ELVIS IN CONCERT - 4K

[Gamma Master]

Baz Lurhmans movie has rejuvenated the image and legacy of Elvis , and the poignancy and impact of Unchained Melody at the end is Visceral, raw and heartbreaking, but it serves as a wonderful tribute to the musical brilliance of this unique artist .....however , the recordings of june 77 on the whole , would be torn apart upon mainstream release

Wholeheartedly agree. There are some recording from EIC that have merit, Unchained Melody being the foremost of them. But the concert(s) as a whole should never see a mainstream release, I would be happy to see something from FTD with regards to the footage, but that seems unlikely given the costs involved and almost certain low return on investment, if any.

[Spanish_Eyes]

"you don't understand at all" is what I've always thought he says at the end of "Hurt"

"youdonunerstanatall"

JosephC

What about "You know I'll stay around"

[Spanish_Eyes]

Baz Lurhmans movie has rejuvenated the image and legacy of Elvis , and the poignancy and impact of Unchained Melody at the end is Visceral, raw and heartbreaking, but it serves as a wonderful tribute to the musical brilliance of this unique artist .....however , the recordings of june 77 on the whole , would be torn apart upon mainstream release

Wholeheartedly agree. There are some recording from EIC that have merit, Unchained Melody being the foremost of them. But the concert(s) as a whole should never see a mainstream release, I would be happy to see something from FTD with regards to the footage, but that seems unlikely given the costs involved and almost certain low return on investment, if any.

You're right. If they ever release it, they won't restore it all, graphically or soundwise. So basically there will be an official release of what has been on Youtube for decades.

[JimmyCool]

Looks good for what it is on my pc screen but not on my OLED 65` tv.

I wasn't impressed either; in fact, my DVD copy looks and sounds better than this enhanced version.

[eligain]

Baz Lurhmans movie has rejuvenated the image and legacy of Elvis , and the poignancy and impact of Unchained Melody at the end is Visceral, raw and heartbreaking, but it serves as a wonderful tribute to the musical brilliance of this unique artist .....however , the recordings of june 77 on the whole , would be torn apart upon mainstream release

Wholeheartedly agree. There are some recording from EIC that have merit, Unchained Melody being the foremost of them. But the concert(s) as a whole should never see a mainstream release, I would be happy to see something from FTD with regards to the footage, but that seems unlikely given the costs involved and almost certain low return on investment, if any.

EPE/Lisa Marie have OK'd or released the "Unchained Melody" footage for other projects in the past. I believe it was released on the "Great Performances" project as well as ""Elvis By The Presley's". There was another one that Bono narrated and said something like "At the end, Elvis became an opera singer. That may have been for a awards show or something like that. When footage from the special was used in THis Is Elvis. Parker was still in charge and there wasn't the aversion yet by EPE in showing it. It is fully owned by Lisa Marie now and I doubt her or any of her children will ever approve of a restore and release of the whole special or any more of the footage beyond "Unchained Melody".

[Johnny2523]

I hear it as “You don’t listen at all.” But… you’ve gotta have the belt in the right place.

I hear it as him singing ''You know just take it all''

[John Coctostan]

.....however , the recordings of june 77 on the whole , would be torn apart upon mainstream release , fodder for the tabloids that would minimize his entire career to focus on the spectacular implosion of 76/77.

Because the 'tabloids' currently have no access to YouTube/Google or because an official release would garner so much attention for an artist who has been dead for over 45 years? I think they have far bigger fish to fry.
And as far as this crazy old fan is concerned, I have zero interest it what some hack at a rag read by slack jawed mouth breathers writes.

[elvisjock]

This version was uploaded by a longtime TV production guy. To me, it looks like I remember a late 1970s TV show looking.

[John Coctostan]

It is fully owned by Lisa Marie now and I doubt her or any of her children will ever approve of a restore and release of the whole special or any more of the footage beyond "Unchained Melody".

No, it's owned by Authentic Brands Group.

[LSP-4445]

This version was uploaded by a longtime TV production guy. To me, it looks like I remember a late 1970s TV show looking.

This is the same version that was included in the TFC box set.

[eligain]

It is fully owned by Lisa Marie now and I doubt her or any of her children will ever approve of a restore and release of the whole special or any more of the footage beyond "Unchained Melody".

No, it's owned by Authentic Brands Group.

I heard that Lisa retained ownership of it as her personal possession as part of Graceland and it's contents so it could never be released but that, of course, could be wrong.

Does it say it's owned by Authentic Brands in the "Elvis" credits?

[L Ray]

Graceland has all three TV specials. I wish they had Loving You also.

[elvisjock]

This version was uploaded by a longtime TV production guy. To me, it looks like I remember a late 1970s TV show looking.

This is the same version that was included in the TFC box set.

I don't recall seeing a version of it with local commercials for San Diego market included.

[eligain]

You know everyone always talks about Elvis needing a challenge. And even though this wasn't a high concept special like 1968 or Aloha (thanks to the Colonel and the visionless producers), Elvis was given a challenge and he either failed or was unable to meet this challenge. The fact that he allowed himself to go before cameras in the condition he was in, either means he was too far gone or in complete denial (probably both). Knowing that the book he was so concerned about was about to come out and would be out when this special would air, it was as if he was committing career suicide.

He made no attempt to even get into a little better shape and even in the light of that didn't even get fitted for a new jumpsuit that could have at least papered over his his horrible appearance. Instead he wore a jumpsuit that was missing buttons and looked ratty and dingy by June of 77 from it's every show wear and tear.

[SpyGuyUK]

I get that, I do, but life isn't always rainbows & butterflies, it often has tragic elements and whilst it's not healthy wallowing in tragedy, it serves to remind us of the fragility of our own existence on this tiny blue speck. It also illustrates that our heroes all have their own hamartia and are not just a product to be bought & sold.

How right you are! I've often thought this when seeing Elvis like this. How could one of the best looking guys in the world let this happen to himself?!?! Of course we all make mistakes in life too. You just didn't expect this to happen to Elvis!

[minkahed]

• Unfortunately, I completely agree with this assessment.
  
  How no one could have steered and guided Elvis to better health, better appearance, possibly a stronger and different set list, etc. is completely just beyond me.
  
  And some say and defend Colonel Tom Parker , saying that he loved and cared for Elvis, yet he allows CBS-TV to tape and let this "Special" be shown on to the world.

You know everyone always talks about Elvis needing a challenge. And even though this wasn't a high concept special like 1968 or Aloha (thanks to the Colonel and the visionless producers), Elvis was given a challenge and he either failed or was unable to meet this challenge. The fact that he allowed himself to go before cameras in the condition he was in, either means he was too far gone or in complete denial (probably both). Knowing that the book he was so concerned about was about to come out and would be out when this special would air, it was as if he was committing career suicide.

He made no attempt to even get into a little better shape and even in the light of that didn't even get fitted for a new jumpsuit that could have at least papered over his his horrible appearance. Instead he wore a jumpsuit that was missing buttons and looked ratty and dingy by June of 77 from it's every show wear and tear.

[SpyGuyUK]

Knowing that the book he was so concerned about was about to come out and would be out when this special would air, it was as if he was committing career suicide.

The book you would imagine would be a challenge of a different sort in a way to Elvis and I think the CBS TV Special from 1977 although not 'Aloha From Hawaii' could have/should have been looked at as a challenge. I mean Elvis hadn't done anything as important in over 4 years! Also as you say with the knowledge that both were coming out at same time roughly as well. I don't know when Elvis knew he was to do the CBS TV Special and how much time he had to get in better shape maybe to the way he looked in February 1977 even when he looked a bit better in my opinion.

[eligain]

I get that, I do, but life isn't always rainbows & butterflies, it often has tragic elements and whilst it's not healthy wallowing in tragedy, it serves to remind us of the fragility of our own existence on this tiny blue speck. It also illustrates that our heroes all have their own hamartia and are not just a product to be bought & sold.

How right you are! I've often thought this when seeing Elvis like this. How could one of the best looking guys in the world let this happen to himself?!?! Of course we all make mistakes in life too. You just didn't expect this to happen to Elvis!

Elvis could have made the mistake of agreeing to and going through with this special because he was in denial and didn't realize what kind of shape he was in. But the fact that his management and the producers and even CBS let this go on was unconscionable. There's a book out there about this special that talks about the makeup artist feeling like she was making up a corpse and they were saying he looked like he had 6 months to live.. They didn't think that once they got their first sight of him, that maybe they should postpone taping until he looked better? Didn't they think to inquire if he was even healthy enough to do the show? Having a manager is supposed to protect you from stuff like this.

[SpyGuyUK]

Elvis could have made the mistake of agreeing to and going through with this special because he was in denial and didn't realize what kind of shape he was in. But the fact that his management and the producers and even CBS let this go on was unconscionable. There's a book out there about this special that talks about the makeup artist feeling like she was making up a corpse and they were saying he looked like he had 6 months to live.. They didn't think that once they got their first sight of him, that maybe they should postpone taping until he looked better? Didn't they think to inquire if he was even healthy enough to do the show? Having a manager is supposed to protect you from stuff like this.

Yes. I didn't know that about the comment from the make up artist. I always think when watching this show why didn't Joe who seemed so sensible and a fairly strong character say something or do more. He was a close friend and the road manager as we know. Another person who comes to mind is Larry who did have some influence over Elvis and who Elvis listened to, a reason why the colonel wasn't keen on him they say! Funny enough no one else comes to mind that was around at the time.

[eligain]

Elvis could have made the mistake of agreeing to and going through with this special because he was in denial and didn't realize what kind of shape he was in. But the fact that his management and the producers and even CBS let this go on was unconscionable. There's a book out there about this special that talks about the makeup artist feeling like she was making up a corpse and they were saying he looked like he had 6 months to live.. They didn't think that once they got their first sight of him, that maybe they should postpone taping until he looked better? Didn't they think to inquire if he was even healthy enough to do the show? Having a manager is supposed to protect you from stuff like this.

Yes. I didn't know that about the comment from the make up artist. I always think when watching this show why didn't Joe who seemed so sensible and a fairly strong character say something or do more. He was a close friend and the road manager as we know. Another person who comes to mind is Larry who did have some influence over Elvis and who Elvis listened to, a reason why the colonel wasn't keen on him they say! Funny enough no one else comes to mind that was around at the time.

I don't think it could of come from any of the guys or a girlfriend. Even from Linda if she was still with him. Parker is the only one. He needed to have either pulled the plug or postponed it and got Elvis into a hospital until he was in better shape. The deal should have never been made in the first place, but when it was obvious he wasn't going to meet the challenge Parker should have had a "plan B".

[brian]

You know everyone always talks about Elvis needing a challenge. And even though this wasn't a high concept special like 1968 or Aloha (thanks to the Colonel and the visionless producers), Elvis was given a challenge and he either failed or was unable to meet this challenge.

Elvis in concert wasn't designed to be a challenge for him. It was just that he would allow himself to be filmed for a couple of days during his tour and that he would be doing his usual show. For that he was paid $750,000 dollars which was easy money. The tv special did capture the standard 1977 concert of Elvis Presley. It did show people what a concert featuring Elvis was like at the time. Dwight Hemion did his job on that.

[John Coctostan]

Whilst some may like to pretend this taping never occurred and also wish to pretend others will never see the footage, I'd like to think anyone, even with an ounce of compassion and insight, can see past the veneer of the overweight addict and bear witness to the pathos, the tragedy, the love, the metaphor, the cautionary tale and the music.......it is, all, writ large, almost as big as that buckle on our guys belt.

I'll take a sympathetic re-edit of EIC over the pitiful and yet widely available, Harum Scarum, Clambake, Kissin' Cousins et al, any day of the week.

[zannalee]

You know everyone always talks about Elvis needing a challenge. And even though this wasn't a high concept special like 1968 or Aloha (thanks to the Colonel and the visionless producers), Elvis was given a challenge and he either failed or was unable to meet this challenge. The fact that he allowed himself to go before cameras in the condition he was in, either means he was too far gone or in complete denial (probably both). Knowing that the book he was so concerned about was about to come out and would be out when this special would air, it was as if he was committing career suicide.

He made no attempt to even get into a little better shape and even in the light of that didn't even get fitted for a new jumpsuit that could have at least papered over his his horrible appearance. Instead he wore a jumpsuit that was missing buttons and looked ratty and dingy by June of 77 from it's every show wear and tear.

EIC was no challenge. Made a deal based on money. Not surprisingly, by Parker. Earnings had to continue, both for Parker and Elvis. This is not Aloha, which had more meaning. In 1973, Elvis could still bring himself to look slimmer.

Due to all kinds of aspects, Elvis' life had ended up in a downward spiral. There were no artistic challenges, Elvis' lifestyle (as well as being unlucky in love), resulted in the self-destruction of his body.

[jurasic1968]

Unlucky in love??????

[Way Down Under]

I know we can't change history but, it makes one wonder how much more palatable a re-cut would be if songs like, If You Love Me, Fairytale, It's Now or Never, Trying to get to You and Unchained Melody were included? That would make a more respectable TV special than the original cut. Some of those camera angles really sucked too, especially during the finale of My Way. It really frustrates me how some reviewers, being fans, treat Elvis from 1956-1972 and Elvis from 1976/77 as two separate people. They just turn off and describe the latter as some overweight, warbling and blithering hack and they've probably listened to just a third of the show. They use songs such as Hound Dog (a repetitive throw-away) as their case in point. Of course, the powers that be behind the original edit also have a lot to answer for too, otherwise the EIC critics might appreciate the special for what it is, in light of Elvis' declining health. Yes I would view EIC as a sad experience watching it myself, but to also see Elvis bearing his soul and still turning it on even towards the end, should still give me something to walk away and hang my hat on. In fact I would find these mixture of feelings quite therapeutic.