The sound engineer didn't start the recording equipment before Elvis was on his way to the microphone, so "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and the "Opening Riff" are missing. The photo on the cover was made during the opening sequence of the show, so we know that the king wore the dark blue version of his variety of "Phoenix Suits". Even though he had gained quite a few pounds since May, he still managed to squeeze into the one-piece outfit. Nevertheless he had to use a new, wider belt. Ah...what about the song? It's performed with quite some drive and is a promising start of the show.

Now the king intones the word "well" in different pitches, which are repeated by James Burton with his guitar. After a while Elvis says "That's all, thank you very much". Then he launches into "I Got A Woman, another lively rendition. As usual he adds "Amen" to the Ray Charles classic and demonstrates a selection of his infamous moves. Suddenly he realizes, that only his upper body is spotlighted. Ironically he assumes, that the technician at the Hilton must be the same guy, who filmed his performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show". He hints to the fact, that back in 1956 he was filmed just from the waist up, to "save" the television audience from his devilish moves. The finale of "Amen" is used to demonstrate JD Sumner's bass voice. After everything is said and done, Elvis reprises "I Got A Woman" and throws his guitar to his assistant.

Before he moves on to the next tune, Elvis takes care of some ladies at the edge of the stage. Then someone hands him a helmet with a signal lamp and oversized glasses. By now the regular visitors of the singer's personal appearances know, that he loves this kind of ridiculous shit and tries it out for a laugh. Today is no exception from the rule and everybody has fun. Elvis' performace of "Love Me" is nothing special, he sings it the usual way.

Musically Mr. Presley stays in the past and presents "Trying To Get To You". He sounds a tad more laggard than on previous years' album "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis", but his voice appears to have grown. When he belts out the chorus even the most sceptical visitor of his show has to be impressed.

Now the king fast-forwards two decades and sings "And I Love You So", a beautiful ballad from his current longplayer "Elvis Today". At one point there's a small timing issue, but otherwise his rendition is as good as on the record.

As we all know, Elvis has gotten tired of his greatest hits a long time ago and he doesn't even try to hide it. Within a minute he mumbles through "All Shook Up" and one might raise the question, why the hell he doesn't replace the tune with something else.

His vocal efforts are not any better here, but the singer makes up for it by handing out scarfs to the eager ladies in front of the stage. They don't care for his singing, they are happy to be in the same room with their idol.

As soon as the applause has faded the band starts to play "You Gave Me A Mountain", but their boss isn't ready yet and has them starting all over again. However, the performance itself is quite impressive. Fat and fourty or not, if he wants to use his voice, Elvis sings as good as ever.

During the dinner show Elvis sang "Help Me Make It For The Night" for Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, the parents of his girlfriend Linda. Obviously he thinks he can do better and repeats his presentation. This time he doesn't mention the use of an idiot sheet, but if you listen closely, you can hear the rustling of the paper. After the first walkthrough the king is sure about the song and delivers it even better than on his album "Elvis Now". 

Up next is "Polk Salad Annie", a standard of the Presley show since half a decade. His current condition keeps him from performing athletics a' la "That's The Way It Is", but he does what he can and obviously has fun performing the swamp rocker.

Now Elvis needs time to catch his breath and so he introduces his band. Every member of his crew (minus John Wilkinson...for whatever reason) presents a short solo. Since August 1974 the intros have gotten longer, just as the singer has gotten heavier. Maybe there is a connection between the duration of the "Introductions" and Presley's weakening condition?

Freshly rested Elvis presents "Just Pretend", a song he hasn't done on a regular basis since 1970. And what can I say? Back then it was stunning, but now it's even better. I really whish the king would re-record it. Great stuff!

A few months ago Elvis has received a Grammy Award for his 1974 rendition of this gospel hymn. Today's arrangement is even more bombastic and the king's vocals are even more impressive. He even offers a reprise and tops it off! Vocally he's at his peak.

After a ballad and a hymn it's time for some rock'n'roll. For this season "Burning Love" has gotten a new arrangement and it sounds nothing but great. Elvis and his crew are rocking the house and once again I'd wish he re-recorded the track. This might be the best version of "Burning Love" ever!

Now several people begin to yell out requests. "It's Midnight" and "Softly, As I Leave You" are amongst them, but Elvis decides to do "Hound Dog". Not the wisest choice, because once again he listlessly mumbles through the rock'n'roll classic and one cannot help but thinking, he's trashing it on purpose. However, the crowd loves it. But they would also love to see him picking his nose for an hour. Suddenly Elvis starts to sing "Welcome To My World" and the band joins in. The whole thing lasts just for 30 seconds or so, but it's interesting to see the king and his crew acting so spontaneously. It's a pity, that it wasn't rehearsed.

With the next song the king fulfills the one of the requests, albeit without mentioning it. Sherril Nielsen does the singing while Elvis recites the lyrics. It's a touching performance and I'm pretty sure, that several people have tears in their eyes.

Due to the forthcoming 200th anniversary of the USA the king has decided to include "America (The Beautiful)" in his show. It's another emotional and vocally impressive performance. By the way: Elvis hasn't neither recorded "Softly, As I Leave You", nor "America (The Beautiful)" yet.

After two (in the Presley version) unknown songs, the king continues with "It's Now Or Never", the sales monster from 1960. Once again he delivers a great rendition, even better than the ones we've heard last year. As a bonus he also intones the Italian original "O Sole Mio".

For good measure Elvis throws in "Little Darlin'", a wacky tune from the 1950s. He rightfully doesn't take it seriously, but has fun with it and uses the opportunity to display his falsetto abilities.

Maybe the similar title reminds the king of "Little Sister". It's no regular feature of his show, but it obviously was rehearsed. It sounds very good and is presented so much better than "All Shook Up" and "Hound Dog".

In contrast to most of his shows Elvis takes some time to say goodbye to his fans, even wishing them a "Merry Christmas" and a "Happy New Year". Then he bows out with the usual "Can't Help Falling In Love". The curtain comes down, the concert is over.