It's an Easter Elvis Extravaganza!
Elvis On Tour: April 9, 1972, Hampton Roads - Elvis Presley
Oh, you thought we were done with Elvis? Silly amateurs. Of course I have the Elvis On Tour boxset, with the original film on blu-ray + 6 CDs of concerts and rehearsals. This, obviously, is the first concert in the set. We lose Elvis' vocals for most of I Got a Woman, so that's not fun. But the rest of this show is a delight. Elvis has some difficulties with the crowd and then gives his piano player some stick for playing Teddy Bear too fast. This rendition of Bridge over Troubled Water is killer, but someone tell Ronnie Tutt to calm down! Suspicious Minds also goes off the rails, but that's because Elvis is getting attacked by female fans or something. They brought more photo albums from the plane...
Highlights: You Gave Me a Mountain, I Can't Stop Loving You, Bridge Over Troubled Water, An American Trilogy, How Great Thou Art
8/10
Elvis On Tour: April 10, 1972, Richmond - Elvis Presley
Concert number two! Never Been to Spain is such an awesome song - I even found a live performance by Three Dog Night that was very enjoyable. Those dudes could sing. Some woman just yelled like she was having a minor orgasm. This show is certainly better in some ways, and not as great in others. The piano seems a bit more defined in the mix (often hard left) and it really lifts a few of the songs, because the playing is fantastic. I never enjoy when Elvis mocks Charlie Hodge - he is your dear friend, you should be nicer and not make the crowd think he's a dork. And his harmonies are perfect. Holy balls that ending for Can't Help Falling In Love is the stuff! The Elvis souvenirs are items you will treasure...
Highlights: Never Been to Spain, You Gave Me a Mountain, Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel, Bridge Over Troubled Water, I Can't Stop Loving You, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Can't Help Falling in Love
8/10
Elvis On Tour: April 14, 1972, Greensboro - Elvis Presley
Something is up with the mix on this album; it sounds a bit dull and I've had to kick up the volume a notch. Which is not what I need when I'm still recovering from a loud concert. So maybe it is just my ears getting tired after two similar sounding concerts? Hawtdam Elvis' voice on Bridge Over Troubled Water is phenomenal, but again Ronnie Tutt gets carried away. The setlist actually gets a bit of a change and a couple of new songs are added; Burning Love is performed with the caveat of "We don't know this one too well" and then they proceed to completely lose it halfway through. Man, Release Me is hilariously unkind. An Elvis button for $0.25? Get me four, please.
Highlights: Never Been to Spain, You Gave Me a Mountain, Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel, A Big Hunk O' Love, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Can't Help Falling in Love
7.5/10
Elvis On Tour: April 18, 1972, San Antonio - Elvis Presley
By chance, today is the 53rd Anniversary of this show! Let's hope it's a good one...
It is largely just a complete no-nonsense performance - very little jibber jabber or joking around and a big focus on putting on great performances. That is, until Suspicious Minds and Elvis completely loses the plot. They only make minor mistakes in Burning Love this time, and instead save that for An American Trilogy. They dropped Release Me? Bummer, I would have taken that over Funny How Time Slips Away yet again. A wonderful memento of this evening's show.
It is largely just a complete no-nonsense performance - very little jibber jabber or joking around and a big focus on putting on great performances. That is, until Suspicious Minds and Elvis completely loses the plot. They only make minor mistakes in Burning Love this time, and instead save that for An American Trilogy. They dropped Release Me? Bummer, I would have taken that over Funny How Time Slips Away yet again. A wonderful memento of this evening's show.
Highlights: Never Been to Spain, You Gave Me a Mountain, Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel, How Great Thou Art, I Can't Stop Loving You, Burning Love
8/10
Elvis On Tour: The Rehearsals - Elvis Presley
This is all very... here. Clearly even in rehearsal Elvis could not remember the words to Burning Love. I would guess it didn't last too long in the setlist after this tour. One thing this demonstrates that Elvis between songs, Elvis clearly enjoyed just randomly singing some of his old 50s numbers. If you want to hear Elvis and the band mess around with For the Good Times for an hour, then these discs are for you! The final takes are pretty impressive performances and are basically how Elvis and crew would have sounded in concert without an orchestra. I wish he had been around long enough to try that. The gospel jams here are again a standout.
Highlights: Burning Love [Version 1], Burning Love [Version 2], Never Been to Spain [Take 2], I John, Bosom of Abraham, You Better Run
6/10
"Albums" listened to so far: 502
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