danusia
Jaming With Elvis
Number of posts : 2967
Age : 83
Location : Poland
Registration date : 2008-05-01
 | Subject: Elvis Live, Live, Live - Elvis On Tour- Review.  Mon Jan 25, 2010 1:00 pm | |
| Exclusive Review For EpGold, Simon de Wit
This highly-anticipated DVD-R is finally out. It remains baffling that nowadays we get to see such rare material on obscure DVD releases. Almost 12 minutes of NEVER before seen Elvis On Tour rehearsals…who would have believed say 20 years ago we’d still be treated like this in 2010!
Some years ago already we received a lot of the On Tour outtakes, live stuff, backstage and rehearsals from both filmed sessions. On this DVD we get to see another 11 minutes appr. of new rehearsal footage.
First let’s see what’s on the DVD exactly. Like I said, it’s a DVD-R and it’s a simple menu, but who cares.
Madison Square Garden June 9, 1972 opening show.
Elvis dressed in the Adonis Suit. With matching sound this time around, huh? Where did this audio come from, my best guess it’s the original sound they got with filming, it’s not perfect, but Elvis’ voice is right up front. It’s the footage that was also on Hot Shots and Cool Clips but there’s more this time around and with sound of course. It opens with Jackie Kahane doing his routine and he gets boe’d as we all knew, he gathers all microphones and asks if the audience can hear him better now, a funny guy! Then there’s the Sweet Inspirations with their own band, nice to see this for once, you get a real sense of watching an Elvis concert with this footage I found. Then it’s Elvis! You see most part of That’s Alright Mama, Proud Mary and Polk Salad Annie. My, how I wish we had a visual record like this for ALL shows Elvis ever gave.
On Tour Rehearsals, March 31, 1972
Okay, this is the main event of this DVD. We get to see Elvis rehearse Love Me, All Shook Up, Teddy Bear/Don’t Be Cruel, Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog. Let me start off with saying that he is not as fanatical as in TTWII rehearsals, he’s somewhat subdued, but what a fascinating look into the man’s world this is.
He starts off Love Me while sitting on a stool, but gets up soon, showing off his Gold Belt he received from the International Hotel n 1969 for setting an Attendance Record. The picture quality is really outstanding, as is the audio! I really was surprised with both I must say.
Personally I like Heartbreak Hotel best. He sings this really, really well and puts in some effort to do a good version. The close-ups in this footage are out of this world I must say, holy moses, you can almost count his pores. Wonderful stuff indeed. Hound Dog is done with the slow bluesy start and then Elvis accelerates into high gear. We’ve not even seen this song performed on stage from 1972, just like Heartbreak Hotel, but now we finally get to see it. Glory Hallelujah.
Houston, Texas, pressconference, February 25, 1970
This is the same footage that was on Hot Shots and Cool Clips, but without the logo on the bottom of the screen, in fact this was also issued on the DVD Elvis Thru The Years some years ago. Very good quality, but nothing new for the hardcore collector.
Elvis On Tour trailer
Nothing new and not to good a quality I might add.
Commercials
The final chapter features some commercials for the ’68 Comeback Special on VHS, a belt buckle , photo necklace, Greatest Hits Album and finally some footage of Elvis’ arrival in Hawaii April 7, 1962, for the making of Girls Girls Girls. Tom Moffatt interviews Elvis and although part of this was seen in This Is Elvis, Elvis Thru The Years and some other documentaries, there was some new footage I’d never seen anywhere before.
Conclusion: if you’re a serious collector, you have to find a copy of this DVD, you won’t be disappointed for sure. It begs to wonder what else might be coming out soon. Rumours of Elvis’ show in Richmond ’72 coming to DVD are floating around, there’s even talk of Elvis’ opening show in August 1972 emerging real soon. We know this show was filmed by Pierre Adidge and Bob Abel, only question is, was it raided from the vaults already?
Anyway, 2010 started off with a bang, we live in hope!
Simon de Wit
2010/01/25 Simon de Wit for EpGold / www.epgold.com | |
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