Elvis Presley ELVIS: AS RECORDED AT MADISON SQUARE GAR

Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals); James Burton, John Wilkinson (guitar); Charlie Hodge (guitar, vocals); Glen Hardin (piano);Jerry Scheff (bass); Ronnie Tutt (drums); J.D. Sumner & The Stamps, The Sweet Inspiriations, Kathy Westmoreland (background vocals).
Reissue producer: Chick Crumpacker.
Recorded live at Madison Square Garden, New York on June 10, 1972.
Digitally remastered by Dick Baxter (November, 1991, BMG Recording Studios, New York).
In June 1972, Elvis Presley returned to New York City for his first performances there since his final appearance on Ed Sullivan's "Talk of the Town" more than 15 years earlier. His shows at Madison Square Garden were, in fact, his first full concerts in New York: during previous visits to the Big Apple, Presley had only performed a few numbers in television studios. Accordingly, Presley's four shows at Madison Square Garden were huge media events. As part of the pre-concert hype, RCA announced that it would release a live album of the concerts one week after the final show. That album, ELVIS AS RECORDED AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, was recorded during the evening show on Saturday, June 10.
The show is typical of Presley's touring show during the Seventies, a mix of early Elvis hits and more contemporary songs popularized by others. Presley tosses off many of his hits, but he throws himself fully into numbers like "The Impossible Dream" (from "Man of La Mancha"), Tony Joe White's hit "Polk Salad Annie" and "American Trilogy," the last of which would become a signature song of his late career. In 1997, RCA released the Saturday afternoon matinee as AN AFTERNOON IN THE GARDEN.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop