In March 2020, thirteen years after the
book/cd combo "Elvis Presley Live In LA", Follow
That Dream Records released another two shows
from Elvis' short 1974 tour of California. This
time Sony's own collector's label offered the
final concerts, which took place on April 12th
and 13th at the Selland Arena in Fresno and at
the Swing Auditorium in San Bernadino. The
compact discs are housed in a 5" digipak, that
is nicely designed with photos from the tour and
a ticket stub for the king's show in Fresno.
Because the tape of the Fresno show was FUBAR
(Fucked Up Beyond All Repair), the final four
tracks were taken from the recording of the
first show in San Bernadino on April 10th. The
opening theme "Also Sprach Zarathustra" was
neither taped in Fresno, nor in San Bernadino.
In Fresno the engineer even didn't bother to
start the recording equipment before the middle
of "See See Rider". In San Bernadino the last
part of "Can't Help Falling In Love" wasn't
taped, too. For me the loss isn't all that
great, because these elements are part of almost
all Presley shows from 1972 to 1977. It is said,
that both recordings are running a little too
slow, but if that's the case, I cannot make it
out.
CD 1 (April
12, 1974: Fresno)
CD 2 (April
13, 1974: San Bernadino)
Verdict
The king invests a little less energy in
his shows than he had in March, but he's in
fine voice and good mood. The set list of
the concerts is a nice mix of older and
newer material.
(C) Follow That
Dream Records / Sony Music Entertainment