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This CD from
As ever, the artwork and design are superb and include a generous
selection of photos together with a well written account of the featured show.
However for many, the pertinent question concerns the sound quality, namely; how
does it compare to what we have had before? The answer is simple—better than
ever! It’s now noticeably clearer with better definition, yet still retains most
of the ‘punch’ achieved by the Triangle release. The main difference is that
this stereo mix is more balanced, which allows for a far greater appreciation of
the musical arrangements and stage set-up, whereas before the focus was firmly
on the drums, with a prominent bass drum punching throughout and raising the
temperature accordingly.
The CD starts with the 2001 introduction, with the crowd’s excitement
reaching a climax as Ronnie Tutt kicks off the show with an explosive opening
drum salvo. This leads to a perfectly paced See See Rider, after which Elvis
welcomes the audience with a simple “Good evening.” He then directs his band to
“Take it down,” for a hard rocking cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud
Mary. The detail provided by the mix here is staggering; even the handclaps from
the backing groups are crisp and clear.
On Never Been To Spain, the band hit a groove and turn in a sublime
performance, making Elvis’ later comment, “We’ll get the ending right one day,”
a bit of a mystery. You Gave Me A Mountain follows as a new song for this year,
first introduced into his set back in January. It’s a great version, with the
drums high in the mix, which contributes to the power of the performance. After
this, he sings his latest single, Until It’s Time For You To Go, with the crowd
atmosphere adding extra interest to the proceedings.
“Take it on Jerry,” provides the cue for Polk Salad Annie, which is
particularly exciting and involving in this mix and sound quality. It was
obviously a draining performance, because afterwards he says,” You fellas can
just lay down for a while; I’m going to stand here and look at the ceiling.” The
‘50’s hits are next, which start with Love Me, followed by All Shook Up and the
Teddy Bear / Don’t Be Cruel medley. Each selection is greeted by a roar from the
crowd and benefits from good crisp drumming, which can be heard to great effect
in this sound quality.
In the build-up to Hound Dog, Elvis remarks, “I was a little weird kid,
had little weird sideburns and guitar and so forth y’know….still doing the same
thing; nothing different. “ He then proceeds with a teasing funky arrangement,
before the tempo doubles for the usual fast-paced version. Heartbreak Hotel
provides a temporary respite, before the pace picks up again for a barnstorming
performance of A Big Hunk Of Love, with Elvis urging Glen Hardin to “Play it,”
adding, “it’s your big chance man.”
Bridge Over Troubled Water is the superb performance featured in Elvis On
Tour, but has been repaired here as the original tape was damaged. Evidence of
the damage is provided as a bonus track and shows that approximately 30 seconds
was missing following the opening bars at the start. It also shows how skilfully
this repair has been carried out, as it is extremely difficult to detect; the
only appreciable clue being the change from a mono to a stereo mix.
Suspicious Minds follows this, with some great piano backing audible in
this mix. Afterwards he teases the audience by shouting out, “Well don’t you
know,” as if to signal a further reprise. Love Me Tender features various
ad-libs (….’my suit turn blue’….’till we lose our minds’), followed by the group
introductions which are extremely succinct and completed in just over a minute.
A fabulously soulful For The Good Times is performed next, followed by American
Trilogy featuring an incredible sustained note on the ending.
He then addresses the audience, saying, “We’re gonna spring a new song on
you tonight. We don’t know it too well but….if we goof it up just bear with us.”
This remark heralds the first ever live performance of Burning Love, which
proves to be a spirited attempt, but falls apart during the final chorus when
the band miss his cue to end it. Elvis admits as much by commenting afterwards,
“I thought we’d never end the bloomin’ thing,” adding, “Now that’s new and we’ve
never done it on stage before, so if we goofed it up, I’m sorry.”
Release Me has him back on familiar ground, but its gentle rolling rhythm
sounds rather pedestrian after the driving tempo of the previous song.
Afterwards, he asks for the house lights to be turned up so he can see the
audience, before continuing with Funny How Time Slips Away. This was another
song featured in Elvis On Tour, which is particularly memorable for the moment
during the ending when he points proudly at his belt buckle saying, “For those
of you who can’t see back there, this is an owl.”
After this, he thanks his audience profusely, before calling out “Wise
men” as the cue for Can’t Help Falling In Love. This results in another fine
performance, followed by a short closing vamp which fades out before the
announcements. Two bonus tracks follow this to round off the CD.
The first features a backstage discussion before his show in
In conclusion, this is a CD you will return to often—guaranteed. Many
have mentioned that the enjoyment of this show actually builds with repeated
listening, as the superb quality allows you to appreciate subtle nuances in the
performance which can be overlooked on a casual listen. It is indeed
that good and thus one of the finest
releases ever issued by an Import label—faultless in design, content and
production—they simply don’t get better than this! Consequently you’ll need to
move fast, as reports are coming in that it’s already sold out.
SOUND RATING
******
Reviewed by Mike Sanders (