Review by Piers Beagley - Elvis Information Network
Spring Tours ‘77, April 1977 and Elvis, just four months before finally “leaving the building”, is still out on the road supporting the Colonel's gambling habit.
Since Elvis refused to go into the studio during 1977, Felton Jarvis was forced to record portions of each concert on a multi-track recording system, hoping to get some rare material to be included on Elvis' next LP.
Unfortunately, Elvis just seemed content to run through the same old songs and here, for the first time, we have the highlights from those twelve Spring concerts. Everybody's opinion of this will differ, depending on your expectations.
Beware, this is definitely not "Elvis' Live Greatest Hits", although the track list still looks the same. However, it does show that Elvis was still sounding happy on stage and in fairly good form, despite the fact that his lifeblood was slipping away.
This 1977 material is what EPE and Ernst Jørgensen have been trying to keep away from the public eye but, despite the damning reviews elsewhere, this is still a crucial period of Elvis' life that deserves to be released to the true Elvis fans who will understand the importance of these final few months. This is what the FTD series is all about and Ernst Jørgensen and Roger Semon have to be congratulated for releasing this material at last.
What we get is twenty-three songs, mixed together to feel like a single concert and Ernst has chosen the best of what was available.
The photos on the sleeve certainly aren't the ones I would have selected and do give a bad impression of a tired, over-weight and over-worked Elvis, however the Ann Arbor review printed on the sleeve says the opposite. "At 42, Presley still cuts a stunning figure on stage,….".
We have heard several of these concerts bootlegged from soundboard recordings; and along with the common technical problems, Elvis often seemed to be firing on only three cylinders. However when the mood grabbed him he could still put on a fine performance.
These versions don't stand up to the 1969-1972 shows, of course, but listen to this CD and you know that you would have loved to have been there for every unpredictable minute. Compared to the extremely sad FTD release of Tucson '76 this is a great improvement.
Kicking off with Elvis fooling with 'That's all Right' Ernst sets the relaxed tone of these Spring shows. "God all-mighty, it's warped," says Elvis, as he strums his guitar. It's his second tour of 1977 and he IS having fun. From March 26 in Norman, Oklahoma, this was the very first show that Felton recorded.
'Are You Lonesome Tonight?' follows with less messing around than in the tragic Elvis In Concert version, but his voice quavers and it is obvious that he is still warming up. "If you don't mind I'd like to do ‘Blue Christmas’, I know it's a strange time of year but .." says Elvis as he strums his guitar. This is rare and delicious material and you only wish that you'd been there.
'Trying To Get To You' is ok but Elvis kicks on with a very fine unrehearsed 'Lawdy, Miss Clawdy' - very dirty and bluesy. A real gem, which emphasizes the importance of this release. Elvis really gets into it and laughs with the enjoyment of it all.. "Yeah, Lord, Lord".
'Fever' is a very good 1977 recording, obviously not up to his ‘74 versions, but crank up the sound and you can really hear the audience swinging along.
After this, Elvis only sounds vaguely interested in performing 'Heartbreak Hotel' which is ok, but after a thousand live performances of this and his other ‘50s hits, how inspired could he be? We would have all loved to hear these classics live, but Elvis must have been tired of performing them.
'It's Now Or Never', '(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear’/’Don't Be Cruel' etc. get similar treatment. 'If You Love Me (Let Me Know)' (always a lightweight song) is the undubbed master that was featured on Moody Blue and sounds just fine here.
Elvis' spontaneous nature is nicely demonstrated when he starts 'Blue Hawaii'. Elvis laughs and says "Watch the musicians panic.. well do something Tony, right or wrong, it don't matter”. Sadly, piano player Tony Brown doesn't know the song. If only Glen D. Hardin had been there that night.
However, a funky 'Little Sister' saves everything, with Elvis grooving along to James Burton's cutting guitar work. The CD continues to improve with Elvis singing, the very relevant to 1977, 'Help Me'.
'Help Me' was only performed a few times on these Spring Tours. Felton was extremely lucky that the tape was running (despite a little recorded static)…. "Lord let me see where I fit into your master plan. I never thought I needed help before" A touching highlight.
Elvis announces, "Let's do something else, something fast" before launching into a fun 'Blue Suede Shoes' that, along with the 'Jailhouse Rock' from Austin, TX, he really does seem to enjoy.
Ernst seems to have saved the best eight songs for last, or maybe Elvis has just warmed up (woken up?).
"Let's do Polk Salad or something dirty like that" says Elvis, kicking the band into a very rare for 1977 'Polk Salad Annie'.
This 'Polk Salad Annie' isn't a (truck) patch on the That’s The Way It Is versions but it still rocks, with Elvis in fine form. Crank up the volume and you'd wish you were there. The “call and response” from the Sweet Inspirations works, too. This puts the In Concert shows to shame. CBS was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even better of course would have been the December 1976 shows, which would have left us with a final TV show to be proud of.
'Bridge Over Troubled Water', another rare song for '77, follows. At the start his voice isn't as strong as you would hope, but this performance has a fragility about it that the fantastic 1970 versions missed.
Looking back. . . "When you're weary, feeling small…." has a poignancy about it other reviewers seem to have missed. "I'm on your side when time gets rough, …. and friends just can't be found…" In 1977 where were Elvis' friends when he needed them? Felton was lucky that his tape was running across this song and the sound quality is fabulous.
'Big Boss Man' was a great song that Elvis kept in his shows and he seemed to enjoy himself at every concert with this one. At Duluth he kicked on with an extra chorus that obviously surprised the band - a nice touch. "That's all" he laughs.
'Fairytale' was always an interesting choice of song for Elvis (he listened to The Pointer Sisters!) and this version is fun and again an improvement on the In Concert version. Elvis is in strong voice - "Sing the song baby" - and it has some nice work by the Sweet Inspirations again.
'Mystery Train’/’Tiger Man' has been a very rare bootlegged favourite (from Saginaw, the final show of the tour). Elvis was never going to sing it again and it must have surprised the band, too. Great to have it in such good quality and to hear Elvis having fun.
Finally, three all-time classic songs take us out. Both 'Unchained Melody' and 'Little Darlin' are the undubbed masters from Ann Arbor that were featured on Moody Blue, but sound even better here. He says.. "If you don't mind I'd like to play the piano and do a song called ‘Unchained Melody’. I hope I can remember the chords" Ahh Elvis, we don't mind at all!!! Just beautiful, fragile - the magic of Elvis in 1977. A classic.
Hard to believe that Elvis followed this with the silly, funny fluff of 'Little Darlin', but he did.
"I'd like to do a song that Frank Sinatra recorded called ‘My Way’" says Elvis and we know that the end is indeed near. The same brilliant version that was released on Platinum: A Life In Music, but in context here which makes it sound even better. A fabulous end to another excellent FTD CD that, despite what others have said, captures Elvis sounding fine in 1977.
The real joy of this CD is that it isn't taken from soundboard recordings but Felton Jarvis' multi-track tapes and so gives us a beautiful clear mix and in great stereo. A fantastic leap in quality compared to the It's Midnight soundboard. Definitely worth experiencing on headphones to get that full 'concert' feel.
Twenty-three songs are packed into sixty minutes which is definitely value for money. However, with fifteen minutes spare on the CD I felt that some classic “bonus” performances could have been added, using their soundboard versions.
For instance the CD could have been rounded off with 'Hurt', a 1977 'You Gave Me A Mountain' (Alexandria?), the beautiful 'And I Love You So' (Kalamazoo?) and finishing with the essential 'Can't Help Falling In Love' from Alexandria - "Wise men know when it's time to go". Just a thought!
Verdict
Of course Elvis' energy was running low by 1977, but this is a great improvement over the low-points of the previous year. This was a crucial period of Elvis' life that deserves to be released to true Elvis fans who will understand the importance of these final few months. Definitely a worthy addition to your collection - as long as you are buying it for the right reasons.
