Design
Like we’ve come to expect from this label, the packaging is top-notch, both modern and reflective of the time. The pictures of Elvis on the front and on the CD in his Blue Pinwheel suit are a nice bonus. Missing are the liner notes, which would have completed the package.
The title is a fun reference to Gram Parsons, considering the likes of Tutt, Burton and Hardin played with him in the same period they were backing Elvis.
Content
Many concerts have been released from this engagement, but we did not have this Midnight Show on a silver disc. We did have the Dinner Show on the CD-R 'The Battle Of Vegas, February 11, 1973'. 'It’s great' to get another complete show in "OK" audio quality from a Soundbooth recording, sourced from U.K. superfan Rex Martin.
The sound is okay, with the occasional talking by Rex’s girlfriends, and so is the show. Elvis delivers the goods, but there are no real highlights that stand out on this night; it sounds a bit tame overall. But the audience doesn’t seem to mind. You can hear the interaction between Elvis, the laughter, and appreciation for the shaking hips, scarves, and singing, of course.
To name a few “highlights”: a too-fast ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ but the mean guitar work by Burton makes up for it! Other enjoyable performances are ‘Can’t Stop Loving You’ and ‘An American Trilogy’, but they usually are, I would have been disapointed if Elvis hadn't delivered on these concert classics.
I’m more enthusiastic about the DVD; this is where the label distinguishes itself from the competition. On the second disc, we get footage from 7 shows, 1 documentary, and 2 video clips.
From all the shows on the DVD, the footage of the show we get on the CD is missing, unfortunately. I thought I did hear an 8mm camera running during ‘Fever’ on the CD, but the footage hasn’t surfaced.
The DVD opens with a newly created clip of ‘An American Trilogy,’ using alternative angles from the ‘Aloha’ broadcast. From the Sunshine State, we head down to ‘Ooh Las Vegas,’ and traveling by car, we see the big billboards with Elvis - and popular stars like Tom Jones and Glenn Campbell - who took up residence in Sin City.
I’ve read that Elvis was everywhere when he was in town, but these images confirm that: everywhere you look, his name is up in lights and on billboards. A nice way to “set the scene” for the concerts.
During the documentary section, we get a short introduction and learn that, despite a sore throat and against doctor’s advice, he performed the shows. Later on, we see him cancel and then continue the show, not wanting to disappoint his audience! The 8mm footage with overdubbed sound shows that he could “sing around his vocal problems.”
Illustrated with small stories that happened during this period, like his meeting with Muhammad Ali and a member of the American boxing team - inspired to go into boxing after seeing Elvis in 'Kid Galahad' - who had just lost to the Russians during a tournament in Vegas.
Overall, a nice way to “set the scene” for the main course, the concerts.
The editors have to work with what’s available, most of it shot secretly and unfortunately – due to the cost and short running time of the tapes – we get many fragments of Elvis’ performances, sometimes with only a second between two black screens connecting the fragments while the music continues. I wonder why the persons holding these recorders used them like a photo camera.
Fortunately for us, it is all nicely edited with the overdubbed audio holding it all together. It’s basically a compilation of fragments with some additional complete songs like ‘Steamroller Blues,’ ‘Polk Salad Annie,’ ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ ‘Love Me Tender,’ and ‘Trilogy.’ The latter was a favorite of the audience, as they grabbed their 8mm camera to catch the performance. That means that fifty years later, we get various renditions of the song, but that’s no punishment presented like this.
The footage is very good for 8mm, and not presented full-screen; it comes across very well. Although I must admit I wish that the editor had picked a different effect, as this one has a distracting reflective line at the top of the screen. Together with the occasional added sound of a running film projector, I found that distracting. Fortunately, the editor stuck to just one graphic effect, making all the fragments look like a whole.
Looking at the footage, which covers 10 days in February 1973 through the eyes of the audience, we learn that Elvis’ performance on stage was a totally different one from what we had seen on the Hawaiian stage. Okay, there is a big difference between 8mm footage shot from the audience and a professional TV broadcast using all means possible, but besides that, Elvis is more active on stage, obviously feeling more at home. Also interesting: during ‘Fever,’ he only has to wiggle half a leg to get a reaction. So it seems odd that I don’t seem to hear this active performer when I played the CD we get in this set …
One of the highlights is, of course, the extremely rare footage in stunning quality of Elvis appearing in his Blue Pinwheel suit at the February 20th Dinner Show. This shows that the editors really made an effort for this set, because next to the editing and audio-overdubbing, they also found new material.
Presented like this, we literally get another perspective of Elvis on stage in early 1973. Of course, we all know the ‘Aloha’ show(s), but here it looks less staged than the staged concert movies like 'On Tour', 'That’s The Way It Is', and Aloha'. It comes across as more natural. Even handing out the scarves doesn’t look tacky, as it does when I see other artists do this. Having heard many audio recordings, I now got a better understanding and appreciation of the February 1973 Vegas stint. I enjoyed watching a coherent collection of 8mm footage, presented in the correct order to create a concert experience. At well over one and a half hours of footage, you can really sit down and enjoy this Vegas engagement.
Conclusion
With the addition of these DVDs, the Millbranch label found a great way to present fans with an entertaining and insightful package, a little time capsule, you could say.
Compilations like this are not everyone’s taste, but I found it insightful to get a pretty complete overview of this engagement: the show, the stage - with the band and backing vocalists standing on brown/red high-pile carpet and the same logo as on the billboard and menu projected behind the orchestra (new to me) - but, more importantly, Elvis’ act during the various songs we know so well, the suits, and everything else.
The DVD ends with the announcement of a volume 2, so fingers crossed for more!
In the past, DVDs were added as the bonus on a Deluxe release; here it is the other way around for me. Like the previous CD/DVD packages from the Millbranch label, this is an entertaining set that really adds something to your collection, especially if you want to experience Elvis live or if you’re a fan of 8mm footage.
The CD is available from >>> Bennies Fifties.