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Elvis Presley, Las Vegas International, Las Vegas, August 3, 1969 [SDB (BOOT CD SILVER) - FLAC]

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COMMERCIAL BOOTLEG TORRENT :
This torrent is taken from a commercial bootleg released on silver CD
in the market by a bootleg company.

You Will need 1CD for that torrent.

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Structure Of The Torrent :

Main folder "Elvis Las Vegas 1969"
19 tracks (FLAC level 8)

> info file "Elvis Las Vegas 1969"

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Elvis Presley

Comedian : Sammy Shore
Warm up act : The Sweet Inspirations
Highvoice singer : Millie Kirkham

Backup vocalists :

The Sweet Inspirations : Emily Houston, Myrna Smith, Sylvia Shemwell , Estelle Brown
The Imperials : Jake Hess, Jim Murray, Gary McSpadden, Armond Morales

Musicians :

Lead Guitar : James Burton
Rhythm Guitar : John Wilkinson
Bass : Jerry Scheff
Piano : Larry Muhoberac
Drums : Ronnie Tutt
Acoustic guitar : Charlie Hodge

Symphony orchestra :

Bobby Morris & the Bobby Morris Orchestra

[as for many infos in that "small" text, i'm grateful to Francesc Lopez of "elvisconcerts.com"]

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Elvis Presley, Las Vegas International, Las Vegas, August 3, 1969 [SDB (BOOT CD SILVER) - FLAC]
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Recording taken from "Opening Night 1969" CD silver
released by Fort Baxter in 1993 (A.S CD 731-69), thanks to FB !

"Opening Night 1969" > computer > edition & normalization (no equalization) Soundforge >
DBpowerAMP > FLAC (level 8) > you

01 Opening Theme - Blue Suede Shoes
02 I Got A Woman
03 All Shook Up
04 Love Me Tender
05 Jailhouse Rock - Don't Be Cruel
06 Heartbreak Hotel
07 Hound Dog
08 Memories
09 Mystery Train - Tiger Man
10 Monologue
11 Baby, What You Want Me To Do
12 Are You Lonesome Tonight ?
13 Yesterday
14 Hey Jude
15 Band Introductions
16 In The Ghetto
17 Suspicious Minds
18 What'd I Say
19 Can't Help Falling In Love


* complete gig (65.53)

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Reworking
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I've a few doubts about the origin of the "Opening Theme".
The sound seemed a bit different to the rest of the show.
But maybe i'm wrong...

there are a lot of blanks in that recording. No music seemed to be missing, but i decided to rework a bit
the sound to have a more continuous performance.
Here are the blanks that i've reworked :
- track 01 (between "Opening Theme" and "Blue Suede Shoes")
- track 06 (between "Heart Break Hotel" and the little speech at the end)
- track 10 (at the end of the "Monologue". Please note that the first blank after the first minute is probably
a technical problem that occured with the mic of Elvis)
- track 14 (fades out at the end)
- track 15 (fades in at the start, fades out / in in the middle, fades out at the end)
- track 16 (fades in at the start)

This is probably due to the fact that some generation of the master was edited into Reel-To-Reel tapes
of around 16 minutes (each blank occur at that duration).
Or was is a cancelled project for an official live album (doubtful as RCA only recorded 11 gigs
at the end of August) ?

About the blanks (very important) :
- track 06 : nothing is missing. You can hear the same "thank you" by Elvis then a few microphone sounds
at the end and at the start of each fade. The only thing is that the audience is a bit different,
you can hear whistles and shouts in one not in the other.

- track 10 : nothing is missing. You can hear the same guitar sound at the end and at the start of each fade.
The audience sound is here a bit different too (one whistle is more present on the first fade than the other
for example).

- tracks 14/15 : nothing is missing. You can hear clearly the same the whistles and guitar sound at the end
and the start of the two tracks.

- track 15 : nothing is missing in the middle of the "Monologue". The two parts match perfectly.

- tracks 15/16 : nothing is missing.The two parts match perfectly.

Also i increased a bit the sound, and balanced it (right channel is low than the left channel).

The "final" 19 tracks of the gig still match the insert.
The "missing" 47 seconds from the original timing of the disc are duplicated parts that were left out.

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Las Vegas 1969 : Comeback
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Some datas may be incorrect, please contact me if you see any error,
or if you can complete or add any relevant information
about that venue/period/gig/set/songs.

Thanks for your comprehension and help and sorry for the average English.

From 1961 to 1968, Elvis did not make any public performance. The "'68 Comeback Special" done for NBC
was an huge success, and the first season at the Las Vegas International was quickly sold out.
Elvis performed one opening show on July 31, 1969, then 56 (!!!) performances during the next 28 days,
one dinner show and one midnight show each day for more than 1 hour each...
Nothing can be added to that. Simply amazing.

On the 57 gigs, 11 gigs were protaped by RCA, and a few ones were officially released :

- "On Stage" (RCA 1985 & 1999 [remaster + bonus], CD) included songs from various shows
- "In Person" (RCA 1985, CD) included songs from various shows
- "Collector's Gold" (RCA 1991, 2CDs boxset) included songs from various shows
- "Elvis Aaron Presley" (RCA 1998, 4CDs long box) included songs from various shows
- "Live In Las Vegas" (RCA 2001, 4CDs boxset) included the whole August 24, 1969 midnight show
- "Today, Tomorrow & Forever" (RCA 2002, 4CDs long box) included songs from the August 22, 1969 midnight show
- "Elvis At The International" (FTD 2002, CD digipak) included the whole August 23, 1969 midnight show
- "All Shook Up" (FTD 2005, CD digipak) included the whole August 26, 1969 midnight show

Many fans have reviewed very closely those materials, please check the links below.

If you have one pressing to buy, the "Elvis At The International" of FTD is a must have (80 minutes !).

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The gig
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The CD claimed that this was the opening night of the 1969 Las Vegas season, but fans were able to find
a more probable date (August 3, 1969 dinner show).

This is very enjoyable show, very powerful of the start of the season. Excellent speeches by Elvis.

The Fort Baxter CD, even with a few sound flaws, is an excellent release.
The original pressing is now hard to find, and tonns of repressings are on the market.
If your inserts look not really sharp, and if the "SIAE" stamp seemed to be printed,
this is a repressing without a doubt.

That torrent may be a good alternative, as the sound was normalized.
It is also a good start for a more complete remastering.

Quality : 9.5 / 10

Again, you will find very positive reviews on the links below.

As usual, i do not advise to buy bootlegs, especially Elvis Presley live releases,
as many are really really crap (bad sound and/or performance, incomplete, edited...).
As "Follow That Dream" is releasing studio sessions and live concerts,
take a look on their website and on the various reviews done by fanatics.
You will be sure to find what you want.

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Sources & links of interest
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Elvis Presley : official website
http://www.elvis.com

Elvis Presley : official live CDs
http://www.followthatdream.com

Elvis Presley : up-to-date news
http://www.elvisnews.com/Presentation/Functional/Page/Default.aspx
http://www.elvisunlimited.com
http://www.elvis.com.au

Elvis Presley : tour dates, setlists & releases
http://www.elvisconcerts.com

Elvis Presley : official & unofficial live discographies, reviews
http://home.online.no/~ov-egela
http://www.elvis-collectors.com
http://www.elvisoncd.com

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Something to do
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If you liked that recording, you have the choice to SUPPORT DIME
and make a donation, but you also can buy the recent FTD gigs… ^_^

Hope friends and foes will like it.

See You

Vince