One and a half years after "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" RCA released the next concert album. With 400,000 copies in its initial sales period "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" sold twice as many units as "Good Times". On the "Top LPs Chart" it had a run of 13 weeks and peaked at number 33. On the "Hot Country LPs Chart" the album stayed for 21 weeks and made it to number 2. In 1999 the RIAA honored the domestic sales with a Gold Award. Globally "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" sold 1.5 million units, which translates to 225 million paid streams of the complete album or 2.25 billion paid streams of individual tracks. Compared to the sales disasters "Elvis Now" (1972), "Elvis" (1973), "Raised On Rock/For Ol' Times Sake" (1973) and "Good Times" (1974) this was an increase of 50%, but still it was barely the amount "Double Trouble" had sold (Elvis' worst selling album up to 1967) and not even a third of "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972). However, the king was recognized artistically by The Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences with a Grammy for his performance of the gospel "How Great Thou Art". Today "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" clocks in at 18 million streams on Spotify, split between the original version (6 million) and the Legacy Edition (12 million).

Because the king refused to attend photo sessions, the record covers usually were made up with pictures, taken during concerts. Ironically this live recording featured no concert photos of Elvis, but a shot of his "Graceland" mansion and a picture of the famous "Music Gates".

On the streaming platforms "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" is presented the way it was issued in 2016 as part of the set "The Album Collection". For this project all tracks were scanned with high-resolution equipment and remastered. Therefore the album can be presented with the golden Hi-Res emblem. The better sound of these versions is owed exclusively to the new mastering (the elimination of interfering noise). Because first one cannot turn an analogue recording into a high resolution recording just by scanning the tape with hd equipment and second even an old cd with 16 bit/44.1 kHz exceeds the auditory sense of a human being.

In 2014 Sony Music Entertainment also released a Legacy Edition of the album. This version includes a complete, remixed and remastered version of the concert as well as a mono recording of Elvis' appearance in Ronoake two days earlier and excerpts of a rehearsal session. The Legacy Edition is also available on the streaming platforms in Hi-Res and MQA and is the best source for this concert. For a review just tap HERE.

The album was recorded on March 20, 1974 at the Midsouth Coliseum in Memphis/Tennessee in front of 12,000 fans. The session was produced by Felton Jarvis and engineered by Mike Moran, Gus Mossler and Ron Olson. Elvis' band consisted of James Burton (guitar), Charlie Hodge (guitar and harmony vocals), John Wilkinson (guitar), Duke Bardwell (bass), Ronnie Tutt (drums) and Glen D. Hardin (piano). The lineup also featured the orchestra of the Las Vegas Hilton, conducted by Joe Guercio. The harmony vocals were provided by J.D. Sumner & The Stamps (Ed Enoch, Dave Rowland and Bill Baize), Voice (Donnie Sumner, Per-Erik Hallin and Tim Baty), The Sweet Inspirations (Sylvia Shemwell, Myrna Smith and Estelle Brown) as well as Kathy Westmoreland. Because RCA didn't want to release another double album "Also Sprach Zarathustra", "All Shook Up", "Steamroller Blues", "Teddy Bear" / "Don't Be Cruel", "Love Me Tender", "Fever", "Polk Salad Annie", "Suspicious Minds" and "Funny How Time Slips Away" were cut out. Besides that "I Got A Woman" / "Amen" was shortened, talking was edited and the false start of "Help Me" was eleminated. To improve the concert experience of the listener, Felton Jarvis also altered the audience reactions. In total the album has a running time of 41:57 minutes.

The album starts with the "Opening Riff", which leads directly into "See See Rider". The king and his crew are running at full throttle. After the song is finished, Elvis jokes a bit with the audience.

After a few "wells" the king starts "I Got A Woman". It's a dynamic performance, quite comparable to the one in "Elvis On Tour". This time JD Sumner demonstrates his bass voice twice, which takes a bit of the pace away. Afterwards Elvis welcomes the audience.

The arrangement of the ballad hasn't changed since the release of "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972) and "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" (1973). But here in Memphis Elvis appears more relaxed and even jokes with his entourage during the performance.

The SUN classic is the first highlight of the evening. During the chorus Elvis uses his voice to its full extend and effortlessly blows the roof off.

Just like during the "Aloha" show Elvis sings a medley of "Long Tall Sally" and "Whole Lotta' Shakin' Goin' On". Compared to the television concert he sounds more energetic today and has enhanced the performance with "Your Mama Don't Dance", "Flip, Flop And Fly", "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog". At the end he shakes to the brass sounds of the Joe Guercio Orchestra and comments "We were lucky, we ended all together". In the 1950s he certainly wouldn't have become the rock'n'roll king with a performance like this, but it's fun and therefore ok.

Now it's J.D. Sumner's time to shine, because the legendary bass singer takes over the lead vocals. Elvis can only be heared on the chorus, when he joins The Stamps Quartet. This track certainly was an incentive to buy the album, because the king had never recorded it before.

Another religious song follows. The hymn is arranged in more bombastic style than on Elvis' second gospel album and also offers the singer more opportunities to display his majestic voice. The audience is so enthusiastic, that the king spontaneously repeats the last part of the song. A year after the release of "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" the Academy Of Recording Arts & Sciences honored this performance with a Grammy.

As he had done in Vegas, Elvis announces "I Can't Stop Loving You" and starts to sing "Blueberry Hill" instead. He fools around with the lyrics of Fats Domino's hit and delivers a powerful, very lively rendition of "I Can't Stop Loving You".

When the concert took place, nobody knew Elvis' cover version of "Help Me". By the time the live album was released, the studio recording was known from the flipside of the king's top20 hit "If You Talk In Your Sleep". Elvis starts the song twice, because he was not in sync with harmony vocalist Charlie Hodge. To the amusement of the band and the audience he even repeats his introduction.

Even though "An American Trilogy" still sounds impressive in places, it has lost some of its flair. Compared to "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" and "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" the king has increased the tempo and also doesn't sing as accurate as he once had done.

This is the third new song of this album, at least new from Elvis. He presents the country pop with enthusiasm and it's obvious, how much he likes songs of this kind. The king even gives an encore and repeats the last part of the tune.

Now Elvis returns to the good ole' days and presents another classic. At times it sounds like a jam based on "That's All Right" and everyone on stage obviously has fun. When the instrumental part doesn't work out as planned the king changes the lyrics and sings "...the band I knew was gone".

Another track from 1956 follows, this time executed in perfection. It's very reminiscent of the version from "Elvis On Tour", at the end the king also can be heared saying "one more time" and repeating the last verse of the song.

The king quickly says goodbye and starts to sing "Can't Help Falling In Love". The band takes over with the "Closing Riff", Elvis takes a bow and leaves the stage. Al Dvorin has changed his typical sentence to "Elvis has left for Graceland" and doesn't forget to tell the crowd, that this show has been recorded.