[NightRider]

SPRING TOURS

spring 1977 tours.

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 Elvis_Presley___FTD_Spring_Tours_77___cd.jpg ( 45.94K ) Number of downloads: 9
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1: That’s All Right (Norman, March 26)
2: Are You Lonesome Tonight (Norman, March 26)
3: Blue Christmas (Norman, March 26)
4: Trying To Get To You (Abilene, March 27)
5: Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Abilene, March 27)
6: Fever (Alexandria, March 30)
7: Heartbreak Hotel (Saginaw, April 25)
8: If You Love Me (Let Me Know) (Kalamazoo, April 26)
9: O Sole Mio/It’s Now Or Never (Kalamazoo, April 26)
10: Little Sister (Ann Arbor, April 24)
11: Teddy Bear/Don’t Be Cruel (Ann Arbor, April 24)
12: Help Me (Ann Arbor, April 24)
13: Blue Suede Shoes (Norman, March 26)
14: Hound Dog (St. Paul, April 30)
15: Jailhouse Rock (Austin, March 28)
16: Polk Salad Annie (Milwaukee, April 27)
17: Bridge Over Troubled Water (Duluth, April 29)
18: Big Boss Man (Duluth, April 29)
19: Fairytale (Chicago, May 2)
20: Mystery Train/Tiger Man (Saginaw, May 3)
21: Unchained Melody (Ann Arbor, April 24)
22: Little Darlin' (Ann Arbor, April 24)
23: My Way (Saginaw, April 25)

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Audio Clip : Mystery Train/Tiger Man

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[Scott Haigh 7819...]

this is my first FTD i have bought (others i have been given) and i am quite pleased. but for the FTD packaging for $50 Australian dollars, a rip off. it comes in a cardboard case, with the cd a nice bright orange, and the big ELVIS logo. when you lift the cd, there is an 'only just' readable review of Elvis's Ann Arbor show, which shows a lot more sympathy than other critics, and even praises him in his performance. i personally could have found better photos from the concerts to put here, terrible photos. the front is Elvis side on, smiling. but his teeth look a little crooked, the back is DISGUSTING, a tired bloated sweaty Elvis looking up. but now to the content

when you put on the first track, 'thats allright', the sound is EXCELLENT! It is the bEST sound i have ever heard, the audience is in balance, Elvis's voice is damn clear, and his guitar strumming is delicious! GREAT way to start this journey, Thats allright mama is an excellent version. then for Are you lonesome tonight, which is not very good, way too much joking, the EIC version is much better. then a nice version of Blue christmas. then an AWESOME version of Trying to get tou you, Elvis does this version differently to EIC, listen to the line 'when i read your lovin leTTEEEEEER! awesome stuff

then a real suprise, Lawdy miss clawdy, rare for this year, even rarer is its sung in the key of 56, a real treat! then a mess around version of Fever, a decent version of heartbreak hotel, and then If you love me. as featured on Moody blue, it does'nt have the echo here, its undubbed, but Elvis is drowned out by the 2nd verse and 2nd chorus, damn Sherrill! then O sole mio/now or never, Sherrill sings well during his part, and Elvis does well at his, its not as good as EIC, but nice anyway

then a one liner of 'blue hawaii, Tony catches on, Elvis says 'do something Tony, it don't matter, right or wrong', Tony proceeds to do it, but Elvis turns away from it to do Little sister, nice, but blue hawaii would have been better. then a throwaway of Teddy bear/don't be cruel, damn why include this? even EIC is better, Elvis almost ends it before the bit where he goes 'cha cha cha etc'. he's not awake, he thinks its the end of the song, when there was one more verse. sad

then a good version of 'Help me', and then Blue suede shoes, a treat, this was always engaged more than the other 50s songs, and it sounds good here. then we fade out from the audience applause, and go in to more throwaway songs 'jailhouse rock and houndog, Hound dog is worse than EIC, Elvis ends it too early, after the trumpet bit, he ends it, when in the EIC version, he shakes about to a little drum beat after the trumpets, but the bad songs of this release are all made up for with THE highlight

POLK SALAD ANNIE, as always when he does it, it is a highlight. well the TCB band are taking care of business once again, with a terrific mix to enjoy! this is an AWESOME version of Polk Salad. first after the 'sock a little's, they slow down, then pick up, then slow down as the Sweets chant 'sock a little polk salad to me', then it picks up again, the drums are pounding and all the instruments are playing hard, and as the song starts to end, Elvis starts to yell in his usual manner, but this time in a manic kind of way, as if he were in pain or desperate for something, i repeated this ending many times, it is AWESOME!

Bridge over troubled water follows, although nothing like early versions or even the final version at his final concert, it is a good job. the song is a bit slow, and Elvis forgets the pace of the words at the end, but its very good. then Big Boss Man, a little slower than the 74 versions, a good job though. then Fairytale, a STRONG version, one of the highlights. then the last version of 'Train/Tiger ever, the drumming needs to pick up a little at the beginning, but it makes up for it. for the last version, its quite good.

then Elvis announces he'll play the piano on Unchained melody, again this version is the undubbed master of Moody blue, but now, i'm glad it was dubbed. unnessessary guitar work from James, messy work from the back up singers, and Elvis can't complete the ending falsetto, so Sherrill has to fill in, you sure notice it too, hes louder than Elvis. its missing that great echo too, i think i'll stick to the moody blue version from now, EIC is the best version in my opinion.

then a muck around on Little darlin, i always liked this song. the fans go nuts when he does the 'walla walla etc' part, great falsetto at the end too. then to close out the cd, My Way. a TERRIFIC version, the piano is noticeable as well, and Elvis says he does'nt have to read the words to it, which makes it a bit better. great way to close out this cd

yes, SPRING TOURS 77 does have its negatives, but this is a MUST HAVE CD, especially for Polk Salad, its never sounded this good before! buy it for Polk salad if you must, this cd is terrific to hav and i do not regret it!

[stefan]

Great review Scott (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/thumbup.gif) (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/thumbup.gif) , but I'm affraid I don't agree on all points made.

- Saying Elvis was not awake on April 24th 1977 (Ann Arbor) must be a joke right (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) This concert is perhaps the best of 1977. Did you ever got to hear CD-4 of the first Fort Baxter Profile box?? I agree, Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel isn't nowhere near the '70 versions, but I found this version to be quite good. At least Elvis seems to invest some energy in it and to me he certainly does sound awake. The reason for shortening the song is perhaps he wanted the show to move on.

- Fever from Alexandria (March 30th 1977) a mess around version?? Another joke right? (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) This version, the last live one, is better than, or at least equal to, the Aloha version. Personally I find that no version from the '73 - '77 period can match the August '72 versions. Elvis does a good job on this version.

- Calling the version of Help Me (didn't I mention the Ann Arbor April 24th 1977 show earlier?? (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/laughing1.gif) ) only "good" is underrating this version in my opinion. I've never heard a more haunting version of this song than this performance. It's simply stunning, especially the empfasizing (sp?) of some of the words.

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Don't let the above comments fool you mate. I really enjoyed your review and respect your views and opinions a 1000%. That's the great thing about a messageboard, different people with different views/opinions. I hope we'll get plenty of discussions (in a friendly and respectfull way that is) on this board.
(IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/clap.gif) (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/clap.gif) (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/clap.gif) (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/clap.gif)

[C.C.Rider]

I have to agree - i was very suprised - and impressed by this release. No - its not Elvis 1970, but its a very cool compilation of great songs well performed (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/thumbup.gif)

[Freis968]

I just had to put on If You Love Me Let Me Know to recall how this sounded. Sounds great to me... (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/thumbup.gif)

Only thing is that JD's voice is a little loud in the mix, but hey, this is a soundboard for you, not perfect.

Listen to Polk Salad Annie 17 seconds into the song, notice the horns? You don't hear that all the time, I think this was a '77 exclusive unless anyone else has noticed it earlier. I recall the year 2000 when I went to Memphis the first time, my friend picked up Spring Tours at the little shop across from Graceland where they have all of the FTD's staring at you and where you want to buy them all, at any rate, when we heard this version of Polk Salad and those horns came in like that my friend and I looked at each other and we said, WHAT THE HELL? That is so awesome! It is a shame they did not accent that part in all versions of Polk Salad as it is a really nice and classy touch. They go into a real funky part at the end that I am hearing again right now and it sounds real nice. (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

[Scott Haigh 7819...]

Stefan, i only heard this cd one time the whole way through, maybe i will be able to enjoy it more as i listen, i was only going through what i remembered. i will not be able to listen to it anymore this week, as mysinging teacher has advised me to listen to other styles and expand my repetoire.

BTW, i am 14, in case you did'nt know (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/gunsmilie.gif)

[stefan]

Scott, I knew that and all my remarks were good natured my friend (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I like your review very much .. you certainly have a good way with words. I like that. (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Scott Haigh 7819...]

thank you Stefan

[Scott Haigh 7819...]

ok Stefan, i have been listening more and more intently on the cd, and indeed i agree Fever is a good performance, less messing around than the usual versions, and i think it was the last time he did it? and yes, now Help me on this is my fave version and it does sound really nice

but i still don't like teddy bear/don't be cruel [img]style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif[/img]

and i have heard more of Ann Arbour concert and i especially love the ending on can't help falling in love, indeed it is one of his best 77 performances, but my very fave 77 performance is Rapid city

[Guest_Brad_*]

Good review Scott. This is probably one of my top 3 favorite FTD releases. Love hearing Elvis from 1977. Some pretty rare songs on here for 1977, that makes it even better [img]style_emoticons/default/cheers.gif[/img] .

[stefan]

ok Stefan, i have been listening more and more intently on the cd, and indeed i agree Fever is a good performance, less messing around than the usual versions, and i think it was the last time he did it? and yes, now Help me on this is my fave version and it does sound really nice

but i still don't like teddy bear/don't be cruel [img]style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif[/img]

and i have heard more of Ann Arbour concert and i especially love the ending on can't help falling in love, indeed it is one of his best 77 performances, but my very fave 77 performance is Rapid city

Scott, I knew you would come around mate [img]style_emoticons/default/cheers.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/default/laughing.gif[/img]

[Scott Haigh 7819...]

Scott, I knew you would come around mate [img]style_emoticons/default/cheers.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/default/laughing.gif[/img]

lol i guess i found the light lol [img]style_emoticons/default/angel.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/default/LSHIC.gif[/img]

[JerryNodak]

There was quite a bit of negative reaction to this release when it first came out, but I've always enjoyed it.
Still do.

[Guest_Brad_*]

One of my favorite tracks from this fantastic cd is "Bridge Over Troubled Water". It is such a treat to hear this song performed in 1977, very good version to may I add [img]style_emoticons/default/cheers.gif[/img] .

[elvisgyrl]

Elvis Spring Tours 77 is my 2nd favorite FTD that I have (but then I surely do not have all of them) The CD is one that I play a lot. Elvisgyrl

[NightRider]

Audio Clip added...( Mystery Train/Tigerman )... (IMG:http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)