Green Peppers, Onions and Catfish (CD - EPC, 2019)

Title:

Green Peppers, Onions and Catfish

Label:

Elvis Presley Concert EPC 2019-21]

Format:

CD

Number of tracks:

29

Running time:

72:00

Type of album:

Concert

Linked to:

Unofficial discography

Year:

2019

Recording date:

July 20, 1975 ES

Release date:

2019

Singles:

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Green Peppers, Onions and Catfish is a CD on the Elvis Presley Concert (EPC) bootleg label. It covers the 8:30 pm concert on July 20, 1975 in Norfolk, Virginia.

By mid-1975, Elvis was back in good shape and having fun on stage. Having slimmed down and looking great in his new jumpsuits, he looked rejuvenated and happy to be back on stage. The summer of 1975 was a positive comeback from the emotional roller-coaster of 1974 and by July Elvis was doing a fantastic East Coast tour and promoting his new albums - Promised Land and Today -, often surprising the audiences with new material.

But as good as his shows were, there were some dark things going on between a concert and another and even on stage. Elvis was forty and paunchy, working harder than he should and with a mood as volatile as an hydrogen bomb. This combination often led to harsh words and big confrontations, bad timed jokes on stage, and events as absurd as shooting a TV set in a hotel room in Asheville and almost killing Dr. Nick after his gun accidentally fired off in the same city.

The tragic pattern of Elvis' final years is familiar to nearly everyone. His ongoing misuse of an astonishing variety and volume of prescription drugs turned his concert appearances into parodies staged by a sloppy, bloated performer who slurred lyrics rather than singing them, changed his character, caused him to act in an increasingly incomprehensible and erratic manner, and destroyed his health (ultimately killing him).

Earlier that year, Elvis had pissed Kathy Westmoreland off and she had walked off the stage after he directed a lot of jokes with sexual undertones at her during a couple of shows. Apparently, the King of Rock didn't take Kathy's refusal to date him again very well and tried to disqualify her honor in front of her then boyfriend Tony Brown - Elvis' new piano player - saying things like she would "take affection from anybody, including the whole band". The singer apologised and Kathy came back, but everybody knew he was bound to do it again.

The worst case of Elvis' erratic moods happened in Norfolk on July 20, 1975 - the show we're about to review. Early in the concert, Elvis told the audience that he smelled "green peppers and onions" and that his backup singers, the Sweet Inspirations, had "probably been eating catfish." Nobody knew exactly what he meant by the "catfish" remark and none of them thought it was racial - they just knew it was hostile, and there was an ugly undertone, not just to that comment but to his whole demeanor.

Estelle Brown responded to his remark by hanging her head, and Elvis continued by proclaiming, "Estelle, Sweet Inspirations, Stamps, if you don't look up, I'm going to kick your ass." At that point, Brown had had enough and walked off the stage. When Elvis glowered at the remaining singers and said, "Sorry for any embarrassment I might have caused, but if you can't take it, get off the pot," Sylvia Shemwell walked out, followed by Kathy Westmoreland.

The Inspirations performed at the next night's show in Greensboro, after Elvis apologized, but Kathy didn't. "I thought it was funny," was the only explanation Elvis offered for his strange behavior the night before.

Below is our review of this concert.

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- 1. Also Sprach Zarathustra: The fanfare plays. The tape sound is average.

- 2. See See Rider: Elvis walks the stage and starts singing with a strong voice. It's too bad that the tape recorder seems to have been placed behind a lot of people or too far from the stage, but we can feel the electricity in the air. Ronnie Tutt works hard to keep up with Elvis at the end.

- 3. I Got a Woman / Amen: The "well, well, well" routine is quite brief, what signifies that Elvis might not be in the mood to take requests or outdo himself to please the audience. Overall, it's an average but good version where the singer decides to end the last part of the medley suddenly and scorches the backing vocals for it before continuing.

- 4. Catfish Incident: Elvis starts bashing on the Sweets: "I don't know, I smelled green peppers and onions earlier. These girls in the rhythmic section here have probably been eating catfish." The audience laughs nervously - the joke has a highly racial profile after all (the fact that poor black people often recurred to eating catfish heads as their only source of protein).

- 5. Love Me: The standard hit starts the kiss-and-scarf routine and it's sung in a boring way, showing that Elvis had found some bad humour to lean to.

- 6. If You Love Me (Let Me Know): A good version, but with some shaky parts.

- 7. Love Me Tender: Perhaps trying to calm himself down and prevent any further embarassing episodes from happening - at least in this show -, Elvis decides to do his 1956 hit. The version is average and Elvis centers on his fans.

- 8. All Shook Up: Pretty good version.

- 9. Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel: A boring medley, as usual.

- 10. Hound Dog: Elvis starts the song then stops when he sees that his backing vocals, mainly the Sweets, have angry faces and their heads down. In another quip against the girls, he says: "Estelle... Sweet Inspirations, Stamps... Look up or I'm going to kick your ass!" Estelle walks off the stage. The version is average because Elvis is centered on his fans and on what's happening on stage.

- 11. The Wonder of You: The 1970 showstopper doesn't have the same punch as other versions a few days later.

- 12. Polk Salad Annie: Elvis does his best with the song, but it still sounds average. The end is phenomenal, though. 

- 13. Band Introductions: Elvis does the usual introductions of The Sweet Inspirations, JD Sumner, The Stamps (individually) and Kathy Westmoreland. He comments on Estelle leaving the stage: "Sorry for any embarrassment I might have caused, but if you can't take it, get off the pot." The singer introduces John Wilkinson while Sylvia Shemwell and Kathy Westmoreland leave the stage.

- 14. Johnny B. Goode: James Burton does a brief solo.

- 15. Drum Solo: Ronnie Tutt does his thing.

- 16. Bass Solo: Jerry Scheff plays the Blues.

- 17. Piano Solo: Glen Hardin does his part.

- 18. School Day: Elvis introduces Charlie Hodge, the group Voice, Joe Guercio and his orchestra.

- 19. T-R-O-U-B-L-E: From now on, we can notice that all songs lack the girl's backing vocals. This is a smashing version of a new song where Elvis extends the ending to showcase his karate chops.

 - 20. Why Me Lord: Elvis asks The Stamps to accompany him on this Gospel number by Kris Kristofferson. The rendition is great and it seems it helps the singer to get out of the damp mood he was - and put people - in.

- 21. How Great Thou Art: Elvis sings from his soul and The Stamps are great. There's an equally magnificent reprise of the ending.

- 22. Let Me Be There: A good version where Elvis seems to be having fun for the first time tonight.

- 23. Funny How Time Slips Away: Elvis does his usual routine about the house lights and interacts with the audience before making a good rendition with a reprise of the ending.

- 24. Little Darlin': Del Shannon's hit gets a good, serious version.

- 25. Mystery Train / Tiger Man: A very good version with a lot of moves from Elvis.

- 26. It's Now or Never: Elvis does an amazing version that ends with a high note, but it feels rushed.

- 27. Promised Land: Chuck Berry's hit gets an outstanding version and the audience loves it.

- 28. Can't Help Falling in Love: Elvis tells the audience that he didn't even realize that he was already over an hour on stage and thanks everybody before a decent rendition of his 1961 hit.

- 29. Closing Vamp: The fanfare plays and we hear the usual announcements at the end.