Review by Piers Beagley & Geoffrey McDonnell - Elvis Information Network
Released in July 2022 as a 3-CD 5” digi-pack, this set features three 1973 midnight shows recorded on January 27 Las Vegas, February 21 Las Vegas and May 12 1973 at the High Sierra Theatre, Lake Tahoe.
From the rarely examined eighth Las Vegas season FTD have so far only released the January 25 “Rehearsal cassette” plus the I’ll Remember You performance of Feb 3rd.
Unlike a lot of Elvis fans worldwide, Elvis' American audiences would not have seen his magnificent Aloha concert until April 1973. In this respect their reaction to Elvis’ new post Aloha set list adds some interest. It is obvious on the third disc, from Lake Tahoe May 1973, that their reaction to ‘I’ll Remember You’ and the mention of his Hawaii concert is far more positive.
Audio Quality.
Unlike the recent FTD Elvis Las Vegas Hilton 1973 this set does not state that the two Las Vegas concert are “sound-booth” recordings. Nor did the publicity, which I feel was somewhat dishonest since a three CD set costing Australians £49.50 = AU$84 = US$62 (including postage) is not cheap.
Luckily the “sound-booth” recordings featured on the first two discs are surprisingly impressive for their overall audio mix of musicians and Orchestra along with the added atmosphere of the audience. There is also a genuine stereo ambience. But while these aren’t actual “Audience Recordings” they are still tapes recorded by microphones placed in the audience. So at times the audience response of fans loudly reacting all too near the microphones can be distracting. The positive is the overall feeling of truly being there in the centre of the audience, countered with the negative of fans laughing or chatting in the middle of Elvis’ performance. It can be very annoying if you are used to clean soundboards.
In a real concert you'd be asking the person in front of you to "please keep quiet" - and on one tape you can hear someone (perhaps Bill Porter) telling the fans to be careful as the microphones are near their table!
There is also noticeable tape hiss on the cassette sound-booth recordings. However audio engineer Jan Eliasson has notably improved audio on the Lake Tahoe concert as comparing the two tracks previously released on Takin’ Tahoe Tonight he has pushed the bass and top-end, while not over-filtering the tape-hiss. This gives these tracks real “balls” compared to the previous Lene Reidel versions.
The Package.
A 5" quadruple page fold-out pack with a very cool cover image from Elvis’ May 1973 Lake Tahoe show.
The other images are all from Elvis' Las Vegas season in February with Elvis looking fine in his ‘’Orange Sunburst’’, ‘’Pharaoh’’ and ‘’Thunderbird’’ jumpsuits.
While Elvis doesn't look as taut and terrific as he did at Aloha he still looks in fine form.
The inside cover includes some candid photos of Elvis with friends actor Jack Lord, Linda Thompson and her parents as well as karate colleague Kang Rhee.
The Music
Disc 1 Midnight show, January 27, 1973 Las Vegas, sound-booth recording. 54 mins
Interestingly this is the third show of the season and so only Elvis’ third performance since Aloha two weeks previously and his first regular Midnight Show of the season. Elvis had a good reason to be a little deflated being back at his regular casino haunt and with no quality down-time between stepping back on stage Las Vegas and the biggest, most stressful broadcast of his career.
Straight into the opening song ‘C.C. Rider’ – you can hear the crowd’s excitement - this sounds good, a positive start, with a strong bass from J.D.Sumner. Elvis is in good humour joking, “well, well .. What am I doing here? We’ve got a show to do folks, oh Lord!”
‘I Got A Woman’ / ‘Amen’ – a delightfully short 2 ½ minutes in 1973 – is a nice version with one ending and then going straight into..
‘Until It’s Time For You To Go’ which is a really nice version. A regular inclusion in his 1972 set-list but featured less in 1973. This song sadly emphasises the problem with these sound-booth recordings as in the middle of the song a male fan near the microphones starts laughing loudly and does again towards the end of the song. While you know that it is the audience recording it also becomes annoying because Elvis’ beautiful singing gets interrupted by the bloke talking near you! Luckily this gets less annoying as the concert continues.
‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ Elvis notes that ‘’You are a really good audience’’ and performs a pretty good version which is truly appreciated by the audience.
‘Steamroller Blues’- Elvis' third live attempt since the Aloha debut and this is a fabulous version, taken nice and slow with a cool bluesy guitar solo from James Burton. Just as the band thinks the song is finishing (@0300) Elvis kicks on with an added “napalm bomb” verse pushing the song to a brilliant extended 3’50. A great addition to the collection. Note that the single would not be released until March 1973, a month after the double-album was released. You can hear our nearby "friends" - who would not have heard this track before - commenting on what a great song it is for Elvis.
‘You Gave Me A Mountain’ is another highlight, an excellent version, very sincerely performed and less over-the-top than it would become in the later years. Again this gets a great reaction from the audience.
‘Fever’ disappoints being too much audience reaction and nearby laughing and not enough Elvis. (You can also hear that the technicians fiddling with the microphone positions during the song).
‘Love Me’ - “I'd like to a medley of some of my old records for you” is a routine version but again it is a true crowd-pleaser. Oldies ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ and ‘Love Me Tender’ are in the same vein.
‘Johnny B. Goode’ in comparison is energetic, top-notch with a great guitar riff from James Burton. You can hear the audience lapping it up.
‘Hound Dog’ features a funnier than normal intro. Elvis talks about Ed Sullivan joking, “I'm lying like a fool. Can you imagine somebody walking in right now, they’d say ‘He's had it, he’s broken down”. The gets greatest audience applause before the usual slow / fast James Burton chicken-pickin version.
‘What Now My Love’ is another strong inclusion, less over-the-top than other performances and here the audio ambience actually helps increase the feel of the emotional performance of the song.
Suspicious Minds is a routine 1973 “hope this suit don’t tear up” version but again as a real audience pleaser.
‘Introductions by Elvis’ the start is missed and they are thankfully brief.
‘I’ll Remember You’ includes the touching intro, “We recently did a show for a Cancer foundation in Hawaii, and for the young man who wrote this song, ‘I'll Remember You’”. It is a delightful version, carefully sung. A highlight.
I Can’t Stop Loving You is a fine version will an extra show-off ending. “Whoa” notes Elvis. The crowd love it.
‘An American Trilogy’ Elvis seems to have learnt from his Aloha performance, holding the audience in the palm of his hand. The sound-booth recording again helps you feel the real emotion being reciprocated from the audience as they are swept along. The final crescendo after the flute solo is magnificent. A perfect version, a real show highlight.
‘Burning Love’ - a song dropped from a set-list surprisingly quickly after his Aloha concerts this would be the last time Elvis would perform it this season and the last time in 1973. An excellent addition as a concert finale.
Elvis then talks about his Lion’s Claw pendant - you can easily see it in his 1973 photos – “I'd like to meet the guy who held him down long enough to pull it off. That's a manicure!”
adding “If we've done anything to make you happy, then that's all that counts” a quick ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ and then the closing vamp fades quickly.
For the somewhat troubled post Aloha season this is a really impressive show, well performed and with more fine songs than most of his shows later this season.
Disc 2 Midnight show Feb 21, 1973 Las Vegas. sound-booth recording. 52 minutes
There is no question that after Elvis’ incredible TV performance in Hawaii he needed at least a month of relaxation to properly recuperate. Instead Col Parker forced Elvis back to his regular Las Vegas grind with less than a two week break.
Unsurprisingly it was only six days into the season before Elvis caught the flu virus and his voice started to fail. This led to eight shows being cancelled and to the nasty instance on February 15 where Elvis lost his voice mid-show and had to leave the stage. What a horrible situation to be forced upon the world's greatest entertainer.
This previously unreleased concert is only six days after Elvis’ last cancelled performance and five shows before the end of season. Sadly you can hear the strain on his voice. At the start Elvis even comments, “I'm trying to get the motor started - that's all!”
This cd nicely starts with a good audio mix and includes ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’. Being recorded from the audience you can truly feel the excitement and tension as the opening riff segues into ‘C.C. Rider’. This is a nice smooth version before Elvis asks people to “Hang loose, hang with me, do something. No, I'll do something - you paid to see me!” Then joking, “Well, now.. if that’s all I got to do, man I’ve got it made!”
‘I Got A Woman’ / ‘Amen’ moves along at a decent pace and ends with a single low J.D Sumner note with Elvis adding that “He’s lower than a whale’s belly!”.
‘Love Me Tender’ is lightweight, throwaway and contains the “cos you take the pill” line.
Comedian Marty Allen was at this concert and to be honest the only real interest in this rather routine performance is Elvis' interaction with one of his favourite comedians. For some odd reason there is no explanitory photo of Elvis and Marty Allen on the cover.
Elvis jokes, “You're crazy Marty. Say, what was I going to do? - Marty you’ve ruined the whole act, really!”
‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ is very throwaway, if a crowd-pleaser. Elvis throws in a “Don't you know” line in an Inspector Clouseau voice.
‘Steamroller Blues’ played at a faster tempo and with a less bluesy sound tonight has a good piano sound with a punchy ending, but quickly wrapped in less than two and half minutes.
‘You Gave Me A Mountain’ is again a key song to this season and is another strong version. Perhaps however Elvis pushed his vocal a little too hard as sadly from here on in Elvis' voice begins to suffer.
Elvis then jokes “I’d like to do a medley of Polish folk songs for you. Songs from back in 1912 when Marty Allen was just starting!”
‘Fever’ and ‘Love Me’ are both lightweight while ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ has Elvis pointedly singing “Do anything you want to do, but honey don’t catch the ‘flu”.
‘I’m Leavin’’, performed a handful of times this season, is of course a marvellous highlight, although the strain in Elvis’ voice is really beginning to show. The version from the May Tahoe show is much better. What a shame this beautiful song was not included in the Aloha set-list.
‘Hound Dog’ again includes a funny intro “Ed Sullivan filmed me from the nose up” before the usual slow bluesy start to fast version.
‘What Now My Love’ with a hilarious false start - “I like to get serious for just a moment…. That is not serious enough! This song is a gut-buster man, you gotta get loose” - is a solid version with a fabulous added extra reprise. It is amazing that Elvis even attempts pushing the song further as it is obvious from the start that his voice is going hoarse. He even says, “I like the last part, do you mind if we do the last part again - I may blow my vocal chords out the window.”
‘Suspicious Minds’ is the routine crowd-pleaser with an extra “don't you know” extended ending.
‘Introductions by Elvis’ again thankfully brief, before Elvis then introduces Marty Allen as “One of the finest men I have ever met and I’ve known him for twelve years”
‘I’ll Remember You’ that follows - with a brief snatch of ‘Alfie’ as the intro - is again fine but now you can hear that Elvis' voice is really wearing out.
‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’ is routine with a teased out extended messy ending. Why Elvis would even try it with his voice being so sore one only wonders.
‘An American Trilogy’ is diminished by the “Disneyland” line and his voice sounds very husky by now, especially in the “All my trials” section, even if Elvis manages a strong ending. The audience screams their appreciation.
Elvis then notes, “If we have made you happy then we have done our job and I’d like to sing a song dedicated just for you.”
Can’t Help Falling In Love is very ordinary - even with the line “some things you know” in a Peter Sellers accent - surely Elvis needed to get back to his suite and give his voice a rest.
Sadly this concert offers little apart from Elvis’ interaction with Marty Allen. Apart from the reprised ‘What Now My Love’ there is nothing remarkable and Elvis' worn-out voice becomes all too apparent in the second half of the show. While there is little doubt that everyone present still enjoyed the show, it is still a surprise that Elvis returned the next day for two more concerts.
Disc 3 Midnight show, May 12, 1973 Lake Tahoe, soundboard recording. 49 minutes
So far FTD have only released one concert from this season Takin’ Tahoe Tonight May 13, 3am. This previously unreleased concert is the midnight show from a few hours beforehand.
This is a mid-season performance and later Elvis would cancel the final eight shows due to “breathing difficulties”.
Kicking off with good quality soundboard audio, it's great not to have that audience chatter next to you!
‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ ups the anticipation before a fine ‘C.C. Rider’.
Elvis sounds full of energy “whoa, yeah, yeah, yeah” before rightly noting ,”We’ve got three shows to do tonight”
A cool ‘I Got A Woman’ / ‘Amen’ has Elvis asking J.D “to take it down” before asking them to “get the oxygen ready” for J.D’s second attempt.
Elvis says “Good morning, hope you have a good time tonight, we started off with a bang”.
‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’ follows - a real rarity being so early on in the set. It has the delightful start, “Let me ask a favour of you….. Take the ribbon from your hair…” and is not a bad version at all, even though Elvis gets thrown in the first verse.
‘Steamroller Blues’ doesn’t have the power of some other versions but is played nice and bluesy with Elvis obviously still getting down with the band.
‘You Gave Me A Mountain’ again a highlight in 1973 is another very sincere version.
‘Love Me’ is a fine crowd pleaser.
‘The Rock Medley’ was a clever if very superficial way of getting through the required fifties crowd-pleasers. An average version, this includes a blink and you miss it ten seconds of ‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’.
‘I’m Leavin’’ – never performed in 1972 – is a highlight of this season and is tremendous. Delicately sung and with no voice troubles tonight.
‘Hound Dog’ surprisingly with no intro, is the usual 1973 slow/fast version.
Elvis seems less chatty than normal - he was, after all, doing three shows this night - and heads straight into..
‘What Now My Love’ which is a fine performance, a nicely paced version with piercing Kathy Westmoreland soprano. Elvis’ vocal power ending is impressive.
‘Suspicious Minds’ after the first half Elvis starts laughing and joking with “Oh, Doncha know, ah ha, Doncha know,” so this classic show-stopper loses its usual impact but is of course still loved by the crowd..
‘Introductions by Elvis’ are delightfully brief, although in this season we have Jerry Scheff replaced by Emory Gordy “weird little son-of-a, sorry Emory”, plus tonight the “very sensitive” Al Tronti Orchestra.
By now the US fans have seen the Aloha special and so rightly applaud when Elvis notes that “we did a TV show recently.. ”
‘I’ll Remember You’ is again a beautiful, delicate version and gets the applause it deserves.
‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’ is again sung strongly with a powerful ending.
‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ – that has been dropped off Elvis’ set-list in mid-1972 is back for this season and is a lovely concert highlight. For 1973 this is a stunning version. Here it also gets a cute extended piano intro from Glen D Hardin and the backing-vocals and Elvis blend beautifully together in the mix for the powerful ending. Another lovely addition to the collection.
‘A Big Hunk O’ Love’ – surprisingly not sung in the Las Vegas season after Aloha –is a fine version and a great concert ending.
Elvis says a brief and workmanlike , “You’re a very good audience” before heading on home with a routine ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’.
Overall Verdict:
There is no escaping the sad fact that the Elvis barrel is getting very empty. So while it is great to hear these three previously unreleased 1973 concerts, the fact that two are “sound-booth” recordings will be a disappointment to a fair number of purchasers. A real positive is that the first January 27 Las Vegas concert is a cracker and Elvis’ attitude and singing helps demonstrate that until he started getting sick with voice troubles his earlier post-Aloha Las Vegas shows were absolutely fine. Similarly the Lake Tahoe Midnight concert from May 1973 is a very good performance, with a lovely ‘Im Leavin’, ‘I’ll Remember You’ and stunning ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’.
Sadly however there is little reason to replay Elvis' sore-voice February 21 performance apart from the Marty Allen references and ‘What Now My Love’. To be honest anything of historical interest could easily have been added as ‘'Bonus Songs'’ to the first CD. Collectors have told us that they thought this triple CD set of fairly similar 1973 Casino shows (two with lesser sound-booth audio) was an expensive purchase. Perhaps FTD should have offered core collectors the bargain of a triple CD set at double cd price. One for keen collectors.
