According to a posting on the FECC messageboard the next release from Straight Arrow, scheduled for early May, should be an previously unreleased recording of Elvis' Las Vegas Dinner Show from September 3rd, 1973.
From the posting:
It is very strong concert, containing the only known 1973 version of "It's Now Or Never", rare "Polk Salad Annie" performed only twice in 1973, part of "Jailhouse Rock" and for 'rare live excerpts' fans there are bits of "Guadalajara", "Miracle Of The Rosary" and "Farther Along".
This show was recorded by the same person as Dec. 02nd, 1976 concert and once again for our CD release, an original master tape will be used. The sound quality is excellent - regarding the off-line source.
Note: to prevent any speculations, we would like to make clear that the CD "Top Acts In Vegas Vol. 4" from 1995 is containing September 2nd, 1973 Dinner show, NOT September 3rd, 1973 Dinner show as stated in the CD design. The date is wrong.
I gotta have those excerpts..
too bad Presley didn't do the what Dylan does. When he does a non-setlist song, he's usually doing a full version. I cannot grasp the hype about snippets when it comes to the man and the music. therefore, these 30something dollars are better invested in any type of charity
Elvis is in high spirits..no wonder ..it was almost the end of this Vegas stand...the show is better than the CS the same day....the songs are performed stronger ..he took them more serious..excellent setlist.....with many highlights...the sound should be excellent for an AR..
After Aloha, Elvis should have gotten out of Vegas forever. I just read where an American Idol runner up is to tour the U.K. A runner up!! And here we had the biggest star in the world stuck in Vegas and playing one-horse towns in the USA year after year. Shame on you Colonel. May you rot!
Don't we have part of this 9/3/73 Dinner Show on the FTD CD, "Closing Night"?
Steve right you are,Elvis was in high spirits? what about the performance,why is so much of Elvis more about his mood etc than the music?
high spirits also includes strong performances of songs...no sloppy renditions. ..
Elvis's concerts basically went downhill as the years went by. If someone can tell me of a complete concert he did (from 1973 on) that was without songs with slurred or dropped words I like to know. His concerts were repetitive, boring & sloppy. Ever listen to a master like Tony Bennett whose concerts are works of art because he cares about his performance. Elvis was drugged out bloated & bored & didn't care. Sure all his concerts had there good moments & terrific performances. Problem is there were more medicore moments than good ones. In the last 2 years he had no bredth control & his voice was thin on many occasions. That's just my opinion. And the problem lies with management but more so Elvis himself. That's why many people do not take him as a serios artist.
oldscudder you are all heart again for elvis. getting really tired of your negative comments, and i'm not the only one who thinks so give it a rest man
Comparing Tony Bennett to Elvis Presley??? Wow! Grasping for straws, are we?? Tony Bennett didn't have to live up to the hype of being Elvis Presley. Tony Bennett didn't change the course of popular music. Tony Bennett did not become a cultural icon around the world that is still idolized 32 years after his death. Tony Bennett may have been successful in his own way, but to contend his live performances were better than Elvis is comical!
When I see an article I want to comment on I hit give your opinion & that's what I do. It's just my opinion. So if my comments annoy you just don't read them. I used Tony Bennett but I could have used any # of singers that were better than Elvis (1973 & after) James Brown, Roy orbison, Rick Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Jones, & Dion to name but a few. Granted they may not be the ultimate icon Elvis was but they cared about their performances. Elvis bastardized many songs he was tired of singing eg. Hound Dog. Does the live pathetic versions of Hound Dog even sound like the same singer is singing them? And the last two years he was more like an Elvis impersonater than Elvis. That's my opinion & if it's negative that's because the last few years were all to negative. I love the king but I don't sugercoat & make excuses. At the end he was a spent force. Sad because because at one time he was the front runner. At the end many lesser artists had passed him. That's the way I see it.
I keep asking myself why most of you are on this site. You are all so sophisticated & knowledgeable. If you feel about Elvis the way you do, why bother? Yes, you are certainly entitled to your opinion & another viewpoint never hurts, it makes one think; however, outside of the confidence I have in my own ability to think for myself, I value the judgments of people well versed & quite knowledge in the field of music, those who are not necessarily into rock & roll genre. I was quite surprised to read 3 articles in the past month written by (1) a classical music producer for an NPR radio station; (2) a opera singer who has been the understudy for various opera stars & (3) a classically trained conductor who travels extensively doing staging for (nowadays) for many current rock stars. They all have one thing in common regarding their articles: they consider Elvis to be the leading cultural force for music today & they all regarded him as a first class musician who had a respect for music, regardless of the genre. It's too bad that you all think he slipped somewhere along the way. And it's really too bad that we weren't all there to see how it really was at that time.
well said Ruthie. I've come to conclusion that the audience and soundboard recordings don't give the full picture of a concert at all. I attended a Bowie concert around 1996 which I'm sure sounded fantastic but alas was a bore to watch - I don't remember anything about it! Some people here have actually been to see Elvis perform and quite often say that how great it was even though on Cd it doesn't sound too hot. Lets put an end to these cliched opinions.
Old Scudder is being ridiculed for giving an opinion that in all honesty is basically true. You may not want to compare Tony Bennett to Elvis, but to many folks Ive ever talked to Tony Bennett had the purest voice of any singer in popular music. Im not talking rock and roll of course. And here's one startling fact that may be painful to hear. In his 80's Tony is still releasing albums and giving concerts. Elvis gone at 42, and basically shot at 39 as far as a dynamic performer of any consistency. Have you folks ever read the book the Concert Years 1969-1977? Read some of the reviews after 1973!
I happen to enjoy many post 1973 Elvis concerts all the way through. The July 5th, 1976 concert in Memphis is one of my favorites, and that's just one example out of many. I don't skip a single song when I listen to it. I also don't get freaked out with the "Elvis died the day after Aloha" argument. I just think people that are in that camp are missing out on some great stuff. People have the right to pick and choose. I choose never to watch an Elvis movie (except for the two concert documentaries). I'm sure at least one fan in the world would tell me, "Dude, you're missing out!" Last Wednesday, I saw Chuck Berry's concert at Blueberry Hill in Saint Louis. He's 82 years old, and still in excellent voice. He moves a little slower, but he can still rock. His guitar work was as good as ever. Did I grieve a little bit over Elvis being gone? Of course! Can I enjoy some of what we have regarding Elvis? Absolutely! That's the best any of us can do.
One of the reviews I remember reading in early 1973 lead off by saying, "Does Elvis still care?" I guess when you throw a snippet of Guadalajara in your show, that kind of says it all.
Have to agree 100% with Ruthie. Of course everybody has the right to have a personal opinion, and of course nobody is forced to agree with a certain opinion, but when you read the comments of some members on this site you come to the conclusion that those opinions and comments are always mostly 95 % negative when it comes to the live- and studio performances of our man from, let's say +/- 1973 on. I don't see how or in what way Oldscudder is being ridiculed by Ruthie. Better read her comment again and take notice of her statement about the 3 articles she read. As for Tony Bennet : a great singer indeed ( i own several cds of the man), but for heaven's sake : don't compare him with Elvis. Bennet never had that enormous heavy load on his shoulders Elvis had to carry. Being Elvis Presley, a mega-worldwide star must have taken it's toll.Always supposed to be in top-condition, hardly having the right to be ill or sick, because " the show must go on ". And yes, our man made some mistakes, who doesn't ? We are all human, aren't we ? But whatever happened, he will always be the greatest .As for some reviews " after 1973" : read some reviews from 1955 and 1956 ! Elkvis has always been the target of a lot of people, in most cases journalists. I say " in most cases ". That he is still being bashed by others, well it's a pity it still happens. Wouldn't it be better if we praised all the good and fantastic music he gave us instead of critisising his Vegas- and other Tour-years again and again, over and over ? Let's do what circle G wrote : let's put an end to thes cliched opinions. Alway El.
If Tony Bennett is what you want to hear, go put on a Tony Bennett record and knock yourself out! The comparison is apples to oranges and shouldn't even be considered. As I eluded to before, Tony Bennett is not Elvis Presley, he was an entertainer, not a pioneer. I have heard hundreds of concerts by the KING and there are definitely moments and shows that are difficult to listen to because of the drugs or tiredness. They didn't seem affect the fan base at the time as he continued to sell out every show. Why would you base your opinion someone's review of a show? These people are paid to create a stir.
Should also have referred to ranskal's 1st statement in my previous comment. Right you are ranskal! Always El.
I got a lot of comments on my Tony Bennett statement. I think a lot of you are missing the point. I used Tony because he's still at it in his 80's, but I could have used any # of singers in place of him. I mentioned several in my previous comment. I probably should have mentioned a rock singer. Elvis is my favorite , make no mistake about it., but from 1973 on he had lost a lot of energy & his performances were very erratic. Dosen't anyone hear the slurred speech, the dropped words, the mumbling because he forgot the words besides me , steve v, dgirl & a few others. How can anyone look at the TV show from 1977 without feeling a deep sadness to see what a tragic parody he had become. He was truely the lion in winter. I rareley watch it because he was so out of it I it's so hard to take. If it continued it would have gotten even worse.That's just the way I see it.
I have to say that all of these commets, opinions, etc. are very interesting & for the most part are understandable. I was only trying to point out opinion from a statement of fact & evidently I am not the most articulate person to do that. Opinions belong to us & are very valuable in most instances. A statement of fact is another & can be controversial if you want it to be. My personal opinion is that as much of an Elvis fan that I am I am not into his movie music. I find most of it banal & that's putting it midly. However, that opinion does not take away from the FACT that he is without a doubt the leading music icon of our time, so far. That fact didn't come from me or anyone on this site. It came from those knowledge in the fields of history & particularly music history. He didn't get on the cover of American History magazine simply based on his 50's music contributions. If he would have stopped there, he would be mentinoned I am sure but, musically & historically, he would be through. Thousands of people do not spend thousands of dollars & travel from all over the world every year for an artist who "quit contributing good music" in the 70's. He became a man for all seasons musically & rose above what he even considered mediocre to again regain his place in the music world. Like Sinatra who sunk to great dephts in his career but managed to work his way back, Elvis had his musical as well as personal hell. The fact that he made it & the fact that he made it in the genres of rock, pop, country, blues & gospel makes him what Leonard Bernstein said was the most influential musician of the century. Now that's fact. Let's keep our opinions but let's not dwell on an era(s) or particular music he did that you feel sent his career down the tubes because it didn't happen. History states otherwise whether you are willing to acknowledge it or not. Sorry for the ranting as I am sure this will be called (opinion)!
I do agree with theoldscudder, though there were some pretty good concerts from 1973 till 1977. The only thing that theoldscudder has done it's to write his opinion and in a very respectable way, so why on earth if one dislikes this or another CD launch lots of fans think of that one that is not another fan? Maybe Elvis was the best, but all of us know that his (tremendous) work wasn't ever the best neither his professionality, what's wrong with that? Are we all perfect human beings?
Guess I’m on both sides of the fence here. I agree with theoldscudder that our man should have cared a bit more. About his art and about himself. The fact that Elvis actually wanted to be a gospel quartet and/or ballad singer in the fifties sometimes makes me wonder if he ever REALLY cared…
Still there isn’t an aspect of Elvis’ career that doesn’t fascinate me. My favourite period is ’75-’77 (everybody stop laughing :-) ). Being a working musician myself, I fully understand why he took the stage over and over again, even if he felt like cr*p. It gives you an immense “boost” like nothing else will, no matter how bad you feel. If you watch his performance of e.g. I Really Don’t Want To Know from Elvis In Concert you can see both extreme sadness AND joy (of “the moment”) in his eyes.
That is where the man becomes a genuine ARTist to me. Where he fully emotes everything he’s feeling at “the moment”. It’s music that bleeds. That is genuine. And –to me– makes it so much more special than him singing a song like…I don’t know…Crying In The Chapel or Any Way You Want Me really, really well.
MarkS, I agree with you. As I said in a previous comment their were some good moments in his later concerts, These were when he sang the gospel numbers & the newer songs he was interested in. Had their been more of these instead of his older hits he was obviously tired of ,the concerts would have been of a higher quality.
Ruthie your comments make a lot of sense. However Leonard Bernstein's statement is arguable. A lot of music historians credit Louis Armstrong as the most influential musician. I don't know if Elvis was, although it certaintly seems he was the most cultural icon. Who's to say? Ruthie I would like to say I respect you. Your comments are always thoughtful & you do not attack people with opinions differing from yours.
Elvis Presley was a living legend. When he entered the stage he shook a leg and the crowd went nuts..he flunged a scarve and the crowd went nuts...he made a joke and the crowd went nuts..he gave a sloppy and rushed version of Hound Dog and the crowd went nuts..the shows were sold out without being annonced in the media...no matter what he did ..it was mass hysteria... he was an event...it was "in" to go to a Presley show ...and you are talking about...what ??...a decline..?..man he gave them what they wanted ..and they were in heaven No.7...it was h i s crowd...
Well yes ciscoking they did go nuts,but maybe they were just there to see the legend,dont get me wrong im a fan,i always will be,but you have to admit that he didnt seem to take his music serios at times,he could come of as unpolished and sloppy,i for one will never understand how so many of his hits ,his classics never were put into a setlist,i dont understand why the king of rock had some guy getting such a thrill at hearing a guy make airplance noises,or a guy like neilsen doing solos when he wasnt all that great,there are so many snippets through many of the concerts but whats the point,i have watched other artists,johhny cash being among them and they entertained,im not saying Elvis didnt entertain,he just had too many off nights,and as a fan wished he had been more internested in always giving 100%!
I think Elvis always gave 100%....exactly the 100% he was able to give...the fans meant all for him...he knew he was committed to them... and..they preferred a rushed version of Hound Dog over a beautiful ballad like Hawaiian Wedding Song..what I want to express...he gave them what they wanted...no more and no less...it was a perfectly functioning system...
Yeah sure he gave the fans what they wanted, the die-hard Elvis fanatics because all they wanted was for him to show up/ I admit I was this way in 1972. And thats part of the problem. All Elvis had to do was shake a leg, tilt his head, tell a joke or whatever and most of the crowd went nuts. But I know a couple that walked out on one of his shows in Vegas 74 because it was so bad amd half of the 10 people I went with to MSG in 1972 felt let down because they felt the show was too rushed & too slick like an Vegas act and he had little interaction with his NY audience since he never played there before. So you kind of made a vaild point when you say all Elvis had to do was shake a leg. Its very true but many non die-hard fans & paying customers deserved better then just being in his presence and hearing snippets of songs.
Mature Elvis & Steve V, very insightful comments. Ciscokings comment regarding Elvis doing a "rushed & sloppy" Hound Dog driving the crowd wild speaks volumes. They should have booed. That may have given the Elvis camp the wakeup call it needed. Had Elvis sang an hour of Ito Eats & nothing else I'm sure the crowd would go wild, but does that make for good theate? Maybe the following anagoly will help articulate my point. A 4 star resturant you have been going to for years starts serving "sloppy & rushed "food. Would you still go wild over the place or for that matter even go back? A great read on Elvis career & his fans acceptance is Mystery Train by Grail Marcus. I suggest everyone read it.
And thanks "theoldscudder" for your comments because I see no value in degrading another point of view or opinion. However, I would return to that restaurant. It's happened. I have a few favorite places & after years of always being happy with my dinner, I had a not so nice dinner one night. Chalk it up to being just an off night or something went wrong somewhere but it certainly didn't mean that I would never return. Things happen. No one/no entity is perfect all the time. One mistake shouldn't turn someone into a turncoat. But then what can you do with die hard fans like me? According to the experts on this site, I guess I am never going to get it!
Th Elvis crowd was something special in its own kind,..you have to understand this....a person not involved ...just watching the scene.. would have thought they were crazy..paying and applauding to someone who is making jokes and tossing out scarves than anything else....but that was it man..the fans knew what to expect from an Elvis show..and they would have payed twice the price..even for a rushed version of Hound Dog.....no prob there...
Ciscoking, I totally agree with you many fans got what they wanted, so we are not all that far apart.I being older than most on this sight rember the early concerts which were much better. Maye because I was there & also at later concerts I was dissapointed because I saw him at his peake & also the decline.
Ruthie I was not degrading another opinion he answered one of my comments & I replied. As far as the resturant goes maybe I wasn't clear on that. I meant if the resturant was good at one time & then over a period of subsequent visits the quality declined I would eventually say enough & not frequent it anymore. Towards the end the concerts became increasingly erratic. I remenber one reviewer saying in a review he was so bad he wouldn't open his window if Elvis had performed for free in his backyard. That's not from me but from a review I read. I'm just coming from a different point of view. The site would be downright boring if everyone was in logstep with each other.
To the old scudder: I do see your point & I am not going to belabor this topic any longer. I am also old enough to have had the privilege of seeing him at the very beginning & at the very end. It was truly a wonderful experience. I have been to many concerts over the years & have artists I truly love & see live as often as possible. I have yet to have the concert experience that I had with Elvis. But, I am still waiting! And before anyone else replies - no, there is nothing you can do with people like me!
Ruthie seeing my first Elvis concerts was by far the musical highlight of my life. I not waiting because there's only one King. He is still my favorite of all time. Yes I am critical. It's sort of like a family member thing. However critical one still love's that person.
Would buy this one also, IF only there would be the one-liners on it of songs like "More" and "Everybody loves somebody, I'll be there, Roses are red" and others. Too bad they were not included as bonus songs I feel. Also, Does he sing the full blasted r'n'r medley on it ?