Elvis Sings Oh, Happy Day (CD - Paradise Road, 2020)

Title:

Elvis Sings Oh, Happy Day

Label:

Paradise Road Records [20202001A500]

Format:

CD

Number of tracks:

33

Running time:

79:30

Type of album:

Concert

Linked to:

Unofficial discography

Year:

2020

Recording date:

August 14, 1970 MS

Release date:

2020

Singles:

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Elvis Sings Oh, Happy Day is a bootleg release by Paradise Road Records. It contains the complete August 14, 1970 MS concert in Las Vegas and a few MGM bonus tracks.

In August 1970, Elvis had been back onstage for a year. The singer had been on a wave of incessant successes since he returned to the music world with the 1968 special, having recorded two LPs - From Elvis in Memphis and Back in Memphis - and several singles in 1969 and making a wonderful first season in Las Vegas after eight years away from the stage, wich generated a third LP (Elvis in Person at the International Hotel).

1970 started with another season in Las Vegas and a record selling 3-day gig at the Houston Astrodome (his biggest crowd until 1975). Elvis would then have four months to rest before his next engagement in Vegas in August.

Meanwhile, Colonel Parker was in talks with MGM to film a series of concerts in August and release the best parts in a documentary that would follow Elvis in his triumphal return to stage. The singer was tired of his film roles, but agreed to do it if he could act naturally and wouldn't need to rehearse of fake things to better suit the film's atmosphere.

MGM filmed Elvis during rehearsals and performances in Vegas from July 14th to August 13th, 1970. RCA also recorded the rehearsals and concerts for further use in the film's soundtrack album (although it ended having only four live tracks). Works to create a perfect “Elvis world” idealized by the Colonel lasted until a few hours before the first show. It all went perfectly smooth.

Elvis continued his third season in Vegas on August 14th, but MGM and RCA wouldn't be filming and recording anymore. This is what we have been told through the years, but there are some proofs on the contrary. Evidences have been found showing that at least MGM filmed the concerts on the 14th and that the footage was probably stored somewhere. Another hint at the possibility that more shows have been filmed or recorded is that there's a few scenes in "That's the Way it is" that are believed to have been filmed in Phoenix on September 9th.

Bits of audio from the August 14, 1970 MS concert have been first released on the box "That's the Way it is: The Complete Works" by the International label in 2009. The same bits were re-released in the CD we're about to review, this time with better audio quality, as a bonus to the first remastered version of the concert available that is the main concent of this work. 

Below is a review of the show.

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- 1. That’s All Right: The tape starts right at the beginning of the song. The sound is average to good. Elvis does a very animated version of his 1954 hit, perhaps because RCA isn't there to record his every word. Elvis' voice is fantastic throughout. "Thank you. This was the first record I recorded, man. When I was a baby."

- 2. Amen: Elvis starts to improvise on his guitar and tells the band that they don't really know what he's going to do next. This is the first time that "Amen" appears on a set along with "I Got a Woman", even though it comes first and it's just a small excerpt.

- 3. I Got a Woman / You Don't Know Me / I Got a Woman: Elvis is in a good mood and it shows in this rendition of his 1956 recording. His voice is strong (at least stronger than on the 13th) and he does an excellent version. The singer tricks the band again into keeping the beat while he's obviously messing around and sings a snippet of "You Don't Know Me" to kid them. After one more false start, the song ends perfectly.

- 4. Monologue: Elvis talks about "Tiger Man" and tells the audience it was the second record he has ever done. The King of Rock may really have recorded the song at Sun some time around his first recoding sessions, but it's considered to have just been a rehearsal or the tape was lost or erased.

- 5. Mystery Train / Tiger Man: The medley is well performed, but has a different tempo than usual.

- 6. Folson Prison Blues: "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Johnny Cash." Elvis decides to sing one of Johnny Cash's hits and the audience loves it. He does a snippet of the song in Johnny's voice.

- 7. I Walk the Line: "They goin' to put me away, man. I know, it's just a matter of time, boy." Showing his skills again and appreciation for Johnny's work, Elvis does another of the singer's hits. It's just a small piece, but the audience receives it very well. "I like Johnny. Johnny started just a little bit before I did."

- 8. Monologue: Elvis explains why he has to take a lot of water ons stage and talks a little about his Gatorade. “When I first started out in the business, I was a little bitty kid, had a little bitty guitar... I was little, I used to have little fingers, you know, a little pick... I said pick, man!”

- 9. Love Me Tender: “I came to Hollywood in 1956, made a movie called Gone With the Wind... That movie should have been gone with the wind!” Elvis does a quite melodious and extra long version (6 and a half minutes!) of his 1956 hit while going around the stage and kissing fans as usual. “I'll be out in the balcony later, just hang loose up there.”

- 10. Monologue: “I have out a new record, ladies and gentlemen, that's been out about two weeks, and I don't particularly wanna sing it. I don't, you know, but it's on the schedulle and I have to sing it.” A fan asks for "The Wonder of You" and Elvis decides to do it. After some more talking to the audience, he seems to have forgotten the request.

- 11. Johnny B. Goode: Elvis decides to do Chuck Berry's classic. His voice suits the song wonderfully and he has fun while singing. James Burton's small solo is out of this world!

- 12. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Blueberry Hill: Elvis sings one line of one of his new recordings and the audience likes it. "We'll be here all night, man! Give me a C chord." He then does a few lines of his 1957 recording, a hit by Fats Domino.

- 13. The Wonder of You: Elvis comes back to the show's setlist and does his new hit.  He really isn't in the mood to do it, and it's shown by the way he inserts puns to the lyrics. Overall, it's a nice version.

- 14. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin': B. J. Thomas' hit is next and it starts right away. Both Elvis and the band are in sync and the song goes on strong and smooth throughout. This tape sounds really good here, as you can also hear the amazing work of the backing vocals.

- 15. Monologue: Elvis talks a little to the audience and kisses some more sassy fans. "Turn out the lights, please. Okay, now we're gonna get dirty. We've been so clean all night, we gotta get a little bit down."

- 16. Polk Salad Annie: While the song starts, Elvis is still occupied with his fans. He asks if the sound is good before continuing. The beat in the beginning of the song is a little bit different than what we're used to hear and it's a nice change. Elvis doens't rush the tempo and has lots of fun with some puns. The clapping from the backing vocals can be heard really well when Elvis stops singing and it's just fantastic for a home recording.

- 17. Band Introductions: "Before we do anything else, I'd like to introduce the members of my group up here." After the usual pun of introducing the band members to themselves, Elvis introduces Glen Hardin, Charlie Hodge (without mentioning his name), The Sweet Inspirations, The Imperials and Millie Kirkham.

- 18. Oh, Happy Day: Elvis improvises on the Gospel classic. This is and amazing version of a song that should have been in a lot more concerts that just this one. "We didn't rehearse it, we just, you know..."

- 19. Papa Oom Mow-mow: "I'd like to do a few of the old songs that I recorded when I was a baby." Elvis does one line of the 1964 hit by The Rivingtons. "I won't do that one, forget it."

- 20. All Shook Up: The song has a much faster tempo than usual and is a nice addition to the show.

- 21. Blue Suede Shoes: Elvis' hit at RCA in 1956 is next. The rendition is very good and Ronnie Tutt's drumming is phenomenal.

- 22. One Night: Although it's quite similar to those we have heard countless times in lots of releases, it's done nicely and Elvis tries a few different approaches to it.

- 23. Bridge Over Troubled Water: "Kill the lights." After asking the lights to be "killed", Elvis jokes about the darkness on stage: "You really killed them, didn't you?" The singer isn't really serious at the beginning, joking and laughing a lot. "C'mon man, this is a serious song." The second half of the song is done in a serious way and sounds great.

- 24. Suspicious Minds: Elvis is in the mood to joke and laugh. He does a very good version, but inserts puns and internal jokes here and there all the way to the end. The ending is fantastic.

- 25. Can’t Help Falling in Love: “You're a beautiful audience, thank you very much.” The 1961 hit brings the show to an end. We hear a small snippet of an instrumental closing after it.

BONUS

The following songs are the same heard in the show above. The difference here is that the sound comes from MGM's cameras, which proves that the show was filmed.

- 26. Intro / That's All Right (Part Only)

- 27. Love Me Tender (Part Only)

- 28. Polk Salad Annie (Part Only)

- 29. All Shook Up (Part Only)

- 30. Blue Suede Shoes

- 31. One Night

- 32. Suspicious Minds (First Part Missing)

- 33. Can't Help Falling in Love (First Part Missing)