Customer Reviews

Afternoon in the Garden

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the liner notes for AN AFTERNOON IN THE GARDEN duly point out, it's a wonder indeed that Elvis somehow never played New York City before the June 1972 set of concerts from which this set and the previously released ONSTAGE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN were drawn. Curio value aside, however, this remastered document of a complete Elvis show (albeit a rather brief one at just over an hour) is a worthy addition to the King's discography.
Perhaps because this was his first time onstage in the Big Apple, Elvis offers a very broad cross-section of his repertoire here, opening the proceedings with the Sun classic "That's All Right" and moving through a well-balanced program incorporating no fewer than eight of his fifties RCA hits (in truncated form, of course), the bookend sixties classics "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Suspicious Minds," several numbers from the King's 1970 Nashville sessions, a couple of his post-1970 singles and a healthy chunk of contemporary cover tunes, several of which had previously been Presleyized on albums such as ON STAGE and THAT'S THE WAY IT IS. Indeed, it's hard to think of a more comprehensive Elvis set than this; and if the King sounds neither as vibrant as he did on some earlier concert recordings, nor as soulful as he would a few months later on ALOHA FROM HAWAII, he's nevertheless in fine form throughout this hour, and his band keeps right up with him as always. A few pleasant surprises help to keep things moving, such as Elvis' inclusion of the second verse of CCR's "Proud Mary," which was sadly omitted from the ON STAGE version. Meanwhile, "Hound Dog," which by this point had become the biggest joke in the King's performances, starts off at a nice half-speed tempo guaranteed to reopen the ears of even the most jaded Elvis aficionado.
AN AFTERNOON IN THE GARDEN shows Elvis in an impressive light some five years before his death, continuing to expand his repertoire while keeping all of the essentials firmly in place. It may be mostly of interest to hard-core fans, but for the casual listener it offers a good introduction to the King's latterday live extravaganzas. Great stuff, either way.

This is the most exciting concert I ever heard recorded. This demonstrates that by the early 70's, he hadn't lost his touch. The new releases, such as this one, "the alternate aloha", and "Aloha from hawaii (with bonus tracks)" have better sound quality and a more live feel. The crowd is wild on this one. As far as his performance, WOW! He sounds great. He did very well with the old rock n roll standards. I can't forget to mention the band. They sound supercharged. The drums and bass are tight and fast. Listen to "polk salad annie." Although the performances are very similar to the evening show(released in 1972 as recorded at MSG) It has a new feel. It is done the right way, unedited, good crowd noise, and remastered. For anyone who wants to hear how Elvis Presley sounded live, this is the one.

It seems 1972 was a very good year to be an Elvis Presley fan. I recently dusted off my cd, "An Afernoon At The Garden" and was pleasantly surprised. I intended to listen to just a couple of songs but found myself listening to the entire concert and realizing just how great a show it was. This performance no doubt is the best representation of Elvis' live performances in the 1970s. 1972 was the culmination of his and his bands' efforts and their professionalism shone through brightly. What a fantastic, eclectic array of music! Elvis' 1950s hits were well-represented with very good renditions, his modern hits and cover-versions were delivered flawlessly and each genre he mastered was there; rockabilly, rock, country, rhythm & blues and gospel. No artist before or since has mastered such a variety of vocal artistry. Two more adjectives come to mind; dazzling and magical; Elvis looked every bit the rock-music icon he had become, wearing his amazing bejeweled jumpsuit with cape and his showmanship is legendary. It's quite apparent Elvis was having fun and had good interaction with his audience, and they were quite obviously enjoying the show. This was the peak, the summit; the fun was contageous and so was the energy and enthusiasm. What a wondrous spectacle this concert must've been to attend! No, it wasn't just a good year, 1972 was a great year to be an Elvis fan!

Elvis is in top form and puts on a great show. The crowd has a lot of energy and so does he. This is well worth adding to your collection. One of Elvis' better concert recordings on RCA/BMG. This is far better then his original 1972 MSG release. The crowd is more into it. The sound quality is better and he puts on a better show in this release. I agree with mike. I wish RCA would have had video cameras inside of the garden to shoot this concert because it would have put all other elvis footage to shame. I have some 8mm footage of that show and he puts on a great performance. Great CD thanks BMG. Elvis is still the king.

There are so many artists that sound great on album but then you put them on the live stage and they're nothing. That is not the case with Elvis Presley. Listen to this album and you will find out what Elvis fans have known all along. Elvis was the greatest live performer of the 20th century! I differ on my view in comparison to other reviews in that I think the evening show is the best of the two. For some reason it always seemed the later it was in the evening the better he performed. Elvis had odd sleeping habits and slept late into the day. More than likely he had not been up very long when he did this show. Either way Elvis could out perform anyone awake or asleep. Elvis was a star's star ! George Harrison, David Bowie and Elton John are just a handful of stars that witnessed the Garden Shows. It is an awesome album. I wish The Garden had allowed RCA to film the show for it would put any other live footage of him to shame. Elvis was at full speed when he perfomed the Garden Shows !

This is one of the best commercially released live albums by Elvis. The sound quality is excellent, Elvis' performance is energetic and vital, the band is crack and the song selection is quite good. Anyone with the slightest interest in live recordings of Elvis from the early 70s would do very well to pick this up, it's much better than the other live record from Elvis' 1972 stint in New York, 'As Recorded at Madison Square Garden'. The main flaw, like all Elvis live records it seems, is that the 50s tunes are rushed through and not paid much attention (I can't blame him though, he must have been quit tired of them by this point). Best songs: Funny How Time Slips Away, For The Good Times, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling.

"An Afternoon in the Garden" is one of the finest documents of Elvis in Concert - even better than the 1972 "Madison Square Garden" album. It's a high-energy matinee with an excellent song selection, as Presley delivers memorable versions of "That's All Right," "Proud Mary," "Reconsider Baby" and "American Trilogy." The unedited recording may not reach the heights of the 1968 Comeback Special, yet it remains among Presley's fastest-paced shows.

This is one Elvis concert I would like to have been at! RCA have done a great job on the remastering of this recording and if you put your headphones on you'll think you're right in the midst of this concert. Elvis was in fine form and so was the band. Listen to the band when they do 'Polk Salad Annie'! How I wish they'd fimed this concert as part of the 1972 Tour filming, but since we can't see it you'll really love listening to this one. First class. Enjoy!

Every time I listen to the introduction of 2001 and then the drum roll of 'thats allright mama' and the audience screaming, I just get chills down my spike. Those two tunes alone are worth owning this CD. But you also get plenty of music in one CD, which is great. Maybe this is the best portrait of Elvis in his last years as a performing artist.

Elvis Presley performed two concerts at Madison Square Garden on June 10, 1972; a matinee and an evening show. The evening show was rush released two weeks later, but the entire matinee didn't come out until 25 years later. But three songs from the matinee had been released earlier; "Reconsider Baby" and "I'll Remember You" appeared on Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 4 and "I Can't Stop Loving You" was on Welcome to My World. The two Madison Square Garden concerts have virtually the same set lists, with "Until It's Time For You to Go", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Reconsider Baby" and "I"ll Remember You" being exclusive to the matinee, and "The Impossible Dream" being unique to the evening show. Elvis gives similar performances at both shows, trying pretty hard on the newer songs, and rushing through his old hits without much feeling. If I had to pick one of the concerts, I would give the slight edge to the matinee, due to the inclusion of the rarely played live "Reconsider Baby". But of course, true Elvis fans will want to have both concerts.