Better Aloha (Realistic)

[Austin]

With my new FTDs on hand, I've really been rehashing many of the 1971-1973 songs that I haven't listened to much in a while. I've always had a soft spot for this era of music, because (other than the 30 #1 Hits CD) this was my first exposure to Elvis. Aloha, Now, Fool, An Afternoon in the Garden, and the 1999 Burning Love release were the first Elvis CDs I bought in the Spring of 2013 (not all at once, but I know Aloha and Now came first).

It's interesting because, in Elvis' whole career, it was this period of time in which the music was produced the worst; and yet, I thought this music was the greatest thing I'd ever heard. Not that the music itself was produced badly, but their album placement and execution were wrong on so many levels. I didn't realize this at first, though. When listened to Now for the first time, I did sort of notice the differences in Elvis' voice, but I thought it was just because he was using a different singing style for different kinds of songs. I had no idea there was nearly a 3 year span of recordings on one record. I do remember noticing the difference in Elvis' performance when comparing MSG to Aloha. That was like night and day to me.

It got me realizing, since the records were produced like they were, in theory, this could have made for a much better Aloha TV special.

Why, you ask? Well, although the original intent of the special was simply to solve the problem of not being able to tour the world and to give everyone a chance to see Elvis live, they eventually decided to kill two birds with one stone and make a live album with as many new recordings as possible, including many of the songs missed out on when the Standing Room Only project was cancelled. I've previously touched upon this matter in this thread.

Anyway, I know many people think that Elvis should have completely re-invented his live show for the broadcast, but there was no chance in hell of that happening. So, using the intent of avoiding duplicates as much as possible (at least when comparing Aloha to MSG), here is a much better setlist that could have been used for the broadcast:

2001 Theme
See See Rider
I Got a Woman
Until It's Time For You To Go
You Gave Me a Mountain
Steamroller Blues
It's Impossible
Blue Suede Shoes
Little Sister/Get Back
One Night
The Wonder of You
Johnny B. Goode
It's Over
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
Hound Dog
What Now My Love
Fever
My Way
Suspicious Minds
Band Introductions
I'll Remember You
Burning Love
An American Trilogy
A Big Hunk O' Love
Can't Help Falling in Love


In this setlist, several SRO titles are released (Mountain, It's Impossible, Little Sister, Big Hunk, I's Over) as are some candidates for the MSG album that were not included (I'll Remember You, Blue Suede Shoes, Until It's Time); and the only duplicates in this and MSG are Hound Dog, Suspicious Minds, Trilogy, and CHFIL. Some Elvis songs that did not previously get live releases are here (I Got a Woman, One Night, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Fever), and there are some completely new songs (What Now My Love, My Way, Steamroller).

Without re-inventing the wheel, this is so much better than the original. As for Something, the live master from 8/11/70 should have been included on Love Letters like it was originally intended. Reconsider Baby, in turn, could have replaced It's Impossible on the next album.

Using the average performance times for these songs, this setlist clocks in at 62 minutes, the exact time of the actual broadcast.

This fulfills the intent of the broadcast in both ways, and feels much more like an Elvis show than the original. If only...

[jurasic1968]

Well, the problem is how Elvis sang these songs, in Aloha Hound Dog was far worse than in MSG, Suspicious Minds it's the same case.

[Scoobie]

Indeed for whatever reason, (and there are some issues contributing here) Elvis performance of Aloha was not nearly as good as at MSG. Aloha was iconic but it's only as I get older do I recognise it, when I was a youngster I thought Aloha was the best thing I had ever heard, but now I can see the deficiencies in it. So to your original point I agree and have had similar thoughts....

[Kylan]

It was fine like it was. Thanks tho

[LSP-4445]

I have never enjoyed Aloha shows but I did like them a lot better when I was younger.
My favorite song on the show for many years was Something but that changed when we got the 1970 version.
Today IMO they are the worst multi-track shows by Elvis that we have (except june 77)

[Kylan]

I have never enjoyed Aloha shows but I did like them a lot better when I was younger.
My favorite song on the show for many years was Something but that changed when we got the 1970 version.
Today IMO they are the worst multi-track shows by Elvis that we have (except june 77)

Oh brother. Try to get a grip on reality fella

[wecanmakethemorning]

With my new FTDs on hand, I've really been rehashing many of the 1971-1973 songs that I haven't listened to much in a while. I've always had a soft spot for this era of music, because (other than the 30 #1 Hits CD) this was my first exposure to Elvis. Aloha, Now, Fool, An Afternoon in the Garden, and the 1999 Burning Love release were the first Elvis CDs I bought in the Spring of 2013 (not all at once, but I know Aloha and Now came first).

It's interesting because, in Elvis' whole career, it was this period of time in which the music was produced the worst; and yet, I thought this music was the greatest thing I'd ever heard. Not that the music itself was produced badly, but their album placement and execution were wrong on so many levels. I didn't realize this at first, though. When listened to Now for the first time, I did sort of notice the differences in Elvis' voice, but I thought it was just because he was using a different singing style for different kinds of songs. I had no idea there was nearly a 3 year span of recordings on one record. I do remember noticing the difference in Elvis' performance when comparing MSG to Aloha. That was like night and day to me.

It got me realizing, since the records were produced like they were, in theory, this could have made for a much better Aloha TV special.

Why, you ask? Well, although the original intent of the special was simply to solve the problem of not being able to tour the world and to give everyone a chance to see Elvis live, they eventually decided to kill two birds with one stone and make a live album with as many new recordings as possible, including many of the songs missed out on when the Standing Room Only project was cancelled. I've previously touched upon this matter in this thread.

Anyway, I know many people think that Elvis should have completely re-invented his live show for the broadcast, but there was no chance in hell of that happening. So, using the intent of avoiding duplicates as much as possible (at least when comparing Aloha to MSG), here is a much better setlist that could have been used for the broadcast:

2001 Theme
See See Rider
I Got a Woman
Until It's Time For You To Go
You Gave Me a Mountain
Steamroller Blues
It's Impossible
Blue Suede Shoes
Little Sister/Get Back
One Night
The Wonder of You
Johnny B. Goode
It's Over
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
Hound Dog
What Now My Love
Fever
My Way
Suspicious Minds
Band Introductions
I'll Remember You
Burning Love
An American Trilogy
A Big Hunk O' Love
Can't Help Falling in Love


In this setlist, several SRO titles are released (Mountain, It's Impossible, Little Sister, Big Hunk, I's Over) as are some candidates for the MSG album that were not included (I'll Remember You, Blue Suede Shoes, Until It's Time); and the only duplicates in this and MSG are Hound Dog, Suspicious Minds, Trilogy, and CHFIL. Some Elvis songs that did not previously get live releases are here (I Got a Woman, One Night, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Fever), and there are some completely new songs (What Now My Love, My Way, Steamroller).

Without re-inventing the wheel, this is so much better than the original. As for Something, the live master from 8/11/70 should have been included on Love Letters like it was originally intended. Reconsider Baby, in turn, could have replaced It's Impossible on the next album.

Using the average performance times for these songs, this setlist clocks in at 62 minutes, the exact time of the actual broadcast.

This fulfills the intent of the broadcast in both ways, and feels much more like an Elvis show than the original. If only...

I would also add:

The Impossible Dream
I'm Leavin'

and take out:

Until It's Time For You To Go
The Wonder of You

[LSP-4445]

I have never enjoyed Aloha shows but I did like them a lot better when I was younger.
My favorite song on the show for many years was Something but that changed when we got the 1970 version.
Today IMO they are the worst multi-track shows by Elvis that we have (except june 77)

Oh brother. Try to get a grip on reality fella

Agree,please do.....and let me know when you have.

(BTW...we dont have that many complete multi-track shows so most likely other fans like the 69,70,72 and the 74 show
better than the 2 from january 73 as well)

[promiseland]

It was fine like it was. Thanks tho

Yes! Why waste all that typing that the OP did opening this topic?,, well for really nothing.

[Squire Smart]

Hahah, I see 'Welcome to My World' has got the chop!

[charro1971]

I think the Aloha should have looked something like this:

2001 Theme
See See Rider
Long Tall Sally/Whole Lotta Shakin'
Something
Until It's Time For You To Go
Where Do I Go From Here (or Always On My Mind)
You Gave Me a Mountain
Steamroller Blues
It's Impossible
Johnny B Goode
It's Over
Blue Suede Shoes
Heartbreak Hotel
One Night
Little Sister/Get Back
Hound Dog (slow bluesy Feb '73 style version instead of fast Aloha throwaway version)
Fever
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
My Way
Suspicious Minds
Band Introductions
I'll Remember You
Burning Love
An American Trilogy
A Big Hunk O' Love
Can't Help Falling in Love

[Eggrert]

Well, the problem is how Elvis sang these songs, in Aloha Hound Dog was far worse than in MSG, Suspicious Minds it's the same case.

+1

I actually think that Aloha would have been better with more ballads, as that's when the show manages to pick up something approximating the sort of energy you want out of an EP performance. The rockers and uptempo numbers are just tossed away in an embarrassing manner.

In addition, the staging of the Aloha show pretty much sucks. It's just a faceless stage with some cheesy Vegas lights, and the audience is so lifeless they might as well have been green-screened in. I've said it elsewhere on this site, but I don't see the point in having a live broadcast from Hawaii when you never get the sense that it's either in Hawaii or in front of an interested audience. Maybe if the whole thing had just been prerecorded it would have been better, along the lines of the "bonus" songs that easily best at least 75% of the show proper.

[Pete Dube]

It's Over

I would also add:

The Impossible Dream
I'm Leavin'

and take out:

Until It's Time For You To Go
The Wonder of You

The Impossible Dream had already been featured on the MSG lp. Austin's idea was to use songs from the live show that, with a few exceptions (Hound Dog; Suspicious Minds; Trilogy; Can't Help Falling In Love), hadn't been on any previous live albums.

[Tony..]

Elvis should definitely have use more of his own stuff. I would substitute "I'm leaving" for "My way" and "separate ways' for "Something". Those 2 were just a drag.

[Matthew]

The show is kind of a drag, mixing the songs up would not change Elvis' lack of engagement. The show is sluggish, a far cry from the explosions of energy movie goers would have seen only a couple/a few short months earlier in Elvis On Tour.

The best way to enjoy it is the 2004 deluxe DVD. On record it never really takes off.

[stevelecher]

I.....I... can't...

[drjohncarpenter]

Anyway, I know many people think that Elvis should have completely re-invented his live show for the broadcast ...

I've never read of fans wishing Presley had "completely re-invented his live show" for the 1973 TV special. Where does this come from?

[DEH]

A lot of this is Hindsight thinking again. I know I keep bringing that up but its true. I know people who were around back then and the complaints were not the same as they are now. People don't think the same way. They said Elvis fans loved the Aloha special. My friend still has the pictures they took off the tv screen when it aired.lol No one was analyzing setlists and what should have been in and what should have been taken out. Even some of the people here have said "I loved it then but now I look at it and......

[Matthew]

A lot of this is Hindsight thinking again. I know I keep bringing that up but its true. I know people who were around back then and the complaints were not the same as they are now.

My mother was around then, watched it live.

She knew something was wrong.

[DEH]

A lot of this is Hindsight thinking again. I know I keep bringing that up but its true. I know people who were around back then and the complaints were not the same as they are now.

My mother was around then, watched it live.

She knew something was wrong.

she was in the minority. How did she watch it live?

[elvis-fan]

I have never enjoyed Aloha shows but I did like them a lot better when I was younger.
My favorite song on the show for many years was Something but that changed when we got the 1970 version.
Today IMO they are the worst multi-track shows by Elvis that we have (except june 77)

To each his own... to me, Aloha was one of Elvis' last great performances... I realize not all the songs were good and he didn't move like he did in 1969 and 70, but there were some fine performances that were memorable to me. I still listen to this show often and watch it on occasion. He looked fantastic and songs like My Way, What Now My Love, I'll Remember You, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry and American Trilogy stand out for me as some of his finest 70's performances.

[jurasic1968]

My Way it's far away from his best in Aloha.

[jeanno]

As a teenage, I thought the Aloha show was true art.
Of course I've changed my mind and I have a different view about it. Last time I watched it full was 11 years ago, when I bought the deluxe edition.

I rarely revisit the concert although the versión of STEARMROLLER BLUES remains a favorite of mine. Those 3 minutes are pure magic to me.

[Matthew]

How did she watch it live?

Via satellite to the Land of the Long White Cloud!

[Matthew]

He looked fantastic

Apart from the eyes, which give away a lot.