Elvis Presley -COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS

	£		15
	$		20

ELVIS PRESLEY

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS

Original Factory pressed Import CD

Title:  Countdown To Christmas  

  Label:  Straight Arrow  

  Label Number:  SA 2008-11-02  

  Release Date:  2008  

  Recording Type:  Live Audience Recording  

  Location:  Las Vegas, Hilton Hotel  

  Date:  December 9, 1975, Dinner Show  

  Track Listing:  

01 Also Sprach Zarathustra     01:13  

02 Opening Vamp / C. C. Rider     03:30  

03 I Got A Woman (with false start) / Amen     07:41  

04 Love Me     02:27  

05 Elvis speaks     02:14  

06 Fairytale     03:09  

07 And I Love You So      03:57  

08 Tryin' To Get To You     02:07  

09 All Shook Up     01:01  

10 Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel     02:37  

11 Love Me Tender     02:22  

12 Polk Salad Annie     05:02  

13 Band Introductions     02:33  

14 Johnny B. Goode     00:54  

15 Drum Solo (by Ronnie Tutt)     01:23  

16 Bass Solo (by Jerry Scheff)      01:28  

17 Piano Solo (by Glen D. Hardin)     02:15  

18 SchoolDay #1     01:05  

19 School Day #2     00:54  

20 Just Pretend     03:55  

21 How Great Thou Art (with reprise)      04:49  

22 Burning Love      03:05  

23 Softly As I Leave You     02:47  

24 America The Beautiful     02:24  

25 It's Now Or Never (with reprise)     03:17  

26 One Night     02:14  

27 Mystery Train / Tiger Man     02:30  

28 Dialogue     02:11  

29 Can't Help Falling In Love     01:41  

30 Closing Vamp       00:14  

    December 1975 marked the first time ever that Elvis worked around the winter holidays. Why did Colonel Parker take the risk to play before Christmas when even shows by regular Las Vegas performers suffered from poor attendances? The main reason was Elvis financial situation but The Colonel was keen on fulfilling the August 1975 contract too. The ol’ gambler took the situation as a challenge and booked Elvis at the Hilton from December 2nd til the 15th for a total of 16 shows. And once again, he hit the jackpot - all shows were sold out.

 Elvis was in great voice throughout the engagement; "My Boy", "How Great Thou Art", "Burning Love", "Just Pretend" and "America The Beautiful" were memorable highlights during these shows. However, Elvis’ physical appearance was somewhat alarming; in December he appeared even heavier than in August, and his face was puffy and bloated. Nevertheless, this season was a huge success, and for the closing show on December 15th , there were more people at the Hilton showroom alone than in all other Las Vegas showrooms together.

 The December 9th, 10 P.M. show as presented here is fairly typical of this strong engagement. There are no weak moments during the show, but several performances deserve special mention: a robust "Trying To Get To You", a surprisingly wild version of "Polk Salad Annie" and a fast-paced "Burning Love" are ample proof that 'Elvis - The King' could still rock whenever he wanted to. 'Elvis - The Crooner' gave his all on songs like "And I Love You So", "Just Pretend" and "Softly As I Leave You". The unofficial national anthem "America The Beautiful" and the Gospel favorite "How Great Thou Art" are outstanding performances.

 This engagement marked the last time that Elvis' concerts were of such a consistently high standard. Later his shows would become increasingly erratic, and whilst were some truly great concerts, many of them varied from average to rather poor, no matter how much Elvis tried. In December '75, Elvis tried too - and for the last time, he managed to pull it off, night after night.

 This previously unreleased live recording originates directly from 1st generation copy of recently surfaced new master tape, as recorded by an audience member. The audio-quality of the recording is very good for an off-line recording. The sound was completely restored in a renowned studio to achieve the best possible quality for your optimal listening pleasure.

 It's almost unnecessary to repeat that Straight Arrow will present this CD with a full-colour, 16-page booklet with many photos (incl. some rare ones) taken during December 1975 Las Vegas engagement and huge collection of reproduced Elvis Christmas memorabilia from 1958-1975. 

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