"Dragonheart" is neither a cheap martial arts flick from the 1970s, nor an expensive Netflix series from the 2020s. It's the name of a compact disc, released in 2003 by Follow That Dream Records. It contains a soundboard recording of Elvis' show in South Bend on October 1, 1974. Just like on the previous day the king appeared at the Athletic And Convention Center in front of 12,301 people and wore the "Chinese Dragon Suit", which can be admired on the cover of the album.  The engineer didn't record the opening "Also Sprach Zarathustra", so the concert starts directly with "See See Rider". FTD made up for the loss by adding three bonus tracks.

The usual opening song is presented with power, but it's an unbalanced performance. He screams out several lines and appears to be out of breath on others. His talking is very fast, Elvis sounds strangely hyped-up.

The Ray Charles classic is sung in similar style. I guess, many people in the arena considered the performance to be simply energetic, but listening to the procedure several decades later, Elvis gives the impression of being under the influence of more than just adrenalin. However, as usual the king includes a few bars of the gospel "Amen" and offers his bass singer an opportunity to display his deep voice. Afterwards Elvis welcomes the audience and philanders with some fans.

The ballad is used to make further contact with the visitors of the show and to hand out some scarfs.

The rock'n'roll classic is another uneven performance. Some lines are belted out, on others Elvis sounds strangely shaky and nasal. Of course the audience doesn't care about the vocals. They just care about seeing the king live in front of them.

For the first time this evening Elvis proves, that he can do much better. He gets a grip on himself and sings a nice version of this beautiful ballad. Without doubt, this is his best performance so far.

Maybe the staccato-like rhythm simply fits the king's hyped-up condition, but "Big Boss Man" is another winner.

Elvis uses the oldie to push the ladies over the edge by simply shaking his legs. Say what you want, but the old magic still works.

The same applies to "Love Me Tender". Elvis hands out scarfs by the dozen and even kisses some lucky girls. His vocal performance is questionable, he talks more than he sings.

The king toys around with the intro, but instead of following up with a rockin' version of the classic, he mumbles through the same four lines over and over again. But you guessed it, the audience doesn't care.

In contrast to the previous two oldies Elvis still cares for his first number one hit and presents it well.

The country pop has been added recently and the king obviously likes the tune.

The power ballad offers an opportunity for Elvis to shine and he surely is able to impress the audience. But compared to the versions on the album "That's The Way It Is" (1970) or in the movie "Elvis On Tour" (1972) his voice sounds noticably worse and he doesn't hold the notes long enough. Maybe his breath is too short, maybe whatever circulates through his system prevents him from taking enough time.

Unfortunately the king does take much time for the introduction of his musicians and singers. Too much time. All the members of his backup groups are introduced by name and most of the band members play a solo. Elvis joins Glen D. Hardin on "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", but sounds completely hyped up. He's lightyears away from the great renditions in the movie "Elvis On Tour" (1972) and on the album "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974).

For a minute or so the singer mumbles through "All Shook Up".

He doesn't care much more for "Teddy Bear" or "Don't Be Cruel". But now he once again throws scarfs into the audience, which is obviously enough to keep the folks happy.

Now Elvis calles out the goup Voice to sing "Killing Me Softly". Due to legal reasons FTD could not release the track, so the compact disc continues with "Let Me Be There". While his recent live album includes a very good rendition of the song, he now screams more than he sings. Maybe Elvis thinks, he injects some power, but in reality he's just blaring out the words.

Thankfully the king's biggest selling record is performed better, even though one might think, that Elvis had some problems remembering the lyrics. It's not a good performance, but much better than the renditions of many other oldies.

To charge the soap opera with even more drama, Elvis speaks parts of the lyrics and belts out some others. It total his performance is completely over the top.

Once again the king is yelling out the lines, but somehow it fits the rock'n'roll classic. Today's rendition isn't nearly as good as the one on the album "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" (1969), but still better than the tired presentation on the "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" show (1973).

For some reason Elvis feels the urge to talk about his jewelry. But then he sings the "Hawaiian Wedding Song" and does it surprisingly well.

As the king wants to bow out, somebody in the audience asks for the "Steamroller Blues". Elvis obliges and yells out his previous years' top20 hit.

Now the end of the show has come and the king sings "Can't Help Falling In Love". He poses for pictures, shakes a few hands and leaves to the sounds of the "Closing Vamp".

When the album was released, the fans went wild: A new song from Elvis Presley! But in fact, Glen D. Hardin just plays the usual "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" while the king sings something else. Not good at all, but at least rare.

Elvis is obviously drugged and sounds, as if he's about to fall asleep anytime.

In contrast to "Blue Christmas" Elvis is yelling like there's no tomorrow and wrecks the finale.