Elvis Presley: Live At Madison Square Garden - 1972

This is the full two disc set of live recordings from Elvis's show at Madison Square Garden in June 1972. It is pretty much a set based on those he had been delivering in Las Vegas - some classics, some newer material and some covers of other artists' songs. The leather jacket and trousers of the late sixties had gone and Elvis was now in full-on white suited mode. There was a new enthusiasm for Elvis's music from both his original fans and now a new generation of them.

Elvis is backed by his trusty band, an orchestra and lots of backing singers. The sound is excellent, particularly considering the cavernous nature of the vast Madison Square Garden arena. As with all his concerts, though, the orchestra often takes any raw, rock 'n' roll edge that the music had away, burying it in a blanket of brass and strings. This was always a shame because Elvis's band was a really good one. Every now and again, you get some good bits from James Burton's guitar and Ronnie Tutt's drums, but there should be more. I wish there had been some stripped down, bass, guitar drums and keyboards only Elvis concerts. How good would that have been?

It always mystified me why Elvis peppered his set lists with covers of stuff like You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, Proud Mary and You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'. By 1972, he had a mountain of back catalogue that would have filled any number of sets. I always prefer it when he does the material he made famous himself, even if they were covers, such as the wonderful swamp blues of Tony Joe White's Polk Salad Annie and the anthemic An American Trilogy. This version is the definitive one of the song, in my opinion, complete with the female scream half way through at a quiet point.

Other highlights on here are the always enjoyable romp of Suspicious Minds, a rocking opener in That's All Right and the frantic energy of All Shook Up.

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