On Stage (Legacy Edition)

Elvis Presley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony Legacy
• ASIN: B00353RUO8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,854 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

After an eight-year absence from live performance, Elvis Presley made his triumphant return to the concert stage in 1969 at The International Hotel in Las Vegas. On the heels of Suspicious Minds, In The Ghetto, the 68 Comeback Special and the acclaimed album From Elvis In Memphis, the year that man landed on the moon was also the year that Elvis reclaimed his standing as the ultimate live performer.

On Stage and Elvis In Person are the classic live albums that capture the shows which forever cemented the long and famous association between the iconic entertainer and the sparkling desert city. This Legacy Edition contains both albums in their entirety, plus nine bonus tracks and a rehearsal take of The Wonder Of You, the hit version of which is also featured. These transcendent performances chronicle Elvis creative rebirth as a stage performer and showcase The King s deep connection with his loyal audience.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elvis recorded live amid the blaze of his 1968-71 revival, March 23, 2010

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On Stage (Legacy Edition) (Audio CD)

After an eight-year layoff from concert performance, Elvis returned to the stage with a pair of runs at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. The first shows, in the summer of 1969, were first captured on Elvis in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, and featured samples of his seminal early hits and then-contemporary smashes. In early 1970 he returned for a second set of shows, documented on On Stage, and changed up the set list to highlight his restyling of others' hits in his own image. RCA's new two-disc Legacy Edition combines both albums and ten bonus tracks into a superbly detailed picture of Elvis' return to the stage and the physical reconnection to his fans.

When originally released, the albums caught Elvis amid his biggest blaze of glory. His televised '68 Comeback Special had proved him still vital, and the 1969 studio sessions that resulted in From Elvis in Memphis (and its own 2-CD Legacy reissue) had proved him still relevant. The live sets showed Elvis to be both a star of the brightest magnitude and an artist with something to say to contemporary audiences. With both an extensive legacy and new singles, Elvis had to find a way to satisfy crowds that came to hear both his rich back catalog and his hot new hits. In the '69 shows, featured on disc two of this set, Elvis cherry-picked from his seminal rock `n' roll sides (including blistering versions of "Mystery Train" and "Hound Dog"), his early'60s post-army comeback hits, and the contemporary tracks he'd recently laid down with Chips Moman at American Studios.

For his 1970 return to Las Vegas, featured on disc one, Elvis leaned away from the rocked-up performances of 1969 and more heavily on his then-current penchant for covers. Beyond his Top 10 cover of Ray Peterson's "The Wonder of You," the selections forsook the golden oldies in favor of recent hits by Engelbert Humperdinck ("Release Me"), Neil Diamond ("Sweet Caroline"), Tony Joe White ("Polk Salad Annie"), the Beatles ("Yesterday," recorded at the 1969 shows), Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Proud Mary"), and Joe South ("Walk a Mile in My Shoes"). It's a mark of Elvis' force and singularity as a performer that the original singers often disappeared in his wake, and a few of these songs (particularly "Walk a Mile in My Shoes") became as closely associated with the King as with their originators.

Elvis sounds loose, comfortable and artistically commanding on stage, a surprise given his eight-year hiatus from live performance. No doubt his A-list TCB Band (which included James Burton, Jerry Scheff, Glen D. Hardin and the Sweet Inspirations) helped him regain his crown, but the essential flame that sparked in 1954 was clearly still burning within sixteen years later. A hint of his humble uncertainty is shown as he introduces "Kentucky Rain" with "I have out a new record, just came out in the past week or so, I hope you like it," but his fans never had a doubt. As with his Memphis sessions of 1969, the liberty to engage his musical muse spurred Elvis to great artistic heights. Freed from the musical dross that filled many of his film soundtracks, standing in front of an audience he'd not seen face-to-face in nearly a decade, Elvis dug deep into the music he loved.

As with much of Elvis' catalog, these tracks have been issued, reissued and scattered among previous collections. The original 10-track On Stage was reissued on CD in 1999 with six bonus tracks, and all of the extras collected here (four for On Stage, six for Elvis in Person) have seen previous release on reissues, greatest hits collections and collector's discs from Follow That Dream. But gathered together into a single volume they paint a compelling picture of Elvis' live show: the seminal early hits, post-army comebacks, contemporary breakthroughs, and refashioned covers, and amid it all the revival of a legendary musical talent mid-stride between the triumphs of the late `60s and the forthcoming early-70s successes (e.g., Elvis Country) that would cap his incredible comeback. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FIT FOR A KING!, March 23, 2010

By 

Morgan Sjöberg - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Stage (Legacy Edition) (Audio CD)

The King's best live albums gets the royal treatment on the legacy edition. Superb packaging, original cover art work, a nice booklet with interesting liner notes, pictures and memorabilla, pristine sound quality, ten bonus tracks and, best of all, Elvis Presley at the peak of his powers. "On Stage" on disc one and "Elvis In Person" on the second are presented in their original running order and augmented by a total of ten interesting and very good bonus songs. Tracks like "C.C Rider", "Sweet Caroline", "Polk Salad Annie", "Proud Mary", "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", "Johnny B. Goode", "Mystery Train/Tiger Man", "Words", "In The Ghetto" and, most of all, an absolutely stunning version of his then current single "Suspicious Minds" are the standouts, but there's really not a bad song on this collection. Besides hearing Elvis in all his glory mention must be made of his superb musicians. James Burton(guitar), John Wilkinson(guitar), Jerry Scheff(bass), Larry Muhuberac(piano 1969), Glen Hardin(piano 1970), Ronnie Tutt(drums 1969) and Bob Lanning(drums 1970) are peerless and sophisticated as well as soulful players that covers the whole spectrum of music that Elvis wanted to present. White gospel group The Imperials and black soul quartet The Sweet Inspirations are also a joy to hear. If You're the least bit interested in Elvis Presley You're not excused for missing out on this one. Truly a package fit for a king!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars CAUTION: Manufacturing Error - Disc 1 is Alice in Chains "Black Turns to Blue" (no joke), April 4, 2010

By 

Dennis L. Myers Jr. "Yupsicle" (CHICAGO, IL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On Stage (Legacy Edition) (Audio CD)

If it's not a manufacturing error then I'm the butt of a pretty bizarre April Fool's joke. I purchased Elvis Presley "On Stage - Legacy Edition" through Amazon.com and received it last Friday (4/2). I put disc 1 in my computer (so I could add the album into iTunes and onto my iPod). I think, "that's funny, it says the album is Alice in Chains 'When Black Turns to Blue.'" I chuckle and think, "it must just be a fluke where the album files match up to the Alice in Chains album on iTunes." I take the disc out, check the label. Everything HAS TO be ok because it clearly says "Elvis Presley On Stage Legacy Edition" with all the tracks, etc., so let me try playing the disc... Uh oh. That definitely ain't Elvis! Fortunately I am probably the only person on the face of the earth who likes both Elvis and Alice in Chains. I still have to figure out how to get disc 1 replaced, though. I wanted to post something because I might not be the only one, and I figure your typical Elvis fan will be a bit freaked out to hear Alice in Chains come through their speakers. Don't say you weren't warned...