Elvis Presley’s return to prominence after a multi-year slump began with a December 1968 TV special and arguably culminated in January 1973 with another television event: Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite, a concert that aired live around the world and was seen by hundreds of millions of people, if not the billion or more that his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, claimed. The show resulted in a double album that became Presley’s last U.S. chart-topper.
That recording has been reissued and expanded upon before. A two-CD “Legacy Edition” in 2013 offered a new mix; five tracks from a 3 a.m. post-show recording session; and a dress rehearsal from the previous night that Presley taped with a live audience in case of technical difficulties with the satellite broadcast. The rehearsal also surfaced in 1998 as The Alternate Aloha, and a 1978 compilation called Mahalo from Elvis incorporated the five late-night tracks.
A new 50th-anniversary box, though, goes further than the earlier releases, delivering almost everything but the Graceland kitchen sink on three CDs and a Blu-ray. The August 2023 collection includes new mixes of Presley’s entire Jan. 14, 1973, performance; the dress rehearsal; and 16 tracks from the aforementioned post-concert session. Most significantly, the set features the first-ever release on disc of the concert film, which was NBC’s highest-rated program of 1973, as well as video of the rehearsal show and the 3 a.m. session. All of this is offered with 5.1 surround sound (though given the age of the material, the picture is of course not widescreen).
The years following this concert would be marked by divorce, drugs, decline and death, but when he took the stage in Honolulu in 1973, Presley still had what it took to wow his audiences. He featured some of his early hits, including “Hound Dog,” “Love Me,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “A Big Hunk o’ Love” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” plus such seminal rock classics as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Johnny B. Goode” and “See See Rider.” The primary focus, though, seems to have been on updating his repertoire, which he did with considerable success.
Presley offered his comeback hits, 1969’s “Suspicious Minds” and “Burning Love,” as well as covers of tunes like George Harrison’s “Something,” Don Gibson’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” which he introduced as “probably the saddest song I’ve ever heard.” He also performed James Taylor’s “Steamroller Blues” and Mickey Newbury’s “An American Trilogy” medley, the Aloha versions of which were both later released as singles. Surprisingly, he didn’t deliver “Blue Hawaii,” though that number does show up in rehearsal takes in this box, as do “Hawaiian Wedding Song” and “I’ll Remember You,” the latter by Hawaiian composer Kuiokalani Lee.
Make no mistake: this is not the same Elvis who burst onto the scene with groundbreaking rock and roll in the late 1950s and early/mid-1960s. By the time he performed this Honolulu gig, he had spent years in Hollywood and Las Vegas, and his shows had turned into spectacles that featured elaborate costuming and stage design, a big band, numerous backup singers and a 30-piece orchestra. His concerts began with a snippet from Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (aka the theme from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey) and incorporated MOR, sometimes saccharine ballads like Marty Robbins’ “You Gave Me a Mountain,” the Paul Anka-coauthored “My Way,” and the Newbury medley.
That said, Presley sings as well as ever in the Hawaiian concert and seems fully engaged with the material, which includes some songs that you can’t find in other live releases. If you’re a fan, this new edition of Aloha from Hawaii is a good bet.
Related: Revisiting the ’68 comeback
