Adios The Last Show

Memphis Sound Records (MS-005), 2004, Chile

In the past year we have seen the market nearly saturated by countless editions of Elvis In Concert and the Omaha and Rapid City concerts. In most cases the quality has not been good. In a departure from the Elvis In Concert material, this VCD from Chile offers an audio-visual record of Elvis' last ever live performance at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis (Indiana) on 26 June 1977. Filmed only a few days after the Elvis In Concert material, Adios The Last Show is an important and rare record. The VCD opens with black & white video footage of Elvis boarding the Lisa Marie and his meeting with Todd Slaughter, head of the large British fan club, before moving to the historic concert.

The concert: While not one of Elvis' best concerts, Elvis live in Indianapolis exhibits considerable energy and good humor. Elvis' voice is strong and he is in fine form on the night, belieing his apparent, declining physical state. The King looks happy and it shows in his playful performance.

There are pleasing versions of Jailhouse Rock, It's Now Or Never and Release Me while Elvis' voice and pacing shines in both Johnny B. Goode and What'd I Say. The King is vocally on song on I Really Don't Want To Know and Hurt while Bridge Over Troubled Water is a particularly heartfelt version (and in part also shows Elvis reading the lyrics to the song).

Elvis obviously enjoyed the easy going nature of Early Morning Rain as he included it in numerous concerts. His once powerful delivery of You Gave Me A Mountain may have slipped by June 1977 but it is still a convincing performance.

Video: The video quality of the concert is variable as images from several different cameras are used. A positive is that despite this the picture is quite steady throughout the concert - aytpical for an audience recording. However, while different camera angles add a dimension to the show the significant difference in their quality is, at times, somewhat frustrating. The picture exhibits a blue or green tinge and at times the colors are muted but these are only minor issues when watching what is a truly historic concert. The better picture quality is certainly seen from the cameras close to the stage. Rating: 3 to 6 (out of 10)

Audio: The audio quality is very good and exhibits only minimal audio chatter. We rate it at least 8 out of 10.

As with other releases of the Indianapolis concert the video and audio tracks are not fully synchronised. Again, this is not a major issue.

The Cover & Disc: The color cover certainly catches your attention although the text on the back cover is in Spanish. The color picture disc shows an interesting profile shot of Elvis pursing his closed lips and puffing out his face.

Bonus extras: On the edition we received it was nice to find two video clips following the concert. The first was Rubberneckin' as performed in Elvis' last narrative film, Change of Habit, and the second was the contemporary remix version of the song released in 2003.

Verdict: Many fans will want a copy of Elvis' historic final concert in their collection. The Memphis Sound VCD release is as good as any we have seen and in the VCD format offers considerable durability. If you ever see it, we recommend you buy it.

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