Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii

To this date October 2001, I have seen many concerts by other performers on TV, all of them were very good but none yet to equal the performance put on by Elvis and his band members from that concert in Hawaii, I still watch the video as often as I can and every time I get just as emotional as the time before and before and before. I only hope that if the tape wears out I can find a replacement.

On Sunday morning, January 14, 1973 a historic concert by Elvis Presley was beamed around the world via satellite. In excess of one billion people watched Elvis play to standing room only at the Honolulu International Center in Hawaii. The special engagement was to raise money for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund. A goal of 25 thousand dollars collected was said to be matched and doubled.

Elvis was in peak form musically and physically. He was thin and drop dead gorgeous. His voice was very powerful as he belted out 23 songs, highlighted by 'American Trilogy' and the Kui Lee song that Elvis originally recorded in 1966, 'I'll Remember You'. A top selling soundtrack of the concert was released and is also considered historic.

This was a milestone in the unequaled career of THE KING!

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 Was by far the best Elvis Presley Concert I have ever seen, I love the way he moves to the song "Fever" I have every single Elvis Concert on DVD but this one truly takes the cake over the others. I also think that The American Eagle Jumpsuit he wore in this show was his finest. It was cool to see a lot of Elvis' great humor on stage too, like during "Suspicious Minds" he changes the words, "Well don't you know I'm court in a trap I can't walk out "I HOPE THIS SUIT DON'T TEAR UP BABY" and when he spilt water all over his piano player. Fantastic concert. I love it when he sings, "You Gave Me A Mountain" that is one of his best songs.