'Final Countdown to Midnight'

The Backdraft label is back with their finest release to date.

Unlike some of the more recent Elvis DVD/Books, where very little has been done to improve the quality of the previously released material, this ‘Final Countdown to Midnight’ positively oozes with quality and hard work. Plenty of time and money has obviously been put in to producing this stylish deluxe package.

There is no doubt that Elvis’ final New Year’s Eve concert was certainly his last "Great" performance of his life, although, unlike the book’s publicity, it could never really be regarded as his "greatest" unless referenced to 1976 or 1977.

And whereas the recent book/DVD that focused on Elvis’ December 1976 Vegas season would be somewhat of an embarrassment to show to a "non-Elvis" fan, this last concert of 1976 where Elvis was back to a healthy weight, energetic and inspired is a fine demonstration of what our hero could do even in the final few months of his life.

Mini-Review

The Book.
Surprisingly, even though it was such a major concert, it seems that no professional pictures were taken of this extraordinary event. The 106-page book therefore has been produced purely from fan photos and so it is impressive that some are so clear that we can often see the beads of sweat and every hair. And what a fantastic jumpsuit to be wearing on this special night, compared to say the Bicentennial flowery suit.

Everything seemed to fall into place, Elvis wanted to impress Ginger as well as Lisa Marie, he had on a fantastic jumpsuit, had lost some weight, was feeling in a great mood and was up to perform an amazing show.

The main section of the book features a lengthy essay by an eye witness explaining how it was to be there that special night and what a brilliant night it was for one and all. Fabulous photos help explain the time line.

The Performance on CD.
Comparing the improved, re-engineered CD audio of this 2014 release to the FTD 2003 ’New Year’s Eve’ is like chalk and cheese. This is not some basic "knob-twiddling" improvement, as it is obvious that a lot of work has been done to remove the old extraneous noise and peak distortion. Plus the overall sound no longer sounds tinny and the bass has been brought back into the sound picture, which is essential for songs like ‘Polk Salad Annie’.

While of course it is a cassette audience recording, now it sounds pretty amazing for what it is. Best to play on loudspeakers rather than headphones as, after all, this is Elvis in concert!
At times it almost sounds as good as a soundboard plus there is the amazing audience reaction to Elvis’ performance which would be missing from a dry soundboard recording.

Unlike the FTD release, thankfully this is now the complete concert (see details below), with the distortion removed, and the bass-line beautifully fixed up, it is marvellous listening and you can play it loud.

Without going into every detail of the long set-list Elvis was in splendid voice, great spirit and sounded like he was loving every moment. No tiresome 'If You Love Me (let me know)' or 'Let Me Be There' for the fans that night, just a marvelously selected set-list. For the 16,409 people present that night in Pittsburgh this was going to be something very special.

The DVD
With no professional filming during Elvis’ last few years – except for the very sad last CBS TV shows - it is marvellous that we have so much footage from this New Year’s Eve night, Elvis’ last "great" performance.

Watching it helps explain so much of how Elvis and his audience interacted and how he worked with the band in his last few years on stage. For instance there is delight in seeing him picking up a doll that has been presented to him from the audience during ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’.

The good news is that this is a sensational DVD of Elvis’ last great show using some creative multi-camera angles, the sad news is that unfortunately no new footage of ‘Unchained Melody’ or ‘Rags To Riches’ has been found. However the newly found footage and multi-camera angles plus perfect syncronisation more than makes up for it.

The DVD starts with scenes of a wintery Pittsburg as ‘2001’ plays in the background and the tension builds. Then what a brilliant start as we see shots of Elvis walking up the stairs to go on stage - part of the footage even shows two camera angles! Even I could feel the excitement of being there on December 31, 1976.

With the footage only being assembled from home-videos of old super-8 cameras in the crowd, the quality of the video varies a lot. Yes, of course some of it is only improved "VHS quality" and sometimes very blurry however there is also plenty of excellent quality material and some that I have never seen before. In fact the miracle is that so much footage exists at all.

Some multiple-angle images last only a few seconds as that is obviously all that was filmed. After all the film was shot by fans grabbing some mementos of seeing Elvis on stage so it is incredible that these can be put together to create a near complete performance. At times the multiple-camera angles are pretty revealing, making Elvis’ performance even more exciting to watch.

There are some fantastically good close-ups for home-video. When Elvis makes his comments of "10,000 flashbulbs going off" it is great to see the excitement and enthusiasm on his face and his very cheeky grin. Throughout the concert Elvis seems so full of excitement, working with the band live on stage and playing music that he loved. The on-tour December shows were very different from the lacklustre performances from earlier in 1976. Watching this DVD it is hard to believe that Elvis would be dead within eight months.

Here there is happiness in Elvis’ eyes rather than the desperation that you could often observe late in 1976.
Perhaps the most emotional moment is when Elvis says, "Happy New Year Everybody."

To hear Elvis saying this to thousands of his adoring fans, yet at the same time realising that he would never get to say it again, is moving indeed.

Note that DVD scans used in this review are low-res screengrabs off my laptop and look far better on a proper display. They are only to give examples of the clever multi-camera production.

 

Overall Mini Verdict: It is obvious that a long time has been spent in the making of this deluxe New Year’s Eve release, both in terms of the audio remastering but also in gathering new newly found video footage. The editing of the multi-angle tapes, plus gathering together all the possible photographs that could be found this great event is truly impressive. This is one stunning release that will be hard to beat.
If you want to enjoy Elvis at his best in 1976 / 1977 it doesn’t get better than this. Rush to your Elvis dealer and order your copy now this is sure to sell out.
　
In-Depth Review

The Book.
Surprisingly, even though it was such a major concert, it seems that no professional pictures were taken of this extraordinary event. The 100-page book therefore has to be produced purely from fan photos and so it is impressive that some are so clear that we can often see the beads of sweat and every hair. And what a fantastic jumpsuit to be wearing on this night, compared to say the Bicentennial flowery suit.

Everything seemed to fall into place, Elvis wanted to impress Ginger as well as Lisa Marie, he had on a fantastic jumpsuit, had lost some weight, was feeling in a great mood and was up to perform an amazing show.

The main section of the book features a lengthy essay by an eye witness explaining how it was to be there that special night and what a brilliant night it was for one and all. Fabulous photos help explain the concert time-line. The story includes…

"It was a night! Oh, what a night, it really WAS such a night! …. Finally, the eternity ended and the lights dimmed at 11:25, as the ominous strains of "2001" slowly enveloped the arena. Ronnie's drums slammed into the opening riff and THERE HE WAS! Our Knight in White, wearing the Black Phoenix jumpsuit which was dusted off especially for this event. The audience went wild filling the arena with blazing light that emanated from the flash cameras it seemed every-one brought into the venue. He strapped on his blond Martin guitar, hit Charlie playfully in the stomach with it and with "See See Rider" sailed into the show."

And later…

"After an inspired version of "Little Sister," Elvis informed us he wanted to sing a song he's been doing on this tour, "Unchained Melody." OH MY GOD, I thought. That's the old Roy Hamilton classic and one the Righteous Brothers made famous too, and now here's Elvis on piano singing the song! … He then performed the most beautiful rendition of this song I have ever heard. Dedicated to his father, daughter "and Ginger", his latest flame, Elvis' voice was pure perfection as Charlie held the mic to Elvis' mouth and The King caressed each lyric. It's the only time in the show I heard the audience quiet down to actually listen to him sing. When it was over they stood and roared their approval. My eyes were left moist. I've never been so proud of him. Over the hill? Tonight he was standing on top of a mountain."

"While I'm at the piano," Elvis said, "I'd like to do another from a few years ago. 'Rags to Riches' in the key of E and off he went with the 1971 single which deserved to do better than it did in the charts. Man, I damned near fell under my seat when he started this one. "You know, I'd go frooooooooom rags to riches," he sang as his pure voice simply soared throughout the arena. The band was tentative. He'd never done this one before, but the pros fell in and even though Elvis missed part of the bridge, this version has become legendary."

The book also features newspaper clippings and memorabilia along with the fantastic photos matched with plenty of quotes from the show.

A few pages are dedicated to jumpsuit designer Gene Doucette, previous releases of this concert and the Civic Arena itself. However with 106 pages dedicated to this one concert, the book truly covers everything.

Billy Smith also reminisces about the New Year’s Eve tour and also tells a fabulous story of how all the boys played up in a water fight after the concert.
It includes…

"We always sat around and talked for a while. This seemed to relieve some of his tension. Elvis was always very nervous before a show. Elvis usually got dressed about 7:30 p.m. But because he was doing the New Year's Eve show, he wouldn't go on until later so he didn't get dressed until about 9:30. We left for the show. Elvis did a fantastic job, as he always did. It was all that we had expected and then some. The crowd was beautiful. They seemed to really boost Elvis' morale more. He did one of the best ever.

After the show was over we all went back to the hotel. Elvis had decided to stay over in Pittsburgh instead of flying right out after the show. He had intended to have a party for the group. Uncle Vernon knew that Elvis must be told of his cousins recent death so, he went in to talk to him. A couple of us went in with Uncle Vernon. We knew Elvis would be upset and we wanted to comfort him. Bobbie was my cousin too, but I had to be careful of the way I reacted in front of Elvis so I wouldn't upset him even more. Elvis talked with Uncle Vernon for quite some time, then I went in and talked with him a long time.

"I think I'll go to bed," Elvis said. "Why don't you go ahead with the party?" I told him it might make him feel better if he would go to the party too. "No. I don't feel much like it but, you go ahead and have a good time."

Strangely Billy Smith isn’t credited in the book.

At the end of the book there is the section ‘Fans Remembered’ which features plenty of tales of what it was like to be at this fantastic concert.

The Performance on CD.
Comparing the improved, re-engineered CD audio of this 2014 release to the FTD 2003 ’New Year’s Eve’ is like chalk and cheese. This is not some basic "knob-twiddling" improvement, as it is obvious that a lot of work has been done to remove the old extraneous noise and peak distortion. Plus the overall sound no longer sounds tinny and the bass has been brought back into the sound picture, essential for songs like ‘Polk Salad Annie’.

While of course it is a cassette audience recording, now it sounds pretty amazing for what it is. Best to play on loudspeakers rather than headphones as, after all, this is Elvis in concert!

At times it almost sounds as good as a soundboard plus there is the amazing audience reaction to Elvis’ performance which would be missing from a dry soundboard recording.

An easy comparison, apart from the notable richer audio, is when Elvis says "I’m actually testing this suit ‘cos I could fall into a jigsaw puzzle" during ‘I Got A Woman / Amen’. On the FTD Elvis’ comments are full of nasty peak distortion, here they are clean of distortion yet still sound as clear.

While I praised FTD releasing their first "audience recording" back in those early days, (see FTD 'NYE' review here) it is now obvious how little audio engineering was done to improve the audio quality from the original bootleg release.

The first CD starts with the Sweet Inspirations and some "Elvis Super Souvenirs" announcements which helps set the scene and creates the same feeling as the crowd felt that night – "We Want Elvis"!

The 2001 theme then helps increase the anticipation until we hear that marvellous, "Elllllllllllvvviiiiissss" scream from the front row as the band launched into a rockin’ ‘See See Rider’.
Elvis immediately shows himself in great form as he powers into　'See See Rider'　and an extremely long　'I Got a Woman/Amen'.　

What soon becomes noticeable is that the official FTD release from 2003 was edited and even on the first two songs. Some screaming fan interaction just when Elvis says "Sure got the New Year’s spirit" was cut. Similarly after a man shouted "You look great Elvis" with the crowd interaction of "Elvis I love you" parts were for some reason edited out of the FTD version.

It is obvious that at last Backdraft have provided us with a great quality complete NYE concert compared to the FTD version. More FTD unnecessary cuts were in ‘Fever’ where crowd reactions were edited out while in ‘Hound Dog’ some of Elvis' comments were even removed.
It is strange as the missing audience interaction helps show the real excitement of the night as well as Elvis’ involvement with the crowd, so it there seems very little reason for FTD to have removed them in the first place.

Before ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ the Backdraft version includes some great additional comments where Elvis says, "I’d like to play guitar" and the crowd sings "Happy Birthday Elvis" plus Elvis saying, "This is a song from 1902, just after the turn of the century". Why on earth were these removed from the official release?

Thankfully this is now the complete concert, with the distortion removed, and the bass-line beautifully fixed up, it is marvellous listening and you can play it loud.

Without going into every detail of the long set-list Elvis was in splendid voice, great spirit and sounded like he was loving every moment. For the 16,409 people present that night in Pittsburgh this was going to be something very special. The audience recording is surprisingly good with the songs occasionally interrupted by an audience member shouting "Happy Birthday Elvis" or "God save the King." Highlights are an excellent　'You Gave me a Mountain' and a lovely 'My Way'　(reintroduced into his set list on this tour).

There is a lovely cool swagger to　'Trying to get to You'　that is immediately followed by a blistering 'Polk Salad Annie'. There is also the great rarity of Elvis singing　'Auld Lang Syne'　and when you hear it you know that there is no other place you could want to have been that New Year's Eve.

After this Elvis introduces Vernon, and "My little daughter Lisa"　who are both in the audience that night along with Ginger.

A fabulous 'Love Letters'　(so much better that most attempts in 1976), and ‘Early Morning Rain'.

Someone in the audience calls out for 'Fever'. Elvis says "Fever? You wanna hear Fever? No problems!"　and does a great spontaneous version. It's at moments like these that the audience recording & being able to hear the genuine response really helps you understand what Elvis' concerts were all about.

'Hurt'　again is excellent and is followed by a great reprise. Checking the DVD you get to see Elvis deliberately roll onto his back and sing the last part of the song lying on the stage. It is a magic moment that shows him at his playful best as well as being in fabulous voice. It also makes me sad as I wonder what can have gone so horribly wrong, so quickly.

The treats continue when Elvis puts on his acoustic guitar to sing　'Are You Lonesome Tonight'　and then announces　"Somewhere in the sixties we did a song　'Reconsider Baby."　A great song & an amazing New Year's treat.

Twenty four songs into the show but yet again Elvis responds to an audience request and performs a great　'Little Sister'　and it just keeps on getting better. Elvis had recently started performing 'Unchained Melody'　accompanying himself on the piano - in fact this was only his fifth time performing it live. He announces it　"For my Dad, Lisa & Ginger"　and sings a very pleading version (..."I need your love"...). The unique surprise follows when Elvis says,　"While I'm at the piano I'd like to do another song, you know, if you don't mind".
Unbelievably Elvis decides to sing　'Rags to Riches'　- the one and only time that he sang it live. It is obviously a total shock for the band too since they have never rehearsed it.　"In the key of E" instructs Elvis.

Delicate, unrehearsed, a totally spontaneous version - certainly ramshackle in its way - but still outstanding. His voice is incredible and just listen when he asks the band to hang back -"Easy"　Elvis says as he then sings　"Must I forever stay a beggar, whose golden dreams will not come true?"　It is a magical moment as the power of his voice alone fills the auditorium. What more could you ask for?

Elvis says　"Thank You, God Bless You, take it home"　as　'Can't Help Falling'　brings everyone to their feet cheering. Someone screams "No, No, Elvis, Elvis" and after such an exquisite and unusual two hours you feel the same.

On the DVD you can see Elvis soaking up the applause still with energy to spare & throwing in some final karate moves. Leaving the stage on such a high who would guess the terrible sadness of a few months later in 1977.

The high quality of the production is also nicely demonstrated by the fact that the twos CDs fit into a little "cassette format" on the back page – it is a cute idea and only goes to show the high quality of this production in every way.
　
In the middle of the concert Elvis says　"I'd like to wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year & hope you health & happiness and may your God be with you. I mean that sincerely". If only someone had really been there to look after Elvis' health & happiness.

 

The DVD
With no professional filming during Elvis’ last few years – except for the very sad last CBS TV shows - it is marvellous that we have so much footage from this, Elvis’ last "great" performance. Watching it helps explain so much of how Elvis and his audience interacted and how he worked with the band in his last few years on stage. There is delight in seeing him picking up a doll that has been presented to him from the audience for instance during ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’.

The good news is that this is a sensational DVD of Elvis’ last great show using some creative multi-camera angles, the sad news is that unfortunately no new footage of ‘Unchained Melody’ or ‘Rags To Riches’ has been found. However the newly found footage and multi-camera angles plus perfect syncronisation more than makes up for it.

The DVD starts with scenes of a wintery Pittsburg as ‘2001’ plays in the background and the tension builds. Then what a brilliant start as we see shots of Elvis walking up the stairs to go on stage - part of the footage even shows two camera angles! Even I could feel the excitement of being there on December 31, 1976.

With the footage only being assembled from home-videos of old super-8 cameras in the crowd, the quality of the video varies a lot. Yes, of course some of it is only improved "VHS quality" and sometimes very blurry however there is also plenty of excellent quality material and some that I have never seen before. In fact the miracle is that so much footage exists at all.

As noted in the booklet..
"We have 8 different filmed camera angles in our possession, with a total length of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Different films contained the same scenes, which allowed us to present the show in a multiple-angle format. Using all the available footage combined, we were able to re-create the nearly entire performance.
Some of the footage comes from older transfers made on VHS tapes. Others were digitally transferred directly onto DVD; and some others were even transferred into a digital HD format, resulting in breath-taking quality. Due to the different sources and transfer techniques, there will be some difference in visual quality. Previously released footage comes from younger-generation sources than on any past home-made release, and the new unseen / unreleased footage is top quality."

Some multiple-angle images last only a few seconds as that is obviously all that was filmed. After all the film was shot by fans grabbing some mementos of seeing Elvis on stage so it is incredible that it can be put together to create a near complete performance. At other times the multiple-camera angles are pretty revealing, making Elvis’ performance even more exciting to watch.

There are some fantastically good close-ups for home-video. When Elvis makes his comments of "10,000 flashbulbs going off" it is great to see the excitement and enthusiasm on his face and his very cheeky grin.

Throughout the concert Elvis seems so full of excitement, working with the band live on stage and playing music that he loved. The "on-tour" late December shows were very different from the lacklustre performances from earlier in 1976. Watching this DVD it is hard to believe that Elvis would be dead within eight months. Here there is happiness in Elvis’ eyes rather than the desperation that you could often observe late in 1976. As expected the excited fans would film much more during the first part of the concert before their film canisters would run out. This means that there are more multiple camera angles in the first part of the DVD and some of the later songs do not feature any close-up footage.

During some songs some short "audience-panning" shots are used to fill-in where footage is missing. But to be honest these are not frequent and while they may not be perfect, compared to the long sections of "black" used in the official DVD of ‘Prince From Another Planet’ they can easily be accepted.

Other DVD highlights are Jim Curtin’s presentation to Elvis of the Liberty Bell, which is really quite touching - and Elvis’ introduction of a young Lisa Marie.

Perhaps the most emotional moment is when Elvis says, "Happy New Year Everybody."
To hear Elvis saying this to thousands of his adoring fans, yet at the same time realising that he would never get to say it again, is moving indeed.

It is fabulous to get such good footage of Elvis singing, ‘Trying To Get To You’ where you can see his involvement and love of performing. Similarly the close up images of Elvis’ persparation during a passionate ‘My Way’ is revealing.

However it has to be a fabulous ‘Polk Salad Annie’ that is the highlight. Physically of course Elvis’ performance is somewhat of a pallid comparison to the great ‘That’s The Way It Is’ 1970 version, however it is still a fabulously powerful and enjoyable performance being so near to the end of Elvis’ life. The multi-camera angles help capture this great performance. Some of the ‘Introductions’ were not filmed and are edited here however a wonderfully passionate ‘Love Letters’ is complete and another highlight.

The fans in the crowd must have been running out of film as the show progressed as the quality of the footage does diminish towards the end.

‘Hurt’ is complete – including Elvis’ deliberate roll onto his back – but is not great quality.

Luckily the wonderful ‘Reconsider Baby’ is complete and better quality. What a real shame Elvis never performed this great blues number for the professional cameras!

As noted, no new footage of ‘Unchained Melody’ or ‘Rags To Riches’ has been found so Elvis is still that small blur in the distance that you can hardly make out.

The cameras were however rolling again for the ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ finale and with multiple camera angles you can feel the emotion as Elvis departs the stage never to return again in such good form. Seeing Elvis in such a healthy state (for 1977) actually makes the ending feel all that more emotional compared to the CBS TV special where it is all too obvious that the end was near. Right, Elvis acknowledges the crowd before he leaves the stage.

In the middle of the concert Elvis says　"I'd like to wish you a very happy & prosperous New Year & hope you health & happiness and may your God be with you. I mean that sincerely". If only someone had really been there to look after Elvis' health & happiness.

Note that DVD scans used in this review are low-res screengrabs off my laptop and look far better on a proper display. They are only to give examples of the clever multi-camera production.

　
Overall Verdict: It is obvious that a long time has been spent in the making of this deluxe New Year’s Eve release, both in terms of the audio remastering but also in gathering new newly found video footage. The editing of the multi-angle tapes, plus gathering together all the possible photographs that could be found this great event is truly impressive. This is one stunning release that will be hard to beat.
If you want to enjoy Elvis at his best in 1976 / 1977 it doesn’t get better than this. Rush to your Elvis dealer and order your copy now as this is sure to sell out.
　


　
Review by Piers Beagley.
-Copyright EIN July 2014
EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.