I appear to be out of step with the majority of my fellow humans on a number of issues. I’m not remotely a fan of Bruce Forsythe. I think Jackie Brown is Quentin Tarantino’s best film. For me, Alex Turner’s finest work to date has been with the Last Shadow Puppets. And, in my opinion, Elvis Presley’s career hit its heights in the early “Vegas years” in the late 1960’s and start of the 1970’s. Whilst I appreciate the importance of his formative musical years in terms of rock and roll history, from a personal point of view they don’t hold the same appeal or fascination as, for example, the footage of his residencies at The International Hotel, best seen on the ‘That’s The Way It Is’ documentary, freely available on DVD.
They seem to show a man totally in command of performance and audience, who is relaxed and happy to be performing live having arguably wasted a number of years making bubblegum films for Hollywood. Effortlessly combining hits from his back catalogue and covers of contemporary records, and backed by a superb band, it is the clearest representation of what a stunning talent he was. The footage below comes from his Hawaii concert of January 1973, the first live concert satellite broadcast, viewed by over a billion people. As the 1970’s went on and dependency on various prescribed substances increased, the jumpsuits got tighter and Elvis’ physique and appearance mirrored that of the numerous impersonators traditionally wheeled out to symbolise the second half of his professional life. Nonetheless, for a period of a few years, he was an iconic presence and tops the list of people I wish I could have seen live.
