Title: A Profile -The King On Stage I (4 CD box set)

Label: Fort Baxter 161095

CD 1: Las Vegas Hilton, August 20, 1973 (Midnight show)

Sound Quality (Concert): * * * + / * * * * * +

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

Tracks: 1.2001 Theme 2.C. C. Rider 3.I Got A Woman 4.Love Me 5.Steamroller Blues 6.You Gave Me A Mountain 7.Trouble 8.Blue Suede Shoes 9.Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Mama Don't Dance / Flip Flop & Fly / Jailhouse Rock / Hound Dog 10.Love Me Tender 11.Fever 12.What Now My Love 13.Suspicious Minds 14.Introductions 15.My Boy 16.Release Me 17.American Trilogy 18.Mystery Train / Tiger Man 19.Help Me Make It Through The Night 20.How Great Thou Art 21.Can't Help Falling In Love 22.Closing Vamp

CD 2: Kansas City, June 29, 1974 (Evening Show)

Sound Quality (Concert): * * * * / * * * * * +

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

Tracks: Bonus Tracks: Stagger Lee - I Got My Mojo Working - A Spanish Folksong - Cotton Fields (Released later by Fort Baxter on Get Down & Get With It ) 1.C.C. Rider 2.When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again / Blue Christmas 3.I Got A Woman 4.Love Me 5.Trying To Get To You 6.All Shook Up 7.Love Me Tender 8.Hound Dog 9.Fever 10.Polk Salad Annie 11.Why Me Lord 12.Suspicious Minds 13.Band Introductions 14.I Can't Stop Loving You 15.Help Me 16.Bridge Over Troubles Water 17.Let Me Be There 18.Johnny B. Goode 19.Can't Help Falling In Love

CD 3: May 4, 1975 (Evening Show)

Sound Quality (Concert): * * * * - / * * * * * +

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

Tracks: 1.Jambalaya 2.Love Me 3.If You Love Me (Let Me Know) 4.Love Me Tender 5.All Shook Up 6.Teddy Bear - Don't Be Cruel 7.The Wonder Of You 8.Polk Salad Annie 9.Band Introductions 10.Johnny B. Goode 11.Steamroller Blues 12.T.R.O.U.B.L.E. 13.I'll Remember You 14.Why Me Lord 15.Let Me Be There 16.An American Trilogy 17.Hound Dog 18.Funny How Time Slips Away 19.Little Darlin' 20.Can't Help Falling In Love

CD 4: Ann Arbor, April 24, 1977

Sound Quality (Concert): * * * * / * * * * * +

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

Tracks: 1.If You Love Me (Let Me Know) 2.You Gave Me A Mountain 3.Trying To Get To You 4.O Sole Mio - Its Now Or Never 5.Little Sister 6.Teddy Bear - Don't Be Cruel 7.Help Me 8.My Way 9.Polk Salad Annie 10.Hurt (with reprise) 11.Blueberry Hill 12.Danny Boy 13.Walk With Me (by Sherrill Nielsen) 14.Unchained Melody 15.Little Darlin 16.Cant Help Falling In Love.

Package: Fort Baxter label gave us many fabulous recordings since their first (and fantastic) Just Pretend CD but at the fall of 1995 they came with something very new on bootleg market - a four CD box with a nice photo booklet. Until this release all Baxter's CDs were inserted in simple envelopes and this fact was annoying to me, but with this box they started a new tradition - all CDs are in plastic jewel cases now, thanks.

Review of CD 1: The first CD from the box set contains the first and the only audience recording (ok, "It's A Matter Of Time" is an audience recorded song too) ever released by Fort Baxter. The reason why they have included it is the surprisingly good sound quality, better than a few worse soundboards. The complete midnight concert from 20th August, 1973 was taped by two separate microphones, as stated on the back cover, thus it is in stereo. All voices, instruments and in between songs talk are very clear. Until we get some August 1973 soundboard recording, this is the best what we have. Pictures used for the cover design were taken from the closing show (September 2).

In the last years I have heard so strong criticism of this particular show and season, about in how bad voice Elvis is, disinterested throughout the show etc but I must opposite. Elvis opened his engagement with a very good show where he performed the medley of Trouble (with different James Burton's solo than later) & Raised On Rock (a bit faster and better version than in studio) as well as Chuck Berry's "Memphis Tennessee". There were good concerts, but the truth is that the later shows were apparently criticized by press as "ridiculous self parody" (Hollywood Reporter). Finally on September 3-d he gave two closing concerts where Elvis lost focus totally. The last show was released on "The Funny Side Of Elvis" bootleg, but I'm afraid it's not so funny. Elvis destroys almost all songs with jokes and chat, for "have some fun tonight". It really isn't the kind of fun that I like - however the audience reactions were as wild as ever. But back to 20th August midnight show.

Elvis opens with a "very 1973" version of C. C. Rider and a good I Got A Woman. One can say that he was in good vocal shape, but maybe a little bored of repetition of the shows. Love Me is similar to "Aloha" and Steamroller Blues goes very well just as You Gave Me A Mountain, however Elvis gave a bit more into this song in February 1972. King Creole style "Trouble" was performed from August 6-th till the end of the season, this is the best sounding version that you can get. Elvis interpretation isn't close to the 1968 versions but still pretty cool. Blue Suede Shoes isn't very good. Next is an early version of the well known Rock'n'Roll medley. Elvis performed it in 1973/74 and I know that some fans hate it, but other artists combine their songs into similar medleys too, remember Engelbert Humperdinck. Kissing Love Me Tender is short. In Fever you will notice percussions - result is more close to the original 1960 version than the others are, though Elvis omitted the bridge, as usual. Gilbert Becaud's composition with English words What Now My Love (similar to the "It's A Matter Of Time" CD version) is simply the best performance of the night, with more passion and drama. Suspicious Minds is a bit lackluster, just compare it with any 1972 version. After the Band Introductions he introduces Bob Hope. "I'd like to do a song, it's not my song, it was done by Richard Harris, it has beautiful words and it's called My Boy". He performs a straight version of this French song which he liked so much that he recorded his own version in studio four months later with the same arrangement. Release Me was a big 1967 hit for above-mentioned Engelbert. Here Elvis talks too much through this song and makes a parody of it. Typical 1973 An American Trilogy is a very good performance. Mystery Train - Tiger Man medley is lackluster and not to compare with earlier and also some later versions. Too short and not very focused Help Me Make It Through The Night is next. How Great Thou Art could be easily second best song, Elvis gave his soul into it as always.

All in all, there are some very good performances and few not too good. The show as a whole is a bit routine, but not bad at all. I really don't understand why was it so criticized. But the truth is that the 3 other CDs of the set are better not only in sound quality, but CDs 2 & 3 also contain better concerts.

Reviewed by Oto Meszaros from Czech Republic

Review of CD 2: It was now 6 months since Elvis Presley had last held an official recording session. Because of the large amount of live shows Elvis did, it was impossible for him to go to a recording studio and cut some songs. He had already done a Vegas engagement, 2 tours and a gig at Lake Tahoe when on the 15th of June 1974 he started his 11th tour since 1970. On the night of the 29th he gave a killer show, which will be reviewed here.

After the usual intro of Also Sprat Zarathustra Elvis comes on stage during the thunderous opening vamp. Quite nervously he looks around the auditorium, walks from one end of the stage to the other, shaking some hands and waving to the audience. Immediately it is clear that he is in a good mood. His singing is strong and very relaxed. He opens with a sublime version of See See Rider. The audience is yelling and clapping. After the song he looks into the audience with more confidence because of the great response of the thousands who are watching the show. “Good evening, good evening. It’s evening? Isn’t it? Well, I’ll love you too honey” Elvis is in a very playful mood this evening “Let me do one more song honey, that’s all I ask..." Elvis makes some jokes with the audience and at one point begins to laugh without being able to get straight again. “Thank you. It’s been nice laughing with ya……I’ve done so many songs start of with well well, I don’t know which one I’m gonna do”, suddenly he starts singing When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again but ends it after the first line. He follows it with a out of the blue version of Blue Christmas ( "You’ll be doing alright with your Christmas in JULY" ). After I Got A Woman and Love Me, both good versions, Elvis announces the first real highlight of the show, again showing his good sense of humor. What follows is a very good version of Trying To Get To You. All Shook Up is as short as always, but when at the end of the song some people put a big pluche gorilla onstage Elvis again uses his great sense of humor and shows the brilliant capability to anticipate on stage. “Don’t you move you big son of a bitch…..stay back here and sing…..I told the Colonel to stay off the stage…” The next song, Love Me Tender, begins very beautifully with great playing from the TCB band. It’s a straight forward version. Fever is up next and it’s looser as always. After the line "I light up when you call my name", Elvis shouts in a very high voice "EELLVVIISS…"

After the song he tells the audience that they are a good audience “To pay money to put over this kind of stuff you got to be good…” Polk Salad Annie is a typical '74 version, but it rocks anyway. “I would like J.D Sumner and the Stamps to leave the stage…” Why Me Lord is very strong and it is very well received by the audience. The next song was his last no 1 hit, back in '69, Suspicious Minds. Tonight it is a little bit unfocused, but still great to hear. In Vegas he would begin to drop this song, only to be sung occasionally now and then during the last years. During the band introductions he again makes some jokes "…J.D. Sumner and the Ames brothers…", Kathy Westmoreland – “why won’t you wear your see trough blouse tonight dear?…", "Glen Campbell" (Hardin). Elvis goes on with the show with a great version of I Can’t Stop Loving You, followed by a beautiful Help Me. Bridge Over Trouble Water is next and is very impressive. The last song on this tape is a great Let Me Be There. At the time it was a favorite of Elvis and it shows in his performance.

The tape of this show is incomplete. After Let Me Be There at least Big Boss Man and Can’t Help In Love followed. This tour showed an emotionally and vocally strong Elvis doing the thing he liked most: performing live! The tour ended with a great long show in Salt Lake City. During the period between this tour and his upcoming Vegas engagement he decided that the song line up needed to be rearranged. But at the opening show from August 19 the reaction of the audience was a little mediocre, so it was short lived! This tour showed The King At His Best!!

Reviewed by Stefan Kock from Holland. Thanks, Stefan!

Review of CD 3: The third CD from the Fort Baxter 3 CD box set is a incomplete recording from Elvis April / May 1975 tour. CD cover states that C. C. Rider and I Got A Woman - Amen were not recorded - although bootleggers are sometimes wrong with these notes. For example, Fort Baxter also released the Las Vegas September 2, 1974 Closing Show under the title Desert Storm and there are 2 songs mentioned as NOT RECORDED; however they WERE RECORDED too. A friend of mine posses the soundboard audiotape from this same show with one of the so called "not recorded" songs (I Couldn't Live Without You) on it, we also have reliable information that the COMPLETE tape does exist (with C. C. Rider). But back to the reviewed CD.

This particular tour wasn't the best one of 1975, I am sure that in fact it was the worst 1975 tour, but still, Elvis' performance wasn't so bad at all. In my opinion he performed on high level in Vegas during March / April season, while the above mentioned tour was worse in quality in comparison - Elvis seemed a bit lazy and slow and not in top vocal condition. Then he was very good again during the May / June tour as you can hear from the many released soundboard recordings (most of them are incomplete). His July tour was THE BEST without a doubt as he was in terrific voice and perfect mood, just like during the unfortunately too short Vegas August season. In December 1975 Elvis was fresh (in voice) again, just like in early Spring in Vegas.

Elvis was naturally heavier than in October 1974, and maybe from this reason he didn't use his classical one piece jumpsuits but the two piece suits instead, in a few different variations. Footage from this tour shows that he didn't look bad - he still used some fast movements during songs like Polk Salad Annie or Burning Love.

Now we have three incomplete concerts from this tour: the opening show in Macon, Georgia on 24th April (From Vegas To Macon 2CD set) and Jacksonville 25th April (A Damn Fine Show). The sound quality of all these recordings is very similar - not bad at all, but the mix is just the keyboards and Elvis & all other vocals prominent and drums and guitars not so noticeable. I don't think that it is an example of good mixing work, but it is interesting, maybe the sound engineer didn't change the adjustments of the mixing board so much during this tour. Also the opening songs from all these concerts aren't available on mentioned CDs.

Artwork of this CD is quite good with a clear picture of Elvis in Gypsy Suit on the front, Aztec Suit inside and another small Gypsy shot on the back; all photos were taken during the July 1975 tour.

Elvis introduces himself as Wayne Newton and the first track is a concert rarity - 40 seconds long (or better, short) version of "Jambalaya" (classic Hank Williams song), Elvis didn't know the words so he sings it together with Charlie. Love Me is just like some 500 other versions, average and not very interesting. If You Love Me, on the other hand, is good. Nothing especially great in Love Me Tender (with false start) and the same is true for the Rock'n'Roll medley. The Wonder Of You is a good version with nice Kathy's vocal, however not so perfect as in 1970. Polk Salad Annie is, in my opinion, very good typical 1975 version. I should mention that Elvis was in quite good voice throughout the concert. Next is band introductions with instrumental solos including James Burton What'd I Say solo with Elvis' vocal, which isn't mentioned on the CD cover. Bass guitar solo is very unusual and interesting, with slow piano playing much more noticeable than the bass, the result is very depressive sounding music. Hail Hail Rock'n'Roll again isn't listed on the cover. Elvis then comes with a pretty good complete performance of "Johnny B. Goode" (rare after 1974). Steamroller Blues was a rare song in 1975/1977 period but here it is excellent, likely the best song from this CD. He tried T.R.O.U.B.L.E. and it is quite good, but this version still can't compete with the studio master, all versions of this song from April/May aren't very good ones - Elvis doesn't know the lyrics too well and he does mistakes (Jacksonville & Macon shows). I feel that he did better T.R.O.U.B.L.E.'s in June and especially in July/August he gave few almost brilliant versions (Uniondale 19.7.75, Asheville 23.7.75, Vegas 18.8. -20.8.75) I'll Remember You is another good song with a long pause before the last verse. I don't like the typical 1975 funny improvisations in Why Me Lord much but it is okay as a part of show. Next is competent version of Let Me Be There with the usual reprise. An American Trilogy is nice with Elvis add "You are you fool! " after the line "I wish I was in Dixie" (sung by chorus) and few other words but 1972 versions are slightly better. Hound Dog's in 1975 - 77 weren't great, as you can expect this version is no exception. Elvis then greets his girlfriend Sheila Ryan, kisses girls and talks a bit before an average Funny How Time Slips Away where he fools around too much. Little Darlin', on the other hand, is a really funny song and a nice addition, J. D. Sumner's voice is very noticeable here. Elvis improvised with the lyrics a bit: "Please, scratch my, eh, hold my hand". Last is quite good "Can't Help Falling In Love" and announcements, as usually.

So in all, quite a nice show and I can argue that this concert is better than the above mentioned opening shows in Macon and Jacksonville some 10 days earlier. Now we have it in very good mono sound and it is a worth addition to the 4CD set.

Reviewed by Oto Meszaros from Czech Republic

Review of CD 4: The fourth CD of the box is called "Ann Arbor 24.4.1977" but in fact it offers us parts of three different concerts, however main part (13 songs) is from Ann Arbor. This recording is unfortunately incomplete, maybe the show wasn't taped in its entirety or Fort Baxter couldn't get the complete tape. There are mistakes on the February 1977 tracks, the cover states that Blueberry Hill comes from February 13, 1977, West Palm Beach, and Danny Boy & Walk With Me are from February 14, 1977, St. Petersburg, but in fact it is just vice versa as Sherrill's medley wasn't performed in St. Petersburg at all but on 13th February and Elvis performed Blueberry Hill during the band introductions on BOTH shows, but they used the St. Petersburg one, not the West Palm Beach.

The sound quality is excellent until Unchained Melody, the last three songs are more hissy and the sound is different, like from other source. They probably spliced it from two different tapes with this same concert. But still, in overall the sound is excellent.

Elvis was in pretty bad health for this tour and on pictures he seems to be more overweight than in March, but his performance is good. Now we have also similar part of the day before show in Toledo, Ohio, and I must say that every single performance in Ann Arbor show is expressively better. RCA released Unchained Melody and Little Darlin' on their 1977 Moody Blue album along with a great version of If You Love Me, recorded in Saginaw, Michigan, the day after. An audience recording of the Saginaw show was released years ago on a bootleg CD and this concert also seems to be a good one, I really hope that someone will release the whole show from soundboard.

The Toledo show reveals a tired Elvis, but in Ann Arbor he is much more inspired, in good voice and in better mood. He appeared in the King Of Spades suit. First song is If You Love Me and it isn't worse than Saginaw one. Elvis shines in You Gave Me A Mountain, his vocal is very powerful and the same holds for Trying To Get To You - it is a really great live version. When he starts It's Now Or Never, he makes a mistake in the first lines and begins it again, interesting is that in Toledo he almost did the same mistake in this line. Someone throws a request for "Blue Hawaii" and they tried do it, but it was naturally almost impossible, so after a few lines Elvis went into Little Sister - again a good version. The following medley was always dispensable, but now here we have likely the best 1977 version, with nice James guitar chords. Help Me was always a challenge and Elvis is very good again, just as he is in a strong My Way - his own story. Slower, but weird Polk Salad in the style similar to Montgomery 16.2.1977 concert is next and the whole introductions are edited out. Elvis gave his all (maybe too much, his voice sounds a bit affected) into Hurt and reprised the ending again, he didn't do it often in 1977. Blueberry Hill with Tony Brown piano is short, but a great addition and Sherrill's voice is perfect in his solo - the classic Danny Boy and gospel Walk With Me.

No big loss that we don't hear Hound Dog which is edited out, but the best comes: after some chat - Elvis in very high voice, not seriously says: "I love you too, honey" - he plays Unchained Melody for the only time in this tour and he gives a truly great version of it, it is among my beloved songs since I heard it for the first time. It sounds very different without all the overdubs, but I like the RCA final product a bit more (question of personal taste). RCA also corrected the ending, where Elvis sung it in duet with Sherrill, he was dissatisfied with it too, and says: "I have done it better". Crazy Little Darlin' was another 1977 rarity (the only other version I know is from Greensboro 21.4.77) and a sign of good mood. In Can't Help Falling In Love Elvis works hard till the very end, not as usually. It was reported that it was one of best 1977 shows and I agree with it, especially when I compare this show with about 15 others that I have heard from audience tapes. Elvis wasn't so good as in December 1976, but in any case far better than in Summer 76.

Reviewed by Oto Meszaros from Czech Republic

P bootleg index