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The Package Elvis was going through his relaxed paisley-shirt with white jacket and trousers look during this season. A lovely change from the drama of his tight-superhero-jumpsuit look. Elvis however would change his mind and by the last two weeks of the season he would be back into the jumpsuits once again. The 40 pages feature a good selection of images of Elvis performing on stage, around fifty in total and nearly all of them showing Elvis wearing his two-piece suits. It’s a fine selection of images and only emphasises what a shame it is that more close-up and colour ones weren’t taken by professional photographers of this different look. The concise sleeve notes also discuss the importance of this 1972 Summer season...
There are also several pages of memorabilia including “The world’s largest Hound Dog with The World’s Largest bone” – another marvellous marketing idea of Parker’s!
Audio Quality: These cassette soundboards have previously been released on bootleg as well as by FTD but always in mono and several of them sounding very thin and lacking bass. The most famous bootleg being 1995’s Fort Baxter ‘Elvis At Full Blast’ of his August 11 Midnight show. Here MRS have again employed the latest DES technology to vastly improve the audio and the results are amazing. FTD’s early 2005 release ‘Summer Festival’ I felt was let-down by the poor audio peak-level-distortion where, 20 years later, the new technology has created a thumping good sound. A few times all four recordings veer towards cassette peak distortion but in general they are brilliant quality with fine remastering. What really shines in "STEREO" is that Elvis’ vocal is less buried, and you can also hear the individual musicians shine. James Burton’s guitar really cuts on the right channel on tracks like ‘Proud Mary’ and the wide dynamic range of songs such as ‘My Way’, ‘American Trilogy’, ‘For The Good Times’ and ‘Never Been To Spain’ open up the emotion of the songs plus the excitement from the ambience of the audience. The orchestra is nicely placed in the mix and sounds very authentic in the stereo spectrum. As I have stated before, the reverb of a showroom is more forgiving on DES created “Stereo”. As a Hilton audience member you would have been listening to mono PA speakers with the “stereo” actually coming from the band on the stage. With these MRS remasters you can hear this and so much more. It does sound like you are sitting in the audience. To be honest the more recent FTD audio masters by Jan Eliasson were great quality but again only mono. This could be fine for some Elvis collectors but like many fans I have paid for them all, early bootlegs, upgraded bootlegs, the FTD versions and now these 2023 MRS versions - but for me once I have heard these concerts in “stereo” I can see no reason for me going back to the mono versions. Like the new 2022 “On Tour” remasters, why would I go back to my mono bootleg copies?
Since this four CD set features four concerts from just the two dates there is a similarity to the set-lists. However, Elvis does put a good level of energy into the Dinner Shows and both Midnight performances have that extra buzz, as well as some added treats. Concert Reviews Disc 1 - 11th August Dinner Show (Elvis’ 14th concert of the season) Right from the ‘Aloha Sprach” start with the kettle drums pounding left channel and backing vocalists on the right you feel the anticipation and that you are in for a treat. James Burton’s guitar cuts on the left and Ronnie Tutt’s drum sparkle. When Elvis walks on stage and the audience explodes with excitement the ambience is all around. This is great stereo and captures the feel of the showroom. Worth mentioning is that in this Vegas season, for some reason Elvis kept changing his key second song of the evening. On Opening Night it was ‘A Big Hunk Of Love’, then ‘Proud Mary’ became a favourite and by the end of the season he chose ‘Johnny B Goode’! Elvis sometimes used the medley ‘I Got A Woman / Amen’ but sometimes it was ‘I Got A Woman’ alone. Tonight we get the individual ‘I Got A Woman’ and it is nice to hear without the ‘Amen’ ending. This concert is important being the first known soundboard recording of Elvis singing ‘My Way’, ‘What Now My Love’ and, somewhat surprisingly, a wonderful early version of ‘Fever’. Elvis must have been in a good mood for this Dinner Show as later on he also includes a rare (for 1972) rocking ‘One Night.’ But it is the new songs that really interest Elvis and ‘Until It’s Time For You To Go’ his most recent US Top 40 single (#5 in the UK!) – played straight after ‘I Got A Woman’ - is delicate and delicious. The stereo opens up space for the orchestra while the percussion is super clear. Elvis soaks in the meaning of the lyric adding, "Oh, Lord, Lord, Lord". The power of the rhythm section on ‘Polk Salad’ is neatly emphasised on this stereo mix and James Burton’s guitar rings like a bell. This is a version you can play loud on your hi-fi and rattle those speakers. Welcoming the audience Elvis is indeed on fine form, “"We’re gonna do our best to entertain you this afternoon. So just have a good time”. Kissing a fan he jokes, “no deals, You wanna’ take over the show?” In stereo you get a true feeling of being there. ‘What Now My Love’ gets a odd false start but recovers. Taken at a slow tempo compared to later versions Elvis sings with a very measured rendition of the lyrics adding heartfelt meaning. While the audio does hit peak-distortion at the very end the remastering here is a big improvement. Surprisingly ‘Fever’ was not yet a standard concert song and this version is a very cool finger-clicking take compared with the later over-blown renditions. With delicious stereo percussion and finger-clicks this a super quality version. Elvis plays with the lyrics, even remembering the "Romeo Loved Juliet" verse too. Oddly by the evening show he would change and use the regular "Pocahontas" verse instead. There’s a very nice dynamic here, the Aloha version sounds positively rushed in comparison, and the audience sure appreciate it with a huge applause afterwards. Another highlight is the great addition of ‘One Night’ a song which Elvis would only revisit pretty rarely after 1972. This version has that edge of the rocking/rawness of the ’68 Special’ and the stereo mix really emphasises the bluesy guitar of James Burton and the Tutt’s tight percussion. Later highlights are ‘My Way’ taken at a slightly faster tempo than at ‘Aloha’. This is a great debut “soundboard” version, better in stereo, and Elvis’ performance sounds very involved and deliberate. Interestingly he doesn’t end the song with his usual power-ending but slides down the scale instead. The solo violin and Glen D Hardin’s piano (for some weird reason placed right channel) are beautifully emphasised in the stereo mix, as is the orchestra. Interestingly I’ve never noticed the extra organist in the song before. The song obviously worked better to a devoted crowd and Elvis himself acknowledges, "Thank you very much. That’s a good song." ‘American Trilogy’ was first performed in January and although maybe nothing can beat the Hampton Roads version with that breathtaking scream, this is another gem and even better now remixed to stereo. Taken at a nice, slower tempo the dynamic range of “All my Trails” also works very well remastered here. The power-ending unfortunately however pushes intoo peak-distortion at the very end. But the effect on the audience is palpable. The CD then includes four “Bonus Rehearsal Tracks”, discussed later in this review.
‘See See Rider’ rocks out and Ronnie Tutt’s percussion has a real shine, the tambourine in the orchestra is placed back right, while James Burton is playing guitar in front of him with Jerry Scheff’s bass loud and rich. Tonight’s first treat is ‘Proud Mary’ which keeps up the pace and really rocks. The stereo mix nicely separates out Elvis and the backing vocals of JD Sumner and ‘The Sweets’. ‘Until It’s Time For You To Go’, with a neat false start, again sounds excellent in stereo “oh god, it’s hot up here” and truly highlights Kathy Westmoreland’s vocal and the violin section. ‘You've Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’ then demonstrates Elvis’ vocal power and total enthusiasm and is an absolute brilliant version. ‘Polk Salad Annie’ delights with an extended intro and with some brilliant right-channel ‘Wah-Wah’ guitar picking from James Burton. While shorter that the 1970 versions something happens mid-song (presumably tearing his trousers or similar) Elvis notes “Whoo” and then starts laughing. Elvis as always asks “Play something Jerry” but then we get a solo plus extra solo from James Burton with it lasting twice as long as usual. Elvis starts singing again @3.00 but is obviously laughing – something must have happened mid-song. The ending is a power-house and it’s one of the best Polk performances from 1972. ‘What Now My Love’ with another false start is another strong highlight, while ‘Fever’ again in nicely “spacious-stereo” is neat for its clear finger-clicks beautiful Jerry Scheff bass and for being less O-T-T than later versions.. The “Oldies” are better performed this season than the later throw-away versions but tonight ‘Little Sister/ Get Back’ was another treat. Included in less than half of his performances this Summer season, tonight’s version with cool JB guitar and syncopated drumming from Tutt, is very fine and reminds one of that spontaneous thrill at the August 12, 1970 Midnight show from two years previously! Elvis is certainly enjoying it. Worth noting is that Elvis changes his mind about singing ‘Love Me Tender’ as well as rather oddly saying that he doesn’t want to do ‘Burning Love’. - This was his new single released ten days previously and would have been all over the radio. Instead, Elvis chooses the very rare ‘It’s Over’ – which shocks the musicians - the only time he would sing it this Las Vegas season and only the third time he would sing it in the whole of 1972. The next time it featured in a performance would be at ‘Aloha’! On this special night Elvis sings it with a delightful poignancy and it is another true highlight. ‘Suspicious Minds’ is the average 1972 crowd-pleaser but still with more energy than in later years – towards the end Elvis nicely jokes “Hold on, now for the supreme test – I hope this suit don’t tear up baby” with The Sweets responding, “Oh, you’ll be in trouble, baby”. (a reference to the Polk issue noted earlier). Further highlights are ‘My Way’ (lovely in stereo) and ‘A Big Hunk O’ Love’ a song that Elvis saved for the Midnight Shows - is a great rocker and is beautifully contrasted with ‘An American Trilogy’ that follows both stunningly performed. It was early in the season and this is great Midnight Show with strong performances and a couple of surprises along the way. A concert well-worth replaying. The CD then includes five “Bonus Rehearsal Tracks” including an interesting run-through of ‘My Way’ and ‘It’s Over’ discussed later in this review.
Disc 3 – August 12 Dinner Show No ‘I Got A Woman’ tonight but instead the rocking ‘Proud Mary’. The stereo mix again nicely separates out Elvis’ vocal from the backing vocals and Jerry Scheff’s bass in pumping. It’s nice to have an excuse to revisit any Elvis concert and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this show. It would have been great to be there. And as stated, the “stereo” puts you much more in the auditorium that a mono soundboard. At the end of ‘Proud Mary’ you can hear the audience cheering and whistling all around you. The stereo remaster makes ‘Until It’s Time For You To Go’ sound stunning. Again you can hear both Glen D Hardin’s piano and the separate organ player as well as the beautiful violin balanced against Kathy Westmoreland. This is a beautiful high-quality recording. ‘You Don't Have To Say You Love Me’ and ‘You've Lost That Loving Feeling’ with its extended intro - delightful and clear JB plucking on right channel - are both very fine versions. There is a very cute "Baby, baby, I’ll get down on my knees for you… but wouldn’t get my pants dirty!" adlib at 2.50. Elvis was of course dressed in his two-piece suit with white pants! ‘Polk Salad Annie’ is excellent with rich Jerry Scheff bass. ‘What Now My Love’ – the 12th time live on stage - is one of the very best versions that Elvis performed. Elvis is obviously trying hard to do a perfect performance, pronouncing the lyrics very carefully and the mix with The Stamps providing exquisite backing. One of the positives of this 1972 season is that Elvis was very work focussed and the shows had much less fan interaction than other seasons. However, that doesn’t mean Elvis didn’t have fun at times and here he jokes with a fan, “You had three kisses last night. We can’t get serious, we just don’t have time!” ‘Fever’ in stereo is again superb listening with the clear finger-clicks, Jerry Scheff bass and the delight from the audience. The “oldies” are the regular crowd pleasers but both ‘One Night’ with Elvis biting into the lyrics and ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ as a nice slow, bluesy version again with the organ highlighted are excellent. This show was also interesting since Elvis spots his old Crown Electric employers Mr and Mrs Tipler in the audience saying, "Hello, Mrs Tipler how are you?" mid ‘Love Me Tender’ and you can hear her say to the crowd, "That’s my boy!" It’s very cute. During the ‘Band Introductions’ Elvis also introduces the actor Telly Savallas who was in the audience saying, "I’ve been a fan of this gentleman for a long time, one of the finest actors in the business. My man! Thank you for coming in." With these close connections in the crowd the show seems rather more personal to Elvis than usual and after a sensitively sung ‘My Way’ he feels that he has to tell the audience "I wouldn’t want it associated with my own personal life.. "and now the end is near and all that jazz".. It’s ok for Sinatra but I haven't even ate it up and spit it out yet. I'm still chewing on it!" ‘American Trilogy’ is again a fabulous highlight – the “stereo” adding even more ambience - a real audience pleaser with a beautifully sensitive ‘All My Trails’ section. It is a lovely version - "Whoo, very good" Elvis rightly notes at the end. With a well performed ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ Elvis finishes this very fine Dinner performance. The CD then includes the final five “Bonus Rehearsal Tracks” discussed later in this review.
Disc 4 - August 12 Midnight Show Right from the kick-off the sound is crystal clear. ‘See See Rider’ features a fabulous sounding rhythm section, super shiny percussion – listen to Ronnie Tutt tinkle his hi-hat at 02:30 - plus great sounding brass section and Elvis full-bore. Tonight Elvis includes a lovely smooth ‘I Got A Woman / Amen’ before kicking the gear up with ‘Proud Mary’ (disappointingly dropped after this season) driven by Jerry Scheff’s rockin’ bass. In this mix you can clearly hear how closely Elvis and his backing vocalists – both The Stamps and The Sweets worked together blending harmonies. Neat hand-claps too. ‘Never Been To Spain’ - well known from Elvis’ Madison Square Gardens concerts - was a rarity this season (afterwards it would also be dropped) but here is very nicely performed, clear and spicy featuring a great brass section. A gentle ‘Until It’s Time For You To Go’ follows and Elvis really means it when he sings, “Lord Love me, love me, love me now” – it is a delightful version. ‘You've Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ - “Whoo” Elvis announces at the start - is a truly excellent and powerful version with Elvis adding a really pleading vocal to “Baby, baby I’ll get down on my knees for you” section surprisingly without the all too common "If this suit’s not too tight” gag. One of the best for ‘72. ‘What Now My Love’ is another real highlight lovely in stereo and with great orchestration, less OTT than at Aloha, this is one of the very best versions. After the crowd-pleasing oldies, again with an excellent ‘One Night’, another bonus Saturday Midnight Show treat is ‘For The Good Times’ which although heavily used at the ‘On Tour’ concerts was strangely not a regular this season. It’s sung very gently and with the sweeping stereo ambience of the violins, Burton’s lovely guitar picking and Tutt’s light drumming it is another highlight. ‘My Way’ is very sincerely performed and even better than on the previous shows. The ambience of the showroom, Glen Hardin’s piano (again it shouldn’t be on the right channel!), the delicate violin and gentle backing from The Stamps this is a real treat. Similarly ‘American Trilogy’ which follows is again a wonderful touching version. The build up from the serene “All my trials” section where you can hear Jerrys Scheff’s tender bass, the flute and Glen Hardin’s piano in the gentle quiet – is extraordinary. The audience gives back with a huge ovation. Elvis then ups the pace as he heads to the end of the show with another great rockin’ performance of ‘A Big Hunk O’ Love’ – another treat. Elvis featured his regular “Mystery Train / Tiger Man” medley at several shows this season but tonight Elvis chose to go straight into a stand-alone ‘Tiger Man’ so what a disappointment that it is tantalizingly short - we can presume that the one hour soundboard tape ran out! It's a great shame as this is one of the very best 1972 Midnight performances and in rockin' good audio quality.
While these are quite interesting in their own right their audio quality is very poor and they obviously don’t have the same energy as the performance you have just listened to. I would have preferred them on a separate CD but this way gives more value-for-money. The “DES” stereo also doesn’t work so well with the poorer quality source material. The first track, the very short August 2 rehearsal of ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’ has only been on bootleg before and includes the alternate lyric, “I can’t help but love you, but believe me I’ll never knock you up”! Nice for collectors but nothing more. What is intriguing are the songs that Elvis rehearsed and must have considered as possible set-list inclusions but never sang in this season. ‘Any Day Now’ is fabulous to hear rehearsed and gets two run-throughs, ‘I’m Leavin’ was also rehearsed but never performed in 1972. ‘Faded Love’ was another song Elvis loved to kick-around but again never performed in 1972 - and then only rarely in 1973. The Beatles classic ‘Something’ although rehearsed was again not used in this summer season but was added as a key song for the ‘Aloha’ broadcast. Similarly, ‘Steamroller Blues’ was featured only once this season before again being added as key song at ‘Aloha’. The rehearsal is great taken as a very slow blues, Elvis is really involved and add some neat, “churning urn of burning funk” and ”hefty hunk of steamin’ junk – Whoo!” It is a real delight. ‘The Wonder of You’ – Elvis jumps in annoyingly early even in rehearsal – was included in the first five shows this season and then dropped, basically not returning until Lake Tahoe in 1974. The ‘My Way’ rehearsal is spoilt at the start by Elvis mucking around, however then it becomes serious and is really fascinating for being a rehearsal only 24 hours before his very first live performance. ‘I’ll Remember You’ is a sweet rehearsal but for some reason Elvis would not add it to his show until August 16th after which it became a regular. The ‘Fever’ rehearsal is straight forward but doesn’t have the lovely ambience of the finger-clicks and live audience. Elvis is right when he says afterwards, “It we get that at the right spot it’ll be effective, I think.” He would perform his first live on-stage version 48 hours later at his second show of the season ‘It’s Over’ was only performed the once this season – luckily on the August 11 Midnight show. A song that obviously interested Elvis and another key song in ‘Aloha’ yet he would perform it so rarely on stage. Again, very nice to hear it rehearsed. ‘True Love Travels On A Gravel Road’ is a lovely improvement in audio quality since its earlier release and here the “stereo” does add some nice ambience. It is such an important rehearsal since Elvis never sang it live again after the one time in 1970. This version is taken nice and slowly with Elvis’ vocal working perfectly with the J.D. Sumner & the Stamps backing-vocals. Elvis puts an amazing emphasis on the line "and hearts are in danger" @03.40. A truly fascinating 5 minutes. The short finale of ‘Portrait Of My Love’ is fabulous. Fans might have first got this as far back as on the 1991 Bilko ‘Hang Loose’ bootleg, but this is the best quality version we have of Elvis singing this US top ten 1961 hit by Steve Lawrence. - Lawrence was even awarded at Grammy for ‘Best Pop Male Vocal performance' that year! Having said to the band "Gentleman & ladies, I have to go and so I bid you an affectionate farewell…" Glen D Hardin kicks into some blues riff that gets Elvis inspired to sing along. There is then a classic moment that leads into Elvis delightfully spontaneous jam on ‘Portrait Of My Love’. What a treat.
Overall Verdict: While some collectors may be happy with their mono versions of these concerts, to me these new “stereo” versions sound so much more alive while also better highlighting every part of the musicians and Elvis’ performance. On headphones one does feel placed in the Hilton showroom surrounded by the audience and on your HiFi the rhythm section can really rock the joint. Of the three concerts I feel that the Disc 1 Aug 11 Dinner Show is the least interesting, however that is the concert with the best improvement in audio remastering here, so collectors have to be happy with that. In the end it is the two Midnight Shows that I enjoy the most and the audio quality sounds so good. They have both been on high rotation since I got this set. The rehearsals are a nice bonus, but the package could have had more explanation as to why they might be of interest since “General Public” purchasers might be confused as to why these rehearsed songs aren’t in the actual concerts featured in the set. Having said that, you get four great 1972 Elvis concerts on 4CDs with a fine selection of songs and all in a lovely “stereo” sound – That’s got to be good! Click to comment on this review
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