From Sunset To Las Vegas

From a musically creative viewpoint 1974 was disappointing since it was the first year since Elvis came out of the army that he wouldn’t record any Studio material at all. Instead he spent nearly the whole year on Tour performing an incredible 156 concerts. In August 1974 however Elvis' new Summer Season at the Hilton Hotel was coming up and, for one reason or another - possibly the presence of new girlfriend Sheila Ryan - Elvis wanted these shows to be really dramatic and revitalised. Elvis arrived on the 12 August at RCA’s Hollywood studio to begin several days of rehearsals for the first scheduled show on August 19, 1974. EIN's Piers Beagley has a close look at the official FTD release of this fascinating rehearsal.

Issued back in September 2009 FTD at last provided fans with an official release of Elvis' rehearsals in RCA's Sunset Hollywood studio on August 16th 1974 for his new Las Vegas season.

As we all know by now this was the last time that Elvis would try and shake-up his set-list to create a different formatted show. The stunning Opening Show itself was released on the earlier ‘Nevada Nights’ FTD.

From a musically creative viewpoint 1974 was disappointing as it was the first year since Elvis came out of the army that he wouldn’t record any Studio material at all. Instead he spent nearly the whole year on Tour performing an incredible 156 concerts.

In August 1974 however Elvis' new Summer Season at the Hilton Hotel was coming up and, for one reason or another - possibly the presence of new girlfriend Sheila Ryan - Elvis wanted these shows to be really dramatic and revitalised. Elvis arrived on the 12 August at RCA’s Hollywood studio to begin several days of rehearsals for the first scheduled show on August 19, 1974.

These rehearsals were recorded at Elvis' request and according to reports they were all supposed to be erased or destroyed. Luckily that is not the case since one tape from August 16th ended up with photographer Ed Bonja..

Ed Bonja: "I was there for that rehearsal and one other at RCA that Tom Diskin couldn't make. I recorded that 74 rehearsal and Tom said to make sure that I kept the tape because Elvis might want to hear something. Well, no one ever asked me for it and so I ended up with the cassette. I used to play it in my car on my way to & from work and driving around! Finally Ernst Jorgensen called me and in the end I went to New York and sold it to RCA for practically nothing! That's how they got 'Twelfth of Never'."

The rehearsal and concert originally came out on the sensational bootleg 'From Sunset Blvd To Paradise Road' on the DAE label (right) back in 1996. It was an absolute stunner and every Elvis fan was blown away when they first heard these amazing illegal tapes. Being before the FTD era, fans could only dream that one day they might be officially released. Back in 2002 when I talked with Ernst Jorgensen these were two CDs that I felt really needed to be officially available for all fans. And at the time Ernst said that they were on the FTD white-board and eventually would get issued.

So it is somewhat of a surprise then that after more than a decade of anticipation a large number of hard-core fans have expressed their disappointment with this release.

There are three basic complaints...
1) That the early rough rehearsal of 'It's Midnight' has been edited out.
2) That the audio shows no improvement from the original bootleg.
3) That the extra live tracks provide nothing new.

While I agree that the removal of the early 'It's Midnight' is a big mistake the other two points are debatable when we consider that this is a 1974 Elvis Rehearsal - the ONLY official release of ANYTHING Elvis recorded in a studio in 1974.

Perhaps we have all become too blasé with always needing something "new" and forget that the VAST majority of Elvis fans have never bought a bootleg CD. I am hoping that in the plethora of recent FTD releases that Elvis fans who have never heard this before at last get to enjoy these amazing insights and feel at least a little bit of the excitement I felt when I first heard 'From Sunset Blvd To Paradise Rd.'

After all how can one not love a rehearsal that features such a string of exceptional songs as Promised Land, Down In The Alley, It's Midnight, Your Love's Been A Long Time Coming, Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues, Softly As I Leave You, I'm Leavin', The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Proud Mary all one after the other!

In the end the cassette could so easily have contained another boring run-through of Elvis’ "oldies" instead - and what a let-down that would have been!

So imagine being personally invited to RCA's Hollywood studios in 1974 and watching Elvis rehearse songs you have never heard before. This is a very chilled Elvis working hard with his band in a very relaxed informal setting. Elvis is in fine form, laughing and joking with friends as he teases his musicians while also honing the production along the way. .

The Design A fairly straight-forward double digi-pack. I do like the front cover where Elvis looks like he truly means business. The red-purple colours have that seventies feel and the CD should obviously sit next to the ‘Nevada Nights’ release. The inside photos are disappointingly dark & need colour correction being too purple in the blacks. There are two pieces of memorabilia but as always the bootleggers show the way with their sleeve presentation. Why no mini-booklet like with ‘Dixieland Delight’? The Rehearsal While 1974 was obviously an emotionally traumatic year for Elvis and very low-key creatively in these rehearsals he is on pretty good form. The Audio Quality - While on several rehearsal songs the band is almost non existent in the mix it is in Stereo (unlike the bootleg) and one bonus is that by fading down the left channel you can reduce the level of background vocals, as well as Sherrill Nielsen's duet vocal with Elvis. The tape speed has been corrected here and the audio quality is noticeably clearer. The old bootleg was mono, with extra added echo. The only fault here is that there is a terrible lack of bass frequencies, which you can however fix by cranking up the bass of your Hi-Fi. This discrepancy is disappointingly the same as audio Masterer Lene Reidel did with the FTD ‘New Year’s Eve’ cassette transfer.

Does FTD never check her work? (see recent 'Minnesota Moment' review) Listening to the earlier ‘Twelfth Of Never’ 1995 BMG release (mastered by Dennis Ferrante) easily shows the lack of bass frequencies here, although I would commend this FTD set for having a much "cleaner" sound overall.

‘If You Love Me (Let me Know)’ - While the rehearsal tape doesn’t start with my favourite song it is interesting to hear how Elvis is closely running the show and instructing the background singers, musicians, and making notes for himself.
So while Elvis had been performing Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Let Me Be There’ since January 1974 he only decided to add her other "happy song" ‘If You Love Me (Let Me Know)’ this season for the Opening Show. The tape actually demonstrates Elvis’ professionalism as he keeps on rehearsing the song on the one day to perfect the ending. The first rehearsal is very laid-back, and as Elvis later notes, "I like it. It’s a happy song."

On the second run-though the pace picks up and Elvis is obviously more enthusiastic, throwing in some "oh yeahs" along the way. However the third rehearsal version of the song on DISC 2 is the one of most interest.

'Promised Land' (#1) - Elvis had never yet performed this song live on-stage so it’s interesting to hear him working live in the studio with it. "Let’s get down to the Promised Land," he says and it’s a kick-ass version. It is a little disappointingly that a lot of the rehearsal is Elvis’ prominent vocal with not enough of the band in the mix but it is obvious that Elvis is really enjoying singing the song. Elvis cheers the band along asking them to come in heavier on "Swing low chariot." As he rightly comments, "That’s a Movin’-Mother, I like it".!

The second ‘Promised Land’ rehearsal is even better and there is some classic studio eavesdropping. Listening to the discussion between Glen D Hardin on piano and Elvis working out the introduction "Play with it first. That’s right, that’s right" is a great start. Elvis lets loose and really rocks, carrying his up-beat feeling into the "And the mother-f***’s on the line" ending! Elvis then jokes, "What can we screw up next?!" This is a CLASSIC rehearsal that every fan should own.

It does however show Elvis’ reticence with his new Opening Show set-list that he would drop this important song from the Vegas after only 3 performances - and not really bring it back into his stage-show until the March 1975 concerts. It would only be released as his new single in October 1974.

‘Down In the Alley’ – It’s Charlie Hodge that kicks Elvis off onto this oldie and there’s a great cool-blues to the beginning as Elvis starts off alone edging the band to join in. It’s a fine version and there is more great eavesdropping as Elvis rehearses the start to himself before the second attempt. "We won’t tell the audience" he teases.

On the second run-through Elvis dives into the intro with Glen Hardin providing some cool piano work. Elvis also adds some sweet vocal chorus fills of his own at the end. It’s a rockin’ and rolling version and what a shame he would never put it back into his set-list after Opening Night.

‘It’s Midnight’ – "It’s getting late" Elvis sings and teases the group in his Inspector Clouseau fashion. "Oh, shit, boy, that was a party" he comments.
For some reason FTD have removed the very rough first rehearsal from this tape that was on the previous bootleg. The missing attempt did have Elvis cursing at the start about "Where are the f*****g lyrics" but there seems little reason not to include the track – after all it was only a rehearsal. A few rude words could have been removed if necessary but it only showed how Elvis still stayed in a good mood even if things didn’t go smoothly. The earlier rehearsal also featured some particularly nice harmonies and emotional reading of the lyrics. Better more ‘It’s Midnight’s than ‘If You Love Me’s, surely?!

Whatever the reason the only ‘It’s Midnight’ version that is featured here is beautiful. Elvis sings a very serious version and the way Elvis holds the note at the end is a delight. Another rehearsal highlight, it shows how Elvis thoughts and emotions can swing as at the end he comments "I’ve got to put on that damn wet-suit tomorrow."
Was he referring to a diet treatment or jumpsuit tryout as he certainly wasn’t filming ‘Easy Come Easy Go’?

‘Your Love's Been A Long Time Coming’ – This is a real gem since the song was never performed in concert. An even more amazing choice since the track wouldn’t be released until 5 months later! While a great rehearsal it would have been even better live with The Sweets providing some real gospel call & response vocals. Here the arrangement is nicely understated compared to the excessively overdubbed Master on the ‘Promised Land’ LP. The proper ending also works very nicely compared to the extended fade-out. Elvis’ vocal is excellent and even the duet with Sherrill Neilsen works very nicely on this track. Another essential rehearsal for the collection.

‘Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues’ – There is no doubting the sincerity of Elvis’ performance both in this rehearsal and his one live attempt of this composition. While the song is too low-key for the kind of concerts Elvis was performing at the time, it’s easy to imagine this as a perfect choice for the "Unplugged" section of the show should Elvis still be performing today.

Here Elvis is obviously enjoying singing and joins in singing along with the guitar solos. With "You know how my heart keeps telling me, you’re not a kid at 33" Elvis gets the emotion so right. With a delightfully light arrangement and real emotion this is a classic. A Must-Have in anyone’s collection.

‘Softly, As I Leave You’ – A very different sounding song for Elvis and there is no doubting the sincerity of his performance. Sherrill Nielsen’s duet work nicely with Elvis and there is some interesting discussion with Charlie Hodge as to whether there should be more augmentation to arrangement, but Elvis wants to keep it simple. Elvis rightly stands his ground, "The simpler this thing is the better" he says.

James Burton adds some simple guitar at points on the second rehearsal and an edited version of this song was released officially on the "70s box-set." It does however sound cleaner here.

‘I’m Leavin’’ – A classic and beautifully arranged ballad for Elvis. Released back in 1971 and charting close to Top-Twenty in the UK, Elvis revives it here for this 1974 season. Certainly a tricky song to arrange live Elvis adds a lot of suggestions to the studio group. "It’s like an ocean coming in" he explains of the backing vocals. At the end Elvis kicks off an immediate reprise to perfect the ending and Sherrill Nielsen’s duet. Another essential rehearsal to have in your collection.

‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ – Introduced by Elvis as "The first time ever I saw your friggin' face" this rehearsal is possibly the highlight of the CD. With the band as distant as usual there is a fabulous clarity to Elvis and Voice’s harmonies. Surprisingly Elvis would only sing this song a handful of times in 1974 and only perform it twice in this August Vegas season (one version released on ‘Nevada Nights’). This version includes the extra final verse, "And the first time ever I lay with you, and felt your heartbeat so close to mine, I knew a joy would fill the earth, and last 'til the end of time" that is not featured on the single. This rehearsal is performed at a much slower tempo than both the ‘I Found My Thrill’ February 1974 and even the ‘Nevada Nights’ version.

Elvis obviously liked the song as he would also rehearse it for the 1972 "On Tour" season – where oddly he would not use it in his set-list. It is interesting to compare this to the ‘1972 On Tour Rehearsals’ version where Elvis used a much more military style rhythm and arrangement. Here it is so much lighter and more delicate. The single release also sounds very rushed and unemotional in comparison. It is surprising that this rehearsal has never been featured on an official release.

‘Proud Mary’ - After some discussion about saving his voice-box Elvis mentions "Scuse me Duke" reminding us that 1974 was the era of Duke Bardwell working in the TCB Band before they go straight into ‘Proud Mary.’ Charlie Hodge duets on this one. Unfortunately a rocker like this needs the band up-front which this tape is badly lacking but it is still a bonus that the track is featured since Elvis only performed it live three times this season before dropping it completely. The ‘On Tour Rehearsal’ FTD version totally kicks-ass in comparison.

‘If You Talk In Your Sleep’ - Elvis mentions that the session "It’s doing me in vocally" before a very fine and funky ‘If You Talk In Your Sleep’. Even though the intro is discussed it ends up being shorter arrangement than the final on-stage version. A great funky song (again the power of the band is unfortunately absent) it’s great to hear a rehearsal of this rarity. Afterwards Elvis notes, "It’s a hard son-of-a-bitch to end" and they practice the ending again which is a cute bonus.

Unfortunately for me Elvis asks to go back and practise his new song again! So a further 15 minutes of ‘If You Love Me (Let me Know)’ kicks off CD 2!

However both these ‘If You Love Me’versions are livelier than the earlier run-throughs and are interesting in having lots more studio discussion with Elvis acting as the session producer.
With The Stamps not in the studio for the rehearsal Elvis spends a long time trying to get Voice’s bass-man Tim Baty to do that special "JD Sumner" ending. Even Elvis asks, "How the hell does he do that?" The treat is hearing Elvis practicing being a "bass-man" himself.
Of all the attempts on this song at this rehearsal Version 3 is the most fun to listen to.

‘Twelfth Of Never’ – The unique one-off rehearsal also released on the ‘70s box-set’. It was discoveries like this that gave Elvis fans real hope for more revelations back in the 90s. Although Johnny Mathis’ 1957 recording is the most famous, perhaps Elvis had heard Lisa Marie playing the Donny Osmond version that made the Top Ten in 1973? Short and very sweet it is somewhat of a surprise that an overdubbed version, such as David Briggs produced and featured on the bootleg 'From Sunset Blvd To Paradise Road' has never been officially released.

‘Faded Love’ – Kicking off with a rocking ‘Lawdy, Miss Clawdy’ intro Elvis also gets confused and asks to start again. While starting as a serious version, halfway through Elvis loses interest and starts mucking around with the lyrics, "As I think of your ass.. pass… As I watch two doves making love" but he still manages to kick it home with conviction.
It is interesting to note Elvis considering this "Elvis Country" song for his set-list in 1974 as he only sang it a handful of times ever in concert and that was over a year previously. "That’s a throwaway" he mentions. As on the rare May 13th Lake Tahoe 1973 version (a highlight of the FTD ‘Takin' Tahoe Tonight!’) Elvis duets with Charlie Hodge but here it is taken at a slower pace.

‘Just Pretend’ – What a final treat to end the session – an all-time favourite with Elvis almost whispering the lyrics in your ear a-cappella. Sounding very different with an almost silent band the lyrics resonate on a more personal level. You can really delve into Elvis’ enjoyment of singing this delicious song. And even more of a treat as Elvis never performed this on-stage at this season, nor at any concert until the December Vegas concerts over a year later. Another highlight to end the rehearsal with.

The Live Recordings. Having listened to all those rehearsals, it makes sense to then hear them in concert. But sadly that is not the case here. The only concert to really follow the rehearsals with would be the 1974 August ‘Opening Night’ which has already come out on the excellent ‘Nevada Nights’. However I was hoping at least for another live ‘Promised Land’ and ‘It’s Midnight’ even a ‘If You Love Me’! However FTD have decided to go in the other direction with a compile of other songs from the same season that were NOT on the previous ‘Nevada Nights’ compilation. While it does focus on rarities and requests the real annoyance is that three of them are from the official BMG ‘Live In Las Vegas’ box-set (although the audio quality here is slightly improved), so there is no doubting that everyone has these already in their collection. (Right: One of the photos from inside the FTD)

But Ernst must have put these in for a reason so let’s check them out.

‘Trying To Get To You’ (Aug 20 MS) is a cracker version and a rarity from this season but that we know previously from ‘Live In Las Vegas’ box-set. The reason for the inclusion is that afterwards Elvis throws in one line of "Your love has lifted me higher" as he introduces one of his heroes Jackie Wilson, "All kidding aside he is a great entertainer."

‘Heartbreak Hotel’ (Aug 20 MS) is a fun version with Elvis surprisingly enthusiastic and playing with the lyrics. Elvis responds to a request "I heard somebody mention Heartbreak Hotel." Featured here since it wasn’t a regular for Elvis set-list in 1974 and only performed a couple of times this season. Elvis somewhat strangely sings, "You’ll be so lonely you could cry." (in place of "Die")

‘Suspicious Minds’ – "I’d like to do this song for a friend of mine, John O’Grady. I’m doing this for John." Taken at a way-too-fast pace as Elvis did in later versions, on the night Aug 22 Midnight Show you would never have known that Elvis would perform it less than five times ever again in his career. Charlie Hodge messes up the harmony vocal which even Elvis finds amusing and even makes a note of mid-song.. "Let’s don’t let old Charlie die!". Ending in only 3 ½ minutes it does get a huge audience response and there is some wonderful moments of Elvis waltzing around the stage afterwards with the band playing the ‘Blue Danube’. Elvis to Charlie, "How much did you pay her to do that?" .. Charlie, "Not nearly enough!" It is a good reason to include this version.

‘Help Me’ – Elvis dedicates this to "Some good friends of mine, The Singing Rambos." Again from Aug 22 MS and this time identical to the edit on the ‘Live In Las Vegas’ box-set. Perhaps this included because Dottie Rambo died back in 2008. A new song include live since January 1974 and done only 4 times in this season. A very nice version.

‘The Wonder Of You’ – A song that Elvis never sang in 1973 and featured more in 1975 than in 1974, this version is the second version released by FTD from this year. From August 27 MS Elvis responds to a request "You wanna’ hear The Wonder Of You? You got it". As often in later years Elvis jumps the start and it’s not a particularly memorable version although it does get better towards the end. The version from three days earlier (on the FTD ‘It’s Midnight’) is vocally much stronger and interestingly does feature the full intro.

‘American Trilogy’ – Elvis mentions some fans from Detroit in the audience who have been there all week and he sings this classic for them. Good to hear as this was the first time it had been performed this season and Elvis even notes to James Burton, "Remember the chords, James!" A fine version that Elvis would always put his soul into, it doesn’t have that amazing power of the Memphis Live On-Stage show. The audience response is so good though that after this night of August 27 MS, Elvis would add it to the set-list for the rest of the season. (Date on the FTD sleeve stating Aug 22 is incorrect)

‘Elvis Talking’ #1 – Taken from the August 27th Midnight Show, Elvis rambles on in his "emotional-roller-coaster" Desert Storm kinda’ way. Obviously chosen for this compilation as Elvis throws in one line of ‘You Are My Sunshine’, "The other night as I lay sleeping.." and also ‘We shall overcome.’ Elvis again talks about painting the showroom’s Funky Angels (see ‘It’s Midnight’ FTD). (Date on the FTD sleeve stating Aug 22 is incorrect)

‘Hawaiian Wedding Song’ – From August 27 MS, there are plenty of version of this Blue Hawaii song available. Tonight Elvis asks the audience to "sing it with me" telling them the lyrics as he goes along. At the end Elvis introduces his father, "Looking good Dad. He’s a bigger ham than I am". It’s a cute version, but nothing exceptional.

‘Elvis Talking’ #2 - Now this is freaky. Again taken from the August 27th Midnight Show. When Elvis asks "How long have we been on?", Charlie tells him that "we’re 20 minutes over" to which Elvis responds "Who gives a damn!" to great applause. Elvis talks about having a virus and missing the two shows before deciding to discuss some anti-racist remarks, which in this politically correct era nowadays sounds so wrong! Perhaps this is because, as usual, Charlie & others are laughing thinking it is a joke.

Elvis talks about the Webster's dictionary definition of the word "Nigger". I can see why Ernst originally decided to include this previously edited intro, but to me it still sounds wrong.
Obviously to others too since, due to complaints, the later print-run of this FTD release apparently no longer contains this segment which originally ran the full 2 minutes. Which version do you have?

‘It's Now Or Never’ – Continuing from the previous comments this song from August 27 MS has to be included although it has already been on the ‘Live In Las Vegas’ box-set in exactly the same edit.

Finally two doozies!
EIN receives fan questions often asking if Elvis really sang the two songs ‘Bringin' It Back’ and David Gates’ ‘Aubrey’ since they appear on his concert set-lists.
The answer is that no, Elvis did not truly sing them, rather Elvis invited Voice lead-singer Sherrill Nielsen to perform them at his infamous final Midnight Show ‘Desert Storm’ concert of September 2nd 1974.
For those that don’t know ‘Desert Storm’ is the infamous roller-coaster "I am NOT Strung-Out" concert that FTD will never release in full. Although some of Elvis’ song performances (It’s Midnight, You Gave Me A Mountain) are, not surprisingly, particularly powerful that night.

FTD leave a two second gap beforehand to indicate..
1) That these two songs are not a continuation of the real "Elvis" segment,
2) After hearing them once you may want to skip to end of the CD now!

‘Bringin' It Back’ – Elvis is particularly impressed by Sherrill Nielsen’s voice even if you aren’t. Elvis notes, "Listen to that voice." Elvis would record the song for his final studio album "Today" in March the following year. Of slight interest is Elvis adding his own bass-line, even telling the crowd, "I’m doing the bass"!

‘Aubrey’ – Elvis then asks Sherrill to sing ‘Aubrey’ which had been a chart hit for the group Bread back in 1972. This time interesting for Elvis vocalising the lyrics in the same way as he and Sherrill Nielsen performed ‘Softly As I Leave You.’
So I can understand why FTD decided to include them and it is also understandable why they are just tag-ons at the end of the CD.

Overall Verdict: If this tape was newly discovered every fan would be falling over themselves stating that it was an all-time classic discovery. It is after all an incredible treat that this one cassette contained so many unique performances and such a mixed selection of songs. And let’s not forget that there are plenty of Elvis fans out there who have still never heard this rehearsal and need to discover it for the 1974 beauty it is.
- Yes, the release could have been improved with the first ‘It’s Midnight’ rehearsal left in and a stronger selection in the ‘Live Recordings’ but personally I believe these are minor complaints for this first official release of this fascinating rehearsal. I think "serious collectors" should sometimes leave their inflexible attitudes at the door and go back and re-live the joy of discovering Elvis in a brand new light.
After all this is a double CD for the price of one and it sure cost me less the my original bootleg!

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For your Elvis Recording Sessions information EIN highly recommends these two great websites:
- Elvis Presley Pages website by Keith Flynn
- Elvis In Norway by Oven Egeland
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