Best concert album released during Elvis' lifetime?
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PaulKTF
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JEFF d
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surfcat
The Recorded Live in Memphis album I've always considered very underrated as there's some neat RnR on there, and the MSG album is pretty upbeat too- great bass solo in Polk Salad Annie. I guess if we're stretching things a little then the 68 special is hard to beat- but maybe that doesnt count. TBH, Aloha and EIC would be way down my own list.
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PaulKTF
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Elvis In Concert was released after he died.surfcat wrote:The Recorded Live in Memphis album I've always considered very underrated as there's some neat RnR on there, and the MSG album is pretty upbeat too- great bass solo in Polk Salad Annie. I guess if we're stretching things a little then the 68 special is hard to beat- but maybe that doesnt count. TBH, Aloha and EIC would be way down my own list.
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surfcat
Very true. However, it was recorded while he was still alive 
....and it was certainly intended for release while he was alive as the soundtrack to the TV special, so I feel it counts. I think you're being a tad pedantic on that one- however, I stand corrected.
....and it was certainly intended for release while he was alive as the soundtrack to the TV special, so I feel it counts. I think you're being a tad pedantic on that one- however, I stand corrected.
Last edited by surfcat on Sat Feb 18, 2006 2:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PaulKTF
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Good point- I just always assumed that the Elvis In COncert album was rush-released after he died to cash in. I know the CBS Special was always planned, but I'm not sure about the album.surfcat wrote:Very true. However, it was recorded while he was still alive
....and it was certainly intended for release while he was alive, so I feel it counts. I think you're being a tad pedantic on that one- however, I stand corrected.
-Paul.
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surfcat
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roelvis
Best live album
ON STAGE
For that time unusual strong songs from other performers in perfect live renditions by the King and rather good live sound. Although running time is extremly short and the cover artwork leaves a lot to be desired.
As Mike E. Rodgers, writer of a German Elvis book that came out shortly before Elvis died, once remarked, when introducing Prould Mary from On Stage during a radio broadcast: "Elvis' interpretations of songs made famous by other people are at least as good as the originals. Mostly they are much better!" How right Mr. Rodgers is!
For that time unusual strong songs from other performers in perfect live renditions by the King and rather good live sound. Although running time is extremly short and the cover artwork leaves a lot to be desired.
As Mike E. Rodgers, writer of a German Elvis book that came out shortly before Elvis died, once remarked, when introducing Prould Mary from On Stage during a radio broadcast: "Elvis' interpretations of songs made famous by other people are at least as good as the originals. Mostly they are much better!" How right Mr. Rodgers is!
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Scott Haigh 781990EP
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MSG- the electricity and power packed in to just over 50 minutes, may leave a lot to be desired for, and also the sound quality, but this is my fave simply because it is just so professional and has such a 'loose' quality to it, its not like a concert, its just Elvis and the band having fun, and Elvis does some of the best versions of his songs
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bajo
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"On Stage - February 1970". Even though it's a compilation from various concerts and even from august '69. Maybe because, at the time, it held only performances never recorded by Elvis before.
I really can't get enough of that album. I've returned to the original 10 track album, since the revamped remixed extended version didn't have the same sparkle, imo.
Then, it's got to be "Elvis As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis", which got even better with the FTD release.
Other than that, any concert from august '70. I'm also very fond of the few live tracks we have had from february '72. Wish we could have had more from those recordings/shows.
I really can't get enough of that album. I've returned to the original 10 track album, since the revamped remixed extended version didn't have the same sparkle, imo.
Then, it's got to be "Elvis As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis", which got even better with the FTD release.
Other than that, any concert from august '70. I'm also very fond of the few live tracks we have had from february '72. Wish we could have had more from those recordings/shows.
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Brian Quinn
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drjohncarpenter
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The best concert album released during Elvis' lifetime (08 Jan '35 - 16 Aug '77) has to be:
James Brown - Live at the Apollo - issued January 1963
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598117/24_live_at_the_apollo/
DJC
James Brown - Live at the Apollo - issued January 1963
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598117/24_live_at_the_apollo/
DJC
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PaulKTF
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LOL! Oh yeah that's what I want to listen to instead of Elvis singing- some guy screaming like a mental patient!drjohncarpenter wrote:The best concert album released during Elvis' lifetime (08 Jan '35 - 16 Aug '77) has to be:
James Brown - Live at the Apollo - issued January 1963
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598117/24_live_at_the_apollo/
DJC
There's a reason why that guy is a has-been joke by this point and Elvis is still going strong.-Paul.
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JerryNodak
Good one, Doc. It is a great album. Yes, some of us white boys in NoDak know how to get down.drjohncarpenter wrote:The best concert album released during Elvis' lifetime (08 Jan '35 - 16 Aug '77) has to be:
James Brown - Live at the Apollo - issued January 1963
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598117/24_live_at_the_apollo/
DJC
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rockinrebel
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Nice One!drjohncarpenter wrote:The best concert album released during Elvis' lifetime (08 Jan '35 - 16 Aug '77) has to be:
James Brown - Live at the Apollo - issued January 1963
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598117/24_live_at_the_apollo/
DJC
For me it would be a choice between “On Stage” and “In Person”, both have great performances, but I would take “On Stage” as it showed Elvis progressing, rather than showcasing the back catalogue
Jerry Lee Lewis at the Star Club, Hamburg is pretty good too.
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Mike Eder
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James is great only my grandma ever told me he sounds like a mental patient! Anyhow here are quick reviews of the live albums from 69-77 released in Elvis' lifetime
Elvis in Person is one of the best and is mixed so much better then any of the live stuff released since 1991 from 69 as good as that material is. The two record set should have been all-live with an entire show; Back In Memphis suffers in comparison. While EIP does not have the expert pacing of an actually 8-69 show, in its own way is remains a classic.
On Stage is even better, I love the photos (even the 1972 back on the 80s reissue) and am still amazed at how GREAT Elvis made these songs sound. IMHO the Feb. 70 shows are the best Elvis ever did. Who cares that two songs are from 69 when you hear something that is this good. Again having a complete show would have worked better but I think the placement of CC Rider is what led Elvis to consider it as an intro. Personal note I heard these first two live albums after hearing the ones from 72-4 first and was blown away at how much more committed Elvis was. I now love the 71-77 period but nothing can touch Elvis in his first two concert years.
MSG grows on me each time I play it. It is a full concert from one of Elvis' best tours ever and he does sparkle. Ok a few of the oldies were rushed by then, but Hound Dog is brilliant. The bass solo on Polk Salad kicks and the pacing of the show is excellent. The Stanley Brothers (while not the most trusted sources) claim that it was with the 6-72 tour that Elvis felt all the kinks had been worked out and that he had perfected his live presentation. I can't argue with that. I think that the 6-72 tour ARE the best post 1970 shows.
Aloha has a few great moments but is to me one of Elvis' lesser shows. His voice is off and while he looks far better I feel My Way, See See Rider and You Gave Me A Mountain sound far better on the Elvis In Concert album. Elvis' lack of energy is notable too. He must have been nervous but I don't buy Guralnick start of the decline theory (He is NOT bloated). Why? Because one listen to any of Elvis 1973 tour shows show him again in peak form. In fact, except for the shows done in September and October 1974, almost every show from 3-74 to 12-75 is terrific. I also don't need to remind anyone of how good Elvis' 3 end of 1976 tours were either. Aloha is not a BAD album, Steamroller got better later (the Live In Memphis outtake proves this) but it remains exciting. The 45 mix is even better has the irritating farting horn is mixed down. Big Hunk Of Love, Trilogy, I'm So Lonesome (the highlight for me) and I Can’t Stop Loving You are also top notch. Yet one listen to Burning Love or Something, and the selection of songs like Welcome to My World and What Now My Love, keep this one from being a classic.
The Memphis album actually COULD have been a classic but some of the best songs like Polk Salad, Steamroller, and Suspicious Minds are cut. Now maybe RCA and or Elvis did want to avoid repetition, but it took a lot of the shows more contemporary fire away. These were Elvis hardest rock songs and most energetic, but this LP is still pretty killer when it comes to rocking. Let Me Be There is NOT pop in Elvis' hands it is a swamp rock tour de force. Trying and My baby left me are two of the best neorockabilly recordings Elvis ever did, and lets not forget Blueberry Hill being a great and rare inclusion. How Great (although also better on Elvis In Concert) is terrific and deserved its Grammy. All in all a very good album that could have been even better. How bout releasing this FTD as a 200-gram vinyl release?
Having Fun is something Elvis did not approve of, but it was originally pressed on boxcar for charity. It should have stayed there but I do think it is interesting for what it is. Yet it could have been so much more. If it had liner notes or placed the material in a better historical context it could of worked. Highlight is the 1969 monolog, which remains a shinning example of how Elvis saw himself and of his great humor. Too bad more items like this were skipped over for water requests.
Now I will review Elvis In Concert ad imho it would have been Elvis next release. While he was in no doubt bad shape, his voice itself and the song selection remain terrific. In some ways this is the most touching live album as Elvis tries very hard to come across and in a way manages it. At least in the 6-21 recordings Elvis seems to be having a ball, and I for do think Are You Lonesome Tonight was funny and deliberately so. CC Rider and That's Allright are terrific vocally and Elvis playing rock guitar again shows that he was not dead as an artist. I have already praised some of the ballads in earlier reviews but I must say the Hawaiian Wedding Song, And I Love You So, Fairytale, etc disprove the theory that Elvis' shows was stagnant for eight years. Some people hate the 1977 Elvis and he is hardly at his peak, yet what I see and I guess some others do as well is his personal charm and desire to entertain coming through. This is not the aloof king of Aloha and though in the minority I prefer this flaws and all Elvis to the impersonal one displayed there. Unchained Melody was very good and should have been included but it was certainly worth holding back a single. Elvis may be somewhat out of breath but his vocal purity is astounding. The video of this show proves he did NOT play the whole song solo and the version on the 45 while overdone, is somewhat close to his original vision of the song. The video also shows that Elvis never lost his love of his fans or of his band. On 6-19 an ill Elvis' intro of J.D. Sumner is filled with so much love that one sees that Elvis remained a good person right to the end.
It's funny there were certainly better concerts then the ones released on RCA back then, but these albums remain the most historically important. This is how Elvis presented himself to the record buying public at the time, and they even now are the concerts the general public are most exposed to. These LPs shaped the general view on Elvis as a performer in the 70s and it is only because of the interest they sparked that these years later got the full detailed examination they now get. Remember far more people heard these then who attended the show, and far more still hear these then even the best boot, ftd, or box set.
Elvis in Person is one of the best and is mixed so much better then any of the live stuff released since 1991 from 69 as good as that material is. The two record set should have been all-live with an entire show; Back In Memphis suffers in comparison. While EIP does not have the expert pacing of an actually 8-69 show, in its own way is remains a classic.
On Stage is even better, I love the photos (even the 1972 back on the 80s reissue) and am still amazed at how GREAT Elvis made these songs sound. IMHO the Feb. 70 shows are the best Elvis ever did. Who cares that two songs are from 69 when you hear something that is this good. Again having a complete show would have worked better but I think the placement of CC Rider is what led Elvis to consider it as an intro. Personal note I heard these first two live albums after hearing the ones from 72-4 first and was blown away at how much more committed Elvis was. I now love the 71-77 period but nothing can touch Elvis in his first two concert years.
MSG grows on me each time I play it. It is a full concert from one of Elvis' best tours ever and he does sparkle. Ok a few of the oldies were rushed by then, but Hound Dog is brilliant. The bass solo on Polk Salad kicks and the pacing of the show is excellent. The Stanley Brothers (while not the most trusted sources) claim that it was with the 6-72 tour that Elvis felt all the kinks had been worked out and that he had perfected his live presentation. I can't argue with that. I think that the 6-72 tour ARE the best post 1970 shows.
Aloha has a few great moments but is to me one of Elvis' lesser shows. His voice is off and while he looks far better I feel My Way, See See Rider and You Gave Me A Mountain sound far better on the Elvis In Concert album. Elvis' lack of energy is notable too. He must have been nervous but I don't buy Guralnick start of the decline theory (He is NOT bloated). Why? Because one listen to any of Elvis 1973 tour shows show him again in peak form. In fact, except for the shows done in September and October 1974, almost every show from 3-74 to 12-75 is terrific. I also don't need to remind anyone of how good Elvis' 3 end of 1976 tours were either. Aloha is not a BAD album, Steamroller got better later (the Live In Memphis outtake proves this) but it remains exciting. The 45 mix is even better has the irritating farting horn is mixed down. Big Hunk Of Love, Trilogy, I'm So Lonesome (the highlight for me) and I Can’t Stop Loving You are also top notch. Yet one listen to Burning Love or Something, and the selection of songs like Welcome to My World and What Now My Love, keep this one from being a classic.
The Memphis album actually COULD have been a classic but some of the best songs like Polk Salad, Steamroller, and Suspicious Minds are cut. Now maybe RCA and or Elvis did want to avoid repetition, but it took a lot of the shows more contemporary fire away. These were Elvis hardest rock songs and most energetic, but this LP is still pretty killer when it comes to rocking. Let Me Be There is NOT pop in Elvis' hands it is a swamp rock tour de force. Trying and My baby left me are two of the best neorockabilly recordings Elvis ever did, and lets not forget Blueberry Hill being a great and rare inclusion. How Great (although also better on Elvis In Concert) is terrific and deserved its Grammy. All in all a very good album that could have been even better. How bout releasing this FTD as a 200-gram vinyl release?
Having Fun is something Elvis did not approve of, but it was originally pressed on boxcar for charity. It should have stayed there but I do think it is interesting for what it is. Yet it could have been so much more. If it had liner notes or placed the material in a better historical context it could of worked. Highlight is the 1969 monolog, which remains a shinning example of how Elvis saw himself and of his great humor. Too bad more items like this were skipped over for water requests.
Now I will review Elvis In Concert ad imho it would have been Elvis next release. While he was in no doubt bad shape, his voice itself and the song selection remain terrific. In some ways this is the most touching live album as Elvis tries very hard to come across and in a way manages it. At least in the 6-21 recordings Elvis seems to be having a ball, and I for do think Are You Lonesome Tonight was funny and deliberately so. CC Rider and That's Allright are terrific vocally and Elvis playing rock guitar again shows that he was not dead as an artist. I have already praised some of the ballads in earlier reviews but I must say the Hawaiian Wedding Song, And I Love You So, Fairytale, etc disprove the theory that Elvis' shows was stagnant for eight years. Some people hate the 1977 Elvis and he is hardly at his peak, yet what I see and I guess some others do as well is his personal charm and desire to entertain coming through. This is not the aloof king of Aloha and though in the minority I prefer this flaws and all Elvis to the impersonal one displayed there. Unchained Melody was very good and should have been included but it was certainly worth holding back a single. Elvis may be somewhat out of breath but his vocal purity is astounding. The video of this show proves he did NOT play the whole song solo and the version on the 45 while overdone, is somewhat close to his original vision of the song. The video also shows that Elvis never lost his love of his fans or of his band. On 6-19 an ill Elvis' intro of J.D. Sumner is filled with so much love that one sees that Elvis remained a good person right to the end.
It's funny there were certainly better concerts then the ones released on RCA back then, but these albums remain the most historically important. This is how Elvis presented himself to the record buying public at the time, and they even now are the concerts the general public are most exposed to. These LPs shaped the general view on Elvis as a performer in the 70s and it is only because of the interest they sparked that these years later got the full detailed examination they now get. Remember far more people heard these then who attended the show, and far more still hear these then even the best boot, ftd, or box set.
Mike Eder
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rockinrebel
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It was an unnecessary album really. Elvis had hit the top spot with the Aloha album the previous year, and the Memphis album was really more of the same, hence RCA’s decision to cut certain songs and vary the track listing.Mike Eder wrote:The Memphis album actually COULD have been a classic but some of the best songs like Polk Salad, Steamroller, and Suspicious Minds are cut. Now maybe RCA and or Elvis did want to avoid repetition, but it took a lot of the shows more contemporary fire away. These were Elvis hardest rock songs and most energetic, but this LP is still pretty killer when it comes to rocking. Let Me Be There is NOT pop in Elvis' hands it is a swamp rock tour de force. Trying and My baby left me are two of the best neorockabilly recordings Elvis ever did, and lets not forget Blueberry Hill being a great and rare inclusion. How Great (although also better on Elvis In Concert) is terrific and deserved its Grammy. All in all a very good album that could have been even better. How bout releasing this FTD as a 200-gram vinyl release?
Its main purpose must have been contractual obligation as Elvis cut no studio material in ’74.
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Denman
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[quote="Mike Eder"]
Aloha has a few great moments but is to me one of Elvis' lesser shows. His voice is off and while he looks far better I feel My Way, See See Rider and You Gave Me A Mountain sound far better on the Elvis In Concert album. Elvis' lack of energy is notable too. He must have been nervous but I don't buy Guralnick start of the decline theory (He is NOT bloated). Why? Because one listen to any of Elvis 1973 tour shows show him again in peak form. In fact, except for the shows done in September and October 1974, almost every show from 3-74 to 12-75 is terrific. I also don't need to remind anyone of how good Elvis' 3 end of 1976 tours were either. Aloha is not a BAD album, Steamroller got better later (the Live In Memphis outtake proves this) but it remains exciting. The 45 mix is even better has the irritating Fooling horn is mixed down. Big Hunk Of Love, Trilogy, I'm So Lonesome (the highlight for me) and I Can’t Stop Loving You are also top notch. Yet one listen to Burning Love or Something, and the selection of songs like Welcome to My World and What Now My Love, keep this one from being a classic.
quote] Mhm, I think along with It's over, I'll remember you and Trilogy, these 2 songs made it a Classic...but hey, who am I..
Aloha has a few great moments but is to me one of Elvis' lesser shows. His voice is off and while he looks far better I feel My Way, See See Rider and You Gave Me A Mountain sound far better on the Elvis In Concert album. Elvis' lack of energy is notable too. He must have been nervous but I don't buy Guralnick start of the decline theory (He is NOT bloated). Why? Because one listen to any of Elvis 1973 tour shows show him again in peak form. In fact, except for the shows done in September and October 1974, almost every show from 3-74 to 12-75 is terrific. I also don't need to remind anyone of how good Elvis' 3 end of 1976 tours were either. Aloha is not a BAD album, Steamroller got better later (the Live In Memphis outtake proves this) but it remains exciting. The 45 mix is even better has the irritating Fooling horn is mixed down. Big Hunk Of Love, Trilogy, I'm So Lonesome (the highlight for me) and I Can’t Stop Loving You are also top notch. Yet one listen to Burning Love or Something, and the selection of songs like Welcome to My World and What Now My Love, keep this one from being a classic.
quote] Mhm, I think along with It's over, I'll remember you and Trilogy, these 2 songs made it a Classic...but hey, who am I..
"If this suit weren't too tight."
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Rob
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Rob