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[NightRider]

"Elvis In Concert" Definetly a TV special


In his career Elvis Presley only made 3 TV specials of his own. The first in 1968 being the highly acclaimed “Elvis” or as it’s more widely known now as The 68 Comeback. In this special Elvis reinvented himself and proved he was still a natural and innovative performer to huge critical acclaim.
The second special was the Aloha Show in 1973 broadcast via satellite to an audience of approximately 500 million people this showcased Elvis in a superb live performance, totally in control, the polished showman.
The third and final TV special “Elvis in Concert” came in 1977,and consists of excerpts filmed from Elvis’ last ever tour from the Omaha Nebraska and Rapid City South Dakota shows. The show itself reached No1 in the U.S TV ratings and the soundtrack album went gold.
Both the 68 Special and the Aloha Show (though they have been available for many years) have been recently re-released on DVD having been digitally remastered and packed with extra never before seen footage. However the “Elvis in Concert” special has had no such official release since it was aired on TV all those years ago in 1977.The reasons being as the Elvis estate more or less puts it that due to his obvious ill health and poor physical condition it’s detrimental to Elvis’ legacy to present him in such a light. That said fans across the globe continually request that it be given an official release stating that looking past the fact of Elvis’ health he was still able to pull off some outstanding performances during the special.
And in this article I would like to discuss in detail (omitting the usual “run through” description of the special) why I also feel that Elvis’ final TV special should be given the full release it deserves.
The fact that Elvis agreed to be filmed in the first place to me shows that he wanted a new challenge. At this time in his life he had accepted (probably with great difficulty) his weight problem and on watching the special he is obviously very ill and tired although his “spirit” is high. And I believe this initial shock when first viewing the special clouds many peoples opinion of this show. This being the case it tends to detract from the real importance of the show, the music and its evaluation. Elvis’ ability to rise to the occasion and elevate what to him must have been grueling shows to perform, and had it not been for the extra effort and will given by him, would have by Elvis’ past standards been inferior. However it is the music and his genius that transcends this sad and upsetting sight of Elvis, (I still feel for him whenever I watch it).
That said, for me the special represents a time when Elvis was becoming very much more involved in his music, apparently after the Omaha show Elvis was very concerned about his performance, even to the extent of going on a crash diet and two days later his show in Rapid City was a great improvement. Indeed the special, aside from “My Way” consists entirely of footage from the Rapid City show.
The special reveals Elvis as being much more aware and responsive of his musical roots the rhythm section of the band are more prominent and the unnecessary orchestra less conspicuous. The now diminished horns, strings and backing vocals not only make the old songs sound more like the originals, but also make Elvis less dependent on them. Thus he works a lot harder and Elvis is simply in magnificent voice. His singing is best described as peerless. His eloquent and emphatic delivery of “Mountain”, “How Great Thou Art” and “Hurt”, and the two country songs “I Really Don’t Want To Know” and “Early Morning Rain” with their evocative and sensitive renditions clearly illustrate the point. His expressive hands, the swinging arms and painful facial expressions grab the viewer into his painful and sorrowful world, just as his choice of material does. What about the inclusion again in his repertoire of the heart aching “My Way”. If Sinatra had not recorded it first, so the song must have surely been written for Elvis.
These are the reasons why the special must be ranked with the other two. I think Elvis, had he lived, would have used the CBS Special as a stepping stone in reaffirming his rare artistic genius, and the fact that he did make a conscious effort to try and regain his recognition once again as an artiste to be taken seriously (had anyone except the short sighted critics (and CBS) who had recently been dismissing him as a “parody of himself” ever thought so?). His musical interest and ambitions may have sometimes been lost somewhere along the last 4 years of his life, but when presented with a new challenge, and this is what the CBS Special offered him, he could easily and effortlessly fall back on his natural talent and musical instinct.

POST BY PACER