The Bicentennial Elvis Experience (CD - Fort Baxter, 1995)

Title:

The Bicentennial Elvis Experience

Label:

Fort Baxter [2096]

Format:

CD

Number of tracks:

23

Running time:

60:00

Type of album:

Concert

Linked to:

Unofficial discography

Year:

1995

Recording date:

August 1, 1976

Release date:

1995

Singles:

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The Bicentennial Elvis Experience was one of the releases of the fantastic and extinct Fort Baxter label. It covers the August 1, 1976 show in Hampton Roads, Virginia - Elvis' last in town. The work is currently out of print.

1976 had been a year of more ups than downs, and Elvis was happy with how things were going. His desire to record was still low, but the sessions at the Jungle Room in Graceland were fun and very productive. He no longer seemed interested in Las Vegas, and Vegas was reciprocal.

Halfway through that year, it didn't look like Elvis had gotten back on track or that it was possible. His performances were still inconsistent, and he would be slow and sometimes confused at the beginning of concerts, though nothing like the terrible August performances of the previous year in Las Vegas. In fact, the singer would improve his performance a lot from June, culminating in the great show on December 31, 1976 in Pittsburgh, but it was clear that he no longer had that flame that burned in his core.

In this work Fort Baxter brought to fans the August 1, 1976 concert at Hampton Roads for the first time. There's nothing more exciting than finding a remastered soundboard of an Elvis Presley concert like this one, any fan would agree. From the sound quality and the way the opening riff kicks off with Tony Brown rocking the piano, you'd think this would be a great performance, but appearances can sometimes be deceiving.

  Unfortunately, Elvis' performances were very questionable for most of the summer of 1976. This concert was to be no exception. Fans clapped and cheered anyway just to witness a rock icon in the flesh as he sang. What some viewers didn't realize was that Elvis' voice was very hoarse and out of tune.

Below is our review of this CD.

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- 1. Also Sprach Zarathustra / See See Rider: The fanfare announces the start of the performance. The crystal-clear audio is impressive for the age of the tape. Elvis enters sounding tired and clearly ill. The version is average.

- 2. I Got a Woman / Amen: "We had a late show last night and I only got two hours sleep, so..." Elvis, probably aware of his not-so-good condition, tries to explain away the obvious tiredness and shortness of breath. After a brief "well, well, well" routine, Elvis does a slurred rendition of the Ray Charles classic. Ronnie Tutt tries to give the singer a boost during the striptease routine, but the effort does not pay off. Then the King of Rock jokes with JD about him being "the world's lowest human" and makes a good ending.

- 3. Love Me: "Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Good afternoon. God, that sounds strange... 'Good afternoon'... I just got up!" Elvis was right, despite apparently not knowing it: "Good afternoon" sounded strange because it was already night. To cover up his lack of voice for the show, he focuses on the female fans screaming for his attention and does a middling version.

- 4. If You Love Me (Let Me Know): "Okay. If You Love Me, Let Me Know; If you don't, then get the..." Elvis' voice sounds rather weak, but the version is standard for the time.

- 5. You Gave Me a Mountain: "Thank you very much. Mountain." Elvis is not inspired, but he still does a good version. There is an excellent mix that privileges the orchestra here.

- 6. All Shook Up: "I'd like to do a medley of some of my records for you." The medley of hits from the 1950s begins and Elvis' fatigue - physical and due to the fact that they are too repetitive and boring songs for him - is evident.

- 7. Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel: Elvis turns to his fans and his voice is weak.

- 8. And I Love You So: "Take it on." The shortness of breath and the melancholy in Elvis' voice even help in this rendition, but it is clear that he is neither interested nor able to do the show.

- 9. Jailhouse Rock: It's obvious that Elvis is genuinely uninterested in this version, but at least he doesn't mutters or mumbles the lyrics.

- 10. Fever: This is a throwaway version where Elvis' voice breaks in several times and his breath is almost non-existent.

- 11. America, the Beautiful: "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Since it's our bicentennial year, I'd like to do our version of 'America' for you." This is a magnificent version, but it doesn't have the same shine as a few days before.

- 12. Return to Sender: "Please sing 'Return to Sender'? Honey, if we know it..." This is "the" highlight of the night. The third and final live rendition of this classic from the movie "Girl! Girls! Girls!" is made at the request of fans of the Return to Sender fan club. And they get a more than good version.

- 13. Introductions: "I'd like to introduce the members of my group to you." Elvis introduces The Sweet Inspirations, JD Sumner and The Stamps (Ed Enoch's intro was cut due to tape problems), Kathy Westmoreland and Sherrill Nielsen.

- 14. Early Morning Rain: "On the rhythm guitar, from Springfield, Missouri, is John Wilkinson." Wilkinson's solo follows the pattern of the time.

- 15. What'd I Say: "On the lead guitar, from Shreveport, Louisiana, is James Burton." James does his job as usual.

- 16. Johnny B. Goode / Solos: "I'm going to ask John to play the guitar on the back of his head. He can do that. I mean, James." Elvis realizes he got his guitarist's name wrong and quotes the apostles to try to cover it up. "John" does a great solo.

 - 17. Band Introductions: In the sequence Ronnie Tutt makes an impressive solo of almost two minutes, followed by Jerry Scheff, Tony Brown and David Briggs.

- 18. Love Letters: "The first time that David Briggs and I worked together, it was his first recording session and we did a song called 'Love Letters'. I hope I can do it." The version is average, with Elvis muttering a lot of words.

- 19. Band Introductions / Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll!: Elvis inroduces Charlie Hodge, Joe Guercio and his orchestra.

- 20. Hurt: "We have a new record out I'd like to do for you." Before starting the song, Elvis jokes: "Hold a minute, I gotta get this girl's underwear." The performance is one of the least memorable, with Elvis sounding utterly powerless. "Yeah, thank you very much. Do you want to hear that last part again?" Elvis sounds a little better.

- 21. Hound Dog: Throwaway version, as usual.

- 22. Funny How Time Slips Away: "Ladies and gentlemen, now that you've had the chance to see us, I'd like to turn the house lights up so we can take a look at you. Good Golly, Miss Molly!" Surprised with the 11,000 people that packed the place, Elvis quotes a phrase from the famous classic by Little Richard. The 1971 hit is averagely done, but with Elvis in control.

- 23. Can't Help Falling in Love / Closing Vamp: "I'd like to say something, if I could. I'd like to tell you that you've been a fantastic audience to work to and any time you want us to back here, just let us know and we'll come back, really." Elvis attends to the fans and sings in parts, unable to reach the final notes. The fanfare ends the CD with a long fade.