Elvis in Concert (album)

Elvis in Concert is the live album released by RCA Records in October 1977 in conjunction with the television special of the same name which featured some of the final performances of American singer and musician Elvis Presley. Videotaped and recorded in June 1977, both the special and album were broadcast and released on October 3, (the single "My Way"/"America the Beautiful" was released the same day) six weeks after Presley's death. The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard chart in late 1977. It was certified Gold and Platinum on October 14 and 3× Platinum on August 1, 2002, by the RIAA.

Background
The performances in the TV special were recorded over two days at concerts in Omaha on June 19 and Rapid City, South Dakota June 21, 1977. The recordings were produced by longtime RCA Victor/Elvis producer Felton Jarvis. According to Elvis: The Illustrated Record by Roy Carr and Mick Farren, the shows were taped with the intent of producing a television special, but Presley's deteriorating physical condition put the project on hold. After his death in August, it was decided to proceed with the special as a tribute.

Roughly half of the performances included on the album, plus a performance of "Unchained Melody" (different from the performance on the album Moody Blue) that was not included on the album (but was later released as a single in 1978), received overdubs of backing vocals and instrumentation on August 29, 1977, about two weeks after Presley's death and prior to the release of the album and air date of the TV special. It was also recorded that the horn section had not been recorded, or recorded properly, which would have required overdubs, but it is believed that AFM union and RCA paperwork for horn overdub sessions has not surfaced.

Although both the June 19 and 21 concerts are the last official live performances of Elvis professionally recorded by RCA Records, Vernon Presley, Elvis' father, recorded a message that was broadcast at the end of the special (and included on the soundtrack album), in which he erroneously states that the special featured his son's last live appearance; in fact, Elvis made five more concert appearances after the performances in the special. Elvis' final concert was in fact on Sunday, June 26, 1977, at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. No professional recording of this last performance has ever been officially issued, but bootlegs of amateur recordings have.

Content
During the special, Presley performs a selection of his hits, along with songs not normally associated with him. Although it was a regular part of his repertoire for years, Presley requires a lyric sheet when he performs Paul Anka's "My Way" (noted for its opening lyric, "And now the end is near/And so I face the final curtain"). He appears to lose his train of thought during "Are You Lonesome Tonight?", although some have made the case that Elvis regularly played around with the words during the spoken portion of the song when performing it on stage, rather than it being a case of poor memory. Indeed, concert recordings of Presley similarly joking around during the monologue section of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" date back to 1961 in Hawaii and then 1969, have been issued several times (a 1969 version dubbed the "Laughing Version", it even made the UK charts after Presley's death), and he also poked fun at the song during his 1968 Comeback Special. Nonetheless, the documentary This is Elvis uses this performance to illustrate Presley's poor condition at the time and in the actual Elvis in Concert broadcast, the show cuts away to a fan who speaks about Elvis, obscuring the flubbed recitation.

The soundtrack album was issued as a 2-record set, including a second disc of performances that were not included in the TV special. On May 22, 1992, the album was reissued on a single compact disc. Unfortunately, the CD reissue barely improved on the somewhat poor sound quality of the original LP release.

Professional reviews
AllMusic gave the album a negative review, but conceded that "this album is not a standout Elvis concert. What it is, however, is a vitally important piece of Elvis lore." Their review went on to say that the record is "Elvis Presley's least effort, as well as his last."

Disc 1

 * 1) Elvis Fans Comments (Pt. 1)/Opening Riff
 * 2) "Also Sprach Zarathustra"
 * 3) "See See Rider"
 * 4) "That's All Right"
 * 5) "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
 * 6) "Teddy Bear"/"Don't Be Cruel"
 * 7) Elvis Fans Comments (Pt. 2)
 * 8) "You Gave Me a Mountain"
 * 9) "Jailhouse Rock"
 * 10) Elvis Fans Comments (Pt. 3)
 * 11) "How Great Thou Art"
 * 12) Elvis Fans Comments (Pt. 4)
 * 13) "I Really Don't Want To Know"
 * 14) Elvis Introduces his Father
 * 15) "Hurt"
 * 16) "Hound Dog"
 * 17) "My Way"
 * 18) "Can't Help Falling in Love"
 * 19) Closing Riff/Special Message from Elvis's Father

Disc 2

 * 1) "I Got A Woman/Amen"
 * 2) Elvis Talks
 * 3) "Love Me"
 * 4) "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)"
 * 5) "'O Sole Mio/It's Now or Never"
 * 6) "Trying to Get to You"
 * 7) "Hawaiian Wedding Song"
 * 8) "Fairytale"
 * 9) "Little Sister"
 * 10) "Early Morning Rain"
 * 11) "What'd I Say"
 * 12) "Johnny B. Goode"
 * 13) "And I Love You So"

Personnel

 * Elvis Presley – vocals, acoustic guitar on "That's All Right" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight"
 * James Burton – lead guitar
 * John Wilkinson – rhythm guitar
 * Charlie Hodge – acoustic guitar, vocals
 * Jerry Scheff – bass guitar
 * Ronnie Tutt – drums
 * Tony Brown – piano
 * Bobby Ogdin – electric piano, clavinet
 * The Sweet Inspirations, The Stamps Quartet, Kathy Westmoreland, Sherrill Nielsen – vocals
 * Joe Guercio – orchestra