Down At The End Of Paradise Road

Jewel Case

From the release notes:
The second summer '11 release from Straight Arrow will be the previously-unreleased August 30, 1973 Midnight Show in Las Vegas.
Most of Elvis' August-September 1973 shows were solid (especially when compared with February 1973) and this night is no exception.
The show is somewhat unusual. Usually, every time daughter Lisa Marie was in attendance, Elvis would drop the emotional ballad "My Boy" from the set list and replace it with "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". In this show, however, both songs are performed.

This live recording is taken from the flip side of an original 120-minute cassette tape. The A-side, containing the dinner show that same evening,
was released by STRAIGHT ARROW in 2010 as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". The sound quality here is very good, considering it was taped from the audience.
All photographs are from the August-September 1973 Hilton engagement, and the liner notes are written by the super-fan who quietly recorded the show!

Excerpts from the sleeve notes:
"Elvis appeared, looking trim in a white jumpsuit with sunburst pattern of blue and gold. Taking his black acoustic guitar from Charlie Hodge,
the King of the Las Vegas showrooms began what would be a fine, upbeat show with an energetic "C. C. Rider". Charlie almost dropped Elvis' tossed guitar at the end of "I Got A Woman/Amen", causing the singer to joke, "We live dangerously up here!"
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" shifted things from sexy back to serious, with Elvis reprising the finale from the verse "Sail on, silver girl".
It was pleasing to see how his mood had changed quite dramatically from that evening's first performance. At the dinner show Elvis had fooled around and chatted quite a lot.
Now, he put on a much tighter performance, although both shows were enjoyable in different ways.
There was an exchange with Bill Porter in the sound booth about his microphone; there'd been sound problems at the first show, and Elvis changed microphones before doing "An American Trilogy". During the quieter part he added, "All my trials, Lord - thank goodness - soon be over". Was this a reference to his upcoming divorce, problems with Colonel Parker, or simply that he was annoyed, and was glad his summer season was almost completed? "If we've done anything to make you happy, then we feel we've done our job", said the King, as he moved into "Can't Help Falling In Love" and completed a very satisfying performance. Many British fans, who'd arrived in Vegas earlier that day, must have been thrilled to discover their hero in such good form".