Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite - Presley, Elvis (CD 1998)

Without a doubt, Elvis Presley got to be the King by responding to challenges. When it looked like his whole career was hanging by a thread in the late 1960s because of those hideous B-movies he was forced to make, virtually at gunpoint, by his penny-wise, pound-foolish manager, he took it upon himself to make the "Comeback" TV special in 1968. He then returned to recording in his hometown of Memphis in 1969, creating some of the greatest pop music in history. And in 1972, his appearances at Madison Square Garden were sold out and resulted in a hugely successful live album.

And then, on January 14, 1973, six days after turning 38, Elvis responded to another challenge--by doing the first ever satellite broadcast of a rock concert. This was to result in one of his biggest-selling albums ever, 1973's Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite. It proved to be a milestone in every sense of the word...and, unfortunately, the last time such an opportunity would ever come his way.

The twenty-nine tracks:

INTRODUCTION/ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA
SEE SEE RIDER
BURNING LOVE
SOMETHING
YOU GAVE ME A MOUNTAIN
STEAMROLLER BLUES
MY WAY
LOVE ME
JOHNNY B. GOODE
IT'S OVER
BLUE SUEDE SHOES
I'M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY
I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU
HOUND DOG
WHAT NOW MY LOVE
FEVER
WELCOME TO MY WORLD
SUSPICIOUS MINDS
INTRODUCTIONS BY ELVIS
I'LL REMEMBER YOU
LONG TALL SALLY/WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' GOIN' ON (MEDLEY)
AN AMERICAN TRILOGY
A BIG HUNK O' LOVE
CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE
BLUE HAWAII
KU-U-I-PO
NO MORE
HAWAIIAN WEDDING SONG
EARLY MORNING RAIN

Every last thing that embodied the Man came out in that incredible extravaganza: his groundbreaking 50s rockers ("Hound Dog"; "Blue Suede Shoes"); his covers of country standards ("I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"; "I Can't Stop Loving You"); his workout of "Suspicious Minds"; and his memorable 1961 smash "Can't Help Falling In Love" (from BLUE HAWAII, one of the very few B-movies of his that was really all that memorable). Elvis even copped a contemporary hit out of his sizzling version of James Taylor's 1970 composition "Steamroller Blues"; this was easily one of his single best live performances ever.

But perhaps where he shines the best is on "An American Trilogy", a conflation made by singer/songwriter Mickey Newbury of three legendary American anthems--"Dixie"; "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic"; and "All My Trials." In a post 9/11 world like ours where we've been exposed to jingoistic bromides from Toby Keith, Darryl Worley, and Clint Black that pass for "patriotism" in today's country music, it's instructive to listen to this one track by itself for the true essence of patriotism right from the soil of America, from the man who embodied it.

Though America would not get to see this extravaganza until three months after the fact, the end result was a huge selling album (#1 in May 1973), and proof that Elvis was still The King. But sadly, though he never stopped making always good and frequently great albums and singles, he never got another challenge like this again. And without that kind of a challenge, the excesses to which he was even then falling prey to would consume him, until that terrible, hot August day in 1977 when he would drop dead at his Graceland mansion at the far-too-early age of 42.

For all of this, however, the King's legacy has stood up to the scrutiny, the tabloids, the hideous wisecracks, and all. And Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite is solid-gold proof of that. Elvis may have left the building, but his spirit never will.