Elvis Disco

It is due to the kind co-operation of Joe Guercio that the sixth release on the Follow That Dream label is a live concert from June 1st, 1976 at the Community Center Arena, Tuscon, Arizona. The people in Elvis’ band and back-up singers were known, but the musicians in The Joe Guercio Orchestra were not documented. Fortunately Joe was able to track them down. Now the royalties could be paid and nothing stood in the way of the release of this soundboard recording.

Two songs from Tuscon ‘76 were taken from the show a day before at the Ector County Coliseum in Odessa Texas. One can argue that this is in fact a rewriting of history, but I can live with it since it is clearly mentioned on the sleeve. I hope that this policy of opennes will be continued as it takes away a lot of indistinctness.

Whereas I gave full credit to the artwork on the previous FTD release, I must say that this one doesn’t attrack me. The Elvis logo on the cover is old-fashioned. It is ’stolen’ or ‘borrowed’ (whatever you may call it) from the Elvis LP’s in the seventies. Okay it may have worked then, but it is out of date in the 21st century. I can live with the fact that the pictures have black backgrounds. But why did they have to use black as background too for the tracklisting ? The gloomy appearance is completed by a mainly black cd. And that is just a pity, while it is such a pleasant cd to listen to !

As with all 1976 concerts the show opens with See See Rider (with a prominent role for David Briggs on his Funk Axe) and the I Got A Woman/Amen routine. Then Elvis quickly satifies the female part of the audience by singing and handing out a few “throw-aways”. The kissing that accompanies the handing out of the scarves is at sometimes very audible. He is so occupied with it that his singing suffers from it in some places. Except for Jailhouse Rock which is presented with some great rockabilly drumming and rock and roll piano. Tony Brown is tickling the ivories, as he replaces Glenn D. Hardin. Elvis sings it with a Southern drawl, and it is just a pity the song gets a little sloppy towards the ending. Other good performances are You Gave Me A Mountain, And I Love You So, Help Me and Polk Salad Annie.

Elvis is in a talkative mood and remarks from the audience can be clearly heard. Though the mix is very good as the noise from the audience is not disrupting. Something that was the case with a lot of live recorded appearances in the seventies. The only annoying thing is that screaming piggy (it sounds like that !) when Elvis is throwing his scarves. (By the way, can we make that an Olympic Event ?)

The band-introduction is presented as one track with a running time of 13:34 minutes. This track contains a few instrumentals, but also 4 songs. Among them an uninspired Early Morning Rain. It is not practical when you want to listen to a song individually. Listening to the introductions over the headphones I couldn’t help but to notice Elvis’s shortness of breath.

The best part of the CD is after the band-introduction. He kicks off with Hurt (his single at that time), which is sung twice by popular demand. Followed by a remarkable long version of Burning Love and the beautiful Help Me Make It Through The Night. Not many live-recordings of that song have been captured !

By now it is clear that Elvis is - besides in a good voice but also - in a good mood. One can sense an atmosphere of well-being, and Elvis is trying to please everybody. The audience respond by showing their appreciation. They start to interact by shouting out requests. Because FROM E.P. BOULEVARD, MEMPHIS, TENN. was his current LP at that time, the fans start to ask for songs from that album. There is a great demand for The Last Farewell but Elvis apologizes for not knowing the lyrics (he wishes he would). Then somebody says that Danny Boy is also on the album. Not surprisingly Elvis and the band seem to start the song a little unsure. Between the lines, Elvis conducts his band by calling out instructions. As they get more and more into the song their his confidence is gaining. I guess everybody in the building realises that this is a rare performance. You can actually hear a pin drop. It is sung intensely and it truly is the highlight of the show. No fluffed lines, but the real McCoy ! This was probably the only time Elvis performed this song in concert. It was undocumented until now, so it is pretty unique to hear this complete live version. Unfortunatly no time is given for the well deserved applause, as James Burton starts Hound Dog much too fast. It worked like a cold shower !

Just before the end, Elvis takes time to thank the people for coming out to his show. By doing so he shows how was right up to date he was that particular evening. Bear in mind that in this period a lot of shows were below average. See Stein-Erik Skar’s article in our previous magazine. In a time where he sometimes didn’t even know in which city he was, he clearly remembers Tuscon ! Quote: “Ladies and gentlemen, I like to tell you really that you are a fantastic audience in Tuscon. You are a great bunch of people and you have reacted very well to us tonight. And we really appreciate it. And we love you for it, believe me. Whenever you want us to come back just let us know: we’ll come back here !

Conclusion: Omitting Also Sprach Zarathustra and only 20 seconds of the Closing Vamp, FTD used the full 75 minutes of the CD. And that is what I call value for money !

Emiel Maier

Follow That Dream Records
74321 79045-2
playing time: 75′01
Review published: Elvis Unlimited
Issue 9 - 2000 | Page 17 -18