A Squirrel Loose at the Big, Freaky International Hotel (Part 2)

September 10, 2020February 5, 2026 / TY / 3 Comments

This is Part 2 of a look at Sony’s Elvis Live 1969 boxed set (2019), which contains all 11 concerts RCA recorded in Elvis Presley’s August 1969 engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.

[Read Part 1.]

“It’s getting loose at the International, boy!”
–Elvis Presley, 1969

The 11-disc Elvis Live 1969 is unfortunately housed in an 8-inch format box, such as used for 2012’s 3-disc Prince From Another Planet, rather than the 12-inch style, such as used for 2014’s 10-disc That’s The Way It Is: Deluxe Edition or 2018’s 6-disc ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special – 50th Anniversary Edition. The 12-inch style harkens back to the days of LP record albums, while the 8-inch style is out of place on both CD and record shelves. Use of the 8-inch box was evidently a cost-saving move, but the set would have benefited so much from the larger format. Even at 8-inches, the set at a glance appears beautiful, but looks can be deceiving.

Elvis Live 1969 includes a 50-page booklet documenting the 1969 Vegas engagement. The opening Foreword, as with some of the marketing material associated with this set, quotes Elvis from his 1972 press conference for his Madison Square Garden appearances three years later about why he returned to performing live. As he tells the same story no less than 11 times on this very set, I would have preferred the use of 1969 quotes.

Reading like one of the over-the-top press releases that Sony lately uses to promote Elvis CDs, the unsigned Foreword also notes:

“After Elvis’ disastrous two-week 1956 Vegas engagement at the New Frontier Hotel, thirteen years later, his victorious live return in the same city made the meteoric success of his sold-out run (July 31-August 28, 1969/29 shows in total) that much sweeter.”

I call this out not to sicken you with the syrupy language, but to highlight an error. Elvis performed 57 shows during the date ranges of this engagement, not 29. The singer performed two shows a night throughout the month-long engagement (July 31 consisted only of the Opening Show). Even the very boxed set that the Foreword introduces features 11 shows recorded in the course of 6 days (beginning with the August 21 Midnight Show and concluding with the August 26 Midnight Show).

A bigger guffaw occurs in the tracklisting at the end of the booklet. Both CD 5 and CD 9 are listed as the “August 25, 1969, Midnight Show.” CD 5 actually contains the August 23 Midnight Show. Thankfully, the disc contents and label are correct.

Regarding such mistakes, you might ask, “Who cares?” Apparently not those responsible for Elvis releases. Allowing myself to veer off track just for a moment, Sony’s Follow That Dream (FTD) collectors label for Elvis fans routinely releases such errors. Two of the most embarrassing examples when it comes to text are misspelling “Presley” on the spine of 2008’s Wild In The Country and misspelling “Burning Love” on the back cover of this year’s St. Louis/Spokane. On the same St. Louis/Spokane release, the back cover numbers tracks 15-20 as: 15, 16, 16, 16, 21, 20. Though collectors pay premium prices for these releases compared to mainstream CDs, FTD is a small, boutique label with minimal resources and a limited target market. Sure, most 5-year-olds could have caught the counting errors, but let’s not talk about that.

Getting back to Elvis Live 1969, I note the two sloppy examples in the booklet (and there are others, but that is not the focus of this review) as unfortunate indicators that the carelessness condoned at the small FTD label has bled over into a full-fledged release like this one on the main Sony Legacy label.

Sony Legacy’s ELVIS LIVE 1969 boxed set – booklet in foreground of CD holders (2019, from TY’s collection)

The rest of the booklet consists primarily of excerpts from Ken Sharp‘s excellent Elvis: Vegas ’69 book from 2009. Those who were there, including Elvis himself, tell the story of the concert engagement through first-hand accounts. If you are a fan of the era, as I am, the full book is definitely worth seeking. However, the booklet as presented in Elvis Live 1969 provides a nice, abridged version to go with the CDs.

The 11 CDs are packaged in two cardboard holders. “Packaged” is a polite term. They are mercilessly wedged into two cardboard holders. Use caution extracting a CD to prevent damaging the disc, the holder, or both. Why Sony continues to use ridiculous forms of packaging, which so often fail to serve the singular purpose of protecting the discs, is beyond me. While I backed mine up to iTunes, if you plan routinely to play the original discs I would suggest you place them in more accessible cases as to avoid almost certain damage over time.

Use of imagery from vintage International Hotel menus and advertising in the holder for CDs 1-5 is fun, and I wish that concept had been extended to both holders. Some of the interior Elvis photo choices for the holders are baffling, including two, count them, two photos of Elvis apparently raising his armpit to the audience in the holder for CDs 6-11. These are, of course, shots capturing a split moment in time while Elvis is in motion, but why spotlight such awkward photos when better ones are available elsewhere in this very same set?

I must remind you that I did not set out to write a review when I began this post a week ago. I, therefore, have gone about this in a different manner than if I planned it out in a logical fashion. So, I have covered thus far mixing and packaging, but what I have mostly left out to this point is the star of the show, Elvis Presley.

When it comes to the Elvis aspects of Elvis Live 1969, I must admit to a small degree of disappointment. I have enthusiastically reviewed a number of previous releases of individual concerts from this engagement in the past, so I was surprised at this reaction.

Compared to That’s The Way It Is: Deluxe Edition, which similarly compiles 6 of his shows from his 3rd engagement at the same Vegas hotel the following summer, Elvis Live 1969 feels like a slight let-down.

While Summer 1969 wins out in head-to-head comparisons of the same songs in just about every case (“Words” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You” being the only two exceptions that come immediately to mind), the overall Summer 1970 shows are superior, if that makes any sense, at least during the filming of That’s The Way It Is, with better/more varied setlists and a more polished performer. In both seasons, Elvis is at the very top of his game, to be clear, but Summer 1970 is more entertaining than Summer 1969. How blessed we are, as fans, to have his two best concert series so well documented.

Next week, we’ll dive into more of the Elvis details as we continue and possibly conclude our look at Elvis Live 1969.

Blessings,
TY

[Read Part 3]

“He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.”
Psalm 95:4-5

A Squirrel Loose at the Big, Freaky International Hotel (Part 1)

September 3, 2020February 5, 2026 / TY / 13 Comments

“Welcome to the big, freaky International Hotel, with these little, weirdo dolls on the walls and these little funky angels on the ceiling. You ain’t seen nothing until you’ve seen a funky angel, boy. I tell you for sure.”
–Elvis Presley, 1969, on the ornate design of the hotel’s concert showroom

Sony Legacy last year released Elvis Live 1969, a boxed set containing all 11 concerts RCA recorded during Elvis Presley’s August 1969 engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The concert series, which spanned 57 shows from July 31 to August 28, represented the singer’s first appearance on a public stage in nearly 9 years – though he had performed 4 shows in front of small audiences at NBC’s studio in Burbank, California, as part of taping his ELVIS television special the previous summer.

RCA cherry-picked 12 of the strongest performances from 3 of the 1969 shows to form the Elvis In Person portion of the From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis double album, released in November 1969. A year later, RCA re-released Elvis In Person as a stand-alone album with the same content.

As for the rest of the performances, they amazingly remained in the vault until after Elvis’ death. While RCA released several individual songs over the years, including a compilation disc on 1991’s Collectors Gold boxed set, a complete 1969 show did not officially surface until 2001’s Live In Las Vegas boxed set.

By the time of Elvis Live 1969 last year, however, 7 of the 11 shows had already been released in their entireties on CD, with a good portion of songs from 3 of the 4 remaining shows having been released as well – many of them on Sony’s Follow That Dream (FTD) collectors label for Elvis fans.

Elvis Live 1969 stands out among the previous releases because it gathers all of the recordings in one place for the first time, with homogeneous sound quality. The recordings capture the August 21-26 portion of the engagement.

Sony Legacy’s ELVIS LIVE 1969 boxed set (2019, from TY’s collection)

Mixed by Matt Ross-Spang in what was apparently a marathon session, Elvis Live 1969 features a “slapback” echo effect mimicking the sound of Elvis’ first recordings in 1954 & 1955 at Sun Studio in Memphis. Ross-Spang had applied the same effect to alternate takes on 2016’s Way Down in the Jungle Room, an overview of Elvis’ last formal recordings in 1976 at Graceland.

As it was not representative of the original intent in 1976 or 1969, some fans have been quite critical of Ross-Spang’s slapback effect. As for me, I don’t mind it at all. It breathed some life into the 1976 studio recordings and brought Elvis’ music full-circle, in a sense, with an homage to the Sun sound. Though less effective on the 1969 live recordings, it’s not too distracting. On a few songs, such as “Mystery Train,” which of course originated in the Sun era anyway, the effect can actually be phenomenal.

Where I differ from Ross-Spang on Elvis Live 1969 is on some of his mixing choices, especially as far as which instruments are prominent. For instance, horns overwhelm a portion of James Burton’s lead guitar solo in the middle of the “Blue Suede Shoes” opener on all 11 shows. The horns weren’t even audible at all during Burton’s solo on the original Elvis In Person album and most of the subsequent revisits of this material.

The horns distracting from the lead guitar vaguely reminds me of Elvis’ February 11, 1956, appearance on Stage Show (CBS), the Jackie Gleason-produced television series hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. In his third of six appearances on the program, Elvis debuts “Heartbreak Hotel” for the national TV audience. At the point where Scotty Moore would normally rip into his now classic electric guitar solo, a trumpeter improvises a jazz-inspired solo instead. While I enjoy jazz, it did not work in the context of this rock ‘n’ roll song. Fortunately, Moore is able to let loose in performances of “Heartbreak Hotel” on two subsequent shows. The 1969 “Blue Suede Shoes” is thankfully not affected to nearly this extent, though, for Burton is at least playing his solo!

Another example is that Larry Muhoberac’s piano is mixed far too loudly on certain shows, especially the August 26 Midnight Show, the last 1969 concert captured. Was Ross-Spang running out of time or is this truly how he felt the show should sound? “Mystery Train/Tiger Man,” which should be a showcase for the guitar and drums, suffers greatly from the distracting and overbearing piano in this particular show.

The August 25 Dinner Show and August 26 Dinner Show versions of “Mystery Train/Tiger Man” are similarly impacted by too much piano in the mix. Five of the remaining shows that include this medley fortunately keep the piano at low or moderate volumes, while the August 25 Midnight Show version, which was the performance used as the master on Elvis In Person, actually strikes a great balance – having the piano quite present but at an appropriate level.

Of course, it is all a matter of taste. For an Elvis live show, I want the lead guitar (Burton), Elvis guitar (when applicable), drums (Ronnie Tutt), and bass (Jerry Scheff) prominent in the mix among the instruments, generally in that order of priority, but certainly varying to some extent per song.

The rock ‘n’ roll numbers, at least, should heavily feature guitar, drums, and bass. That is the core of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis style. The piano, other guitars, and orchestra should be present as needed, but not so much as to overwhelm that core. The piano is far less annoying on a slow song like “Love Me Tender,” for instance, where it better suits being prominent in the mix.

To be clear, the mixing on the majority of these shows is great. For example, “Mystery Train/Tiger Man” is mixed to perfection on the August 22 Midnight Show and is of course buoyed by a committed and powerful vocal performance by Elvis, as with many of the songs in this boxed set. This version of “Mystery Train” I can’t help but crank up every single time it comes on, much as I do with the 1955 Sun studio master.

Ross-Spang also tends to favor the Sweet Inspirations over the Imperials, as far as the background vocalists – an approach I heartily support. Millie Kirkham notwithstanding, Elvis sounds better with female voices behind him instead of males, and I love the Gospel-infused quality of the Sweet Inspirations. I should note that I intend no disrespect to any of the musicians and singers involved, all of whom are very talented. I am just talking about how I best feel the music when it comes to Elvis.

Before I get too far off track here, I think that covers it for the technical aspects of the set. I actually wasn’t even intending for this to become a review per se, but I just go where the writing leads me.

Next week, we’ll continue our look at Elvis Live 1969 and, possibly, get to the actual reason I started this post.

Blessings,
TY

[Read Part 2]

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”
Proverb 31:8-9

Elvis embarks on THE RETURN TO VEGAS

July 31, 2014February 8, 2026 / TY / 4 Comments

Forty-five years ago tonight, only eleven days after astronaut Neil Armstrong took his famous “one small step” on the moon, Elvis Presley took his own giant leap.

On that July 31st night in 1969, the singer stepped onto the stage of the International Hotel in Las Vegas and firmly reestablished himself as one of the world’s most dynamic performers.

His comeback after years of making movies had already revved into high gear back in December, with NBC’s broadcast of the highly-rated and critically-acclaimed ELVIS TV special.

He rode the tide of that success into his first Memphis recording sessions in nearly 15 years, resulting in smash hits “Suspicious Minds,” “In The Ghetto,” and “Don’t Cry, Daddy.”

Elvis was on fire again, and his Vegas engagement was another crown jewel in his comeback. With two shows a night, seven days a week, for four weeks, the concerts represented his first live appearances in nearly nine years – outside of four studio audience shows for his TV special.

RCA started recording the Vegas shows on August 21, capturing eleven complete concerts in all that summer. At that time, some of the best tracks were selected for an album, From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis (Elvis In Person). More recently, several of the shows have been released in full:

August 21 Midnight Show (MS) on Elvis: Viva Las Vegas (2007 Limited Edition)
August 22 Dinner Show (DS) on Elvis In Person (2008 FTD Edition)
August 23 MS on Elvis At The International
August 24 DS on Live In Las Vegas
August 25 MS on Hot August Night
August 26 DS on Live In Vegas
August 26 MS on All Shook Up

To commemorate the forty-fifth anniversary of this engagement, Sony’s collectors label for Elvis fans recently released on CD The Return To Vegas, the earliest known recording from this concert series.

The shows listed above are all multitrack recordings, meaning they were professionally captured for potential commercial release and can be properly mixed after the fact for optimum sound quality.

By contrast, Follow That Dream’s The Return To Vegas is a soundboard recording – an informal reference tape made in-line from the showroom’s soundboard console – never intended for release.

While the sound quality can be improved in certain ways, soundboard mixes are pretty much stuck as to how they were originally recorded. Some bootlegs are copies of copies, though, so sometimes there can be improved sound quality versus previous releases if an earlier generation source is used.

The Return To Vegas is actually one of the better-sounding soundboard CDs I have purchased.

THE RETURN TO VEGAS booklet cover

I must admit, however, that I am surprised. I was expecting to be blown away by The Return To Vegas. After all, this recording from an unconfirmed date in August is probably the closest we will ever come to hearing the legendary July 31 show that opened the engagement.

To be clear, like all 1969 Elvis shows released thus far, The Return To Vegas represents one of his best concerts. Yet, I found it slightly disappointing.

With that being said, The Return To Vegas does have many strong points. “Mystery Train/Tiger Man” is inspired, for instance, with the guitar portion of the lead-off song sounding closer to the 1955 SUN version than it ever would again on later recordings. I wish James Burton had kept playing it this way. An overbearing train whistle effect ruins some of that for me, though, and the performances on Hot August Night and Live In Vegas will remain my go-to versions.

The versions of “Love Me Tender” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love” are strong enough to contend for best of the season, at least out of what has been released thus far. “Don’t Be Cruel” is also strong.

During this engagement, Elvis took several minutes out of each show to talk about his career. This is, by far, my favorite of these “monologues.” It is actually the only previously released track on this CD, though, having been released in an edited form way back in 1974 for the infamous Having Fun With Elvis On Stage “talking” album. While the concept behind that particular album may have been poor, this monologue was actually pretty funny and gave some credibility to the Having Fun title.

“Are You Lonesome Tonight” features a slightly different arrangement than later versions, with strings instead of Sweet Inspiration Cissy Houston’s soaring vocals. It makes for a nice alternative, but I much prefer the versions with Houston. In addition, Elvis sounds uncomfortable during the spoken portions.

On “Blue Suedes Shoes,” Elvis also seems unsure of himself, plodding through it with slow and deliberate vocals. “All Shook Up” starts in fine form but degrades near the end due to Elvis going into a, dare I say, imitator-style quality on his vocals.

While I normally enjoy the bluesy arrangement of “Heartbreak Hotel” that made its debut at this engagement, the version here is lacking. It sounds off from the start and never really gains momentum. He sounds nearly manic on “Hound Dog,” and this version becomes tiresome on repeat listens. “Suspicious Minds” is decent, but not particularly memorable.

All-in-all, The Return To Vegas is a mixed bag. Audio quality aside, it certainly cannot compete as the strongest overall 1969 show released thus far.

So, when exactly did the show (or shows) presented on this CD take place? The accompanying booklet is sparse on information, focusing instead on photos of Elvis from the time.

Though FTD’s press release indicated this was originally prepared for release as a double album by RCA in the late 1970s before being cancelled, no associated paperwork is included in the booklet.

A brief essay by Ken Sharp (author of Elvis: Vegas ’69) fails to even mention this particular performance, speaking only in generalities about the overall engagement.

We do know that it is not the July 31 Opening Show as previously thought both by RCA and a subsequent bootlegger. They apparently keyed in on the line, “This is my first live appearance in nine years,” which Elvis actually stated at every full show thus far released at this engagement, while skipping his “It’s hard to get going on these dinner shows” comment that makes it clear some fatigue is already setting in for Elvis in Vegas.

Certainly he would not have said this at his first-ever Dinner Show on August 1, nor was he likely even to say it at the August 2 Dinner Show. Assuming this is not a splice of two shows, the August 3 Dinner Show seems to be the prevailing hypothesis among many fans. That still seems too early to me.

Since I refrain from bootlegs, I am no expert on the unofficial recordings available from this era. Certainly the arrangement of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” is a clue here, since it differs from the later versions. That may indicate an upper end to the range of possible dates, but I do not know exactly when that arrangement changed.

There is another clue. When introducing “Suspicious Minds,” Elvis states that it “should be out in a week or 10 days or so.” RCA released “Suspicious Minds” on August 26. Though Elvis was probably not speaking literally, a week to 10 days before the release would put us in the range of August 16 to 19. If it turned out that this concert took place closer to those dates and farther from August 3, it would not surprise me at all.

No matter the date, this is an enjoyable release, and it is definitely of historic value to Elvis fans. If you already have the multitrack shows, then you should purchase this CD. If not, I recommend you buy the professional multitrack shows from this engagement first. Each of these concerts has provided me hours of enjoyment, and I have no doubt that The Return To Vegas will ultimately do the same.

While the 1969 concerts are incredible, my favorite Vegas engagement took place a year later. With a more varied set list, Elvis seemed more relaxed in August 1970. For me, the shows captured for That’s The Way It Is are somehow even better than 1969. The Dinner Show presented on The Return To Vegas is actually but an appetizer for what is to come next week. I am ready for the main course!

Tracks

01. Blue Suede Shoes
02. I Got A Woman
03. All Shook Up
04. Love Me Tender
05. Jailhouse Rock/Don’t Be Cruel
06. Heartbreak Hotel
07. Hound Dog
08. Memories
09. Mystery Train/Tiger Man
10. Monologue *
11. Baby, What You Want Me To Do
12. Are You Lonesome Tonight
13. Yesterday/Hey Jude
14. Introductions
15. In The Ghetto
16. Suspicious Minds
17. What’d I Say
18. Can’t Help Falling In Love

* Previously released

Elvis conquers Vegas in 1969 with FTD

June 5, 2014February 8, 2026 / TY

Cover concept art for THE RETURN TO VEGAS CD. One hopes this amateurish effort will be replaced by time of release.

Follow That Dream will soon release the earliest known recording from the 1969 Las Vegas engagement that helped reignite Elvis Presley’s career. Add this news to Sony’s 10-disc That’s The Way It Is: Deluxe Edition set (track listing for that coming in my next post) and Warner Home Video’s That’s The Way It Is: Special Edition Blu-ray set coming in August, and 2014 is truly the return of the “Elvis Summer Festival.”

The Return To Vegas features an undated soundboard recording from early August 1969. RCA’s formal recordings of the concert series did not begin until later that month. FTD, Sony’s collectors label for Elvis fans, plans to release the show in late June – meaning it probably will not reach most consumers until sometime in July.

Though it has made the rounds on bootleg, this marks the first official release of the show – other than an entertaining monologue track previously included on the notorious 1974 album Having Fun With Elvis On Stage.

This early August soundboard recording is probably the closest we will ever come to hearing the legendary July 31, 1969, show that opened the engagement, so this has been one of my most anticipated concert releases. What a summer this will be.

Below is the press release from FTD, as well as the track listing.

[The Return To Vegas] is the official release of the soundboard recording that Joan Deary planned as a double album release back in the late seventies. It’s the earliest known professional recording from Elvis’ 1969 engagement in Las Vegas. The original tape box has “opening night” written on the back, but that’s not the real date. Some experts believe it’s from August 3, but we have no information whatsoever to suggest a certain date.

However, the arrangements seem to suggest that this show is definitely several days earlier than the shows RCA recorded from August 20 and onwards. Why Joan Deary edited and mastered this for release is another mystery, since she of course had all the shows RCA recorded on 8-track tape with audio in substantially better quality. This release comes in a 7″ digi-pack with a 12-page booklet, featuring great photos from the collections of Steve Barile & Jim Patino, and a foreword by Ken Sharp.

Tracks

* Previously released

“To @!#?@! with the Hilton Hotel . . . the Showroom, too”

October 16, 2011February 8, 2026 / TY / 20 Comments

A few weeks ago, I purchased a batch of Follow That Dream CDs, and I’ve been working my way through them. By far, the most interesting is one I’ve been spinning this week.

Closing Night (2004) Closing Night is actually a 2004 release. For reasons that have escaped my memory, I didn’t pick this one up back then.

Maybe it was the poorly Photoshopped cover that turned me off. Though if cover art were a real consideration for me, I fear much of my Elvis collection wouldn’t be here.

Or, maybe I was worried that this notorious show was a train wreck.

More than likely, though, it was probably a budgetary consideration. Though I support FTD, I can’t afford to buy every single release. Instead, I pick and choose.

In any event, I can explain why I finally purchased this CD. Back in July, Elvis super fan Ian Fraser mentioned this show in a comment to a post here on The Mystery Train. His enthusiasm made me want to try out Closing Night.

The Closing Night CD actually contains selections from two September 3, 1973, concerts at the Hilton Hotel’s Showroom in Las Vegas. Tracks 1 through 7 are from the Dinner Show, while tracks 8 through 25 are from the Midnight Show (the actual closing show that Ian mentions in his comments).

It’s definitely an unusual show, but not a train wreck by any means. It’s intriguing to hear Elvis uncharacteristically blowing off steam while on stage. Plus, there are great live versions of “Trouble” and “My Boy,” not to mention “Bridge Over Suspicious Minds” and the spoken word only version of “Softly, As I Leave You.”

What have you been listening to this week?

Experience Elvis at full throttle in Young Man With The Big Beat (UPDATE: Individual songs available for purchase on Amazon)

September 27, 2011February 8, 2026 / TY / 6 Comments

Available today from Sony’s RCA/Legacy label, the five-CD boxed set Young Man With The Big Beat features a ton of 1956 material. For die-hard fans, the crown jewel of the set is the first-ever release of Elvis’ December 15, 1956, concert that marked the singer’s final appearance on the Louisiana Hayride radio program.

Also released today is the Sony Legacy edition of his debut album, Elvis Presley, which is paired with his second album, Elvis.

Note that this set is also available for purchase in digital format (audio only) at a substantially reduced price for the full set.

UPDATE: Possibly along with others, Amazon US is offering the opportunity to buy individual tracks in digital format. This means fans who only want the Hayride material do not have to purchase the entire set. Thank you to Sony for this consideration.

Below is a full break-down of the Young Man With The Big Beat set, adapted from Sony’s press release and marketing material.

Disc 1: Studio Recordings

17 tracks recorded in New York, Nashville, and Hollywood, starting with the 12 songs on the debut LP, Elvis Presley (‘1254’), followed by non-LP single A-sides and B-sides, and EP tracks.

Blue Suede Shoes
I’m Counting On You
I Got A Woman
One-Sided Love Affair
I Love You Because
Just Because
Tutti Frutti
Trying To Get To You
I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)
I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’)
Blue Moon
Money Honey
Heartbreak Hotel
I Was The One
My Baby Left Me
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy
Shake, Rattle And Roll

Disc 2: Studio Recordings

22 tracks recorded in New York, Nashville, and Memphis, starting with the 12 songs on the second LP, Elvis (‘1382’), followed by non-LP single A-sides and B-sides, and EP tracks.

Rip It Up
Love Me
When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
Long Tall Sally
First In Line
Paralyzed
So Glad You’re Mine
Old Shep
Ready Teddy
Anyplace Is Paradise
How’s The World Treating You
How Do You Think I Feel
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
Hound Dog
Don’t Be Cruel
Any Way You Want Me (That’s How I Will Be)
Too Much
Playing For Keeps
Love Me Tender
Let Me
Poor Boy
We’re Gonna Move

Disc 3: Live Recordings

Rare remasters of shows at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas (four songs); Little Rock, Arkansas (seven songs); and a recently discovered, previously unreleased concert in Shreveport, Louisiana, in December (ten songs).

Recorded Live At The Venus Room, Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas, May 6

1. Heartbreak Hotel
2. Long Tall Sally
3. Blue Suede Shoes
4. Money Honey

Recorded Live At The Robinson Memorial Auditorium, Little Rock, Arkansas, May 16

5. Heartbreak Hotel
6. Long Tall Sally
7. I Was The One
8. Money Honey
9. I Got A Woman
10. Blue Suede Shoes
11. Hound Dog

Recorded Live At The Hirsch Youth Center, Louisiana Fairgrounds, Shreveport, Louisiana, December 15

12. Heartbreak Hotel
13. Long Tall Sally
14. I Was The One
15. Love Me Tender
16. Don’t Be Cruel
17. Love Me
18. I Got A Woman
19. When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
20. Paralyzed
21. Hound Dog

Disc 4: Outtakes

Four outtakes from the first historic RCA session in January (“I Got A Woman,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “I’m Counting On You,” “I Was The One”), segueing into the complete session of February 3rd (11 takes of “Lawdy, Miss Clawdy” and 12 takes of “Shake, Rattle And Roll”); plus the first of the interviews – the complete Warwick Hotel (NYC) interview by Robert Brown in March.

I Got A Woman – take unknown
Heartbreak Hotel – take 06
I’m Counting On You – take 13
I Was The One – take 02
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy – take 01
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy – take 03
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy – take 04
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy – take 05
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy – take 06
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy – takes 07, 08, 09
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy – take 10 (master)
Lawdy, Miss Clawdy – takes 11, 12
Shake, Rattle And Roll – takes 01, 02
Shake, Rattle And Roll – takes 03, 05, 06, 07
Shake, Rattle And Roll – take 08
Shake, Rattle And Roll – takes 09, 10, 11, 12, 12 (undubbed master)
The Complete Warwick Hotel Interview

Disc 5: Interviews

The Paul Wilder interview, plus his interviews with Colonel Parker and Oscar Davis; plus two segments of Elvis’ rarely heard candid monologue, “The Truth About Me,” and two advertisements for RCA Victrolas.

The Complete TV Guide Presents Elvis interview
Colonel Parker Interview
The Truth About Me
The Truth About Me Interview
Victrola Radio ad 1
Victrola Radio ad 2

Book

The focal point of the book, spread across its 80 pages, will be a unique, meticulously-researched, day-by-day chronology of Elvis’ iconic year, including every concert, every recording date, every television appearance, personal events in Elvis’ life, and much more. A dazzling photo array of memorabilia will illustrate each day and entry. Concert ticket stubs, RCA memoranda, letters from fans, postcards from Elvis to his family, tour itineraries, magazine covers and articles, trade charts, fan club relics, RCA publicity photos, concert photos, candid photos, and more will be a feast for the eyes and the imagination as 1956 unfolds.

Other Items

Will also include five rare 8×10 photographs, five original-size poster replicas, and a replica concert ticket stub.

Guest Post: Fashion For A King doesn’t fit diehard fan

September 2, 2011February 8, 2026 / Guest Conductor / 5 Comments

Fashion For A King (2011)

Let me just start out by saying that I am not an Elvis book collector. I buy very, very few Elvis books, and the ones I do usually tend to be reference type books, along the lines of Joe Tunzi’s Sessions books. In other words, I am a discerning Elvis book collector and don’t simply pick up every single tome with Elvis’ picture on the cover. Simply put, there has to be a good reason for me to buy one. Being a jumpsuit fanatic, I had always wanted a book that would document the suits Elvis wore in minute detail. Thus, when I heard about Fashion for a King I knew it would have to be one of my rare Elvis book purchases.

When I saw the press release for Fashion for a King, I was thrilled. An entire book (500+ pages) about Elvis’ jumpsuits? What could be better? (For me, anyway. I know some people groan at the thought.) According to the press release, the book promised to be “a full documentary of Elvis’ jumpsuits,” covering “the background story of each and every suit” – a “fully documented story and pictures of Elvis Presley’s stage outfits” and “an encyclopedia for fans…to learn more about these great original stage outfits.”

Needless to say I was excited. An encyclopedia of each and every suit, with documentation? My head filled with visions of unseen photographs and close-ups of each suit, along with documentation about when each suit was worn. Although not explicitly stated, I did get the impression that each concert would be individually documented, if not with a photo, then at least with a date and a listing of which suit was worn. In short, the press release promised a lot, and since the book had been written by fans, who often obsess about such details, I was very much looking forward to a reference that I would look at time and time again, much like I do with my Sessions books.

Unfortunately, upon paging through the book after I got it, it immediately became clear that it was much less than was I was anticipating. The majority of the photos in the book were ones I had seen before, either from well known sources, Follow That Dream releases, or simply from surfing the Internet. Only about 20 or so were new to my eyes, and it seemed as though the rest had been cobbled together from various sources that almost anyone could find. I felt a bit cheated paying over $100 US for a book full of photos that I probably could assemble most of myself given a few days of Internet usage. However, I could forgive the lack of rare photos if the rest of the book (the jumpsuit specifics) made up for it. Unfortunately the book failed in that area as well.

The text was bland and repetitive and followed exactly the same format in each section: Elvis’ tour lasted from this date to this date, he wore XYZ jumpsuits during the tour and he had Y band members with him. While the descriptions of which jumpsuits were worn on what dates were sadly lacking, oddly, the authors saw fit to inject commentary within the descriptions about Elvis’ health, state of mind, girlfriends or spending habits, often in the form of generalizations. I found it hard to distinguish whether or not the authors were trying to sympathize with Elvis or to condemn him. Regardless, in my opinion, a simple list of shows, dates, suits, capacities, grosses, and band members would have been much superior to prose that alternated from factual statements about dates and locations to editorial comments about Elvis’ state of mind. Somehow, in a work billed as an encyclopedia of Elvis’ jumpsuits, I wasn’t expecting to read about Elvis’ love life, or his spending, or the Colonel’s gambling habits. All of these things have been covered elsewhere. As it stands, the text came across to me as a canned, generic version of the stereotypical Elvis timeline that a non-fan might parrot back to you when talking about Elvis. In other words, lots of generalities, few actual facts, and most glaringly, very little relevance to what the book was ostensibly about. Oddly, though, given the lack of actual text concerning the specifics of Elvis’ jumpsuit usage, almost every section has specific details about the types of microphones Elvis used on a given tour, even down to the color of the tape used to secure the microphone windscreen – if only the jumpsuit information was this detailed and orderly!

To be fair, some of Elvis’ jumpsuits are described in detail, although I personally found the descriptions hard to follow, as often the authors would mention that Elvis wore ‘X’ jumpsuit with ‘Y’ belt during a specific Vegas engagement while not having a photo of said jumpsuit (and particularly said belt) to accompany the text. This was especially confusing when describing jumpsuits and belts that were originally created in previous years (say, when talking about jumpsuits and belts worn in both 1973 and 1974, for example). The text more often than not wound up reading like “Elvis wore jumpsuit X with original belt 1, although sometimes with non-original belt 2, along with jumpsuit Y” – I found myself having to page backwards through the book to remind myself if I actually saw a photo of “original belt 1” at some point. Given that I am a lifelong Elvis fan and a jumpsuit aficionado, I can only imagine how confused an average Elvis fan, or a new Elvis fan, might be with the descriptions. Having some photos of the jumpsuits as displayed at Graceland when talking about minutiae like how many buttons were on the sleeves of the given jumpsuit or how belt X had two chains per loop while belt Y had only one would have provided some excellent visual counterpoints to the printed details. Again, I am approaching this from the standpoint of someone who LOVES reading about things like how the differing versions of the flame suit can be determined by the color of the kick pleat in the legs, and even I found some of the text hard to follow.

Design-wise, the book is laid out well, but I did find that the authors included photos of Elvis wearing a given jumpsuit in a later year placed within the discussions from a previous year (with shots of Elvis from 1972, for example, appearing in sections covering Elvis’ November 1971 tours). While I can understand using shots from different periods when describing a specific jumpsuit, the book is primarily organized about specific tours and engagements, so personally I would have found it more stylistically interesting to include 72 shots with 72 tours where a given suit was worn. Again, including some static shots of the jumpsuits themselves when talking about their design would have been more interesting and appropriate to this reader.

The book is clearly a labor of love on the part of the authors, and one can tell that they enjoyed putting it together, but overall, I can’t really find much in the book that will interest the diehard fan, and in particular the diehard jumpsuit fan. The book has the feel of a project that fans might do in their spare time for their own enjoyment, which is essentially what this sprang from, according to the press release. As mentioned, I could see myself doing something similar just for the fun of it, although if I were to put it in book form for wider consumption I personally would feel an obligation to provide something, even if not necessarily new, at least useful as a reference.

Although this release is not produced by FTD, it was released in conjunction with them, and as with previous FTD book products, some Elvis music is included, this time in the form of Elvis’ Omaha, Nebraska show from July 1, 1974, and a Las Vegas show from December 14, 1975. Both of these have been around on the CD/CDR circuit, with parts of the former also being available in the form of some very good 8mm footage, but neither has appeared on soundboard. Both are a welcome treat, showing Elvis in good form, with the 1975 show providing an excellent set list. I remember hearing this show years ago as an audience recording and really enjoying it and the soundboard version confirms what I thought at the time. Elvis seems relaxed and in a good mood, and gives some very committed and unrushed performances. The oldies are tossed together and dispensed with in the first third of the show, leaving the remaining two-thirds for more powerhouse material, including “How Great Thou Art” (with a reprise of the ending), “Just Pretend,” “You Gave Me A Mountain,” and a rare (for this time period) performance of “Until It’s Time For You To Go.” Even more unusually, the show even features a performance of “It’s Now or Never” with Elvis singing the Italian lyrics. The show is also quite long for Vegas, running about 75 minutes. Overall, this show alone more than makes up for the book in my opinion, and I am very happy that this particular show has finally been released on soundboard.

The Omaha show is also of a good standard, with Elvis’ performance (in my opinion) being more serious and energetic than other releases from this time period, like June 19 in Amarillo or June 29 in Kansas City. Again, a nice bonus and nice compensation after my disappointment with the book.

In short, I was disappointed by Fashion for a King in almost every respect. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d have to rate it right down the middle, with only the authors’ obvious love for the subject and the two included CDs saving it from a bottom of the barrel rating. Ironically, in thinking about it, this book might actually be more appealing (from a content standpoint) to a casual fan, as it does offer some nice photos in a coffee table book format. But for the diehard jumpsuit lovers like me, there is unfortunately little new on offer.

/Bryan Gruszka, Strange Paradise Online

Bryan Gruszka has been an Elvis fan since he was 6-years-old. A self-confessed jumpsuit afficionado, his favorite period is the 1970s. When not occupied with Elvis, Bryan is developing a book and website about Strange Paradise, an obscure Canadian gothic soap opera. Feel free to drop him a line or check out his website.

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