From “ Las Vegas to Niagara Falls
” contains two complete shows for our listening pleasure.
This set has appeared in several different forms.
The version that I have in my collection is the first pressing of the
reissue. I want to review the
contents of the LPs first and I will then get into detail regarding the
different issues.
The first LP contains the September
3, 1973 dinner show from Las Vegas, NV. The
sound quality is very good. The person
recording was in a very good position in the showroom, all instruments and
vocals are clear and there is very little “ room ambiance ” which usually
makes the recording sound distant. The
big problem lies in the fact that the source tape was mastered at an incorrect
speed and therefore plays back very fast. Elvis
has a tint of the “ chipmunks ”. But
Elvis is up for the show and is in good form and voice.
The track listing is as follows;
Side 1: See See Rider – I Got A
Woman/Amen – Love Me – Steamroller Blues – You Gave Me A Mountain –
TROUBLE – Rock Medley – Love Me Tender.
Side 2: Fever – Suspicious Minds – My Boy – I Can’t Stop Loving
You – Teddy Bear/Don’t Be Cruel – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face –
Can’t Help Falling in Love.
The pressing is unfortunately not the
best as there is a bit of surface noise that becomes more noticeable in loud
portions of playback. If this show were
to be released on CD mastered at the correct speed from this master source tape
it would indeed be a very worthwhile release.
The second LP contains the June 24,
1974 evening show in Niagara Falls, NY. Being
that this show took place in a large auditorium, there is noticeable “ room
ambiance ” but the sound is very clear and again well balanced.
And this source tape sounds like it was mastered slightly fast as well
but Elvis doesn’t have quite the case of the “ chipmunks ” that he does on
the first LP. The audience is very active and up for the show…lots is
screaming fans. That is one of the nice
things about an audience recording, the audience reactions can be heard clearly
which helps give that “being there” feeling.
Elvis is also up for this show and is in good voice.
The track listing is as follows;
Side 1: See See Rider – I Got A
Woman/Amen – Love Me – Trying to Get to You – All Shook Up – Love Me
Tender – Hound Dog – Fever – Polk Salad Annie – Why Me Lord.
Side 2: Suspicious Minds – I Can’t Stop Loving You – Help Me –
American Trilogy – Let Me Be There – Funny How Time Slips Away – Big Boss
Man – Teddy Bear/Don’t Be Cruel – Can’t Help Falling in Love.
The fidelity and clarity on this LP
is not as good as the 1st LP, but being that the venue is much
different, much better couldn’t be expected for such a source tape.
The LP pressing seems to be better, though there is some extraneous
“thumping” the first few tracks on side 1, it goes away.
The surface noise of this LP is less than that of the 1st LP
as well, though it becomes noticeable during portions of loud signal reproduction.
Regarding the material on this 2 LP
set, though there is some repetition of song titles, the idea is to give the
listener access to two complete shows from different engagements.
This task is accomplished very well.
Now moving on, lets get into the
nitty-gritty of the particulars of this release. This information was gleaned from the authoritative work “
Jailhouse Rock ” by Cotten and Lee with respect to the Elvis boot LPs.
The original release of this LP came in 1974 and derived from Canada
under the title “ From Les Vegas…To Niagara Falls ” Live Productions LVLP
1897-98. Both LPs are housed in a single
pocket. The artwork for this original
version was simply printed inserts front and back.
The front has 2 small photos possibly from some Vegas show with the LP
title. The back insert has 5 photos
supposedly from the Niagara Fall show along with the track listing but no liner
notes. The LP labels are reddish with a
printed track listing, and supposedly this pressing was limited to 500 copies.
In 1978 we get a reissue, which is
the version I have. This incarnation “
From Les Vegas…To Niagara Falls ” E.P. Records PRP-229 also hails from the
great north…Canada. The front cover
though has a stunning color photo circa May 1977 of Elvis in the Sundial suit.
Both LPs are housed in a single sleeve. The
back cover has the same 5 photos from the original release, supposedly from the
Niagara Falls gig though in slightly less clarity.
The LP labels contain each side’s track listing in gold text with
graphic on a black background, as is common with all original EP Records
releases. Again no liner notes on the
back cover. This has a very
professional look and is a nice addition to any collection.
But as it goes, a nice product is often copied.
In this case this reissue was counterfeited twice, 1st in 1979
and again in 1980. Both these
counterfeits have black LP labels with white text and graphic, and the artwork
suffers from being copied. The colors on
the 1979 counterfeit front cover are apparently somewhat subdued; but on the
1980 version, rather horrendous as Elvis has taken on a ruddy complexion. And the fidelity of the sound quality deteriorates with each
pressing as well…so the obvious is to try and find either the original or the
reissue.
And while we’re at it, let’s
continue to beat a dead horse. These same
shows were released twice under the title “ The Tupelo Miss. Flash Live ” no
label deriving from the USA. The first
version came out in 1979 and the front cover has one large photo and 6 smaller
photos of Elvis performing during the early 70’s. Again a 2 LP set, both LP are housed in a single pocket and the
back cover has no liner notes and doesn’t even give the date of the shows…which
I guess you don’t want to do if you are trying to rip people off.
The second rip-off version of this LP is identified by the fact that the
cover was printed on yellow stock…and the sound is probably pretty degraded by
this point, though on the first rip-off version the sound was only slightly sub
par. Regardless, unless you are a
collector who has to have it all, you want to stay away from this version of
these concerts…unless you are getting it for free!!
Ernie Boyes Jr.