"Such A Night" (Live '76) video

He may be built like a truck driver but Elvis is still getting it done here in 1976 in Atlanta, doing "Such A Night" of all songs.

I've heard this but never saw it. I wish he had done it and other catalog songs like it more often, just to keep it fresh!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-lKblpUe6cg& ... ed&search=


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That's how you mutilate a great song. Flubbed lyrics, rushed singing, weak commitment... the works. So many flubbed lyrics. Gah. And the people just lapped it up. "Careless Love" indeed.

And "built like a truck driver"? Yeah -- he doesn't exactly seem thin, even though he was meant to be a whole lot better during this brief period. Of course, he was also meant to be in fine voice, and one night away from his sem-historic "New Year's Eve" closing show, and although this performance of "Such A Night" is pleasing in its spontaneity, it is far from pleasing in execution.

Nevertheless, thanks for the link, Greg!

hey that's a bit harsh-especially considering the poor quality picture and sound!

Elvis was all over the map by 1976. I found the performance rather marginal and bordering on pathetic. Yet I am also a fan of EIC and would like to see it released.

Make of that what you will.

I don't see it as all that bad, Cryo. Maybe it's the "one time only" aspect of hearing and seeing it. I can at least hear through the low-fidelity that he might have easily added this to his '70s shows if wanted to." To me, it's a nice blend of his old sound and his deeper '70s style. Listen harder to him (perhaps after hearing the original again) and you'll hear it's pretty effective. Beats another version of "Fairytale" or "Let Me Be There," right?

And in many ways, '76 was his low-point, but even then he could still belt out some "big-voiced" songs that he could really still get into. And the whole year is almost worth it for the way he was at Dallas, Birmingham and Pittsburgh in '76.

There's nothing "careless" about that love, unless Gurlanick wants to pass those concerts off as another "monster" or whatever it was he uncharacteristically called in his second volume.


Youtube is a real find. Enjoy it as long as Google lets you...!

Last edited by Gregory Nolan Jr. on Fri Nov 10, 2006 8:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

That's how you mutilate a great song. Flubbed lyrics, rushed singing, weak commitment... the works. So many flubbed lyrics. Gah. And the people just lapped it up. "Careless Love" indeed.

And "built like a truck driver"? Yeah -- he doesn't exactly seem thin, even though he was meant to be a whole lot better during this brief period. Of course, he was also meant to be in fine voice, and one night away from his sem-historic "New Year's Eve" closing show, and although this performance of "Such A Night" is pleasing in its spontaneity, it is far from pleasing in execution.

Nevertheless, thanks for the link, Greg!

well i was gonna go off on you but after watching it, how can i? you are exactly right. terrible! a rare instance where u will see me say that. lol but man just pisses me off. look at the 69 footage Pep gave us and then to this, in just 7 yrs?? rediculous! its very hard to grasp.

Last edited by Kylan on Fri Nov 10, 2006 7:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

Greg: Guralnick was overly harsh at times. I have even said so on here. But, with clips like this, I can see where that harshness stems from. The song itself is cut in half! It's literally half a performance based on length. Then it's another half based on the quality of the performance itself. That makes it one quarter as good as the fantastic original. It says a lot about where Elvis was in his life -- and where he was heading.

Kylan: I agree. I like the humanity of Elvis in the 70's, and there are some fine performances, but I wear normal glasses, not rose-tinted ones.

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Even though this proverb barely covers it, I think it's rather apt here:

"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity: Lick it once, and you'll suck it forever."

yeah but i'd rather Elvis did that performance of the song than not at all! besides it's much more complete than the terrible 12.12.76 performance!

It's a spontaneous version, isn't it? I dont' think it's all that bad, seeing that it's been some 15 years since he probably even sang it. The fidelity is horrible and he doesn't look much better but to my ears, it's refreshing to hear him delve into his catalog. I see what you are both saying but I take a glass half-full attitude sometimes. The novelty of him singing it live outweighs the rather half-assed, okay, spontaneous rendition.
I remember a few years ago we had some fun threads here about "alternate" Elvis concert songlists he might have done during his concert years or even had he lived..."Such A Night" was on more than one of them.


I'm struck how often his band members really didn't know all his songs on cue. There's quite a few times he started to go into a song in '70s (I'm thinking of "one or two times with Blue Hawaii") and the band just looked at each other like "What song is this?" How about doing your homework? Some of the back-up ("pick-up") bands of Chuck Berry over the years have famously learned his songs better than he knew them. A performer needs that...


But they were on automatic pilot with a few exceptions by '76 or '77. Ronnie Tutt speaks quite frankly of his boredom with the show towards the end of his reign and I don't blame him. I've been listening to a lot of my '70s soundboards lately and even I'm absurdly bored with his quickie '50s hits. As soon as he allowed the drums to be jacked up like that some time in '72 (?), it never really was as good in some ways...

Kylan wrote: terrible! a rare instance where u will see me say that.

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Kylan have you gone off the deep end? What have I done?

Twice in 2 days you have panned something. Am I to blame?

Seriously I think it works better in the context of the concert.

I really like to see him do these rare songs. No its not 1960 again, but its still cool to hear.

"Such a night" does have alot of words and he does at least do enough of it for it not to be classified as a one-liner.

I'm struck how often his band members really didn't know all his songs on cue. There's quite a few times he started to go into a song in '70s (I'm thinking of "one or two times with Blue Hawaii") and the band just looked at each other like "What song is this?" How about doing your homework? Some of the back-up ("pick-up") bands of Chuck Berry over the years have famously learned his songs better than he knew them. A performer needs that...

I enter the following into the discussion. It is relevant ON MULTIPLE LEVELS:

"Onstage you had to really be on your toes during those final few months, and it sort of got to be a pain in the butt. Elvis would suddenly call out songs onstage that none of us knew. One night he called out "Blueberry Hill." Of course nobody had rehearsed it. I said, "What key? What key's it in?" -- in front of twenty thousand people! Somebody shouted, "Try C," and I'm sitting there with my mind just whirling 'cause Elvis is telling twenty thousand people he wants to sing "Blueberry Hill" and I don't even know the damn song! So I just started playing some sort of something as an intro, and Elvis whirls around and says, "That's not the way it goes!" He comes over to the piano in front of all those people and sits down and tries to show me how to play it. Joe Guercio [Elvis's orchestra leader] is over there just spitting bullets. So finally, I think David Briggs or somebody hit an intro. Elvis sings a verse and a chorus and says, "I don't want to sing that!" and stops.

By then I'm a noodle! He did it to [James] Burton, too. Somebody requested an old song from one of his movies, and he said, "Kick it off, Burton." Of course, he embarrassed Burton 'cause Burton couldn't remember the damn song. So I wasn't the only one. But Elvis didn't care. It was like he was just sitting around singing in his living room." -- Tony Brown, "Elvis: In The Words Of Those Who Knew Him Best", p. 331

One word: lollipop...

I watched that clip and thought it was decent. Elvis seems to be enjoying the song and much to our dismay, it is not a soundboard recording!

I Wish we had had more of the lil surprises E belted out on stage in mutli track quality, buy hey, that's the way the mop flops, huh

He may be built like a truck driver but Elvis is still getting it done here in 1976 in Atlanta, doing "Such A Night" of all songs.

I've heard this but never saw it. I wish he had done it and other catalog songs like it more often, just to keep it fresh!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-lKblpUe6cg& ... ed&search=


********************************

Thanks! Elvis did a good on-the-fly version of one of the weaker songs of the classic Elvis Is Back! Cannot blame the year for Elvis flubbing lyrics or acting silly. All the way back to 56 he changes Heartbreak to "HeartBurn Motel " etc... and in the overated 1970..Elvis should have NOT sung I Was The One without knowing it and did it anyway even with its BAD rehearsal. Elvis did GREAT here!! IMO...

I'm struck how often his band members really didn't know all his songs on cue. There's quite a few times he started to go into a song in '70s (I'm thinking of "one or two times with Blue Hawaii") and the band just looked at each other like "What song is this?" How about doing your homework? Some of the back-up ("pick-up") bands of Chuck Berry over the years have famously learned his songs better than he knew them. A performer needs that...

I enter the following into the discussion. It is relevant ON MULTIPLE LEVELS:

"Onstage you had to really be on your toes during those final few months, and it sort of got to be a pain in the butt. Elvis would suddenly call out songs onstage that none of us knew. One night he called out "Blueberry Hill." Of course nobody had rehearsed it. I said, "What key? What key's it in?" -- in front of twenty thousand people! Somebody shouted, "Try C," and I'm sitting there with my mind just whirling 'cause Elvis is telling twenty thousand people he wants to sing "Blueberry Hill" and I don't even know the damn song! So I just started playing some sort of something as an intro, and Elvis whirls around and says, "That's not the way it goes!" He comes over to the piano in front of all those people and sits down and tries to show me how to play it. Joe Guercio [Elvis's orchestra leader] is over there just spitting bullets. So finally, I think David Briggs or somebody hit an intro. Elvis sings a verse and a chorus and says, "I don't want to sing that!" and stops.

By then I'm a noodle! He did it to [James] Burton, too. Somebody requested an old song from one of his movies, and he said, "Kick it off, Burton." Of course, he embarrassed Burton 'cause Burton couldn't remember the damn song. So I wasn't the only one. But Elvis didn't care. It was like he was just sitting around singing in his living room." -- Tony Brown, "Elvis: In The Words Of Those Who Knew Him Best", p. 331

One word: lollipop...

Not a good example musician to use. Must have been hard for Tony Brown to improvise a song live especially if he did not know all the important material of an artist like ELVIS. Elvis showed him a thing or two with Blueberry Hill 76-77(can't remember date)...anyway do not have sympathy for a musician (a newbie at the time with EP)_for writting what you quoted.....If it came from Duke Bardwell then that would be something!!! Poor guy took an unfair beating from EP....

Thought that footage was great, thanks for the link

I'm struck how often his band members really didn't know all his songs on cue. There's quite a few times he started to go into a song in '70s (I'm thinking of "one or two times with Blue Hawaii") and the band just looked at each other like "What song is this?" How about doing your homework? Some of the back-up ("pick-up") bands of Chuck Berry over the years have famously learned his songs better than he knew them. A performer needs that...

I enter the following into the discussion. It is relevant ON MULTIPLE LEVELS:

"Onstage you had to really be on your toes during those final few months, and it sort of got to be a pain in the butt. Elvis would suddenly call out songs onstage that none of us knew. One night he called out "Blueberry Hill." Of course nobody had rehearsed it. I said, "What key? What key's it in?" -- in front of twenty thousand people! Somebody shouted, "Try C," and I'm sitting there with my mind just whirling 'cause Elvis is telling twenty thousand people he wants to sing "Blueberry Hill" and I don't even know the damn song! So I just started playing some sort of something as an intro, and Elvis whirls around and says, "That's not the way it goes!" He comes over to the piano in front of all those people and sits down and tries to show me how to play it. Joe Guercio [Elvis's orchestra leader] is over there just spitting bullets. So finally, I think David Briggs or somebody hit an intro. Elvis sings a verse and a chorus and says, "I don't want to sing that!" and stops.

By then I'm a noodle! He did it to [James] Burton, too. Somebody requested an old song from one of his movies, and he said, "Kick it off, Burton." Of course, he embarrassed Burton 'cause Burton couldn't remember the damn song. So I wasn't the only one. But Elvis didn't care. It was like he was just sitting around singing in his living room." -- Tony Brown, "Elvis: In The Words Of Those Who Knew Him Best", p. 331

One word: lollipop...

Not a good example musician to use. Must have been hard for Tony Brown to improvise a song live especially if he did not know all the important material of an artist like ELVIS. Elvis showed him a thing or two with Blueberry Hill 76-77(can't remember date)...anyway do not have sympathy for a musician (a newbie at the time with EP)_for writting what you quoted.....If it came from Duke Bardwell then that would be something!!! Poor guy took an unfair beating from EP....

Even though he also cited the same thing happening to James Burton, and his comments are honest, incisive and right on the money?

Elvis just cant catch a break can he?The guy must be having a good time and decides to mix it up a bit.It was a nice moment in a very good show.I give him credit for even attempting it.
Jak

I love the fact that he even tried this song, given he never rehearsed it. I also like that he had fun that night, and did a very good show. Thanks for the link Greg!

Cryogenic: remember that it was an impromptu performance by request probably by someone, who saw Elvis sing it in Vegas 12.12.76 (and this one was much porrer version).

" with clips like this, I can see where that harshness stems from"

It is a bit unfair to judge late Elvis according this... btw I am pretty sure that Guralnick did not noticed existence of these amateur footage at all.

Elvis sung Such A Night live just twice since early 60s. He did not rehearsed it at all and he simply sing words that he remembered. The performance have atmosphere and in spite of awful audio you can hear that Elvis is in great voice as for all 5 shows of this tour.

Elvis could simply reject the request and sing Blue Suede Shoes instead - or he could try it... and I am glad he tried . The only problem is awful quality of footage and sound...

Elvis seems to be heavier on footage but this is a matter of camera angle here. On photos you see he is not too heavy. Not compared to Feb. 77.

Last edited by deadringer on Fri Nov 10, 2006 2:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Thanks for the link Greg.

Great that this was sung and available for us to hear.

I can't believe all the uneccessary negative comments. We should all be grateful that this song was even attempted as it was unrehearsed. Furthermore, it shows Elvis in a good mood, trying hard to entertain the fans present---What more could anyone reasonably expect for goodness sake??

I've got the video from this show and the quality is not too bad.It really is an upbeat performance and way better than his shows a few months prior.As previously stated the fact he didnt ignore the request makes it unique.I wouldnt be to harsh on him for not performing a perfectly rehearsed version.Just enjoy the moment.
Jak

Really enjoyed the video - thanks "Greg"

Scrappy? Definitely; unrehearsed and impropmtu too. But it is a breath of fresh air to see Elvis having fun on stage and dipping into the back catalog. It is the most complete live version I have seen/heard at 1min 50 secs.

The band have my symapthies a bit mind you - I am sure the spirit of what Tony Brown says is right - but hey, that's Elvis!!

Thanks for the link Greg.

Great that this was sung and available for us to hear.

I can't believe all the uneccessary negative comments. We should all be grateful that this song was even attempted as it was unrehearsed. Furthermore, it shows Elvis in a good mood, trying hard to entertain the fans present---What more could anyone reasonably expect for goodness sake??

Could not have said it better myself.
Well said Mike.

I'm struck how often his band members really didn't know all his songs on cue. There's quite a few times he started to go into a song in '70s (I'm thinking of "one or two times with Blue Hawaii") and the band just looked at each other like "What song is this?" How about doing your homework? Some of the back-up ("pick-up") bands of Chuck Berry over the years have famously learned his songs better than he knew them. A performer needs that...

I enter the following into the discussion. It is relevant ON MULTIPLE LEVELS:

"Onstage you had to really be on your toes during those final few months, and it sort of got to be a pain in the butt. Elvis would suddenly call out songs onstage that none of us knew. One night he called out "Blueberry Hill." Of course nobody had rehearsed it. I said, "What key? What key's it in?" -- in front of twenty thousand people! Somebody shouted, "Try C," and I'm sitting there with my mind just whirling 'cause Elvis is telling twenty thousand people he wants to sing "Blueberry Hill" and I don't even know the damn song! So I just started playing some sort of something as an intro, and Elvis whirls around and says, "That's not the way it goes!" He comes over to the piano in front of all those people and sits down and tries to show me how to play it. Joe Guercio [Elvis's orchestra leader] is over there just spitting bullets. So finally, I think David Briggs or somebody hit an intro. Elvis sings a verse and a chorus and says, "I don't want to sing that!" and stops.

By then I'm a noodle! He did it to [James] Burton, too. Somebody requested an old song from one of his movies, and he said, "Kick it off, Burton." Of course, he embarrassed Burton 'cause Burton couldn't remember the damn song. So I wasn't the only one. But Elvis didn't care. It was like he was just sitting around singing in his living room." -- Tony Brown, "Elvis: In The Words Of Those Who Knew Him Best", p. 331

One word: lollipop...

Not a good example musician to use. Must have been hard for Tony Brown to improvise a song live especially if he did not know all the important material of an artist like ELVIS. Elvis showed him a thing or two with Blueberry Hill 76-77(can't remember date)...anyway do not have sympathy for a musician (a newbie at the time with EP)_for writting what you quoted.....If it came from Duke Bardwell then that would be something!!! Poor guy took an unfair beating from EP....

Even though he also cited the same thing happening to James Burton, and his comments are honest, incisive and right on the money?

I think those comments are for the money...otherwise just another boring account of life on the road with an artist doing pretty much the same thing night after night and once in a while decides to break habit much to the surprise of the group that is forced to get out of auto pilot and actually work more for the gig...

I think those comments are for the money...otherwise just another boring account of life on the road with an artist doing pretty much the same thing night after night and once in a while decides to break habit much to the surprise of the group that is forced to get out of auto pilot and actually work more for the gig...

Too true!!