Aloha - Insert Songs

[Elvis_Priestly]

Probably a mortal sin in the world of Elvis fans but today, two years later, I watched the second DVD of the Aloha SE and saw the Insert songs section for the first time.

I was very impressed by Elvis, his graciousness and patience and thought "my God, this is just hours after he's entertained the world and here he is standing there singing his heart out."

I was thinking it was atrocious they made him record these when they did and then remembered a remark in an old thread about Elvis being absent from a visit to the USS Arizona site the day after because he was "strung out." I thought no wonder he missed the visit - not because he couldn't wait to get back on the pills after going "sober" in the run up to the concert - but he must have been knackered!

I know when I do funerals, weddings, first communions, Christmas, Easter (in other words doing whats normal under extraordinary circumstances) I'm zonked so what must Elvis have felt like having done what he just did, then staying/getting up to stand on the same stage in the dark and sing a few songs for postcards of Hawaii?

[Diane]

Thank you for your kind post Conor. It makes you wonder how many times Elvis was just "knackered" from overwork and not because of pills.

Diane

[KPM]

If I remember the concert was actually very late at night to get it live in prime time to a majority of the world. So if the concert was at midnight, and it lasted about 1 hour, then it took another hour or so to get the hall cleared it would be around lets say 2:30 am. He probably was recording for about 2 hours to get the 5 songs (they cut the cameras when a problem came up to save film-like when he tells the band "you don't know that" on one of the songs. After the worry of the satellite show going out worldwide he would have to be exhausted. He actually looked tired in his eyes to me.

[thehillbillycat]

If I remember the concert was actually very late at night to get it live in prime time to a majority of the world. So if the concert was at midnight, and it lasted about 1 hour, then it took another hour or so to get the hall cleared it would be around lets say 2:30 am. He probably was recording for about 2 hours to get the 5 songs (they cut the cameras when a problem came up to save film-like when he tells the band "you don't know that" on one of the songs. After the worry of the satellite show going out worldwide he would have to be exhausted. He actually looked tired in his eyes to me.

Actually the show began at 12:30am. The show was about an hour (1 hour and 4 Minutes to be exact). So it ended at 1:34am. Now as for getting the arena clear out I would agree with you. It takes about a hour. Or shall we say no more than a hour. So now we are up to 2:34am. Now all takes are about 30 minutes (27 minutes) total themselves. But we need to add some time on their because of the fact that the band would need to warm up between songs since it is so early in the morning. So recording the songs are about 2 hours, maybe. I would say more in the range of a hour and a half. By the time of the last song they would be more than exhausted. I would say they had to be rushed to thier hotel so that they can sleep. So when thinking about it more. Rehearsal show was done at 8:00pm on the 12th. They could of been in the bad by lets say 11. Had about 8 to 10 hours of sleep between rehearsal and actual televise show. So lets say they woke up at about 9, that is about 10 hours of sleep. So that means they been awake for about 18 hours.

[nashville cat]

One thing we should remember is that there were a stage full of musicians, singers, technicians, a director, etc. that were there also and I would dare say had probably put in a longer day than Elvis had. It's true he had put on an incredible show, and undoubtedly expended a tremendous amount of energy, but he was paid pretty well for his time and talent. And he had weeks to rest before his next Vegas engagement.

Maybe it seemed an awkward time to tape these segments, but Elvis was not the only one affected by it. It would have cost a ridiculous amount to gather all the technicians, videotape equipment, band + singers at another date to do it, so it makes a little more sense when you look at it in that light.

Bottom line for me is the segments were unnecessary, and they drug the entire special down.

[nashville cat]

I was very impressed by Elvis, his graciousness and patience and thought "my God, this is just hours after he's entertained the world and here he is standing there singing his heart out."

I wish I could say I heard him singing his heart out. I hear an Elvis that seems pretty bored and tired. His performance is somewhat listless. The nicest thing about these performances for me is hearing him revisit songs like "Blue Hawaii" and "Hawaiian Wedding Song". On the recording, he sounds impatient and kind of rude to Glen D. Hardin, especially. I'm sure he was tired, and I am not attempting to criticize him. I probably would be tired too in the same situation. I just don't think he showed a lot of energy in these songs.

It's said that for Aloha, Elvis wanted the pure sense of a concert. That he liked the earlier special (Comeback) but was not all that knocked out by the production. That is kind of a head scratcher for me. The production of the '68 special is one that is still influencing music video and film today. The only groundbreaking thing with Aloha, was the technical acheivement of using the satellite in that way. I wonder how much of Elvis' request for a "pure concert" was him just wanting to do his standard set and not anything that would require much extra preparation for him. He had certainly changed from 1968 to 1973.

[jak]

I agree that the segments just bogged the whole thing down.The special is much more enjoyable on the deluxe set without the segments.Watching it like that does make me appreciate it more than I originally did.Im sure the last thing Elvis wanted to do after the show was stick around and sing some more.His boredom comes through loud and clear but it is nice to see him sing those songs again.
Jak

[nashville cat]

I agree that the segments just bogged the whole thing down.The special is much more enjoyable on the deluxe set without the segments.Watching it like that does make me appreciate it more than I originally did.Im sure the last thing Elvis wanted to do after the show was stick around and sing some more.His boredom comes through loud and clear but it is nice to see him sing those songs again.
Jak

Yeah, I agree. Even before the DVD set came out, I always watched the rehearsal concert. I think I prefer the rehearsal performance anyway. But the best way for me to watch the concert as broadcast is new cut on the DVD set. For my money, that just can't be beat.

[KPM]

Actually the show began at 12:30am. The show was about an hour (1 hour and 4 Minutes to be exact). So it ended at 1:34am. Now as for getting the arena clear out I would agree with you. It takes about a hour. Or shall we say no more than a hour. So now we are up to 2:34am. Now all takes are about 30 minutes (27 minutes) total themselves. But we need to add some time on their because of the fact that the band would need to warm up between songs since it is so early in the morning. So recording the songs are about 2 hours, maybe. I would say more in the range of a hour and a half. By the time of the last song they would be more than exhausted. I would say they had to be rushed to thier hotel so that they can sleep. So when thinking about it more. Rehearsal show was done at 8:00pm on the 12th. They could of been in the bad by lets say 11. Had about 8 to 10 hours of sleep between rehearsal and actual televise show. So lets say they woke up at about 9, that is about 10 hours of sleep. So that means they been awake for about 18 hours.
Thats pretty close to the way I see it. I have never heard or read how long it took to get the five songs done, and because the cameras were cut when a problem arose its hard to know how long between the cameras being shut off at a problem-and recording resumed. Such as the one I pointed out where he says "you guys don't know that" They must have had to work out the proper chords and arrangement right on the spot and probably run thru it to Elvis's satisfaction. But regardless it was a long couple of days and nights.

[srj1967]

It's true he had put on an incredible show, and undoubtedly expended a tremendous amount of energy, but he was paid pretty well for his time and talent.

It was a charity show. Elvis even paid for his own ticket. As far as I was aware, Elvis and the band were not paid for the Aloha show.

Anyone?

[IM4Elvis]

You are correct srj. Elvis AND the Col paid for their own tickets and then gave them away. Elvis and none of the band members, back up singers, etc, received any "pay" for this show.

IM

[toffe]

Thanks for info everybody ...:D

[nashville cat]

You are correct srj. Elvis AND the Col paid for their own tickets and then gave them away. Elvis and none of the band members, back up singers, etc, received any "pay" for this show.

IM

C'mon people! The idea of the Aloha concert being done as a show for charity, while brilliant from a public relations standpoint, was a bit misleading. The point of whether Elvis received any actual "pay" for his performance from the concert is pointless! It's true that the audience was not charged, therefore Elvis received no cut from ticket sales. But the real money from the special came from the television rights that NBC paid, of which Elvis received a fee, and also royalties from the record album, which sold millions. Yes, Elvis did the "show" for charity, and that was great. A lot of money was raised, and Elvis kicked in his share. But a lot of money was still made from the Aloha show by Elvis and the Colonel. To say they did not profit at all is a very incorrect statement. For one concert performance, Elvis reaped the benefits for years to come.

I recall some of the guys in the band making statements that they brought their wives and girlfriends to the island and it was more like a vacation. Everyone had a wonderful time. It doesn't sound like it was as punishing as people are making it out to be.

Elvis and everyone involved knew that the show was going to be a big undertaking, and there would be a lot of work involved, and they chose to move forward. Elvis enjoyed a challenge! Part of the problem after Aloha was he was not challenged enough. Not disagreeing that at times EP was taking advantage of or overworked, but in this particular instance I am not buying it.

[srj1967]

It's true that the audience was not charged ...
Not disagreeing that at times EP was taking advantage of or overworked, but in this particular instance I am not buying it.

Firstly, the audience of course paid for their tickets, by donation.

Secondly, this thread is not about whether Elvis was overworked in general. We're talking about a specific moment - a couple of hours after the satellite show when he had to drag himself out on stage again to sing those rather superfluous and boring inserts for the US version of the Aloha special.

After the excitement of the show/s, Elvis was clearly tired and could've done with a rest. Surely, they could have given him a couple of days break, or asked him to record the songs prior to the event. In the insert songs, he looks and sounds tired; his heart isn't in it, and you can see he'd rather be anywhere else than on stage singing crap like Ku-U-I-Po.

And another point, which hasn't been raised so far: the insert songs on the Aloha DVDs are not complete anyway. There is some dialogue (as released on CDs over the years) which isn't on the DVDs.

[thehillbillycat]

C'mon people! The idea of the Aloha concert being done as a show for charity, while brilliant from a public relations standpoint, was a bit misleading. The point of whether Elvis received any actual "pay" for his performance from the concert is pointless! It's true that the audience was not charged, therefore Elvis received no cut from ticket sales. But the real money from the special came from the television rights that NBC paid, of which Elvis received a fee, and also royalties from the record album, which sold millions. Yes, Elvis did the "show" for charity, and that was great. A lot of money was raised, and Elvis kicked in his share. But a lot of money was still made from the Aloha show by Elvis and the Colonel. To say they did not profit at all is a very incorrect statement. For one concert performance, Elvis reaped the benefits for years to come.

I recall some of the guys in the band making statements that they brought their wives and girlfriends to the island and it was more like a vacation. Everyone had a wonderful time. It doesn't sound like it was as punishing as people are making it out to be.

Elvis and everyone involved knew that the show was going to be a big undertaking, and there would be a lot of work involved, and they chose to move forward. Elvis enjoyed a challenge! Part of the problem after Aloha was he was not challenged enough. Not disagreeing that at times EP was taking advantage of or overworked, but in this particular instance I am not buying it.


We are not saying that it was punishment for the guys. We are saying they had to be tired after the insert songs was recorded. Read what I worte carefully. I said they mgith of been up for 18 hours straight on the day of January 13 since the televised show was going to be 12:30 in the morning of January 14. Did they have a good time in Hawaii. Yes, they could have. They had from January 9 to the 12 to have as much fun as they can. January 12 to the 14 must of been hard on them since they would of stay up for 18 hours straight between the January 12 show and the January 14 televised show.