Elvis
Las Vegas International Hotel
Las Vegas, NV
3 Aug 69
aka Opening Night 1969, Fort Baxter,1993 (A.S CD 731-69) --- see notes
below, this was not the "opening night"
SB >silvers > computer > edition & normalization (no equalization)
Soundforge > DBpowerAMP > FLAC (level 8) > you
1. Opening Theme > Blue Suede Shoes
2. I Got A Woman
3. All Shook Up
4. Love Me Tender
5. Jailhouse Rock > Don't Be Cruel
6. Heartbreak Hotel
7. Hound Dog
8. Memories
9. Mystery Train > Tiger Man
10. Monologue
11. Baby, What You Want Me To Do
12. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
13. Yesterday
14. Hey Jude
15. Band Introductions
16. In The Ghetto
17. Suspicious Minds
18. What'd I Say
19. Can't Help Falling In Love
TT (65.53)
The "Show"
Comedian : Sammy Shore
Warm up act : The Sweet Inspirations
Highvoice singer : Millie Kirkham
Backup vocalists
The Sweet Inspirations : Emily Houston, Myrna Smith,
Sylvia Shemwell , Estelle Brown
The Imperials : Jake Hess, Jim Murray, Gary McSpadden,
Armond Morales
Symphony orchestra : Bobby Morris & the Bobby Morris Orchestra
Lead Guitar : James Burton
Rhythm Guitar : John Wilkinson
Bass : Jerry Scheff
Piano : Larry Muhoberac
Drums : Ronnie Tutt
Acoustic guitar : Charlie Hodge
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The CD claimed that this was the opening night of the 1969 Las Vegas season,
but fans were able to find a more probable date (August 3, 1969 dinner show).
Nevetheless, this is very enjoyable show, very powerful of the start of the
season. Excellent speeches by Elvis.
The Fort Baxter CD, even with a few sound flaws, is an excellent release.
The original pressing is now hard to find, and tons of repressings are on
the market. If your inserts look not really sharp, and if the "SIAE" stamp
seemed to be printed, this is a repressing without a doubt.
You will find very positive reviews on the links below.
As usual, I do not advise to buy bootlegs, especially Elvis Presley live
releases, as many are really really crap (bad sound and/or performance, incomplete,
edited...). As "Follow That Dream" is releasing studio sessions and live concerts,
take a look on their website and on the various reviews done by fanatics.
You will be sure to find what you want.
This music from this CD has been reworked . . . . here's the notes
I've a few doubts about the origin of the "Opening Theme". The sound seemed
a bit different to the rest of the show. But maybe I'm wrong...
There are a lot of blanks in that recording. No music seemed to be missing,
but i decided to rework a bit the sound to have a more continuous performance.This
is probably due to the fact that some generation of the master was edited
into Reel-To-Reel tapes of around 16 minutes (each blank occur at that duration).
Or was is a cancelled project for an official live album (doubtful as RCA
only recorded 11 gigs at the end of August) ?
Also I increased a bit the sound, and balanced it (right channel is low
than the left channel).
Here are the blanks that I've reworked :
Track 1 (between "Opening Theme" and "Blue Suede Shoes")
Track 6 (between "Heart Break Hotel" and the little speech at the end) Nothing
is missing. You can hear the same "thank you" by Elvis then a few microphone
sounds at the end and at the start of each fade. The only thing is that the
audience is a bit different, you can hear whistles and shouts in one not in
the other.
Track 10 (at the end of the "Monologue". Please note that the first blank
after the first minute is probably a technical problem that occured with the
mic of Elvis) nothing is missing. You can hear the same guitar sound at the
end and at the start of each fade. The audience sound is here a bit different
too (one whistle is more present on the first fade than the other for example).
Track 14 (fades out at the end) Nothing is missing. You can hear clearly
the same the whistles and guitar sound at the end and the start of the two
tracks.
Track 15 (fades in at the start, fades out / in in the middle, fades out
at the end) Nothing is missing in the middle of the "Monologue". The two parts
match perfectly.
Track 16 (fades in at the start) Nothing is missing.The two parts match
perfectly.
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Las Vegas 1969 : Comeback
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Some datas may be incorrect, please contact me if you see any error, or
if you can complete or add any relevant information about that venue/period/gig/set/songs.
From 1961 to 1968, Elvis did not make any public performance. The "'68 Comeback
Special" done for NBC was an huge success, and the first season at the Las
Vegas International was quickly sold out. Elvis performed one opening show
on July 31, 1969, then 56 (!!!) performances during the next 28 days, one
dinner show and one midnight show each day for more than 1 hour each... Nothing
can be added to that. Simply amazing.
On the 57 gigs, 11 gigs were protaped by RCA, and a few ones were officially
released :
- "On Stage" (RCA 1985 & 1999 [remaster + bonus], CD) included songs
from various shows
- "In Person" (RCA 1985, CD) included songs from various shows
- "Collector's Gold" (RCA 1991, 2CDs boxset) included songs from various
shows
- "Elvis Aaron Presley" (RCA 1998, 4CDs long box) included songs from various
shows
- "Live In Las Vegas" (RCA 2001, 4CDs boxset) included the whole August
24, 1969 midnight show
- "Today, Tomorrow & Forever" (RCA 2002, 4CDs long box) included songs
from the August 22, 1969 midnight show
- "Elvis At The International" (FTD 2002, CD digipak) included the whole
August 23, 1969 midnight show - MUST HAVE SHOW!!!
- "All Shook Up" (FTD 2005, CD digipak) included the whole August 26, 1969
midnight show
Many fans have reviewed very closely those materials, please check the links
below.
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Sources & links of interest
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Elvis Presley : official website
http://www.elvis.com
Elvis Presley : official live CDs
http://www.followthatdream.com
Elvis Presley : up-to-date news
http://www.elvisnews.com/Presentation/Functional/Page/Default.aspx
http://www.elvisunlimited.com
http://www.elvis.com.au
Elvis Presley : tour dates, setlists & releases
http://www.elvisconcerts.com
Elvis Presley : official & unofficial live discographies, reviews
http://home.online.no/~ov-egela
http://www.elvis-collectors.com
http://www.elvisoncd.com
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