Running For President

Also Sprach zarathustra (excerpt)
Amen
Love Me
Let Me Be There
You Gave Me A Mountain
Steamroller Blues
All Shook Up
Teddy Bear
Hound Dog
Heartbreak Hotel
Polk Salad Annie
Band Introductions
And I Love You So
Hurt
Burning Love
America
Funny How Time Slips Away
Fairytale
How Great Thou Art
Can't Help Falling In Love

This "king records" release features most of Elvis' March 20, 1976 concert at the Charlotte Coliseum" in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The opening "See see rider" and "I got a woman" are not included, and the cd opens with 2001 edited sloppily into "Amen". There are many good things about Elvis' peformance and some not so good. On the negative side, his voice sounds a little tired and weak, but not nearly as bad as on other '76 shows. "All shook up" sounds bad and the "Teddy bear/don't be cruel" medley is just awful. They mess up the segue between songs, and then Elvis starts singing the chorus to "Don't be cruel' while the band is playing the verse part. it may be the worst live version of any song, on any elvis bootleg !!!

Elvis must realize things haven't gone that well, because at the band intro segment, he tells the crowd "i'd like to introduce the members of my group to you, if I can figure it out....so far it's been touch and go" !!! On the plus side however, there are solid versions of"you gave me a mountain", "Hurt" (with no reprise) and "How great thou art".

Also, surprisingly "Burning love" is super. in many shows "Burning love" tends to be rushed and Elvis seems to always mess up the lyrics and verses but this is a wonderful version, perhaps only second to the "Aloha from hawaii" live version. There's also a funny bit with a little boy celebrating his birthday, who Elvis brings on stage, and has him "do Elvis" during "Hound dog"

The sound quality on this release is wonderful. the band is well mixed and the crowd is very loud for a soundboard recording. This c.d. contains 21 tracks and clocks-in at 61:27. the packaging contains 4 color photos from the show, along with detailed band information. (ie: Shane Keister and Larry Londin, instead of Glen Hardin and Ronnie Tutt)

The liner notes also explain that President Ford was in charlotte campaigning tha day. Elvis apparently at one point tells the crowd 'ladies and gentleman, I'd like to announce that i'm running for President"

reviewed by charlie mattos nashville, tennessee

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