Customer Reviews

At Madison Square Garden

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have enjoyed this original Madison Square Garden release for over 15 years. Rest assured, Elvis does not sound "bored" in this recording. Instead, I think every song sounds supercharged. Many of the original band members have said that this concert showcased Elvis at his best. Elvis tears into That's All Right for the opener and barely takes a breath before he rips into Proud Mary. James Burton, Elvis lead guitarist, shines on this CD. There are plenty of guitar solos and interesting twists to enjoy. I recently purchased Elvis: Afternoon In The Garden after years of being sure this was the better concert of the two. So, is this original performance better? Well, I would have to give them equal marks. There are subtle differences to enjoy in both performances. The Afternoon In The Garden CD does have better sound quality. Still, I will always enjoy listening to this concert.

Although he's compelled to give the usual lackluster redititions of old 1950s favorites, on this album Elvis absolutely *rocks* in sync with the 1970s. He gives outstanding performances of "Proud Mary" and of the old Three Dog Night hit, "Never Been to Spain." (If you think Elvis was indifferent to his choice of music in the 1970s, how do you think he found his way to Three Dog Night?) Also strong are his redititions of Suspicious Minds, You've Lost That Loving Feeling, Polk Salad Annie and other on-stage classics. This is Elvis at his height in the 1970s, giving a show that was considered to have blown away audiences at the time. It's not to be missed.

Elvis Presley enjoyed great success with his four standing room only concerts at Madison Square Garden in June of 1972; and this CD shows us why. Elvis is in excellent form for this concert; and his rapport with the crowd runs very strong; almost instantly the audience rests in the palm of Elvis' hand as they whoop and shout for joy as he sings to them.

The concert recording, so well remastered by BMG Recording Studios, begins with "Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme From 2001: A Space Odyssey.)" This brief yet auspicious theme gets the audience all worked up for Elvis to come onstage. Elvis launches into rousing renditions of "That's All Right" and "Proud Mary" as the crowd loves every second of it. Elvis then switches gears to a slower paced "Never Been To Spain;" and by this time the audience is in total ecstasy. "That's All Right" also features great drums and horns; and the guitars work wonders for the musical arrangement for "Proud Mary," too.

Throughout the rest of the concert Elvis alternates between songs with faster and slower tempos; but they all work well and Elvis bats them all straight out of the ball park! Some incredible numbers Elvis performs include the gorgeous love ballad "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me;" a sublime cover of "The Impossible Dream" with its great use of the piano and "For The Good Times." Elvis sings them all with great sensitivity. Excellent!

Of course, it couldn't be a proper Elvis concert without some of his signature songs. We get classic Elvis numbers including "Heartbreak Hotel;" the beautiful "Love Me Tender" from Elvis' first movie; a slower than usual paced "Hound Dog" that breaks out into a rousing, rapid fire red hot number and "Suspicious Minds," one of Elvis' most beautiful numbers.

Elvis also receives terrific backup from J. D. Sumner & The Stamps, The Sweet Inspirations and Kathy Westmoreland. The orchestra is conducted by Joe Guercio.

The concert ends with two wonderful, full of punch numbers: "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Can't Help Falling In Love." These two songs provide a strong ending for this concert.

The quality of the sound is good considering that this is a recording of a live concert; and the liner notes include the song credits, too. The art work reflects good judgment.

One mystery exists, for me at least: the CD clocks in at roughly 53 minutes. I find it hard to believe that Elvis' complete and unedited concert lasted a mere 53 minutes. I must wonder if this recording includes all the songs Elvis sang at this particular concert. In any event, this CD is so good I will choose to overlook this possible flaw and give it five stars anyway! It deserves it.

Overall, I highly recommend this CD for Elvis fans. Elvis obviously loved every minute of this concert. Elvis' voice displays his strength and yes, he WAS at the top of his game for this concert. Fans of rock and pop will also enjoy this live concert CD.

Elvis Presley recorded at the Madison Square Garden represents how big of an impact he had on the stage, and how great he really was as a singer, and a performer. As many of you may have known, Madison Square Garden is probaley one of the biggest concert venus in the world, and when Elvis Presley came June, 10, 1972 this venue changed a wider range than anytime before due to such a wonderful, and inspiried performence. I will start with the sound quality of the entire recording. The sound is great, you can really hear the entire band backed by Elvis an eight-piece band, an orchestra, and nine male and female backup singers. James Burton's guitar sound is also great, as well as all of the songs represented on this live recording.

I have to mention some of the greatest songs on this album including Proud Mary, You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', All Shook Up, Heartbreak Hotel, Dont Be Cruel, Suspicious Minds, and I Can't Help Falling in Love just to name a few. The audience is cut-off pretty well you can hear their screams but not like they really where. But I think its great that you can hear the band better, and more. It makes the recording much more enjoyable. For any Elvis Presley fan this will be 5 stars without a question of a doubt enjoy the king, and his backup's as you listen to Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden. Highly Recomended!!

This album is great! Almost all of the performances were the best, or comparable to the best, I have ever heard. Even the covers. Yes, Elvis did a lot of covers. And if you are a die-hard fan of the original bands, then you probably won't like the Elvis covers as much as the original recordings. However, if you are an Elvis fan, you will know that he rocks these songs and you can totally hear the audience going crazy from these performances. Trust me, if you like live performances and you are an Elvis fan, you will love this album.

I purchased this record (my first Elvis) at age 19, for the goofy kitsch value of having a 'late-period' Elvis concert that featured "Thus Sprach Zarathustra (Theme From '2001')". I expected to crack a '40', press play and spend an hour laughing at an incoherent, over-ripe fat man.

So much for irony, and bratty college-kid humor. This is simply a sensational record -- a frenetic, muscular, masterful, almost hyper-active exercise in rock-and-roll. The first two-thirds of the show seem to pass by without our hero taking a breath. "Proud Mary" rivals the original, and "Never Been To Spain" is an absolute revelation. Two of the 'ballads' ("You Don't Have..", "Impossible Dream") are performed at near double-speed with no appreciable loss of effectiveness. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is gut-wrenching, cathartic. Even the 'oldies' portion of the show -- too often treated carelessly, as a series of throwaways -- is here sung with a rueful fondness that recalls a tipsy, but enjoyable high-school reunion. "Polk Salad Annie" catches fire with a distorted Fender bass solo (courtesy of Jerry Scheff), and "Suspicious Minds" hurtles along like a bullet train.

The pace relaxes only slightly toward the end of the record, with a series of mid-tempo numbers,crowned by the flag-waving ballad, "American Trilogy." But the intensity is total. Elvis seemingly had much to prove to his first Manhattan audience -- and, by all accounts, he left them breathless. I myself was breathless at the end of this record. You will be too. So do what I did: crack open another beer, enjoy a cigarette (if you smoke), wait five minutes...and press "play" again.

Many Elvis fans will not take his '70s output seriously...they look at the impersonators and see a bloated guy with sideburns the size of muttonchops and white jumpsuits and instantly start muttering "thankyaverrmuch...get me a valium 'Cilla." But Elvis put on some hot shows in the '70s. I dare say his voice was at his peak up until about '73 (Aloha From Hawaii) and a crack band was crankin' behind him. Few things are more exciting than hearing the 2001 theme followed by the "dun-dun dah, dun-dun durh" horn riff of "That's Alright Mama." Not to be missed is "Polk Salad Annie," either, a truly hard rocking gem. This is a great live album.

Amazingly, this 1972 album marked the first commercial release of an entire Elvis Presley concert. "Recorded at Madison Square Garden" packs in plenty of diverse music and nostalgia to keep the fans entertained for a fast-paced hour. Highlights include "Proud Mary," "Polk Salad Annie," "American Trilogy" and a rare version of "The Impossible Dream." However, "An Afternoon in the Garden" remains a superior document of Elvis' historic New York engagement.

Although Elvis is fantastic on this album, and thats why I rate it as 5 stars, the digital remastering wasn't done very well. His voice sounds faint, and the overall music is flat. Aloha From Hawaii also suffered from this, but the new version of it is wonderful. I only hope they will one day digitally remaster this one like they did Aloha From Hawaii.

Those who think that Elvis did not rock in the seventies should listen to this one. Highlights are Poke Salad Annie, Proud Mary and Suspicious Minds. Good rockin' tonight!