The Management 3 import label announced the release of the CD 'The Toledoan Balladeer', an audience-recording of the April 23, 1977 concert as recorded in Toledo. The CD, with a playing time of almost 68 minutes, comes with an 12 page booklet.
Tracklisting
01 | Also Sprach Zarathustra | 1:35
02 | See See Rider | 4:24
03 | I Got A Woman / Amen | 5:56
04 | Love Me | 2:21
05 | If You Love Me (Let Me Know) | 2:57
06 | You Gave Me A Mountain (incl. false start) | 3:39
07 | Jailhouse Rock | 1:36
08 | O Sole Mio (sung by Sherill Nielsen) / It's Now Or Never | 3:43
09 | Little Sister | 2:26
10 | Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel | 2:18
11 | And I Love You So | 3:30
12 | Fever | 3:04
13 | Polk Salad Annie | 4:22
14 | My Way | 4:14
15 | Band Introductions | 1:50
16 | Early Morning Rain | 2:31
17 | What'd I Say | 0:47
18 | Johnny B. Goode | 1:02
19 | Drums Solo (Ronnie Tutt) | 2:03
20 | Bass Solo (Jerry Scheff) | 1:34
21 | Piano Solo (Tony Brown) | 1:05
22 | Electric Keyboard Solo (Bobby Ogden) | 0:59
23 | Band Introductions | 0:22
24 | School Days | 0:59
25 | Hurt | 2:08
26 | Hound Dog | 2:05
27 | Can't Help Falling In Love | 1:59
28 | Closing Vamp + Announcements | 2:12
Sound is close to soundboard.
would people it be buying it for the artwork only?..
The title sounds better suited to Perry Como. The artwork does look stunning. It looks like "The Final Curtain" has spawned great interest in Elvis circa '77. Maybe we'll see FTD do something with "In Concert" this year?
Stunning artwork? All sundial jumpsuit photos should be banned from ever surfacing again. The worst look ever for Elvis.
The show is not bad..and I guess the sound is o.k.too; what we have on cdr so far sounds really fine, although not quite complete.. (My Way, intros inc.) here we have the complete show for the first time. parts of it we had back in 1997 on Goodbye Memphis as SB recording..
The title has to be one of the worst ever! Flashy artwork can't disguise what will be another disappointment - an audience recorded 1977 concert with false starts and Sherill Nielsen. No thanks, I've got some paint I need to watch dry.
When I said ..the show is not bad..I meant ..it is one of the better ones out of a tour with not much highlights...don`t get me wrong..it is far from outstanding..
As an Elvis fan, hate to say it but Elvis was just a shell by 77. His voice was "thin" by that time. At least this will only be heard by a small minority of die hard collectors. i consider releases like this akin to grave robbing.
What people don't annouce either is that this show also contains a complete version of early morning rain! probably the last complete version to!. I heard this show on The Concert Years, and it sounds very good where early morning rain is not rushed! other then that its a great show, again people complain about '77. When they release stuff that aint released before from 77 its please no more 77 if its 1974 its please no more 1974 and so on an on, people its part of elvis his legacy/life you should be glad that we even get those shows!
For the one who do are interested in this show, Heres the complete early morning rain version from this show taken from the old Concert Years cd, u can find it on elvisdinnershow2011 account on youtube.
I was at that concert, 6 rows from the stage, and his voice was not "thin" His voice was excellent considering that he looked so ill. It was not an outstanding concert but certainly not the worst. It was a far better show than one I happened to see in Vegas in 1974. At least at the Toledo show we got our money's worth.
I guess I'm the only fan in the world that likes the sundial jumpsuit! As far as bad outfits go, the Gypsy King outfit is by far the worst. I'm a bit surprised by reading that Elvis had a thin voice in 77. Out of breath, maybe, but not thin. Anyway, to each his own. I'd rather listen to Elvis sing in 77 than to watch him act in Clambake or any one of the other goofy films he did.
I agree with lefty. Im also a fan of the sundial its my favourite elvis jumpsuite by far. and i also rather see him do concerts in 1977 then see him do clambake or even funnier double trouble
heehee - nice one Ruthie, fans who were 'there' shed a refreshing light on things.
Ruthie, I highly appreciate your comment. Some people here tend to overlook the fact that it is all about the show FOR THE ONES present. I always have the attitude that one has to approach these cds from the angle of the audience. The impression, feeling, sentiment etc. of those present. I.e. attending a lecture from the heart may be an uplifting experience, while listening to the tape recording or reading an (unedited) transcript may seem much less inspiring. I think the same holds for concerts. SO: I just bought this one and your comment makes me look forward to listening to it. Thanks for your imput.
Elvis' only obligation was to the fans in the audience that night in Toledo, OH. Based on Ruthie's comment, it would appear he did a good job of entertaining them. These types of CD's are time capsules and I think it is silly to compare one concert version of See See Rider (or any other song) to another concert version. Elvis had his great nights, his good ones, his fair ones and some not so good ones, but each concert has merit. Especially if you happened to be there that night.
I do agree the title of this CD is horrible and I must agree with dgirl, the Sundial suit was not a good look for Elvis. I say this as a fan of the jumpsuits. At least the Gypsy and Sabertooth suits had some character. I rank the Sundial suit, along with the Mad Tiger suit as his worst two outfits.
Elvis' obligation should have been to himself. If his only obligation was to his fans as yo say, his fans deserved to see a performer at his best and not the shape he was in. I'm glad Ruthie saw a good show, which was a rare event in 1977 but for the most part, the shows were sloppy and he was a mess. I will not listen to anymore 1977 shows. I feel sad when I do.
dgirl, I'm sure Ruthie has never seen a mediocre show by The King. That being said you know 77 was the worst year for Elvis.
To the old scudder: You may be able to read but you need some work on your comprehension. No where in my comment did I use the word "mediocre" or even make reference to that word in regard to the 2 shows I mentioned. Don't take the liberty of putting your words in the comments of others.
an old show in the UK called 'Top of the Pops' is currently being reshown here. The idea is we get to listen to the charts this week from 1976 and next weeks chart next week and so on. I guess they'll keep going until it ends all over again in 30 years time! Watching it I can see that Elvis' records were just as good if not better than alot of chart stuff ( look up the wurzels if you don't believe me!). What he lacked was PROMOTION. There were no videos or film footage for songs so they were hardly played on Tv which meant no one rushed to buy them and resulted in low charts. Wether it was footage from 1977, 1975 or 1970 something would have been nice and i'm sure he would have blazed up the Uk charts. Alas he was no.1 in 1977 and that was after or even due to his passing away.
Just saw Paul McCartney at Yankee Stadium. At 69, he performed nearly 3 hrs, played so many of his hits from All My Loving on up. No medleys, no shortcuts. Played various instruments. His voice isnt what it used to be but it held up. Why am I posting this? Sorry but at 42 Elvis was going through the motions just to get through an hour show. Giving his fans the best? Please, He was shot and was 27 years younger then the man I saw last night. Time to tell it like it is concerning Elvis as a concert performer for most of the 70's.
Ruthie, you totally misunderstood my post. I did not say you used the word mediocre. I was implying just the opposite. Reread my previous post with that in mind.
dgirl, you make some valid points. I have to agree with you. As the 70's progressed the Kings concerts became more & more routine. He was totally shot the last few years. I wish he would have retired than to go downhill like he did. Elvis In Concert (video) shows how far the once great King had declined. He could barely move & was old way beyond his years. I once read the suits producing the TV event were horrified & were considering scraping the footage & reshooting at a later date when & if Elvis became better. Unfortunately Elvis died so they put out what they had. I'll stick with the 68 Comeback & forget about the last few "lost years".
3 hours of Paul McCartney, can't think of anything worse. Did he do the Frog Chorus?
Hi Dgirl, I have the impression that your current postings about Our Man become more and more severe than in the past. As long as Elvis performed on stage, be it from the fifties 'till '77 , his physical effort was tremendous, and he probably burnt more calories in one hour than many other performers in three. Apart from this thought it would be nice and a sign of common sence for more than one member of this site to accept that not everybody loathes or detests Elvis in the seventies.Those people have the right to, without being not understood or mispraised ! This is a remark in general ! Just my opinion, nothing personal. Always El.
If all i ever saw for five years was a hotel room and a stage i think I'd be 'shot' too. or i'd shoot myself lol!
Boy, Elvis in 1977 sure does rattle people’s chains doesn’t it? While I can thoroughly enjoy a ’77-show by our man, I understand why some (most?) of the fans that grew up on Elvis in the fifties cringe at seeing their hero in the shape he was in near the end of his too short life. Being born in 1976, I never got to experience Elvis’ music chronologically. I guess that makes things a bit easier for us “newbs”.
Dismissing Paul McCartney (as well as the Beatles) is understandable on an “ElvisNews”-website, but in general kind of funny. Both sir Paul and the Beatles have already proven their worth as cultural forces. (And let’s all stop quoting the Lennon “before Elvis there was nothing”-thing. Because that is ridiculous. There was still plenty of great music out there. Before Elvis there was Hank Williams, Robert Johnson, Frank Sinatra and Glen Miller to name but a few.)
However comparing Elvis’ shows from the seventies to shows now strikes me as a bit unfair. When Elvis hit the scene in the fifties, shows of 15 to 30 minutes were the standard. 3 hour shows weren’t even the norm back in the seventies. Except for maybe Bruce Springsteen…
Mark S : correct about the fifties shows, but let's not forget he sometimes did 2 or 3 shows a day. Always El.
Mark, you are so wrong. Not much of a Lennon fan but that quote of his is correct. The singers you have named are the reason why Elvis had to happen. there was nothing of any note before Elvis came along. The youth of the day were bored by the music which was all listened to by their parents. We all wanted our own identity and something new. Each to their own but Glen Miller, seriously. Just checking it isn't April fools day. Also will people stop writing about the Beatles, my comment re Mccartney was based on him as a solo artist and nothing to do with being an Elvis fan. He is poor as a solo artist and all the adulation he still receives is due to his involvement in the group he belonged to 40 odd years ago. Would he be playing Yankee stadium with out that link? More likely playing mull of kintyre in some working mens club.
Benny: I know. I was trying to get the point across that 3 hour shows might be the norm now, but it sure wasn’t back then.
Andy: that’s right, to each their own. But whether you like Glen Miller or not, pop music didn’t start with Elvis (it didn’t with Miller for that matter). Elvis could happen because of artists like Frank Sinatra, sure I can follow that. Can’t the same be argued for The Beatles though? And for any other band/artist for that matter? And of course, as with any “oldies” act, McCartney’s popularity is mainly based on is work with The Beatles. People at Yankee stadium want to hear his hit records. Wasn’t that Elvis’ problem in Vegas ’74?
Pop music didn't start with Elvis but Rock music did and the whole music scene that followed including the way we dress, wear our hair, attitude and way we act. None of that existed before which is exactly what Lennon meant. Before it was just popular music for the masses and meant nothing to anybody. From 56 on it changed the world. Of course there were stars before but nothing that meant anything to anybody. Elvis was the direct opposite to these you've mentioned and the world was never the same.
Andy, I’m sure there’s plenty of people in –say– the black community that would disagree with you when state that Rock music started with Elvis. Heck, even Elvis said in 1957 that rock & roll existed long before he did: “it was called rhythm and blues. I just tried a new interpretation.”
Andy_2 and Marc S. : you both have a point IMHO. "Before Elvis there was nothing" : Lennon meant to say there was no exciting music for the "white" teenager then. But Fats Domino once stated about R'n'R :" it was there before it was calles Rock n Roll, it was called R&B then".Let's not forget about the segregation in those days. "Black" music wasn't played on "white" radiostations, and vice versa. Little richard's "Tutti Frutti" was covered by Pat Boone who had a hit with it. Luckily the "colour barriers" were broken down and we all know the rest....When "That's All Right" and the following Sun-recordings of our man saw the light of day, in the very beginning it was called "Rockabilly", NOT Rock 'n' Roll". Always El.
the old argument that rock n roll existed before Elvis. Of course the music did but it would have been just a footnote in music history and never gained the prominence it did if it weren't for a certain singer named Elvis Presley. Rock n roll is more than music and it's all down to one person. That's why before him there was nothing. Please don't go on about the black rock n roll singers ( Chuck Berry, Little Richard etc ), yes they played rock n roll music before Elvis but if it was just left to them it would never have gone world wide. This isn't just about the music, it's about the effect it had on just about every teenager across the world. Something that would never have happened without Elvis.
Andy_2 : your own words : " yes they played R'n'R before Elvis...." That's a fact ! About Elvis bringing it to everybody all over the world, turning that world musically upside-down : absolutely agreed !
This is crap! Listen to My Way/Band introductions. These "producers" took the 2nd part of My Way from a soundboard tape and go on to the band intros. Then they continue with an audience tape....worse job ever
