Just like in 1972 and 1976 the show begins with the orchestra performing an excerpt of "Also Sprach Zarathustra". The band takes over with the "Opening Riff" and Elvis enters the stage. The previous October the king had reactivated an outfit from 1974 and worn the "Inca Gold Leaf Suit". Today he has done the same, but this time he selected the "Embroidered Arabian Suit". Even though he still fits into the old suit, his face looks a bit bloated. He also appears to be pale and doesn't give the impression of a healthy man.

As usual Charlie Hodge hands him a guitar and Elvis starts the show with "See See Rider". Todays' version is a solid one, at the end the king makes the ladies nervous by moving his legs. Mr. Presley is far from looking sexy or at least elegant, but for some reason the old magic still works.

Now Elvis toys around with the word "well". He sings it in different pitches, which are answered by James Burton with his electric guitar. Jokingly the king sings "well, when the saints", referring to the classic "When The Saints Go Marchin' In". The Ray Charles hit "I Got A Woman" gets a good outing, as usual Mr. Presley includes the gospel "Amen" and has JD Sumner showing off his bass voice. Today he pretends to be unhappy with his efforts to give him another opportunity to impress the audience. Then he returns to "I Got A Woman" and throws his guitar to Charlie. Facetiously Elvis tells the crowd to be glad to be back in Atlanta and announces to sing old and new songs as well as some tunes in-between. In the background James Burton repeats the opening chord of "Love Me". I guess he wants to keep his boss from talking too much and ruin the pace of the show.

The oldie is presented as always, here and there the king throws a scarf into the audience and has the ladies fight for the souvenir.

So far the concert was a rehash of the ones in October, but now Elvis substitutes "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" with "Fairytale". For the first time this evening the singer makes full use of his voice and one has to admit, that he still sounds quite impressive. Unfortunately the equipment stops working and the singer admits "My microphone just blew up". But his crew swapps the thing on the fly and the show is continued.

Returning to the old repertoire Elvis presents the musical soap opera "You Gave Me A Mountain". In contrast to the previous year he seems to have trouble to keep the momentum. For a short while he belts out the lines in powerfull style, but soon has to sing much lower. It almost seems that the lively rendition of "Fairytale" was enough to wear him out.

The good ole' "Jailhouse Rock" sounds as much like Vegas as in 1976, but it's a nice nod to the past and works well.

Now Elvis changes the program again. Last year he had continued with "All Shook Up", but today he asks Sherrill Nielsen to sing "O Sole Mio". The singer yelps in the highest pitches possible, which seems to amuse Elvis as well as the audience. Afterwards the king takes over with "It's Now Or Never". Once again he's able to raise his voice and impress with powerfully belted out lines, but he's not able to keep the level for a longer time.

This one also wasn't performed in October. The singer cannot compete with the version on the album "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974), but he does the best he can and delivers his best performance of the evening.

Elvis continues with another tune not sung last year, so in general the program offers some variety. The hit from 1961 is presented in a relaxed way, which I like very much.

With the medley of "Teddy Bear" and "Don't Be Cruel" the king returns to the old set list. As he had done last year, he uses the tunes to throw a truckload of scarfs into the audience and doesn't focus on his singing. Once again I get the impression, that Elvis doesn't really like these songs but feels obliged to do them.

The ballad "And I Love You So" gets a tender and sincere treatment, but compared to his rendition in October 1976 his voice now has a nasal touch and sounds much older at times. Don't get me wrong, Elvis still is a great singer. But he just doesn't sound like a man of 42 years.

Once again the king strays from previous years' set list and presents Frank Sinatra's signature tune "My Way". It's a great performance, very dramatic and emotional.

Just like in 1976 Elvis takes a lot (!) of time to introduce the band. Today James Burton even has to do two solos, to which the king mubles along. However, the ballad "Early Morning Rain" gets a nice outing.

Usually the slot after the "Introduction" is used to present the current single. But instead of "Moody Blue" Elvis still sings "Hurt", which was released by RCA a year ago. Elvis repeates the finale, but today there is some kind of missunderstanding between him and his band. It's certainly something rare, usually the king and his crew are a solid unit. In general the performance of "Hurt" is very good, without doubt it's one of the highlights. Afterwards Elvis chats a bit with the audience and also introduces Joe Esposito. He's one of his crew members and originally is from Chicago.

Just like last year Elvis wrecks the rock'n'roll classic by mumbling through the same four lines over and over again. At the end of his performance he shakes his chubby and stiff body to the brass sounds of the orchestra. Of course the fans love it, but to everyone else it looks more than just a little foolish.

In October the king had done a few more numbers after the over-long "Introduction", but today he suddenly says "Take it on" and the band segues into "Can't Help Falling In Love". Elvis poses to the sounds of the "Closing Riff" and leaves the stage. Maybe he has given us all he's got left.