The lights are dimmed and the orchestra plays the "Einleitung, oder Sonnenaufgang" from Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra". Ronnie Tutt takes over with a drum staccato and the band joins in for the "Opening Riff". The king appears on stage, greets the crowd and gets his guitar from Charlie Hodge.

The opening song is presented well, but lacks some power. But who can blame Elvis, it's his third concert in a row.

The same applies here. It's a somewhat subdued performance. After everything is said and done, the king gives his instrument back to Mr. Hodge.

Elvis greets the audience with a short "Good morning" and sings the country ballad "Help Me Make It Through The Night". It's another ok performance, which cannot really compete with the king's earlier efforts.

Slowly Elvis gets the motor running. The a-side of his latest single is his most powerful performance so far. He also adds some humor and sings "I'm a steamrollin' mother".

The power-ballad is also presented well, albeit not with as much drive as in the recent movie "Elvis On Tour".

Elvis doesn't take this oldie seriously. In-between he jokes with the crowd and the band. It's quite entertaining and everyone's having a good time.

Not much time and energy are wasted on the rock classic "Blue Suede Shoes". The fans love it anyway.

I seriously doubt, that Mr. Presley would have become the "King Of Rock'n'Roll" if he had performed like this in the 1950s. But his medley of "Long Tall Sally", "Whole Lotta' Shakin' Goin' On", "Mama Don't Dance" and "Shake, Rattle And Roll" is fun and a nice reminder of the good ole' days.

Instead of "I'm Leavin'" the king now opts for "My Way". If you have watched the "Aloha" special closely, you saw him reading the words from a sheet. Today this is not the case, maybe that's why he suddenly stumbles upon the lyrics. This glitch aside it's a fine performance.

Of course the king can remember the lyrics to "Hound Dog". Well, it would have been some kind of art to forget one of the four lines, he's repeating over and over again.

Compared to the album "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" today's rendition is tamer. Maybe the two other shows have worn him out. But Elvis is spot on during the finale and sounds as impressive as ever.

The singer's last number one hit (last year he came close with "Burning Love", but didn't make it to the top of the charts) is presented well, but also in energy saving mode.

Elvis introduces the members of his vocal groups and the band.

This performance is the opposite of the one on the "Aloha" album. Somehow the king cannot take the ballad seriously. He's constantly joking and flirting with the audience, it almost appears, that both parties crack each other up. It's nothing anyone could release on an album, but it's very funny and very entertaining. Everyone is having a ball.

The joshing and joking seems to have pumped some life into the singer. "I Can't Stop Loving You" is sung with more zest than during the "Aloha" show and it's quite obvious, that Elvis likes the tune a lot.

The 3:AM performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" cannot compete with the previous one, but it's still a very good outing. Once again Elvis repeates the finale.

Now Elvis is running at full throttle. He wants to stray from the usual repertoire and sing "The Impossible Dream". Unfortunately Joe Guercio hasn't rehearsed the song with the Al Tronti Orchestra and so it cannot be performed. Then the king suggests "For The Good Times", but that one wasn't prepared either. So he turns to "Funny, How Time Slips Away". The country ballad doesn't need the support of an orchestra and can be done on the spot.

Once again the king asks for "The Impossible Dream" and Glen D. Hardin even plays the first few bars. But the conductor definitively tells his boss, that the song cannot be staged off the cuff. Elvis then suggests "It's Over", another one of the new songs on the "Aloha" soundtrack. This one was rehearsed and can be performed. Maybe the king is a bit too daring tonight, because here and there he seems to have trouble to remember all the words. But hey, this is a bonus concert and it's great to see an entertainer, who doesn't do the same songs over and over again.

While the audience still applauds, Elvis starts to sing "Release Me". The band is on their toes and joins in. But the king has caught the wrong key and sings way too high. After the first verse he stops and looks for something else to sing.

To everyone's surprise his choice is "Faded Love", a tune from his longplayer "Elvis Country - I'm 10,000 Years Old". It has never been a part of Elvis' regular show and so it's more a jam than a worked out performance. But it's great to experience the guys reacting to each other so spontaneously and simply having fun.

If it can't get any better, one should stop. This is exactly, what Elvis does. He says goodbye and bows out with "Can't Help Falling In Love". The band takes over with the "Closing Riff" and the king disappears.