As if we did not get enough 1976 thrown at us by FTD recently, there came another 2 CD set this month. This time the November tour at the west coast is covered with the incomplete show in San Francisco (29th, Cow Palace) and the show in Anaheim (30th, Convention Centre).
Design
No big thing this time, just an old fashioned 3 panel fold-out case. The cover changed last minute, but this one did not ask for much more imagination. At least the pictures are from the right period, also the ones on the other panels. The additional information at the back is about unreadable, even with a pair of glasses on my nose.
Content
Both shows are more or less identical. The San Fransico one (28th) is not complete. The first CD has some bonus tracks from earlier that tour. Among them Love Me Tender, of which we can't get enough versions. At least Elvis knew where he was and what he was doing during this tour. He doesn't sound asleep like in many other 1976 shows.
The Anaheim show has the piano extremely upfront. Anyway, the performances are okay overall (although Love Letters in SF hurt the ears and the ending of 'Mountain' wasn't exactly in tune either in Anaheim. Bridge Over Troubled Water is totally screwed in Anaheim. Polk Salad Annie benefits from the weird instrumental balance. It's not the tremendous wall of sound like most later versions, but actually listenable. The intros are boring as ever, with an incomplete Early Mornin' Rain. The Love Letters from Anaheim made me look for my record player, I wondered if the snare was fit wrongly, then I realized I was playing a CD...
Conclusion
At least I know why I stopped buying those 1976 bootlegs again ;). For completists only, I can not imagine anybody will really enjoy this, unless you were there and it brings back memories.
Autimatic pilot - Just for the money - Nothing new - Same old songs - Again a 1976 live release - Boring-Mediocre sound................Not for me !
I very much dislike this 'shallow' comments NOT a proper 'review' Firstly Elvis's repertoire was changing from always performing 'America' to re-starting an old 'standard' Bridge over at this time(and only performed once in Lake Tahoe this year) before re-introducing it in these show, also whilst the version of 'Bridge' is faulted on 30th because Elvis stopped and re-started' He didn't TOTALLY screw it up in Anaheim!' also to comment properly you need to watch the footage available from the 2 shows.... in Anaheim clearly Elvis was enjoying himself and from the missing songs on 29th you can see on footage him performing Mystery Train/Tiger Man- much as 'usual' with all the moves.Obviously it is a pity the Eugene songs included didn't have very best sound (and maybe the reason Eugene couldn't be a FTD release?) but i am very happy to have these 'extras' included. Huntsville 2 x shows was twice as good as Odessa 76' and in these 2 shows we note another improvement in how Elvis performs+ NOW this tour is represented in a good light/way. I have no complains about this release thank-you FTD team once again.
The fact that 'Bridge' was being re-introduced at all again in 1976 shows just how much Elvis did not grow and evolve as a performer. It should have been retired after 1970 and left to Simon & Garfunkel to perform. How about Elvis doing a bunch of his new songs on albums & singles and hey here's an idea, throw in about 10 classic Elvis songs he never did on o stage. Elvis didnt care anymore by 1976 and shows like this just prove it. His shows were just love fests for the fans and boring musically. Vegas destroyed his innovation after a few years.
I rate the San Francisco show as the better from the two. Quite a solid performance from these days. When one purchases live shows from this period of Elvis carreer one should know what to expect otherwise leave it. I knew that this tour belonged to the better ones from this year and the shows exactly fulfilled my expectations. In the end its for collectors with a bit knowledge about Elvis shows, I enjoyed the Eugene bonus with MysteryTrain/Tiger Man leading..I am satisfied..in the end 2 decent shows from 1976 for the price of one....
100% agree with what you have just said Cisco !~
I agree with you Cisco. It's 2 interesting and good shows for 1976. Elvis sounds awake and in good spirit. It's another thing if you don't like 1976-shows. I generally like shows from the whole period. There are ups and downs, and especially in 76-77 it's interesting to listen to the better shows, to catch a glimps of how it could have been if ELvis had taken care of him self in a proper way. Thank you FTD for a strong release, in my opinon. And Lex; I always read your reviews with interest and appreiate your honest comments. Thank yuo too!
Obviously I agree with Ciscoking too, he says about the same... maybe a little friendlier, but basically it is the same. I just want to be clear for the occasional non-hardcore fan who lands on this page. Looking at the reactions, I was... :D
The new cover photo & 1 of the interior photos are mine. I photographed & filmed the Anaheim concert from the 3rd row. I also photographed & filmed other Calif. concerts 1970-76. People mention a problem with the song BOTW, sung in Anaheim. In my film, you can see a girl jump onstage from the upper balcony behind the stage, run around to the front & full on attack Elvis at the beginning of the song. The bodyguards pulled her off. It was hysterical. They had to restart the song after the audience calmed down.
Thanks VERY MUCH Tom.... your opinion having filmed parts of the show is extremely 'valuable ' comment and helps explain why their is such a 'delayed' start to the song!~
Another comment - SF was the last concert Linda Thompson attended. Anaheim was Ginger Alden's first concert, as his date. In Anaheim, he looked & sounded great & was in a real good mood. He looked better in Anaheim in Nov '76 than in Long Beach in April '76.
I fully agree with your comments Tom in April he sang well, but looked much worse!~
Happy with the content but just have to say the typography of the last two 76 releases (Elvis in Alabama and The West Coast Tours) has been appalling... I know it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things but we are talking about the greatest of all time and it looks as though the covers were done in Microsoft Word using default fonts.
