Elvis Presley – Getting Down To Business | CD

Elvis Presley – Getting Down To Business | CD
Las Vegas – August 31, 1973 – Dinner Show
Elvis Presley – Getting Down To Business takes collectors back to Las Vegas in the summer of 1973. This CD presents Elvis' August 31, 1973 Dinner Show, recorded live in Las Vegas, Nevada. The release appeared in 2008 on the Vegas Strip label, catalogue number VS 1973-02-2.
Sourced from a live audience recording, the concert offers excellent sound quality for this type of recording. The speed was also corrected for this release, making Getting Down To Business an appealing document of Elvis' 1973 Las Vegas Summer Festival.
Beyond the music itself, this recording captures plenty of Elvis' spontaneous humour, comments and interaction with the audience.
Elvis in Las Vegas – Summer Festival 1973
Following Also Sprach Zarathustra, Elvis launches into C.C. Rider, followed by I Got A Woman / Amen and Love Me. The show continues with powerful performances of Steamroller Blues, You Gave Me A Mountain and Trouble.
One of the most interesting parts of the concert is the energetic Rock Medley, featuring:
Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Mama Don't Dance / Flip, Flop And Fly / Hound Dog
The mood then changes with Love Me Tender, Fever and Bridge Over Troubled Water, demonstrating the variety of Elvis' Las Vegas repertoire during this period.
Elvis' Humour on Stage
Getting Down To Business is particularly enjoyable because it preserves so much of Elvis' spontaneous stage personality.
During Fever, he plays around with both the lyrics and his voice before joking about performing the song. Suspicious Minds also receives one of Elvis' humorous lyric changes.
Before I Can't Stop Loving You, he asks the audience what he cannot do, before joking that he cannot sing and drink water at the same time.
These little moments give the recording a character that a standard collection of live masters simply cannot reproduce.
Charlton Heston in the Audience
Another fascinating moment comes during the introductions when Elvis acknowledges actor Charlton Heston, who was attending the show.
Elvis refers to Heston's famous films, including The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, and recalls their days working at Paramount. He then tells a humorous story about a rainy day when he jokingly asked Heston – famous for portraying Moses – to make the rain stop.
It is an unusual piece of stage dialogue that adds another historical dimension to this Las Vegas performance.
A Song for His Daughter
Later in the concert Elvis announces that he would like to perform a song for his little daughter. He begins The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, although only the beginning of the performance is preserved here.
A reprise of How Great Thou Art follows before Elvis closes the show with Can't Help Falling In Love and the traditional Closing Vamp.
Even during the closing number Elvis adds a playful alternative lyric, providing one final spontaneous touch to the performance.
Track Listing
1. Also Sprach Zarathustra – 1:09
2. C.C. Rider – 3:21
3. I Got A Woman / Amen – 4:20
4. Love Me – 1:32
5. Steamroller Blues – 2:46
6. You Gave Me A Mountain – 3:09
7. Trouble – 2:04
8. Rock Medley – 2:35
9. Love Me Tender – 1:40
10. Fever – 3:31
11. Bridge Over Troubled Water – 3:57
12. Suspicious Minds – 3:52
13. Introductions / Introducing Charlton Heston – 2:41
14. My Boy – 3:19
15. I Can't Stop Loving You – 2:15
16. An American Trilogy – 4:01
17. A Big Hunk O' Love / "I'd Like To Do A Song For My Little Daughter!..." – 2:30
18. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (beginning only) – 0:58
19. How Great Thou Art (reprise only) – 1:32
20. Can't Help Falling In Love / Closing Vamp – 2:01
Rock Medley: Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Mama Don't Dance / Flip, Flop And Fly / Hound Dog.
Product Details
Artist: Elvis Presley
Title: Getting Down To Business
Format: CD
Label: Vegas Strip
Catalogue number: VS 1973-02-2
Released: 2008
Recorded: August 31, 1973
Show: Dinner Show
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Recording type: Live Audience Recording
Sound: Excellent
Tracks: 20
Special note: Recording speed corrected for this release
For collectors of Elvis' Las Vegas years, Getting Down To Business offers much more than just another concert recording. The unusual song selection, spontaneous comments, humorous lyric changes and the introduction of Charlton Heston help recreate the atmosphere of this particular August 1973 Dinner Show.
Available from your Elvis specialist Bennies Fifties and the online Fifties Store.