Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals); James Burton, John Wilkinson, Charlie Hodge, Chip Young (guitar); Charlie McCoy (harmonica, organ); David Briggs (piano); Glen D. Hardin (keyboards); Jerry Scheff, Norbert Putnam (bass); Ronnie Tutt, Jerry Carrigan (drums); Millie Kirkham, The Sweet Inspirations, The Imperials Quartet, The Nashville Edition, Mary Holladay, Ginger Holladay, Jeannie Green (background vocals).
Reissue producer: Chick Crumpacker.
Recorded at RCA's "Nashville Sound" Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee on June 6 & 7, 1970 and live at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada through August 13 to 15, 1970.
Digitally remastered by Dick Baxter (1992, BMG Recording Studios, New York).
Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals); James Burton, John Wilkinson, Charlie Hodge, Chip Young (guitar); Charlie McCoy (harmonica, organ); David Briggs (piano); Glen D. Hardin (keyboards); Jerry Scheff, Norbert Putnam (bass); Ronnie Tutt, Jerry Carrigan (drums); Millie Kirkham, The Sweet Inspirations, The Imperials Quartet, The Nashville Edition, Mary Holladay, Ginger Holladay, Jeannie Greene (background vocals).
Recorded at RCA's "Nashville Sound" Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee on June 6-7, 1970 and live at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada on August 13-15, 1970. The new liner notes are taken from a 1980 interview with original producer Felton Jarvis.
This 3-disc set includes the original album THAT'S THE WAY IT IS and two discs of unreleased tracks.
Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals, guitar); James Burton, Chip Young, Eddie Hinton, John Wilkinson (guitar); Charlie McCoy (harmonica, organ); David Briggs, Glen D. Hardin (piano); Norbert Putnam, Jerry Scheff (bass); Jerry Carrigan, Ron Tutt (drums); Charlie Hodge Orchestra; The Imperials, The Jordanaires, The Sweet Inspirations, Millie Kirkham, Mary Green, Mary Holladay, Ginger Holladay, Temple Riser, June Page, Sonja Montgomery, Dolores Edgin (background vocals).
Compilation producers: Ernst Mikael Jorgensen, Roger Semon.
Principally recorded at The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada on August 12, 1970.
This 3-disc set includes the original album THAT'S THE WAY IT IS and two discs of unreleased tracks.
Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals, guitar); James Burton, Chip Young, Eddie Hinton, John Wilkinson (guitar); Charlie McCoy (harmonica, organ); David Briggs, Glen D. Hardin (piano); Norbert Putnam, Jerry Scheff (bass); Jerry Carrigan, Ron Tutt (drums); The Imperials, The Jordanaires, The Sweet Inspirations, Millie Kirkham, Mary Green, Mary Holladay, Ginger Holladay, Temple Riser, June Page, Sonja Montgomery, Dolores Edgin (background vocals); Charlie Hodge Orchestra.
Compilation producers: Ernst Mikael Jorgensen, Roger Semon.
Principally recorded at The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada on August 12, 1970.
Elvis' live albums from the early '70s contain a substantial store of quality material -- dinner-show horn charts, strings, grandstanding vocals, and all. This 1970 offering from Las Vegas proves to be one of his best (it's actually the soundtrack to Denis Sanders' documentary of Elvis' summer run at the International Hotel). Acting on his affinity for country-pop figures like Campbell and Mac Davis, Elvis especially shines on the slow to mid-tempo ballads "I Just Can't Help Believin'" and "Just Pretend" (both seamless blends of torch song glitz and contemporary rock elements). And to provide the requisite amount of sweat for those nightly towel giveaways, the King works out extra hard on showstoppers like "Patch It Up" and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me." Throughout the album, Presley sounds as commanding and powerful as he ever would and gets optimal backing by well oiled, Nashville-to-L.A. session luminaries like guitarist James Burton, bassist Jerry Scheff, and drummer Ronnie Tutt (Aretha Franklin's '60s backup singers, the Sweet Inspirations, deserve special mention as well). Also available as a deluxe three-disc set (including expanded concert highlights and rehearsal takes), That's the Way It Is is essential listening for Elvis fans, both die-hard and casual. ~ Stephen Cook
Although it shares its title with a documentary about Elvis' 1970 late summer engagement at Las Vegas' International Hotel, the album THAT'S THE WAY IT IS features only two songs ("You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and "The Next Step Is Love") that appear in the film. Of the other ten songs here, four were recorded live at the International but not included in the film; the other six are studio recordings from Presley's June 1970 Nashville sessions.
THAT'S THE WAY IT IS captures Presley at the tail end of his transition from rock star to Vegas showman. Gone from Presley's repertoire are the spare rockers and tender love songs that highlight his earlier career. Replacing them are huge production numbers and dramatic ballads like "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and "I've Lost You." In fact, the majority of the songs here are down tempo heartbreak songs, nearly all sung with a near-operatic level of intensity. In lesser hands the results would be mawkish, but Presley manages to pull it off. Especially effective are the opening and closing numbers, "I Just Can't Help Believin'" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
Although it shares its title with a documentary about Elvis' 1970 late summer engagement at Las Vegas' International Hotel, the album THAT'S THE WAY IT IS features only two songs ("You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and "The Next Step Is Love") that appear in the film. Of the other ten songs here, four were recorded live at the International but not included in the film; the other six are studio recordings from Presley's June 1970 Nashville sessions.
THAT'S THE WAY IT IS captures Presley at the tail-end of his transition from rock star to Vegas showman. Gone from Presley's repertoire are the spare rockers and tender love songs that highlight his earlier career. Replacing them are huge production numbers and dramatic ballads like "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and "I've Lost You." In fact, the majority of the songs here are down tempo heartbreak songs, nearly all sung with a near-operatic level of intensity. In lesser hands the results would be mawkish, but Presley manages to pull it off. Especially effective are the opening and closing numbers, "I Just Can't Help Believin'" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
This is a highly expanded (three CD) version of the soundtrack to Dennis Saunder's 1970 documentary of Presley's first big post-comeback tour, designed to complement the restored reissue of the film itself. Disc one features the original album--which mixes live and studio cuts from Nashville and Las Vegas--fleshed out with seven more songs from the same sessions, including an impassioned version of the Beatles' "Something," and a honky-tonk take on Tony Bennett's '50s weeper "Rags to Riches."
Disc two features an entire (mostly previously unreleased) live show from the same period, brilliantly remixed, so that genius guitarist James Burton can really be heard for a change. Disc three features rehearsals for the tour, some recorded at home. The sound is often merely okay, but it's nice to hear Presley working with just a bare bones rhythm section for a change. minimize