Title: That's The Way It Is (3CD - set anniversary edition)

Label: BMG

CD 1: Special edition

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

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

1.I Just Can't Help Believin' 2.Twenty Days And Twenty Nights 3.How The Web Was Woven 4.Patch It Up 5.Mary In The Morning 6.You Don't Have To Say You Love Me 7.You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling 8.I've Lost You 9.Just Pretend 10.Stranger In The Crowd 11.The Next Step Is Love 12.Bridge Over Troubled Water 13.Love Letters 14.When I'm Over You 15.Something (Live, 11/8/70) 16.I'll Never Know 17.Sylvia 18.Cindy Cindy 19.Rags To Riches

CD 2: The Concert (12/8/1970)

Sound Quality: * * * * * + / * * * * * + (the highest)

Concert Rating: * * * * * + / * * * * * + (the highest)

1.That's All Right 2.Mystery Train - Tiger Man 3.Hound Dog 4.Love Me Tender 5.Just Pretend 6.Walk A Mile In My Shoes 7.There Goes My Everything 8.Words 9.Sweet Caroline 10.You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 11.Polk Salad Annie 12.Heartbrake Hotel 13.One Night 14.Blue Suede Shoes 15.All Shook Up 16.Little Sister - Get Back 17.I Was The One 18.Love Me 19.Are You Lonesome Tonight 20.Bridge Over Troubled Water 21.Suspicious Minds 22.Can't Help Falling In Love

CD 3: The Rehearsal

Sound Quality: from * * * to * * * * * + / * * * * * + (the highest)

Compilation Rating: * * * * * - / * * * * * + (the highest)

1.I Got A Woman (Aug. 11 1970) 2.I Can't Stop Loving You (Augt. 10, 1970) 3.Twenty Days And Twenty Nights (August 12, 1970) 4.The Next Step Is Love (Aug. 10, 1970) 5.You Don't Have To Say You Love Me (Aug. 10, 1970) 6.Stranger In The Crowd (Aug. 13, 1970) 7.Make The World Go Away(Aug. 13, 1970) 8.Don't Cry Daddy (Aug. 13, 1970) 9.In The Ghetto (Aug. 13, 1970) 10.Peter Gunn Theme(July 15, 1970) 11.That's All Right (July 15, 1970) 12.Cottonfields (July 15, 1970) 13.Yesterday(July 15, 1970) 14.Can't Stop Loving You (July 15, 1970) 15.Such A Night (July 29, 1970) 16.It's Now Or Never (July 29, 1970) 17.A Fool Such As I (July 29, 1970) 18.Little Sister/Get Back (July 29, 1970) 19.I Washed My Hands In Muddy Waters (July 24, 1970) 20.Johnny B. Goode (July 24, 1970) 21.Mary In The Morning (July 24, 1970) 22.The Wonder Of You (July 24, 1970) 23.Santa Claus Is Back In Town(Aug. 4, 1970) 24.Farther Along (Aug. 4, 1970) 25.Oh Happy Day (Aug. 7, 1970)

Package: Package: First of all (just a few lines) about the package. This is the so-called deluxe edition. It comes in a plastic case, with the track listing and other information on it. Inside you will find 3 digipacks, with a black and white photo of Elvis in front, the track listing of the individual CD on the back side and inside - the "colored" photograph and the CD itself. The CD is pretty nice looking, but the inside "colored" photograph is an awful thing. In a total the package can't really be named "Keeper's box" because... Well, it is not good for keeping at all.

The booklet is another story. It comes with a few lines about the CDs but no real info is found. Well, in my opinion it is good done, in spite of the fact there's no info on it.

Review: CD 1 is the same as the original but with additional songs. Nothing new here.

CD features the best thing of the CD set - the live concert. This one needs a song by song overview.

The wonderful drums solo ends and Elvis walks onstage, with the applauses of fans. That's all Right is a wonderful version! After the line "I'm Leaving Town Baby..." he probably puts the microphone into his mouth like he did in Polk Salad Annie from the movie. But this is not clearly heard. The next is the medley of Mystery Train / Tiger Man. It was partly used in the movie. It is very well done, better than the versions he did before, and will do later. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the International. My name is Fats Domino. "I found my freedom..." After that he goes into the intro of Hound Dog, pretty close to the one he did in the Lost Performances. The song is also close to the Lost Performances. After that he does a giving kisses version of Love Me Tender. There's some strange noise in the intro and after that also. Not very noticeable but it can be heard if you put on your headphones. Suddenly it just disappears. "I have a new song, I had a new song, I don't have a new song, a song is coming out by me... What'd say?" and he also says that this new song "will be out by January of 1979". Just Pretend is a nice version, but again, some noise is present. Walk a Mile In My Shoes is wonderful. After that, he introduces There Goes My Everything: "I just did a country - western album. Under the name of Glen Campbell. One of the songs is one of my favorite country songs. I don't really know it. We'd like to sing it for you. It's called There Goes my Everything." The song is a good version. But from time to time a noise on the background. Note the beautiful string playing after the second "There goes the one of my dreams...". And arrangement in a total differs from the original version. Words is next. Again the strings are differently arranged. Elvis' voice sounds stronger than it did during the 1969 season. Also the song is faster in my opinion. Sweet Caroline is the same version as used in the movie. Nice, what can I say? You've Lost That Loving Feeling - the same version as used on the original album, plus the reprise not used before. There is some noise during the intro. The reprise goes from the lines "Wo-u-wo-u-wo... Baby, baby, I'll get on my knees for you.." It is great! Next in line is Polk Salad Annie. I am so angry with MGM, because they have used the intro (where Elvis says "What are you looking at?") from another show. The rest of the song (not counting the intro) is the version from the movie. The first part is obviously damaged - again some noise in the background is present. But in a total - man, it is great!

The walk through the audience and the band intros are cut off.

Heartbreak Hotel, One Night, Blue Suede Shoes were all used in TTWII. Nice to finally get them on CD. "Give me my little stool over here for a second," Elvis says. Elvis gets lots of requests. "Honey, I wouldn't go back there for a lotta of money", Elvis responds to the request of coming back to the audience. Next in line is Little Sister / Get Back. In my opinion it is too short and not as rocking as the rehearsal's version used in There's Always Me volume 4 (yeah, that version is also present on this set on CD 3). I Was The One - probably the only live version from the seventies. Only a minute long. Next is Love Me. Not as good as the Lost Performances version - in my opinion. It makes me remember the terrible late 70s version. Somewhere in the middle of the song it becomes a bit slower and more bluesy, but still not that great. Are you lonesome Tonight is "Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair..." version. We already have two versions with this joke. Again, as in case with I Was The One, - it is too short. Bridge Over Troubled Water is next. You can hear El shouting "Hit it, Glen" during the intro. Personally I like the live 1970 version(s) more than the original or the live versions he did later. But when the bass appears there's some noise again. Suspicious Minds is the same version as in the movie. The same goes for Can't Help Falling in Love. Wonderful versions.

Amen to the concert :-) Just kidding, of course CD 2 is the best thing on this set but there is something close to that one - the live outtakes, which start with I got A Woman. No big difference from the 1969 versions, but in my opinion Elvis' voice is a bit stronger. After Elvis saying that "this is my third visit here... Hello, you big mother..." you can clearly hear how the applause level reduces (they put a part from another concert). I Can't Stop Loving you is much faster than the versions Elvis did in 1969, and obviously more orchestrated. Near to the version from Madison Sq. Garden, but Elvis' voice is more controlled here. Elvis sings a few lines in high falsetto from "Toreador". Next in line is Twenty Days and Twenty Nights: "It's a not very good song and I don't really particularly dig singing it, but it's on the program and they've asked me to do it", the intro begins and Elvis says "We had to learn about 50 songs for this show..." and so on (the dialogue used in the Lost Performances). The version is well known, but sound quality ain't very good. There is pretty much noise. Especially during the intro and the first half of the song.

The Next Step Is Love is a great song and it is very nice to have a live version of it. I have read different (not very good) things about this version. Personally I like it. A great ending, I must say. Also the orchestration differs (a bit) from the original. Again, some noise is present in the beginning of the song. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me is fantastic. Differs a lot from the versions he did live later (regarding the orchestration), but is very close to the original (just much faster). "This is a new song... It should be out by 1982..." El says. This song in my opinion was done in a looser way - Elvis forgets the words right in the middle of the song, and also the trombone orchestration that appears later (1:47) is in my opinion terrible. It just doesn't fit into the song. But in a total - not a bad performance. Elvis sounds great much better than he did in the rehearsals. And the ending is great! Next is Make the World Go Away. The same version as used on the Lost Performances. There is some noise during it. Don't Cry Daddy / In The Ghetto medley is the same as used in The Lost Performances. Great!

The boy who became the king the king of rock'n'roll begins playing a few notes from the Peter Gunn's Theme and the whole band rushes in a 1 minute jam. Maybe they were looking for a show opener? Tracks 10 -14 were all used in the Get Down And Get With It bootleg, except the fast version of That's All Right Mama, which was probably cut out from the bootleg. The sound quality on this songs is much better than the sound we had on the bootleg, a stereo touch, but Elvis' voice is again just too much in front. But back to the songs - That's All Right is the same as used in the movie; Cotton Fields is just a kidding song; Yesterday comes nowhere near the live versions he did in 1969 - a poor attempt. I Can't Stop Loving you is a song used during the closing credits of The Lost Performance. Great to finally get this version in decent sound.

Songs 15 -18 were used in the second CD of There's Always Me volume 4. Here they are in worse sound quality in my opinion - they sound a bit flat. The only plus is that we finally get them in stereo. Next tracks (19 - 22) were used in the Brightest Star From Sunset Blvd, vol. 1 & 2. Again the sound's a bit flat.

The last three tracks are essential. They come from August 1970. The sound is pretty bad (sounds like a good audience recording of a concert - there is almost no bass, the instruments are way back, almost nothing but Elvis. They al sound to be jams. Nice, but Elvis doesn't remember the words, and sometimes does not hit the right notes. The best from the this tracks is Oh, Happy Day.

So is this really the best release by BMG ever? Yes, regarding the content quality, and not regarding sound quality, because there is sometimes too much noise. The "clearest" thing released by BMG so far is An Afternoon At The Garden. But TTWII represents what is really the best concert by Elvis ever. Really, I advise you to experience it yourself - put on the headphones (good, "big monsters" better), turn the volume high and close your eyes - and you get the feeling of being there.

Recommended for everyone!

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