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Considering that this was such an important event and Elvis was really up for it. I always thought it was a strange set.I"m sure alot of thought went behind it at the time, but why so many covers.To broadcast your concert around the world I wonder why he sung johnnyb/whole lotta shakin even a Beatles song.When he had such a large catalogue of his own to chose from. What was the thinking behind this?What do think?
I think that choice could be based on to sing something for everybody?s taste knowing that it would be seen in so many countries and people of different ages.
The setlist from that night was very strange.Not your typical Elvis concert for sure.I tend to think Elvis was trying to showcase his singing abilities that night by choosing those tunes.Full of dramatic choices i think.For me the concert is way overrated.He looks incredible but just seems somewhat distant in it.I wish he would have chosen some different songs and just cut loose.
Jak
totally agree.we could go on forever with our ideal set, but if he was doing something for everyone I would have preferred MSG set(afternoon) .than the one used.
I totally agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by maxiefields
I like the concert and there are many of my favourite live versions (My Way, An American Trilogy, You Gave Me A Mountain) but I agree with you...I would have choosed more songs from his own material (y)
Great comment.I think MSG blows Aloha away.If only a performance of that caliber had been broadcast.That afternoon MSG was a great show with Elvis at the top of his game.Quote:
Originally Posted by maxiefields
Jak
If only he'd done it in 1970 where he was so full og energy.. If it just could reach half of The Way It Is, it would have been his best concert ever !!! (y)
I think the set list was for a mass audience rather than just catering for the hard core fans.
The Deluxe Aloha set with the live broadcast and the rehearsal is a must, so that you can compare the shows. The live show was more restrained without a doubt, but if you can imagine you are live across the world with an audience of 1 Billion, I'm pretty certain you would be the same.
Elvis went for the perfect show, inoffensive, some ballads, little bit of rock 'n' roll and should of perhaps should have included some of the other classics like "Proud Mary", "Polk Salad Annie" or "The Impossible Dream" to mix it up a little?
The rehearsal show would have been more like Elvis on tour at that time, it's quite difficult to imagine anybody else pulling a show off of this magnitude and in one take, TTWII is over six shows and other footage over several days so it is not fare to compare this to Aloha show.
I think the Aloha show has done exactly what it needed to do, it made sure that Elvis has been immortalised at his Jump-suited pinnacle of his 70's career, yes TTWII is more raw and dynamic, "Elvis On Tour" more real, but these moments only lead to Aloha. There are three Iconic stages, 50's Idol, 68 Special, clad in leather and Aloha. These beacons hopefully pull in new fans where they can discover Elvis and look deeper into Elvis' back catalogue and become life long fans of his music.
Matt
Not to mention the poor quality of the stage props and lighting.
The crooked "S" in Elvis, the guy running the blue lighting during Suspicious Minds (must have been his first day on the job 'cause he sucked which made Elvis look bad), and allowing the cameras to capture the guy holding the Q-cards up during Burning Love and Welcome to My World (look closely in the middle of the audience...remember Elvis screwed these songs up during the rehersal and managed them well during the big show).
Such a big event seemed to lack a lot of potential. Big credit to the band though as they nailed every song...and of course to Elvis.
But I agree, a song selection with a bit more energy would have given the world the true effect of an Elvis concert.
Indeed i agree, but if i were to perform to 1.5 billion people, i'd be stock stiff. Elvis put on a great show considering this
I would've liked though some of the choices to be changed. My show would have these swapped:
Something swapped for Its impossible
Love me/ Little Sister/get back
Blue suede shoes/ Memphis Tennessee
Welcome to my world/ Twelth of never
Long tall sally/Whole lotta shaking FOR Faded love (Key of g)
As Jak said, I feel he was trying to showcase his vocal talents and in this respect, I think he nailed it.
I also think Elvis thought this was his big opportunity to say to the world, "it's no longer Elvis '56, this is the performer I am"........hence the limited 'moves'.......though there is no doubt he was nervous, I think this show was exactly the way Elvis wanted it.
Some recent correspondence I had with Marty Pasetta included some of the following comments that may be of interest to some:
"When I went to Vegas to meet Elvis for the first time, I had prepared a sketch of how I wanted the show to look. I had put in a ramp, lots of lights etc. When I showed this to him he got excited, but when I said we have a problem you are too fat and must loose 25 ponds, he jumped out of his chair ran to me and hugged me yelling you are the first man that ever was honest to me, and I love it. We became lasting friends until he died. He did lose 25 pounds and looked great."
"We only had one rehearsal the night before, and parts of it were recorded, but with many mistakes. Rehearsals always have many mistakes, and to my unhappiness the Elvis estate released that rehearsal as a DVD. Elvis would have been very unhappy. "
"Elvis made the song selections himself. Except when we found out about 5 minutes before going live that we were 10 minutes short. I ran to Elvis and we both decided let's do this, and that, and here's where we'll do it, now good-luck. Needless to say it worked perfectly. Everything else creatively scenery, lighting, cameras (6 only) were in my domain."
I think what gets lost when talking about Aloha, is Elvis knew that he would be singing to people all over the world, I'm sure that's why his performance was conservative. Having never performed outside of North America, he had no idea of how people would take him, and played it safe, thus the set-list, I truly believe that. There were also restrictions from what I read, especially with the crowd, so it was a tightly wound concert with huge stakes from the get-go. As far as the show itself, he put on a singing clinic, nailing at least a dozen numbers. I think a lot of people try to compare this show to TTWII, or even EOT, that's the problem, this man was about to take the stage in front of 1.5 billion people! I dare say, had he done Aloha in 1970, under the same scenario, his approach might have been exactly the same. It's like playing in the Super Bowl, nothing fancy, just win the game, and win he did. A number 1 album, 1.5 billion viewers and the continued success of the DVD sales from that event don't lie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Car
Here, Here!
Thanks Larry and Joe. I think you guys nailed it!Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Dickman
What a show Elvis put on for us all. An historic event!
What ever he"d sung it would have been a success.I think the public would had expected a greatest hits concert and that would had been playing it safe.Elvis knew that, constantly the crowd requesting the 50s hits at his concerts and usually sung them because of the demand.When he sung steam roller blues he gives that cheeky grin with the lyrics and appears to be loving every minute.Performing to the rest of the world is just the challenge I think he thrived on .Marty pasetta said he loved it .He had no qualms about performing to such a large audience.
Elvis Own Hand:(y)
I believe that Aloha was his greatest concert that he did. He couldn't top that at all. Being on stage for a hour and performing in front of 1.5 billion and not showing that he is afraid. That takes guts. He pull it off perfectly. Fans does try to compare this show to TTWII, EOT and even MSG. Those concerts are great in the own ways but not as Aloha. I think that is the most famous of his jumpsuits since that concert. MSG did only two things, 1) great shows back to back and 2) sold out four shows at MSG which that hasn't been done until he did it. That is all those concerts did. I love the MSG concerts but I like Aloha better. Yes, that isn't his normal song list but it work didn't it.
Completely agree! These differences give value to Aloha concert.Quote:
Originally Posted by Elvislennon2004
Unfortunately, the total audience of 1.5 billion is a bit of a myth. That total was only reached after the second screening of the show on US TV, some time after the original screening in April '73. As much as I'd love to say more people watched Aloha than man landing on the moon, it's just not the case.
But it was definitely watched by a hell of a lot of people, and is still the first live musical concert beamed around the globe, which is a fact of which more people should be aware!
I've always wondered why the US mainland never saw the show live. I know it was designed for us here in Australia, Japan and in the far East, but surely even a delayed telecast by a couple of hours would've been acceptable?
The Aloha show brings back very special memories for me here in Australia as I saw it live on the night (well, it was actually a Saturday night here). I was five years old, but I remember it well. I tuned in for Elvis, expecting to see the guy I was used to in all those movies every weekend afternoon.
I do remember asking my mother at the time why his hair was longer, and why he was wearing a shiny suit!
I also remember there was a pre-show where they talked about Elvis, his career etc, and showed clips from his movies. They showed Viva Las Vegas: I loved the cars, and even back then had a crush on Ann-Margret. It started at around 7.30pm (I think?) and I was allowed to stay up for it.
By the way, if ever you read that the show was beamed live to Australia, that is only half right. It was shown only in Sydney and Melbourne and surrounding areas. Back then, our TV stations weren't nationally aligned, and the other smaller Aussie cities couldn't afford to take the show. Older fans tell me some of them travelled to Sydney and Melbourne just to see it.
Oh, and we only got to see it in black and white ... Australia didn't get colour TV until March 1, 1975!
The next time it was shown was in 1978, as part of AM's Memories of Elvis special. An abbreviated version was shown on our national broadcaster, the ABC, last year when the DVD set was released.
I now have Aussie TV magazines from around then, and the reviews were all good. There was also a lot of talk of Elvis coming down here for a show but, alas, 'twas not to be.
As for Aloha, I think the telecast caught Elvis at the final, great pinnacle of his performing ability. (y)
The main reason it wasn"t shown live in the US is that they wanted to fill it with 30mins of commercial breaks