If Elvis wanted to keep cool he could have dressed like Sean Connery in Zardoz, another 70s fashion classic:
You are really bragging when you have to have suspenders to hold up your underwear. Elastic just ain't gonna do. Lol The spelling teachers would care less if you couldn't spell the word "A" right. Lol
It could get tricky if he shook about too much during "a hunk a hunk o' burning love" .... not to mention the stage attendants having to fight off a few hundred rabid ladies LOL
Was that the movie where Connery stole Nancy Sinatra's outfit at gunpoint and made her walk around the rest of the movie in a suit and oxford shoes? He looks like Steven Segal and Barbarella had a baby.
I first heard As Recorded At Madison Square Garden on second-hand vinyl, during the '80s, and instantly loved this record... still my favorite live Elvis album. Released so soon after the show, there's something very candid about it. To be clear, my appreciation has less to do with technical matters (his delivery is comparatively shaky here), and more with an overall impression. That's All Right is quite the energetic opener (it always feels like a surprise), Suspicious Minds also strong--a few comic elements notwithstanding--and For The Good Times has real depth and poignancy. There are relative throwaway versions of some early hits, but I tend to see them as absurdist fun. I know it's crazy, but as much as I love the 1956 Hound Dog, this performance is my favorite version, with Burton peppering the wa-wa pedal, and then the tempo change. Was the early '90s US CD a remix, or just a remaster...? I have a 1985 Japanese CD that sounds pretty much like the original LP.
When I was a kid, the MSG version of "Hound Dog" was probably my favorite Elvis song. I loved the banter at the beginning and the arrangement was exciting to me. I would rock out when it kicked into high gear!!
For the longest time I preferred the MSG version of Hound Dog with the great tempo changes that @wildroot indigo refers to in his post that you cite above. I guess I still do to some extent, but I've come to appreciate the original version a whole lot as well with DJ's pounding drums.
I only wish Elvis had used all his 1956 lyrics on his live performances. (They said you were high classed, but that was just a lie). I like the slow bluesy version as well. But NOTHING matches the Milton Berle Show version.
Agreed 100%. I will say that the December 1956 Hayride performance of Hound Dog almost matches the Milton Berle performance for sheer intensity and passion.
Elvis @ MSG - love the album. Elvis gave a great series of shows in NY. The cover photo shows Elvis in a classic stance at the beginning of a show. I like the way his arm frames the title. In spite of that, it's not the best photo of him. It's an achievement to get a new recording into stores in about a week, but was that so important in the end? It would have been better to take a little longer and use some of the fine photos from the actual engagement such as those seen above and do it in a gatefold album. I know, that wouldn't be consistent creatively or expense-wise with the ways of Elvis' management.
Yeah, I don't understand the "rush release" strategy employed for MSG and Aloha. They were historic events and their initial release should have been a more complete document using photos from the actual event.
Also Sprach Zarathustra This Richard Strauss piece has been used by many for many different things. The two probably most memorable things are 2001 and Elvis, both larger than life and over the top. The band does a great job of playing the intro and Ronnie Tutt comes in after it like a whirlwind.
That's Alright Since discovering Elvis' live material I often wonder if Ronnie Tutt was the inspiration for the Muppets Animal. One of the things I love about Elvis seventies live shows is Tutt's great live drumming. The guy was all over the kit like a rash, and really helped give the songs some punch. Elvis seems engaged here, and I know this is the 54 version, but it certainly good value, lively and fun. To me a very good intro to the set.
Proud Mary As mentioned earlier, whether by directive, enthusiasm or coincidence, these tracks are a little quicker than usual, but I find it gives the show a little bit of intensity that many who have listened to a few soundboards know was sometimes missing. This isn't a song I generally love in an Elvis live show, I don't know why, perhaps being a Creedence fan, perhaps it's just that I love so many of Elvis' own songs that I wish he had done some more of those ... but at the end of the day, this is a great version of the song and keeps the forward trajectory of the show going.
Never Been To Spain Prior to starting this thread, I was not familiar with this song at all, but I have to say that I love this song. We have this really cool groove. With it being a little slower I suppose it would be possible for someone to feel the momentum was lost, but this song has a great intensity. Elvis absolutely creams the song and the slinky groove is infectious. The drum accents, the vocals, the lead guitar, the horns,this song kicks the goal and puts the team in the lead.
To make the case that the original 1972 mix is superior to the Michael Brauer remix, here's the same song on Prince From Another Planet (albeit from the afternoon show): I dare you to tell me that you prefer the remix. (Tongue firmly in cheeck)
Is it just me, or do the horns mess up at the very end of Also Sprach Zarathustra? Either way, I'm not a fan of the way it sounds. I do generally like the track as a concert opener, though. That's All Right and Proud Mary are enjoyable enough, but there's not really much to distinguish them, imo. That's All Right tends to be something of a throwaway, and Proud Mary doesn't have the same intensity of the On Stage performance. Never Been To Spain always gets the skip button treatment from me, regardless of the version. The song plods along, and the attempt to kick it up a gear doesn't really work.