[Scatter]

Well........I'm certain to be in the minority here, but I want ALL the footage recorded released.......preferrably through FTD. This is an historic document, and as much a part of understanding his legacy in toto as 68, TTWII, or Aloha.
The supression of history is worse than revisionism. Revisionist history can always be refuted as long as there is access to the documentary evidence. This is worse than the typical EPE revisionism.......it is censorship. It is the exclusion of truth in order to propogate a lie.

Elvis didn't die in 1973 as he exited the stage in Hawaii. His artistic contributions didn't end there. What became of Elvis post-Aloha is history.......and as such it should be preserved and disseminated to those interested in researching it.

If released on FTD.........the general public, as well as most of the critical reviewers, would know nothing of it. For the critics who discover it.........who would bother to review it?? It is old,old news. Everyone has seen this footage already. The damage has been done. And besides, the critics may well discover what we have been saying for years........the public perception of Elvis In Concert is FAR worse than the Special itself.

Is it better for every EPE project to include a snippet of EIC.......just a glimpse of him sweating profusely, puffy, tired looking...........or put that snippet within the accurate context of the concerts (along with the exceptional performances it contains) to acheive some sort of sane balance???

EIC has become the Monster Under The Bed of the Elvis world.........as long as the lights are out, and the bedsheets are pulled up over our heads, the imagination sees things far more frightening than the fully lit room could ever produce.

Release it all..........until the truth of the past can be faced squarely, there is no way the future can be either.

It's time to pull off the covers, turn on the light, and look under the bed. The truth is.......it's just Elvis under there. Nothing to be frightened of after all.

[Guest_The Batman_*]

I think most of us in here are in agreement with you scatter I myself would love to see a special edition of "Elvis In Concert" afterall it is one of my favourites, Like most other true fans we dont see Elvis as fat or thin or sweating or not what we see is this great man arrive on stage and fill us all with excitement. no matter what Elvis looks like to me he always seems the same

[Leroy]

Scatter, this is the most perfect way off putting this [img]style_emoticons/default/notworthy.gif[/img]
This is exactly what's happening and I do hope EPE doe take notion of it.

[NightRider]

Great Reply Gary...and your thoughts are shared by countless fans....lets have it !

[Guest_Big Boss Man_*]

There has developed belief here in the U.S., and perhaps in other countries as well, that if you're a bit large in body size it means you're unmarketable and unacceptable. Unfortunately, our man, Elvis Presley, falls in to this category I'm saddened to say. [img]style_emoticons/default/sad.gif[/img]

True, he's not the slim-trim size that we saw back in 56, 68, and even in Aloha From Hawaii 73, but the voice IS still there, and if memory serves me correctly, it was his singing voice that has lead to over a billion records being sold by him....see what I mean folks????

So, I say this show should be released to the public. True, he's not in good shape physically or mentally, but the singing (except AYLT) voice is strong, especially the versions of How Great Thou Art, Hurt, My Way, and Unchained Melody.

I do believe that EPE might be suprised at how sales of this product might turn out, I honestly do. [img]style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Guest_curtis simpkins_*]

imo i dont think they should put this out on dvd.
because to me Elvis wasn't all there Elvis was unable to talk, but he could able to sing there some parts of the concerts it looks like to me
was half a sleep even the fans where those night even they thought
Elvis should be on stage them night when the show was film.

if the wanted to do a tv they should have film it much earlyer in the year.


i have the cdr of these shows and i am unable to whatch this because to me Elvis looks really really bad.

i haven have the soundtrack album of Elvis in concert again i was unable to play this album

so imo i dont think they should put this Elvis in concert out on dvd.

[Suspicious Minds]

I liked this show. Although it should not have been filmed when Elvis was overweight and had to be help around by Joe Esposito. It sounded Elvis was fed up with his old records but done a good job on the newer songs he done. Why didn't they do the filming earlier in the year when he was in better shape?
Next year is the 30th anniversary of Elvis In Concert. If they have the full 2 shows they made Elvis In Concert with. Why don't they release these 2 shows on dvd?

[img]style_emoticons/default/boredom.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/default/00000407.gif[/img]

[Kenny]

I realy cant see the point in release these two shows, isent 80-90% of the finish film from just one of the shows!!!!
Elvis was in so bad shape for that other show, you cant understand what he is talking about, sure the "poor" versions we got on video and dvd`s makes it even worse, so a good original release could be a better thing, but as i say : whats the fu****g point [img]style_emoticons/default/boredom.gif[/img]

Would this realy be a thing you will play for your friends?

Give us On Tour and This is Elvis with hours of outtakes [img]style_emoticons/default/king.gif[/img]

[King Of Gracelan...]

I liked this show.  Although it should not have been filmed when Elvis was overweight and had to be help around by Joe Esposito.  It sounded Elvis was fed up with his old records but done a good job on the newer songs he done.  Why didn't they do the filming earlier in the year when he was in better shape?
Next year is the 30th anniversary of Elvis In Concert.  If they have the full 2 shows they made Elvis In Concert with.  Why don't they release these 2 shows on dvd?

30th anniversary of Elvis In Concert
It is about time to release this concert on DVD.

[JimmyCool]

We should get a special 2 or 3 DVD set with everything that was filmed for that TV-Special.
Looking at some imports, we know a lot of footage exist... Imagine how good it would be having it in pristine crystal clear quality.

[Varnsen]

We should get a special 2 or 3 DVD set with everything that was filmed for that TV-Special.
Looking at some imports, we know a lot of footage exist... Imagine how good it would be having it in pristine crystal clear quality.

I totally agree. Digitally remaster the lot - the original special, the two uncut shows and whatever else was captured during the filming and has been gathering dust in the vaults ever since. Those who regard it as painful and pitiful can turn a blind eye and not buy it. And those of us who see great beauty in his final performances (and admire his very tenacity) can marvel at it and be relieved that it was finally released.

For the record, I also agree with the comment earlier in this thread that Elvis was not truly overweight but was more ill than anything else.

And I'll go on record as not buying the official excuse that this has not been released because it will "add fuel to the fat Elvis jokes and controversy." Many people have trotted out this explanation in one form or another and it just doesn't wash. If TV networks wanted to get their hands on 1977 footage of Elvis to blow out of proportion, they can download something from Youtube or buy one of the many good quality bootlegs and do that.
The CBS footage has been officially available for anyone wanting to parody or denigrate Elvis ever since the release of the 1981 movie This Is Elvis. Remember that?? Well those in power at EPE either don't or they're conveniently ignoring that salient fact. I know there were two different versions. Off the top of my head I can't recall the songs used. I think in one version of This Is Elvis they showed Jailhouse Rock, Teddy Bear and My Way. In another variation they used Are You Lonesome Tonight and My Way.

Later on they released the Elvis: Greatest Performances videos and one of those featured the rendition of Unchained Melody at the piano. I remember a famous Elvis fan, actor John Stamos, saying in an interview once that was captivated by that performance. He loved Elvis's more mature, fruity voice and pounding style of piano.

So releasing Elvis In Concert is not going to come as the gigantic revelation that EPE seem to envisage. TV networks and Youtube uploaders are not going to have a field day. The release will see some interesting comments in magazines around the world as they review the latest DVDs and Elvis In Concert gets a mention. But that's about all. Sure, there will be some cruel and ill-informed comments from the ignorant, immature and uneducated. But there will also be some encouraging comments from reviewers who recognise and are impressed with Elvis's performances and stamina. In any case, EPE should forget what the reviewers say and concentrate more on the staggering windfall certain to follow its release.

 1977_06_21_Rapid_City_03.jpg ( 164.79K ) Number of downloads: 4

[J]

"Elvis In Concert" has always been a subject that divides fans. Even I changed my mind at some point of how it should be released... but I've always been of the opinion that it should be released. ... I'm sure that by now everyone is well aware that Elvis was far from his best around the time when EIC was filmed... but I personally have never quite understood why EPE is basically in denial about it when it comes to releasing it for mass audiences. It did happen and for that reason alone I think it deserves a proper release in one way or another... if not for mass audience then at least for the hardcore fan base. ... Another major reason for it's release would be the fact that it's the last filmed footage of Elvis... and even during his final tour!

As far as I'm concerned, the best way to go would be to make a completely new edit of the special showcasing only the "best of EIC" and completely leave the 'fan footage' away... then add the original as extra and some other worthy stuff... like backstage footage and additional performances. ... It would be nice if FTD would cover the special too... maybe as a book/CD project.

[NightRider]

"Elvis In Concert" has always been a subject that divides fans. Even I changed my mind at some point of how it should be released... but I've always been of the opinion that it should be released. ... I'm sure that by now everyone is well aware that Elvis was far from his best around the time when EIC was filmed... but I personally have never quite understood why EPE is basically in denial about it when it comes to releasing it for mass audiences. It did happen and for that reason alone I think it deserves a proper release in one way or another... if not for mass audience then at least for the hardcore fan base. ... Another major reason for it's release would be the fact that it's the last filmed footage of Elvis... and even during his final tour!

As far as I'm concerned, the best way to go would be to make a completely new edit of the special showcasing only the "best of EIC" and completely leave the 'fan footage' away... then add the original as extra and some other worthy stuff... like backstage footage and additional performances. ... It would be nice if FTD would cover the special too... maybe as a book/CD project.

I agree mate.....just because they don't release it...doesn't mean that it didn't happen. As posted before on numerous occasions...it IS part of the history of Elvis Presley. Some don't like that fact...and that's fine...but it should be made available in some form for those fans who want it. An FTD release would, IMO be the way to go...if they don't want to release it to the general public. In all honesty...i really can't see why that would be a problem at all. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/undecided.gif)

[Steve]

In this is elvis an the great performances DVD's Elvis looks not to bad, compared to the "bootleg" stuff we see.
So now the have Blue - Ray what would make the qualitie very high, and what is more importend about a concert? ... right the sound,
I can tell you know it would be like sitting on the first row.

So EPE lets bring it on...we can handel it.



(but its not for right away... just see how long we had to wait on ELVIS ON TOUR)

[Sebastian Haff]

Maybe this subject of Elvis' weight (more precisely, the general perception of his weight) deserves it's own topic, and maybe there is one that I just haven't seen yet, but here's my thoughts on the matter as briefly as I can manage them.

First, if Elvis WAS overweight significantly, well, I find people making fun of other people's weight to be as odious as if they were making fun of any other physical attribute. It sucks. You poke fun for no reason at an overweight person around me and you'd better be finding some new fingers to poke things with. Stretch your neck like a long rubber band, you sumbitch.

Second, any adult here in the United States (and, increasingly, worldwide) who criticizes Elvis' weight is, statistically, very likely to be in need of cleaning up their own back yards. A fair while back the official stats were something along the lines of at least 60% of Americans over the age of 30 being clinically obese so, basically, if you're an American adult you're more likely to be toting 30 or more likely excessive pounds than to not be. Glass houses and rocks, black pots and kettles, and all that...

Third, the perception and reality are very much mismatched. For a start, we know that Elvis was looking too heavy for just a brief time, really, and even then he'd periodically slim down. In 1968-69 he was underweight, his natural 'ideal' minimum fighting weight probably being something along the lines of how he was during the latter part of 1971 and all of 1972 up to perhaps about his size in August of 1974. In 1975 he was heavier (though a fair bit slimmer in June than at other times, just as he slimmed down by the end of 1976 and started to again a little bit in March of '77) and it was obvious but he still was a very good looking man and even if the internal troubles were getting out of hand by year's end he managed to not just turn in excellent shows all year long but did so with a greater degree of physicality than was true of some earlier periods, most notably part of 1973 (compare his very physical presentation of "Burning Love" in 1975, for example, with his 1972 versions, especially from the November tour that was excellent vocally and boasted some of the best setlists ever but featured a fairly sedentary Elvis). So it's the uneven year of 1976 and what remained to him of 1977 that saw him looking his worst. Not always, but sometimes.

And, increasingly, within a single tour he could look starkly different from night to night. He'd had problems with weight gain before, including during the movie years, and although his dietary habits were often atrocious and he did have a genetic predisposition to perhaps higher-than-average tendency to weight gain, what was going on by 1976 was, in hindsight, very obviously a lot more systemic than mere transitory weight gain. He suffered from edema, particularly obvious in the dramatic change in his appearance during the February, 1977 tour, and was swollen more from water retention than from the adipose tissue that comprises body fat. The fat he could have dealt with, had he chosen to remain disciplined and work toward achieving that goal healthily (and he knew enough about nutrition and exercise and so on to do so), but the cause of most of his apparent weight gain was deeper and ultimately more detrimental. There may even have been signs as far back as the early '70s, or perhaps even earlier, given how his face would often appear a bit puffy (certainly in 1970) even though his waist was slimmer than it had been for years and he very obviously was an unusually lean man for one with such a large frame. He was sick, and people who make fun of people who are sick, and who die from it, rate even lower on my Enemies List than do those who laugh at chubby people.

There's more about the perception, too. The meme of the 'fat Elvis' has become so ingrained that it's used in a knee-jerk way, often by lazy so-called journalists who won't hesitate to call it up when any mention of Elvis pops up (you know the kind of trash I mean: "Elvis rose to become a hugely influential and important figure then got fat and went to Vegas") and it's utterly wrong. Again, I harken back above where I suggest that using "he's fat" as a criticism is invalid and insulting -- also, very tellingly, plenty of stars who always WERE extra hefty don't get this quality used as an argument that somehow suggests their work is less valuable -- but there's also massive cognitive dissonance at work when someone who's looking at a 1971-73 picture of Elvis in a jumpsuit, for instance, immediately drops the "he's fat" bomb. It happens all the time. Have you had people who caught a glimpse of Elvis in "That's The Way It Is" shake their heads sadly over how fat he was, how terrible it was that he was allowed to be filmed in such condition, and how apparent it was that the end is near? I certainly have. Some of that's a result of knowing how the story ends, of course, because if Elvis had lived there wouldn't be anyone who could look at Elvis circa 1970 and call that man overweight. Most of we males could only dream of looking that good, let alone having any of that charisma and the vocal and physical energy required to perform as he did in those years. In "On Tour," sure, he's a little chubbier, at least around the face, but he's still pretty godlike in appearance and his body is still pretty broad and lean, certainly more so than is true most of us past our 20s.

And, yeah, in this day and age Elvis at his biggest would be a lightweight compared to many at your friendly neighborhood buffet. On that point, I very recently got a bunch of photos from my mother and in some there was a woman who I remembered being hugely overweight; she was, by the standards of that time and place, but looking at the pictures I was surprised to see that, indeed, she'd hardly stand out at all in the USA today and I'd be surprised if she was anything over 250 lbs or so, at the most, at least 50 lbs short of the point nowadays where someone her sex and build is considered particularly noteworthy in terms of obesity. Just as much of the music of the '80s got to sounding a little less sucky lately because most of the Top 40 crap vomited up since 1990 or so has been such garbage, this woman got smaller over the years just by comparison with current standards.

The image of Fat Elvis has been established and has built over the years such that it bears no resemblance to the reality of Elvis Presley at any point in his life. I have a very strong feeling that people confronted with the reality -- pictures and video from the last two years -- would be surprised to find Elvis was not the gargantuan fat man they've built him up to be, even those who saw the CBS TV special and have had that ingrained memory (and, probably, a degree of shock) augmented by the too-often-repeated myth of fat Elvis, and a lot of bad jokes to that effect, whether because it sells or because people just love tearing down their idols. I bet more than a few would watch "Elvis In Concert" and wonder what kind of trick photography pared down the singer's profile. He's not as big as they think, guaranteed. When they see that broadcast they're watching a man who is obviously in poor condition, and not doing well even if he still manages some vocal magic, but even if you discount his swelling and put all of the bloat down to fat, well, he's just not that big.

Part of Elvis' sin, of course, was that he dared to grow older. He dared to get sick. He betrayed his people by being mortal. He was ELVIS; he wasn't supposed to grow old, get out of shape, or die. Because, really, if Elvis was subject to those human events then what the hell chance did the rest of us have? Being an Adonis, and staying that way for most of his adult life, in the end played against him, increasingly in sometimes scathing newspaper reviews (usually shock pieces, very unfairly skewed as became the fashion then) but certainly, for most of us, in the caricature that's been promulgated since his passing. The King's subjects felt betrayed by the man simply because he was just that: just a man. The embodiment of youth, beauty, and vitality, he just was not supposed to die, or ever be anything but that ideal.

He wasn't supposed to be overweight, either.

For that matter, I have been heavier than Elvis. I am taller than him, with similarly broad frame, but even if you scaled me down to 6' I'd still have been proportionally heavier than him at his heftiest. I know a lot about nutrition and physiology and though it's true that people's weight is increasingly not just because they're gluttons or lazy (calories-in, calories-out may remain true, but added to the relatively few with innate endocrine problems we now have people packing on weight because of environmental influences like intake of certain drugs, including a lot of antidepressants, the ubiquity of high fructose corn syrup, and the array of endocrine disruptors and other pollutants in our increasingly toxic surroundings) in my case I have no excuse other than that I decided pizza was a good thing to eat every day and I knew exactly how wrong that thinking was even as I followed it. Anyway, the difference is not that I am any more solid or muscular than Elvis was (I am pretty solid, as was Elvis, though that excess of up to 50 pounds or so on me was undeniably more fat than muscle) but that even at a par with what was likely to be his heaviest weight I was still not just healthy but basically fit by all measures except percentage of body fat because -- hold on here -- I WAS NOT FREAKIN' SICK! Keep it up, yeah, and maybe it'd have caught up with me as I got bigger; maybe (there're a lot of variables at play, including the big black box of genetics). But even at my peak weight I was not sick and, thanks to having a very large body over which to distribute the weight, still didn't look especially obese. Elvis was a sick man, not a fat man, at the end. Fat was the least of his issues, cosmetically and certainly otherwise.

But still you hear it: fat Elvis, hahaha.

It's not funny.

[C.C.Rider]

You have a talent in writing thats for sure. Oh, and i agree with you too. Nice post (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbup.gif)

[poormansgold]

Nice Piece you wrote (Sebastian Haff) That true you say in that piece .
Tom