Title: I Found My Thrill (released in 2006)

Label: FTD

Date: January 27, 1974, Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada, dinner show. Track 10 spliced with the opening bars from February 1, dinners show. Closing vamp and Announcement taken from January 30. Tracks 20 and 21 taken from January 28, midnight show. Track 21 comes from February 1 midnight show, and track 23 is a splice from different audience recordings.

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

Compilation Rating: * * * * / * * * * * +

Tracks: 1.Also Sprach Zarathustra 2.See See Rider 3.I Got A Woman / Amen 4.Love Me 5.Let Me Be There 6.You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 7.Sweet Caroline 8.Love Me Tender 9.Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Your Mama Don't Dance / Flip Flop And Fly / Jailhouse Rock / Hound Dog 10.Fever 11.Polk Salad Annie 12.Spanish Eyes 13.Suspicious Minds 14.Introductions 15.I Can't Stop Loving You 16.Help Me 17.American Trilogy 18.Let Me Be There 19.Can't Help Falling In Love / Closing Vamp / Announcement 20.My Baby Left Me 21.Trying To Get To You 22.The First Time Ever I Saw You Face 23.I Found My Thrill Medley (Duration: 68 min. 18 sec.)

Elvis: He's pretty calm, relaxing on stage, having a good time and is delivering a fine but a little predictable show.

Songs: Both versions of Let Me Be There as well as You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' and I Can't Stop Loving You (from the bonuses) are magnificent, My Baby Left Me is very funny with Elvis imitating his own voice some 18 years before. American Trilogy is still a showstopper at this point of his career.

Review: After all the speculation of not wanting to get back to performing in Vegas the previous September Elvis is back in the Neon City to smile to his audience and do a show which might be considered much more professional than his previous engagement's closing night. A new bass player (Duke Bardwell) joined the TCB band as Emory Gordy preferred to concentrate on studio recordings never ever to play side to side with Elvis anymore. It is really hard to comprehend what made Elvis choose Duke as the bass player - we have heard so many stories about the auditions that he made earlier when first coming back to Vegas in 1969, and we are pretty sure that Duke wouldn't have made the semi-finals back then. For whatever reason he just never made his Fender Bass - basically, the same great instrument that Jerry Scheff and Emory Gordy played - sound well. His playing style was no good for Elvis and it's a pity he didn't leave the band earlier than April 1975.

However, besides Duke, there were other changes. Elvis took the time to rehearse a few new songs and get back to performing a few of the older ones. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' and Sweet Caroline are back in the list and two new songs - Help Me and Spanish Eyes both from his December studio sessions - are added, as well as My Baby Left Me and Let Me Be There. There were much more new songs to be added in his Summer festival, and it's a question why It's Midnight and If You Talk In Your Sleep had to wait so long...

However, we get to hear the first soundboard from this season and it's a welcomed addition to our collections. The sound quality of the main concert is not very good though - the mike is too much overloaded and some of the additional tracks show a much better sound. The CD stars with the traditional Also Sprach Zarathustra opening which transforms into See See Rider, a fine performance, above average, Elvis' voice is very good for an evening show. Some organ notes emerge closer to the end of the performance and it's a great addition to the arrangement. Elvis then throws himself into a short I Got A Woman - no long prelude this time - a fine decision, but the song is not too great, we've had better versions. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show, we hope you enjoy it, hope the mirrors don't drive you crazy," Elvis says and launches into Love Me, which is not very good. A passionate and dedicated rendition of Let Me Be There - one of the first versions - follows, no reprise this time. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' never sounded as great as in 1970 - but this time it matches his Madison Square Garden performance for sure. Sweet Caroline is next - a very long rendition, too fast for our liking, but at least, long enough to enjoy it. Instead of ending the song after the second refrain Elvis sings the second verse for a second time, and he even apologies after the song: "I'd like to tell you, I forgot completely what I was doing on that song and repeated and repeated that darn thing over and over" . We can only guess what kind of thoughts were coming through Duke's mind as he most probably wasn't used to that kind of things happening onstage!

Love Me Tender is a fine rendition, nothing special, but there is a little improvisation from Elvis in the very end. "I, you, we, us... Give me the key again... no, the key to my room," Elvis declares before going into the rock medley, not a classic, but surely a better decision that singing so many uninspired song separately. Fever features some fine guitars licks by James Burton, something we can't say about Duke as he manages to make mistakes every now and then. The sound from his bass just isn't deep enough during the following Polk Salad Annie - this opening is simply not great enough, but James gives a fine solo in the middle, and Elvis seems to be fantastic.

Following this performance we should have had The Voice performing Killing Me Softly which has been cut by the producers - this probably has to do with some copyright problems - and we get to hear Spanish Eyes. As most fans know, these 74' live versions featured a verse not present in the studio recording, however, the trumpet thing during the solo makes us feel sick, thanks God it is deep in the mix, concentrating on James' guitar instead. But Elvis seems to appreciate it, as he says "Trumpet fellow, you're out of sight!" after the song. Suspicious Minds has lost much of it's charm after 1969 already, but became simply too much rushed after 1970 - this rendition is a throwaway, nothing to do with it's studio version and even the 1970' renditions. Elvis then introduces the band and when it's Duke's time he only says that "On the bass is Duke," and then adds that "He's got weird last name, I can't even..." and the rest of the phrase is buried in the mix, unfortunately. "There's a couple of people in the audience I'd like you to say hello to.. Hello a couple people in the audience," Elvis jokes. Marty Allen is introduced then and Elvis throws a line of The Most Beautiful Girl In The World and to the delight of the audience tells that "I'll learn the song and do it all sometime, ok? 'cause Charlie Rich needs the money". "What we do next, Glen, you got any idea?" Elvis says then and as Glen D. begins playing I Can't Stop Loving You he declares that he doesn't want to do it, however, he sings it and it is a very nice rendition. One of the first renditions of Help Me follows, this one is very nice and close to master, no vocal improvisations on Elvis' behalf. "Thank you, that's a good song," Elvis concludes then.

American Trilogy, the song so much filled with jokes later that year and in 1975 as well, is serious and dedicated here, Elvis is vocally great. To the surprise of the audience and the band Elvis decides to do a reprise of Let Me Be There, stating that the whole band likes it so much and instructs the band to "Do it again!" J.D. Sumner makes a mistakes closer to the end, so Elvis not letting the band to stop sings a reprise of the ending, great stuff! But unfortunately the show is over for those in the audience, but fortunately not for us!

"I'd like to do a song that we recorded about 15 years ago - this is one of my first records - and I'd like to do it in the voice that I did it in then," Elvis says and you've got to listen to understand how right his statement is!!! James delivers an interesting solo, whereas Duke manages not to spoil the song, but Ronnie just doesn't seem to remember how to play it as he makes a mistake in the beginning - otherwise the song is fine. Trying To Get To You shows Elvis experiencing some trouble remembering the words along with Glen D. messing with a chord around 1:03 and a few seconds more after but listen to Elvis; voice around the mark of 1:36 - it is just so close to his original version, stunning! The lack of orchestration makes it sound so much better, the song would become more complicated with the years, as well as Elvis' voice would become stronger - but this rendition is still a masterpiece in it's own league. From a yet another concert we get The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - this tape seems to be of highest quality of all featured on this release sound wise, but listen, it's Duke again spoiling the song as he messes up but Elvis makes it up for him as he delivers a very good performance, his voice is great.

Finally, the I found My Thrill medley is a splice of a few audience recordings - first a run through When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again and then a few attempts on Blueberry Hill finally clued to I Can't Stop Loving You. We have to point that the sound quality of these audience recordings is so good, it surely beats some of the soundboards we have heard in the recent past. Whenever this is the mixing job or a good original tape - it's a joy to hear these recordings.

This concert may not be a real masterpiece - a regular Vegas show, but Elvis' voice is fine on most of the songs, the mood he is in is good too, so it is of high possibility that you will put it on your CD player pretty often - we think that we will.

January 2007

I BMG / FTD releases index