Written by General Jabbo
When Elvis Presley returned to live concerts in 1969, he did so with a fire not seen since the earlier part of his career. He was in peak form both physically and vocally and thankfully RCA was there to capture it live. His two live albums — 1969’s In Person at the International Hotel (originally part of the two-LP From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis) and 1970’s On Stage are collected on On Stage: Legacy Edition.
Presley’s return to the concert stage was a long time coming — nine years in fact. As the 1960s wore on, the King found himself recording an increasing number of bad songs for an increasing number of bad movies while the rest of the music industry passed him by. Toward the end of the decade, his commercial fortunes were at an all-time low. While he began his creative rebirth with the Grammy Award-winning How Great Thou Art album in 1967, it was the 1968 Comeback Special that solidified his return to the top.
Freed from the clutches of Hollywood, Presley returned to Memphis to record the career-defining From Elvis in Memphis and its accompanying singles, including “Suspicious Minds” — his last number one in America — and was eager to perform before a live audience again.
After original band mates Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana turned him down due to the revenue they’d lose as session men, Presley recruited what would later become known as the TCB band with James Burton on guitar, Ronnie Tutt on drums, and Jerry Scheff on bass. The 1969 recordings at the International Hotel in Las Vegas form the basis of disc two.
And what performances they are. From frantic versions of “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Johnny B. Goode” to a countrified “Are You Lonesome Tonight” to the gospel/blues of “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” Presley sounds like a lion freed from the cage.
Contemporary material, including a heartfelt rendition of the Bee Gees’ “Words” and his own “In the Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds” also feature in the set. This was the strongest material Presley had sung in years and he knew it, delivering the songs with conviction as if his very career depended on it. In spite of this, his insecurities about performing live made him wonder if anyone would still care after all those years. That answer was a resounding yes.
Article comments
1 - Brian Quinn
I can only reiterate what the author of this article has written. It is a great double album with great songs and sung by THE KING as if he needed the money.
Go Buy it.
2 - Maurice Colgan
A fine review of excellent work by Elvis Presley. Yes, as Brian Quinn says, buy it!
3 - General Jabbo
Thanks everyone!
4 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
"After original band mates Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana turned him down due to the revenue they’d lose as session men..."
Can you imagine turning down an opportunity to work with such a talented musician just because of money?! I swear, session-oriented musicians can be sooo stupid sometimes.
Anyways, my wife has a ton of Elvis CDs,so, I'm not sure if she already has this material in another form but I will buy it for her and if she doesn't need it, I will keep it for myself.
5 - mopro
"After original band mates Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana turned him down due to the revenue they’d lose as session men..."
This is not an accurate statement. By 1968, both Moore and Fontana had careers that went well beyond guitar picks & drumsticks. To uproot for one gig would have been understandably capricious.
Maybe you'd stop your career for the opportunity to stand for six weeks behind what was then a washed-up, second-tier performer, but then, you're not Scotty Moore or DJ Fontana.
They knew Elvis a little better than we do. Unfortunately, maybe they didn't have faith in his comeback-ability.
6 - General Jabbo
You reiterated the point I was making. They had established, steady careers playing on people's records and they were worried that those gigs would dry up if they left with Elvis because they didn't know if it would go beyond 6 weeks or not.
It's not the first time Scotty left either. He quit around 58 too.
I think the colonel was leery of Scotty as he has been Elvis' road manager at one point and was someone who could actually say no to him and not a yes man.