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‘ELVIS: Aloha From Hawaii' FTD Deluxe set REVIEW In front of the TV cameras, with no chance of failure, at the beginning you can feel that Elvis is holding back somewhat knowing what was would be required of him. Not only had he to get every vocal performance perfect, Elvis also had to maintain his iconic magnificent look and posture for the TV cameras and couldn't afford to dissolve into a sweaty mess. This was certainly a big challenge for somebody who liked spontaneity in his concerts and having fun playing to his loving fans. So in that respect Aloha was always going to be a rather physically restrained vocal performance and more of a premeditated glorious visual feast. When RCA Legacy released the 2013 40th Anniversary Aloha set my only real complaint was that the audio-mix on the Main concert was so disappointing. And although I don’t play this Elvis set very often one of the reasons for me was that it always sounded like you were listening to Elvis’ Aloha performance on your TV set rather than hearing the power and magnificence of what it must have been like that night in the HIC Arena. In previous versions it just sounded “flat”. This was truly demonstrated when the Rehearsal show was re-mixed and re-mastered for 2013 and then sounded quite excellent (See EIN 2013 Aloha review here) The fact that they didn’t remix the Main show for the 40th anniversary was a huge misstep. Now, thankfully, they have corrected that mistake. The new FTD features the excellent "Rehearsal Show" 2013 remaster (by Steve Rosenthal & Rob Santos) and while some may feel that is ripping-off-collectors, it was such a good mix that it does make sense. While I rarely, very rarely, actually listen to my CD of the Aloha show I have always felt that it needed a proper audio remaster and this version by Matt Ross-Spang sounds great. To be honest it now has the power and dynamic sound of what the actual concert would have felt like that unique night in the H.I.C arena. Whereas previous versions only had a lesser audio impact similar to watching it on TV. The Packaging.
The booklet includes a short introduction by Ernst Jorgensen where it is interesting to learn that the sales statistics from March 73 to January 75 were not recorded. The fact that the album is recorded as selling 5.5 million - despite missing the main sales figures from the peak of its success - is incredible. Inside it is a two-page article by Elvis author Alan Hanson explaining the setup, along with contemporary reviews of the TV show. Also featured are pertinent quotes from several of the musicians involved in the show, including..
Some of the photos are particularly impressive and to be honest both front covers have a far greater impact than the original 1973 album sleeve. There are several pages of relevant memorabilia but the film contact sheet featured on page 17 only makes you want to have extra pages of these sensational photographs of Elvis at Aloha. Some of the contact prints look totally new to me. (The FTD pre-release publicity stated that it would include a 28-page booklet when it is actually only 24.)
It was of course an impressive performance and an amazing achievement which the booklet reflects. While it is a little disappointing that I have previously bought this particular Elvis product so many times already this new FTD packaging is it true delight if you can afford it.
Great looking double-page spread from the FTD booklet
CD.1 MAIN SHOW - runs 65:21 – (three minutes longer than previous 2013 release) From the beginning of the tape with a couple of seconds new audio, the sound is notably clear and crisp right from the start, with Ronnie Tutt's cymbals sounding clean and sparkly in the audio mix. Listing on headphones it is obvious this is a very wide stereo mix compare to the previously released rather “mono”/ centred version. It is also a very different mix. Placing James Burton's guitar and backing vocals to the right. Glen D Hardin’s piano left, along with the Orchestra and brass on the left-hand side, with Elvis' vocal nice and clear. Ronnie Tutt’s percussion also nicely cuts through. The overall effect of listening on headphones or playing loud on a good hifi is much more of the realistic sound of sitting in the HIC arena. You become more involved and you can feel more of the magnificence of the occasion. ‘Burning Love’ feels stronger for the new mix, with a nice bass-line, rockin’ piano playing from Glen D and with all the musicians spread apart it gives the song a more powerful feel. While ‘Burning Love’ was recorded before Madison Square Garden it wasn’t released until after the concerts and so this would be RCA’s first Live release of this classic rocker. It is also very noticeable how you can now hear and feel more of the excitement of the audience and crowd reaction as now mixed to stereo the excitement surrounds you. On ‘Something’ you can really notice the crowd's appreciation at the start of the song which was lost on the original mix. The strings were also rather buried in the mix previously whereas here the Orchestra is nice and open with Kathy Westmorland’s sopranos correctly placed on the right-hand side (previously was on the left) once again giving more magnificence to the performance - even if Elvis really hadn't warmed up as yet. ‘My Way’, with piano and strings to the left, now raises Elvis' vocal nice and clear in the mix with the slight echo adding the ambience and the real feeling of being in the arena. The purer sound also evokes a stronger, more emotional feel to the song. ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ is another track which really benefits from much richer, clearer vocal. Elvis' harmonies with The Imperials are beautifully reproduced here whereas before they all sounded rather buried in the mix. ‘What Now My Love’ again sounds very different with the new mix. Now you can hear the magnificence of the rather complicated arrangement with kettle drums, backing vocals and Orchestra all clearly audible as opposed to being buried in the previous rather mono mix of the original. ‘The Introductions’ are also complete, where the previous version had the odd fade-out before ‘I'll Remember You’. The joke “general flunky” description of Charlie Hodge is present plus Elvis gets to thank producer Marty Pasetta and all his crew and notes how much money they raised for the Kui Lee cancer charity. He also adds that, “One of my favourite actors is in the audience, Jack Lord. I gotta’ say that” which, with the Hawaii-5-0 connection, was so fitting. Incidentally you can now really hear the band’s “coming-home” groove during the intros including some splendid guitar picking from James Burton that was buried in the previous release. ‘I'll Remember You’ is the classic song from this brilliant TV spectacle. The swirling Orchestra is beautifully placed with James Burton's light guitar picking on the right-hand channel and the backing vocals neatly balanced against the Orchestra. The previously mix had the Orchestra in the middle mashed up with James Burton and the backing vocals on the left-hand side. Now it sounds like the true performance and again you feel more emotionally involved. ‘American Trilogy’ of course similarly benefits from the open mix, the anticipation of the audience with the power of the arrangement presenting much more of an emotional punch. ‘A Big Hunk O’ Love’ also benefits from the great new open mix, now sounding much more like an exciting rocker compared to the previous version. This was Elvis’ first live version released by RCA so it would have been exciting for the audience to hear it that night. To be honest, with the audio mix being that much clearer and separated you can also now hear some more of the reticence in Elvis’ vocal towards the start of the performance where he surely knew he had to pace himself due to it being a continuous satellite performance. The show really takes off and you can feel Elvis knows that “it’s-in-the-bag” at the half-way mark of ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’. Finally it is worth noting that after ‘Can't Help Falling In Love’ the Closing Vamp goes on for the full 2:33 (in fact it now gets a track number all of its own!) whereas before it faded all too soon after 45 seconds. There is no question just how splendid this Matt Ross-Spang remix is of this classic performance. The only disappointment can be that this powerful mix wasn’t included in the “general public” re-release back in 2013.
CD.2 Rehearsal Show - runs 56 mins
See full 2013 review here.. It's still just as enjoyable.
One of the three pages dedicated to Aloha memorabilia
CD.3 The Bonus Songs (52 minutes) This is a neat addition to our collection. The complete tape of Elvis’ post-Main-show additionally required material. Compared to previous releases the audio quality of this session (again remixed by Matt Ross-Spang) is outstanding. The sound is rich and full almost as if it was recorded in an RCA studio. Previous releases were very centred-mono and with Elvis’ vocal extremely thin. ‘Early Morning Rain’, for instance, sounds fantastic here. To be honest it beggars belief that Elvis agreed to do this throw-away NBC requested material when he would obviously be completely exhausted after the biggest show of his career. Damn that Colonel! I guess Elvis was fooled into thinking that singing his old, easy-going material with cue cards in front of him would be short and sweet. Only five tracks were required and the first song, Blue Hawaii was knocked off in an easy two takes. However things didn’t go as smoothly as planned and listening to the complete session you can really feel the tension building as Elvis just wants it all to end and so they can all go home. You can hear Elvis and producer Marty Pasetta discuss whether the cameras are rolling as this material was also recorded for the later edited with-commercial-breaks TV broadcast. All five songs were released on the 2004 ‘Aloha From Hawaii’ Deluxe DVD set but the video tapes only run 27 minutes. These RCA audio tapes run 52 minutes so there is plenty new to enjoy. Blue Hawaii: A previously unreleased short, rough rehearsal of this song sets the scene. Elvis sounds very tentative and you can hear The Stamps rehearsing their backing vocals. While Joe Tunzi’s ‘Sessions 111’ book states that there were 10 takes of this song, from the audio evidence, I don't believe a word of it. On the first take Marty Pasetta asks which musician kicks off the song and then discusses rolling the videotape. Blue Hawaii was completed in two quick takes both sounding like a lazy late-night jazz club version! Blue Hawaii: A previously unreleased short, rough rehearsal of this song sets the scene. Elvis sounds very tentative and you can hear The Stamps rehearsing their backing vocals. While Joe Tunzi’s ‘Sessions 111’ book states that there were 10 takes of this song, from the audio evidence, I don't believe a word of it. On the first take Marty Pasetta asks which musician kicks off the song and then discusses rolling the videotape. Blue Hawaii was completed in two quick takes both sounding like a lazy late-night jazz club version! Elvis then makes a point about this after-show session, “I will always remember you for this Marty, really!” ‘Ku-U-I-Po’: “What’s the intro to this? What’s the middle part? What's the finish? – Help!” jokes Elvis. Marty Pasetta tries to cheer him up joking about his good-looking jumpsuit. He also suggests, “You know I think it would have been interesting putting these songs into the middle of the show.” On previously unreleased Takes 2 & 3 Elvis sounds noticeably tired - “oh, shit” - and stumbles over the lyrics, but luckily on the next attempt they do manage a complete take. While one has to feel sorry for Elvis, as a collector it is still a fascinating insight into what he was being put through at such a crazy time in the morning. ‘No More’: It's more of a rehearsal but previously unreleased Take one - with an added samba beat - is a treat. “Making your black eyes shine” sings Elvis as he bursts into laughter. At the least his mood has improved and he jokes laughs along with a band. ‘Hawaiian Wedding Song’: The vast majority of this recording has never been officially released before so it's interesting to hear how they all had to struggle as they headed towards the end of the session. Previously unreleased Take 1 is more of rehearsal with Elvis joking with the lyrics including, “This is the moment - God damn right” and “Now that we are one - hot damn you!”. A longer rehearsal follows with Elvis teasing Glen D Hardin, “Don't do all that fancy shit!” and sounding tired. Take two is close to perfect but on the following take everything would finally gel. “That's a print” says Marty. Elvis kindly explains, “That Hawaiian Wedding song has always been tough to sing.” ‘Early Morning Rain’: Gordon Lightfoot's composition is surely the most interesting of the session and rather strange being the only non-Hawaiian focused song. Elvis had recorded the song two years previously but would not add it as a concert set-list regular until 1976 so this inclusion is more fascinating than fans might realise. The last song of the night, previously unreleased laid-back Take 1 with James Burton's delightful guitar picking is a delight. Why this hasn't been previously released is a mystery. As a final request Elvis asks, “Don't hold back too much. Let me hear the fills and the beat. It is awfully isolated out here.” 3am and the final recording of the night, take two captures the band going out on a happy, if somewhat tired, high. “Is that okay? Thank you. Thank you, ladies and gentleman”, says Elvis as thankfully the most prestigious performance of his life is finally finished. Listening to this made me re-visit the post-show Aloha DVD recordings. Elvis looks even more tired than he sounds on this recording. At times he rolls his eyes at yet another failed take and looks like he is asleep standing-up. His only glimmer of real interest is when he is singing the final song, ’Early Morning Rain’.
Overall Verdict: Any fan’s first consideration has to be how many times do they listen to the ‘Aloha’ concert on CD. Another thought is that we are all likely to have bought the “special” 40th anniversary edition back in 2013. So with this deluxe package costing £46 / US$65 (@Graceland Shop) it sure isn’t cheap for an audio upgrade of the main concert plus 25 minutes more of NBC “Insert” outtakes. However if you have always been as frustrated as I have about the audio dullness of Elvis’ “Greatest show on earth” then this Aloha Deluxe package is the answer. Having the “complete” RCA tape of the post-show “Insert Songs” is also a delight and even better with the truly impressive new audio remaster. It is also a session worth replaying if only to hear what poor old Elvis was forced to do! The booklet and packaging are also Top Notch. So for fans that can afford this set and who have a real interest in the Aloha show it is highly recommended. Play LOUD and you can really feel the ambiance and also the magnificence of this stunning event.
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