Title: A Hot Winter Night In Dallas

Label: Fort Baxter

Date: Dallas, Texas, December 28, 1976

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

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

Tracks: 1.2001 2.CC rider 3.I got a woman/ Amen 4.Love me 5.Fairytale 6.You gave me a mountain (incomplete) 7.Jailhouse rock (incomplete) 8.O Solo Mio/ It's now or never/ O Solo Mio 9.Tryin' to get to you 10.Blue suede shoes 11.My way 12.Polk salad Annie 13.Band introductions 14.Early morning rain 15.What'd I say 16.Johnny B. Goode 17.Ronnie Tutt drum solo (Elvis sings 'hey Bo Diddley') 18.Jerry Scheff bass solo 19.Tony Brown piano solo 20.David Briggs electric piano solo 21.Love letters 22.School days 23.Hurt (with reprise) 24.Unchained melody 25.Can't help falling in love 26.Closing vamp

Package: I think that taking into account all the advantages of this release, it still does not represent the GREATNESS of this show. Seems like Elvis is 20 years young and sings Blue Suede Shoes for the first time!

Elvis: Comparing to Burning In Birmingham and even Auld Lang Syne, this concert (to my opinion) is MUCH MORE better: not only from the technical point of view (thank you Fort Baxter), but also by the spirit of the show. We feel that right from the first lines of See See Rider. Looks like something wild is going to happen, but El calms us down: "...this is a concert, not an orgy...". Unfortunately this was the last time Elvis performed that fantastic way.

Review:1976 was a busy year for Elvis. He was performing a lot that year, and of course, his health became very weak - he became fat and tired, lost his voice and couldn't sing properly (see: Old Times They Are Not Forgotten). But nearer to the end of the year everything has changed: he lost some weight, and though he still was a bit puffy, in late December he begun a five day tour, which would produce the best concerts of the year. This CD is the second one from the tour.

Goddamn, what a great show we have! Elvis sounds just great and the show has some great sound. 2001 Theme softly goes into CC Rider, Elvis is in good spirits and in very good voice form - what else can we ask for?!! A great ( I never have used this word before to describe this song ) version opens the concert and our man especially notes that he's fine during the song.

"Thank you very much! Happy birthday! If I died tonight it would take a year to get the smile off my face!", he admits. He makes a very good and powerful version of I Got A Woman and it is strange that he continues with a long Amen, in spite of ending this damn song sooner. But he does his job very good and at last J.D. does his low notes right from the first time. "I hope that the suit stays on!" Elvis jokes, adding after a few shouts from the audience: "Hey, baby, this is a concert, not an orgy!"

A standard Love Me, but with something we don't get very often - with love and a powerful voice. Fairytale is the story of his life, and is sung beautifully. He enjoys this country song changing the words at the end - "... a great big one more time..." ("...a great big fairytale..."). One of the most emotional moments of the concert - You Gave Me A Mountain, during which Elvis sings instead of "..A mountain I may never climb..." "...A mountain I maybe will never climb" and quickly notes "I said MAYBE!". Oh yeah! It is re-started, because of a feedback - that damn sound engineers! - and also because of them we can't listen the song till the end nor listen to Jailhouse Rock from the very beginning. But anyway, than we have O Sole Mio, sung by Shaun Neilson and Elvis tells him "You're lucky to be alive!". It's Now Or Never is a great version and after the song Elvis asks Shaun to sing O Sole Mio one more time. While the guy was singing, Elvis was joking on him: "Son, you're on your own!" and adding after that "You don't even breath!"

A perfect Trying To Get To You, though Elvis can't shout the way he did in 1968. "Let's do Blue Suede!" Elvis says after the song and they do the song. "No teddy bear, forget it!", Elvis says, "Do we have the words to My Way? My Way!" and instead of Teddy Bear and Don't Be Cruel we have My Way. It is a great song in a great version. Polk Salad Annie is wild and great!

"Watch your fingers!" Elvis says during the intro of Early Morning Rain. The complete rare version is performed. The next rarity is Elvis singing Hey Bo Diddley during Ronie Tutt's solo! What a moment! "Fantastic!", he says about School Days, "Not completely nuts, but fantastic! I'd like to do Hurt!" and the King does a wonderful version, with a reprise sung on his back (according to people who have seen the footage from this concert). Elvis never sung the song that powerful. No Hound Dog. "Last night we started doing a song called Unchained Melody and we don't know the chords to it. If you will just bare with us we'll do the song. David, play the piano, no I will play it!" and El starts the wonderful song. He really doesn't know the song yet and misses some of the chords. We can hear the guitar and The Stamps in some places. The ending also differs from the 77 versions - with James Burton playing his guitar. Straight to Can't Help Falling In Love.

The show was just great. It is one of the most recommended concerts. Elvis in good spirits and the sound is near to great, with all clear instruments - the only minus is that the tape is rolling too fast. In a total - this concert is recommended for everyone, including just beginning collectors of both bootlegs and Elvis at all.

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