Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii

This is the one to show young people who want to know Elvis. Not the silly movies he made in the 60's. Not even Elvis On Tour or Thats The Way It Is. Show people who want to know what Elvis was all about...Aloha From Hawaii. This is The King of Rock and Roll in his court. He looks stunning. He sounds awesome. You can see the charisma that made him an icon. His white jumpsuits have become kind of a running joke. However in 1973 this was the style a lot of artists were wearing on stage. The one he sports in Aloha From Hawaii looks beautiful. He even tosses the cape and belt out to the audience. I love the 70's Elvis. The jewelery, the jumpsuits, the limos...all the excess he became famous for. I know that excess (in all forms) drove him to an early grave, but here we get to see him in all his glory before it spun out of his control. Aloha From Hawaii is Elvis, takin care of business.

I hadn't seen, even on TV, an Elvis concert performance in 30 years and even though I grew up with "The King" and rock 'n roll, I still was surprised how good this concert turned out to be. I also remember hearing and reading - for years - how fat and bloated Elvis looked in his "last years" but that must have been later because he looked great here.

It also surprised me that Presley did Beatles' songs along with other tunes made famous by other people....and did them really well. Maybe I shouldn't have been because Elvis did Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" way back in the beginning of his career and he liked Chuck Berry songs, which he does in this concert, along with a Jerry Lee Lewis and a Little Richard song. I wish Elvis had done more blues numbers because he sounded very good on "Steamroller Blues," a James Taylor song.

Anyway, whether it's a ballad, or a country song, a gospel tune, a rockabilly number.....whatever, Presley sounded good, showing his versatility. He also had - no surprise - a great band and backup singers. I particularly appreciate the work of lead guitarist James Burton, who's still going strong at age 70.

This concert is available, by the way, on two different DVDs: the "TV concert" and an "extended" version which includes his rehearsals and other bonus features.

This might be Elvis four years before his death and, yes, he's not the super-energetic rockabilly kid from the '50s, but the man wasn't just a legendary performer, this concert shows how well he could sing! I'm only sorry it took me this long to fully appreciate the man's talents.

I at first gave this 10 out of 10, but then I realized, what would I give "That's The Way It Is"? So OK I give Aloha 9, and TTWII 10.

Anyway, those that compare Aloha to Elvis' earlier shows in Vegas (eg. TTWII) are not remembering that Aloha is a TV special, not a Vegas show. Things were a bit looser and faster in Vegas (and on tour). I would speculate that Elvis wanted to put across a slightly more sedate and for lack of a better word, dignified show.

I would reluctantly agree with critics that Elvis did hold back on his voice a bit, probably out of nerves. But it is still beautiful. Those that complain about the large number of covers: I've never heard Elvis cover a song that wasn't better than the original. Elvis' version of Early Morning Rain (not actually in the concert btw) is my favorite version of one of my top 3 favorite songs. That's saying a lot because I'm happy to listen to most anyone sing it.

Other songs that are still spine-tingling-give-you-goosebumps quality in Aloha are "What Now My Love," "I'll Remember You," and "An American Trilogy," among, well, pretty much all the others! I've seen Aloha hundreds of times. I'm an admitted Elvis junkie. So that does bias my review some, I admit. But anyone who comes in here and puts in a review that refers to "Suspicious Minds" as "Satisfied Mind" has zero credibility with me. That's not really how I wanted to put it, but hey, I'm trying to remain polite here.

I could go on and on about this show, and I won't. It's truly an awesome show, and if you haven't seen it, do see it. You'll be glad you did and will probably want to buy the DVD!

This is it, folks. This is the greatest concert of all time. To me it's to see the light.

Elvis Presley looks more handsome than ever in the film. He sings better than ever, but doesn't do so much rock 'n' roll than he made in the '68 Comeback Special (original name "Elvis"). There he was king of rock 'n' roll, in Aloha from Hawaii he is King of Music.

Special Edition and Deluxe Edition DVD's includes the new edition which is much better than the original US version, which was aired later than the live concert to Asia, Europe and other areas.

10/10

It irritates me no end when people refer to Elvis Presley's rhinestone-studded jumpsuits. They are demonstrating their ignorance because Elvis never wore rhinestones. The spectacular American Eagle jumpsuit he wore on January 14, 1973 was studded with jewels (not rhinestones)and weighed in excess of 70 pounds. The jeweled cape he wore for the closing number (which he then flung into the crowd) weighed 40 pounds and cost $8,000.00 alone. I have never heard what the jumpsuit cost, but one has to figure that it was even more expensive. The belt that he tossed into the audience after singing An American Trilogy was a replacement for the original. Elvis' costume designer, Bill Belew, had to hurriedly make a new belt in time for the show. Elvis had impulsively given the first belt to Jack Lord's wife a day or two before the Aloha telecast. Elvis' personal jeweler had to fly back to the States for more rubies before Belew could complete the new belt. Also, regardless of what you have read or heard to the contrary, Elvis was in superb shape for this show. He looked great and was in good voice, particularly on What Now My Love and An American Trilogy. If he seemed a bit distant or preoccupied at times, it could be due to the fact that he had filed for divorce from Priscilla less than a week earlier. Due to the time constraints of a live telecast, Elvis could not be too spontaneous. The only real complaint I have of this show is the perfunctory rendition of Hound Dog. Elvis had always hated the song and recorded it in 1956 only at the urging of then RCA president Steve Sholes. He performed it grudgingly and his ambivalence is evident when he performs it live. He also hated Burning Love, which was a recent hit for him at the time of the Aloha concert. Almost every other recording artist saves their most recent hit for the end of the show. Elvis did Burning Love at the very beginning of Aloha, right after C. C. Rider (which opened the concert). Perhaps he wanted to get it out of the way. I suppose he hadn't had time to loathe Burning Love as much as Hound Dog, because he actually gave it a decent effort here. All in all, this performance shows Presley at his finest. His decline started soon afterward. The 1977 CBS TV special is a testament to how far Elvis had fallen, and is truly heartbreaking to witness.