Title: Desert Storm

Label: Fort Baxter

Date: September 2, 1974, Las Vegas, Nevada, Closing show

Sound Quality: * * * * - / * * * * * +

Concert Rating: * * * - / * * * * * +

Tracks:

CD 1

1.Microphone Dialogue 2.I Got A Woman / Amen 3.Karate Dialogue 4.Until It's Time For You To Go 5.If You Love Me 6.It's Midnight 7.Big Boss Man 8.You Gave Me A Mountain 9.Priscilla Dialogue 10.Softly As I Leave You 11.Hound Dog 10.An American Trilogy 11.It's Now Or Never

CD 2

1.Band Introductions 2.Bringing It Back 3.Aubrey 4.Band & Celebrity Introductions 5.It's Now Or Never 6.Let Me Be There 7.If You Talk In Your Sleep 8.Drugs Dialogue 9.Hawaiian Wedding Song 10.Jewelry Dialogue 11.Can't Help Falling In Love

Elvis: THe is in a strange mood either drunk or on drugs. He is not interested in singing. He needs somebody to talk to, and probably can't find anybody in his entourage. So he chooses his audience as a listener. Priscilla who was present at this concert later confessed that she was shocked after visiting this concert because Elvis had never let himself tell about his troubles on stage in monologues - he had always done it through singing.

Highlights: Very emotional renditions of It's Midnight, You Gave Me A Mountain and what I consider the best version of Softly As I Leave You can be found here.

Review: It will forever be a big mystery what has happened with Elvis during that September (of 1974). It all started pretty good: on the opening night (August 19) Elvis changed the song line up almost completely, but on the next evening See Rider and other stuff returned. Nearer to the end of the month, Elvis missed two shows, and after returning he became very strange. He begun making strange remarks on stage, used "bad language" and excitedly showed more and more of his karate skills. On August 30 there was a long lection on karate (10 minutes). The closing night was even more strange: with Priscilla and Lisa Marie present, Elvis said "strange" things, once again used bad language and talked a lot. As Priscilla admitted later: "I was in shock. Because [in the past] he would never, ever let on to the audience what his emotions were. You know, singing was always his way of venting his emotions, how he felt about something - and he'd get onstage and sing his heart out. And any song, any given song, you know, he would beat it to death, with more emotion and more energy - but never let it out in public. This was [so] out of character, for someone who had so much pride, you know - everything that he was against, he was displaying. It was like watching a different person." This concert once again proved: Elvis was in trouble.

See See Rider wasn't recorded, so this show begins with a strange conversation, about the price of the microphone and other strange things. What follows is a very strange version of I Got A Woman. When he begins to sing Amen he is surely in a bad mood, naming all the musicians "Sons of bitches" because they haven't heard it when he said "One more time". After that Elvis talks about the Karate degrees and claims that he just received the 8-th of 10 degrees after 16 years of training...

The next song is Until it's time for you to go, rarely performed on stage after 1972. Elvis jokes during it, talks to the audience, gives some scarves. I like the way he changes the words "I was an oak, and that's a joke, O.K.". If You Love Me is a good version, still very powerful and happy. The next song is It's Midnight. When Glen D. Hardin begins the introduction Elvis says: "This is a new song, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's out for about a week. It's called It's Midnight". And he does a very strong version of it. After the words "When night time comes alone and I start wanting you, wanting you" Elvis adds: "Listen, Scilla". The next in line is Big Boss Man, an O.K. version. Then it's time for You Gave Me a Mountain, which personally I like very much. This version has many spoken parts, and Elvis even shouts the line "SHE TOOK MY REASON FOR LIVING". After the end of this song Elvis claims that this song isn't personal, and he sings it just because he likes it. Then he introduces his ex-wife Priscilla, his daughter Lisa Marie and his girlfriend Sheila. He tells that his divorce "came not because of another man, or another woman, it was the result of the circumstances surrounding my carrier, I was traveling to much, I was gone too much..." In other words - bull****

When Elvis begins telling the story preceding Softly as I Leave You you can hear some kind of strange sound maybe spoons or something like that, Elvis probably heard it too, and immediately said: "I hope you'd quit rattling the glasses till I tell the story, please". This version of Softly is (no doubt about it) the most accurate of those I have heard. After that he does another terrible version of Hound dog and a strange American Trilogy. After a false start Elvis begins the song again. Maybe it was some kind of joke? No, I don't think so. But anyway, he makes a lot of mistakes and it is terrible!. By the same time the next song It's now Or Never is really good.

The second CD begins with the introduction of the members of his band . There are quite a few songs done by the Voice and Sherrill Neilson. Also, probably for the first time, we can here the band's solos. It's Now Or Never is done one more time for Vicky Carr. Next is Let Me Be There, which already has the shouts what makes this version bad. If You Talk In Your Sleep is very good version much better than all those live versions that I have heard.. The solo of James Burton in the middle of it is longer, it was a special thing for Elvis to show his karate abilities.

After that Elvis says that he doesn't "pay attention to rumors, I don't pay attention to movie magazines, because they're all junk". He says that he doesn't want "to put anybody's job down, 'cause they've got a job to do" but if it is "damaging to myself, to my little daughter, to my father, to my friends, to my doctor, I'm ganna pull your goddamn tongue out by the roots!"

After that Elvis sings Hawaiian wedding song - it isn't serious at all. Can't help falling in love is just like always.

This is a different side of Elvis. For serious collectors only.

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