After having promoted the album on the sleeves of Elvis' two previous long players, RCA Victor finally released "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" on February 2, 1973. On the 24th of the month the double album entered the "Top LPs Chart", stayed for 52 weeks and peaked at number 1. On March 3rd Billboard also started to list "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" on the "Hot Country LPs Chart". Here it had a run of 31 weeks and also became a number 1 hit. By the end of February 1973 the record set had sold 500,000 times and was certified Gold. Later the RIAA updated the status to Platinum (1988) Tripple Platinum (1999) and Quintuple Platinum (2002). Outside the US "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" was also very successful, in the Asian area alone it was retailed more than 3.5 million times. Worldwide the double album sold ten million units, which translates to 1.5 billion paid streams of the complete album. Without doubt "Aloha" was a commercial triumph. Today this release keeps its place as one of the most popular Presley albums with more than a billion streams on Spotify alone.

The cover art was designed to fit the hoax of a global broadcast. A satellite is shown beaming the king all over the world, on the inside of the sleeve arrows are pointing at different regions and reading "We love Elvis" in the accordant languages. In fact many arrows pointed at places the special was never shown and "We love Elvis" was written in languages nobody in the area the show was actually seen in spoke. On the first edition the records themselves were housed in a cardboard sleeve, that showed a concert photo of Elvis, an advertising for the album "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" and a strange photomontage of a concert picture, Hawaiian ladies and an exotic backdrop. The album cover had a hole, so the photo on the sleeve for the records appeard at the right place. In later editions this extravagant packaging was dropped in favor of a normal album cover and the usual paper sleeves for the vinyl.

Even though the original album is available on the streaming platforms in Hi-Res, the best way to enjoy "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" is the 50th anniversary edition, as released in 2023. For this project the original tapes were scanned again with Hi-Res equipment and everything was newly mixed and mastered. Additionaly this version also features the rehearsal concert and the songs, that were taped after the main performance. A review of this special edition can be found HERE. 

The album was recorded on January 14, 1973 at the Honolulu International Center in O'ahu. "Aloha" was produced by Joan Deary and engineered by Al Pachucki, Dick Baxter and Rick Ruggieri. Technically it was a sophisticated project, because the show was recorded on Quadrophonic Sound. This was a forerunner of today's surround technologies and at first "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" was solely available in that format. Regular Stereo versions were sold exclusively to members of the RCA Record Club. Several years later it became clear that the Quadrophonic Sound format couldn't be established on the market and RCA switched completely to the Stereo edition. Elvis' band consisted of James Burton (guitar), John Wilkinson (guitar), Charlie Hodge (guitar & harmony vocals), Jerry Scheff (bass), Ronnie Tutt (drums) and Glen D. Hardin (piano). The harmony vocals were provided by J.D. Sumner & The Stamps (Ed Enoch, Bill Baize, Donnie Sumner and Edward Wideman), The Sweet Inspirations (Myrna Smith, Silvia Shemwell and Estelle Brown) as well as Kathy Westmoreland. Joe Guercio conducted his own orchestra, that was beefed up for the occasion with the string section of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. In total the double album has a running time of 62:48 minutes.

Just like "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" the new live set opens with "Einleitung, Oder Sonnenaufgang" from Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra". The classical piece soon leads into a rhythmical "Opening Riff" to which Elvis enters the stage.

Without a break the band moves on to "See See Rider", which is known from the album "On Stage - February 1970" and the recent movie "Elvis On Tour". Compared to both versions Elvis lacks drive and his voice has a tired undertone. The performance is not bad at all, but something is missing.

Of course the audience wants to hear the king's recent top 3 hit "Burning Love". Elvis meets the expectation, but once again his performance is very tame.

After a short, very nervous welcome of the audience the king sings the ballad "Something". Once again it's no musical feat, because Elvis sounds strangely lackadaisical and his voice has a nasal subtone at times. RCA Victor had recorded the song during the "Elvis Summer Festival 1970" and considered to release it on "Love Letters From Elvis". Finally the tape went into the vaults, so to the fans this was a new song from the king. Of course the ballad itself was anything but new. The composition by George Harrison had been a number 1 hit for The Beatles and was also included on their "Abbey Road" album.

This song had not been released by Elvis, too. Nevertheless some fans might have known it from "Elvis On Tour", which was shown in the cinemas in November and December 1972. On this album "You Gave Me A Mountain" is the king's best performance so far, but it cannot compete with his effort in the movie. The song was written and recorded by Marty Robbins, the most successful release was by Frankie Lane. In the musical soap opera the narrator suffers a sad fate. His mother dies at his birth and his father blames him for the loss of his wife. Later he has to go innocently to prison and his wife leaves him, taking their son with her. Surprisingly Elvis manages to sell this drivel in a believable and even dramatic way. He included "You Gave Me A Mountain" in his stage show in early 1972 and performed it (with interruptions) until 1977. A version from June 21, 1977 is featured on the album "Elvis In Concert".

The song was written by James Tylor, who recorded it in 1970. The first version was by The Masqueraders in 1968. In contrast to Tylor Elvis does not emphasize on the funny lyrics, but turns the song into some kind of Vegas blues with lots of brass and backup voices. Unfortunately he sounds somewhat tired for two thrids of the performance and he doesn't really get into it before close to the end.  To promote the forthcoming US screening of "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" RCA Victor released the track on a single in March 1973. It peaked at number 17 and sold two million copies. This one also had not been recorded by Elvis before.

The same applies to "My Way". Four years earlier Frank Sinatra had released the song on an album of the same name and was able to establish another signature song for him. The original is called "Comme D' Habitude" and was written by Claude Francois, Jacques Revaux and Gilles Thibault. Later Paul Anka added English lyrics. Elvis performs "My Way" very well. Another version can be heared on "Elvis In Concert", released in October 1977.

Just like on "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" the king offers a routine performance. It's a quick nod to the past.

The Chuck Berry classic had been featured in 1969 on the double album "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis". This version rocks like hell, but the the recent outing is tame and uninspired. To make it worse Elvis looses track and has to mumble a few words. The highlight of this performance is James Burton's guitar part.

The comparably weak oldies are followed by another power ballad. RCA Victor had taped two live performances in early 1972 (one in Las Vegas/Nevada, the other one in Richmond/Virginia), but both had gone straight into the vaults. So to the audience this was another new song by Elvis. He performs the number by Jimmy Rodgers very well, I guess he identified with the lyrics because of his own situation.

Just like the previous "Johnny B. Goode" this one also had been included on "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" in 1969. And once again it is obvious how much Elvis had lost interest in his classics and how little energy he was willing to invest in his performances by now.

Now the king announces the saddest song he's ever heard. Without doubt "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is one of the highlights of this show. Elvis sings with lots of emotion and one believes him every single word. By the way, the Hank Williams classic was another song the audience didn't know from the king yet. RCA later released a remix on the album "Welcome To My World".

The king stays on the field of country music and presents "I Can't Stop Loving You". This one had already been released on "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" (1969) and "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972). Although his recent performance isn't bad at all, it doesn't match his earlier efforts.

The same applies to "Hound Dog". For a minute or so Elvis rattles off the same four lines over and over again and sounds as agressive as Bing Crosby.

Even though Elvis is not in great voice tonight, he does his best and manages to perform a sold and emotional version of "What Now My Love". It's a big arrangement with lots of orchestra, choir and drama. The original is called "Et Maintent" and was written by Gilbert Becaud and Pierre Delanoe. The English lyrics were added by Carl Sigman, who also wrote the lyrics of "Fool" (the b-side of the single "Steamroller Blues"). Once again "What Now My Love" was new to the fans and had not been included on any Presley record before.

Elvis throws in another oldie, but this time he performs it well. He toys with the audience, triggers reactions of the ladies and obviously has fun.

The country ballad is the final song on this album, the audience had not heard from Elvis before. In 1963 Jim Reeves had scored a number 2 hit on the "Country & Western Charts", the authors are Ray Winkler and John Hathcock. Here and there the king sounds a little insecure, in general he uses the song to have fun with the audience. In 1977 RCA made "Welcome To Me World" the title of a compilation album.

The sales giant of 1969 had also been included on "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" and "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" and once again the king's current performance lacked drive. It wasn't bad but the power was missing. On the tv screen it became even more evident. Instead of the athletic fireworks he had burned down in 1970 the audience got to see a person doing not much more than walking rhythmically from one side of the stage to the other.

Elvis introduces the musicians and singers and also announces that the show had generated 75,000 USD for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund. The nervousness of the king is very evident here.

Now the audience gets to hear a song from Kui Lee. Elvis had released it in 1966 on the soundtrack album of "Spinout", in 1972 he had started to present the ballad live on stage. The king performs this sad and tender song very well, it's certainly one of the highlights of this show.

Unfortunately one cannot say that about this medley. I guess one can find several inhabitants in every retirement home, who can perform this rock'n'roll medley with more zest than Elvis does here.

The lowpoint is followed by the highlight of this show. In the previous year live recordings of "An American Trilogy" had been released on a single and on the album "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden". Both versions were great, but this one tops them off. Elvis is focused, his voice sounds good and the larger orchestra adds more volume to the sound. It's a stunning performance by any means.

After several weak presentations of rock'n'roll songs Elvis finally comes up with a good one. The song isn't rushed, the arrangement includes a guitar solo and a piano solo and the king sings well. He even appears to enjoy what he is doing. If he had performed "Blue Suede Shoes", "Johnny B. Goode", "Hound Dog" and the medley in a similar way, the show had been much better. It's almost an insult of the audience to show them to be able to do rock'n'roll songs well, but not to bother in most cases.

Now the king tells the audience that he had made "Blue Hawaii" here about ten years ago and therefore wants to sing the next song especially for them. Of course this is pure humbug, because he closes (almost) every concert with "Can't Help Falling In Love". None of his live performances come close to the brillant studio cut, but once again the presentation here is his weakest so far. Without a break the musicians move to the "Closing Riff" to which Elvis leaves the stage.