THE SET LIST:
See See Rider
Burning Love
Something
You Gave Me a Mountain
Steamroller Blues
My Way
Love Me
It's Over
Blue Suede Shoes
Hound Dog
What Now, My Love
Fever
Welcome to My World
Suspicious Minds
I'll Remember You
Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
An American Trilogy
A Big Hunk O' Love
Can't Help Falling in Love

Bonus Songs:
Blue Hawaii
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Ku-Ku-I-Po
Early Morning Rain
No More

THE STRAIGHT DOPE:
In 1973, just seven years after his 68 Comeback Special, Elvis performed a concert in Honolulu that was broadcast live to much of the world (although not the US). Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii, Via Satellite is, along with the 1974 Ali-Forman Rumble in the Jungle, one of the major live spectacles that has helped define big event television. It is significant for its wide-reaching influence over several generations of music fans (and for the frequent late-night infommercials hawking videos of the event) but musically it shows how much Elvis had degraded in a few short years. Here he's still thin; The bloat is still a couple years away, but he's wearing a big sequined suit that makes him look pretty ridiculous, and his song selection is starting to get a little silly. More importantly, his voice is losing some of its luster. He strains a bit and phones in some of the numbers. His mumbling through "Suspicious Minds" is suspicious indeed (although his crack about his pants splitting is hysterical). Neither Frank Sinatra nor Sid Vicious need to worry that Elvis' version of "My Way" will be more memorable than their own.

Elvis doesn't seem to be taking the music seriously anymore and is more interested in kissing women in the front row than remembering the lyrics. He's also not really making the best creative decisions anymore either: His bastardization of the blues classic "See See Rider" is actually kind of offensive, as is the lyric from "Steamroller Blues," sung at the height of the Viet Nam War: "I'm a napalm bomb / Guaranteed to blow your mind / And if I can't have your love / Won't be nothing left behind." None of this is to say that Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii, Via Satellite is a bad show.

The bonus songs were shot separately from the concert for the broadcast and are marred by fluffy and condescending hula girl footage but the bonus version of "Blue Hawaii" is actually one of the stronger performances on the set and finds Elvis in good vocal form. "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "I Can't Stop Loving You," and "Johnny B. Goode" have been deleted for liscensing reasons.

Although it has a different appeal than the more honest One Night With You, it is a lot of fun to watch. There is an element of comedy to it and that ain't bad. There are moments of true greatness, particularly Elvis' intense vocal treatment of the decidedly un-PC "An American Trilogy". Overall the Hawaii special is as much a cultural touchstone as James Brown at the Apollo and, even though it looks dated now, is worth a look.

PICTURE:
By 1973, presumably, TV cameras had improved and it shows. The image in Aloha is sharper than One Night With You and the colors here are really nice. The editing is wild, cutting quickly all around the stage at every instrumental break. Maybe Aloha is the first use of MTV-style editing in a music video.

AUDIO:
The audio also is better than One Night With You. There is a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that sound sharp and dynamic.

EXTRAS:
The bonus tracks make a pretty nice extra. The Alternate Aloha Concert, that I will be reviewing next, should have been included on this disc just as One Night should have been included on the Comeback Special.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii, Via Satellite is definitely not Elvis at his finest, but it is an entertaining show and makes a great evening with friends. Unfortunately it shows an artist on the decline, but what a fascinating downfall it is.

Gil Jawetz is a graphic designer, video director, and t-shirt designer. He lives in Brooklyn.