Pages

10/27/2013

THINGS GET LOOSE IN TUSCALOOSA!

(1CD, Audionics, digipack)
Tuesday, June 3, 1975, 8:30 pm, Municipal Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL
SOUNDBOARD RECORDING


After the release of two essential new soundboard albums in a row (Houston We Have A Problem and The Creeping Crud Express) Audionics is now back with the third soundboard release of the year. This time the producers selected the Tuscaloosa show from June 3rd 1975, which was previously released on the King label as Deep Down South in 1997. This new release was taken from a different, superior quality tape source which was obtained at the same time as the previously mentioned unreleased soundboards. 

Elvis’ show in Tuscaloosa is a real fun concert that is a delight to listen to. His singing is excellent, he’s in a good mood and he clearly loves the interplay with his fans. His setlist during the June 1975 tour was a rather strong one, with a solid mix of classics and more recent numbers. 

I Got A Woman / Amen (incomplete) / Love Me / If You Love Me, Let Me Know / Love Me Tender / All Shook Up / (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear – Don’t Be Cruel / Hound Dog / The Wonder Of You / Burning Love / Introductions by Elvis of Singers, Musicians / Johnny B. Goode (James Burton) / Drum Solo (Ronnie Tutt) / Bass Solo (Jerry Scheff) / Piano Solo (Glen D. Hardin) / School Day (Joe Guercio Orchestra) / Bridge Over Troubled Water / T.R.O.U.B.L.E. / Hawaiian Wedding Song / Let Me Be There (with reprise) / An American Trilogy / Funny How Time Slips Away / Little Darlin’ / Mystery Train – Tiger Man / Can’t Help Falling In Love / Closing Vamp / Announcements. (Also Sprach Zarathustra, CC Rider and a large chunk of I Got A Woman / Amen were not taped by the sound engineer.)

Most of these were performed really well too, and even the oldies were treated with a bit more respect than usual. Keen observers will note that he dropped the tempo a notch or two on songs like All Shook Up and Teddy Bear / Don’t Be Cruel. The King was truly back, and he really rocked Tuscaloosa with great dynamic performances like Burning Love, Mystery Train / Tiger Man and, just for tonight, a gorgeous Bridge Over Troubled Water.  


This CD is presented in beautifully designed deluxe digi-pak with relevant liner notes and a couple of rare photos as taken on the night. Due to the lack of quality photographs from Tuscaloosa, we also used a few photos from the Huntsville, AL, May 31st 8:30 pm show. Elvis only wore the Red Eagle (or Red Phoenix) jumpsuit on these two nights. We know what you want to ask now…. ‘Is this really a significant sound upgrade?’, and to that we can only answer wholeheartedly, yes! Firstly, because we were able to work from a superior tape source, and secondly, because the sonic improvement of soundboard tapes has made real quantum leaps since 1997. We are very proud of the sound that we got out of this new tape source. And while we can’t “go back and touch the past”, this great new Audionics release is the next best thing to actually being there that special night in Tuscaloosa. Note: Audionics is planning a special release before the end of this year, with more previously unissued material. While the other import guys appear to be in hybernation, we are only just warming up! You can always count on Audionics to deliver the goods.  
Tracklisting:

Bonus: Sports commentator Harold Johnson and Elvis talk live on the radio about the football game at the Liberty Bowl Stadium – August 9th 1975