's for sure.

Now the singer announces "I'd like to do a medley of some of my records for you", but doesn't perform a medley! Maybe he simply picked the wrong text module. However, he presents the ballad "Love Me" and hands out a scarf or another to the eager ladies at the edge of the stage.

Up next is the rocker "Blue Suede Shoes". Elvis' performance is not bad, but he neither takes much time to sing the song, nor does he invest too much energy. It's a quick nod to the past, nothing more.

The title song of his first movie is used for making contact to the ladies, kissing them and giving out scarfs. The music is nothing more than a tool to create the illusion of closeness. Of course the ladies are delighted and Elvis obviously has fun.

The Chuck Berry classic is presented as business like as "Blue Suede Shoes". But while Elvis' vocals leave something to be desired, James Burton and Ronnie Tutt use the opportunity to show off their talents.

Now Elvis jokes a bit about the past and starts to sing a slow version of "Hound Dog". Of course he soon switches to the well known rock'n'roll tempo, but still doesn't invest more energy than needed. Don't get me wrong, all the oldies are entertaining. But two or three years ago Mr. Presley still rocked the hell out of stuff like "Johnny B. Goode" or "Hound Dog".

With "What Now My Love" the king returns to his recent material. He also returns to form, because suddenly his voice is full of power and emotion. It's nothing but an impressive performance, the orchestra and the harmony singers also sound very good!

His top hit from 1969 gets a tame presentation. Of course Elvis still moves to the music, but not as wild has up to 1971. 

The introductions of the musicians and singers wasn't recorded in its entirety. But as usual Elvis keeps it short.

Remember the old soundtrack to the movie "Spinout"? Here RCA hid a beautiful rendition of the ballad "I'll Remember You". Today's version is even better, really great!

The former country ballad is presented as powerfull as on the album "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden", albeit today the singer jokes a bit with a lady in front of the stage. It's a good rendition and the king obviously likes the song a lot.

The same applies here. The medley of traditionals also is a display of pure professionalism. The singers, the band, the orchestra - they all deliver a top notch performance, not to speak of the lead vocalist, who sings better than ever.

Now Elvis wants to do "Burning Love", his top 3 hit from last fall. He really rocks the house, which makes me think about what he could have done with stuff like "Hound Dog" if he'd only cared for his old songs. Maybe Mr. Presley doesn't want to be a rock star anymore, but he certainly has the abilities.

While Elvis hasn't welcomed the audience, he takes some time to say goodbye. Then he sings "Can't Help Falling In Love", the golden curtain comes down and the show is over.