‘Live 1969’ is a fascinating snapshot of Elvis Presley in his comeback prime. Read our review
in a comical meltdown of uncontrollable laughter. It’s a favorite track for oldies-radio DJs to play during Sunday morning “Breakfast with the King” hours, but it’s rarely been heard in the context of the full concert from which it derives. That August 26th “midnight show” is one of 11 complete shows that make up the newbox set, an 11-disc chronicle that documents Presley’s return to the concert stage after an eight-year hiatus of making largely forgettable Hollywood movies.
But it’s Presley’s covers of then contemporary songs that are most fascinating. He imbues the Beatles’ “Yesterday” and “Hey Jude” with Southern soul, and transforms Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” into an unrelenting rock rave-up. For Del Shannon’s “Runaway,” he all but owns the lyric’s heartbreak. Shannon is in the audience for one performance, and Presley gives him props from the stage.
The gig is the same one during which Elvis comes to pieces in “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” supposedly tickled by Sweet Inspirations singer Cissy Houston’s ability to keep on singing, unfazed, while Presley goes further and further off the rails. Still frazzled, he screws up “Rubberneckin'” immediately afterward and asks the band to restart the tune a full 45 seconds in.
With Presley reciting the same stage patter nearly word-for-word in each of the 11 concerts, it’s these gaffes and unexpected moments that keepfrom becoming just an overly repetitive entry for Presley completists. Instead, the box set serves as a snapshot of a world-class entertainer successfully but gingerly rediscovering the magic that made him so in the first place.
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