Back in 2006 Fort Baxter released an album called "Shakin' Up The Great Lakes", which featured parts of the concerts Elvis gave on April 24th and 26th, 1977 in Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo. The title hints at the fact, that both cities are located in the state of Michigan, which borders on four of the five big lakes of the USA. However, I don't think Elvis shook anything up with the concerts he gave there in 1977.

The cover and the booklet are designed with photos from the accordant concerts and the tour, both shows were taped through the mixing desk of the sound engineer. In general the quality is good considering the source, albeit there is a noticable amount of hiss. At the time the technician didn't record the recurring stuff like "Also Sprach Zarathustra", "See See Rider", "I Got A Woman" / "Amen" and the "Introductions" and focused on the parts of the show, where Elvis might do something out of the ordinary. In Kalamazoo the engineer also stopped the equipment when his boss needed an additional break and had his harmony singers perform solo songs. So we also have to do without "My Heavenly Father" (sung by Kathy Westmoreland) as well as "Danny Boy" and "Walk With Me" (sung by Sherrill Nielsen). It speaks volumes, that both concerts fit on a single compact disc when leaving out all the time killing stuff!

For better clarity I have split the reviews of the shows. Just tap on the links to read about them.

Ann Arbor (April 24th)    Kalamazoo (April 26th)