The album "In The Ghetto" was released in 2023 by Straight Arrow and features an audience recording of the midnight show from February 19, 1971. It's a physical only release, the compact disc is housed in a fold-out digipak, designed with photos from the accordant stint as well as contemporary newspaper reviews.

Compared to great audience recordings like Uniondale 1975 or Indianapolis 1977 this one here sounds nothing more than acceptable. However, coincidentally Rex Martin taped a very entertaining show with many songs, that were not on Presley's regular set list. The rare items of the evening were "Help Me Make It Through The Night", "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy", "There Goes My Everything", "Just Pretend", "Snowbird" and "In The Ghetto". Despite closing the show with "The Impossible Dream", Elvis couldn't resist to sing his usual get-out dance "Can't Help Falling In Love" (this time as the third song of the evening) and also had the orchestra performing the new opening "Also Sprach Zarathustra" twice. There are many things to watch out for, if this concert would have been taped through the mixing desk it certainly would be a highlight of everyone's collection.

The recording starts with Rex Martin naming the date of his recording. He left out "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and started the tape recorder during the "Opening Riff", shortly before the king appeared on stage. The song is performed just like during the "Elvis Summer Festival 1970", which means it's a great delivery.

By singing the word "well" the man from Memphis segues into the Ray Charles classic "I Got A Woman". It's also delivered with verve. During the break Elvis intones "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and jokingly continues with "...she'll be pregnat" and shouting "I didn't do it!". He's obviously referring to the paternity suit, filed by a lady named Patricia Parker in August 1970. It caused quite a stirr in the media, but as it turned out, Elvis wasn't the father of her child. I don't know why Presley feels the urge to adress the case, maybe it bothers him a lot. However, afterwards he reprises "I Got A Woman" and welcomes the audience.

As usual Elvis announces the title song of his first movie, but after a few bars he stops the band. Then he spoofs the title tunes of his next two movies and suprisingly segues into "Can't Help Falling In Love". It's the most popular song from "Blue Hawaii" and was the closer of his previous stints at the International Hotel. Just like "Love Me Tender", he utilize the ballad to kiss a few ladies. Aferwards he jokingly tells them, that he has the flu!

Up next is "Sweet Caroline", which is played a tad faster than on the album "On Stage - February 1970". It still comes across quite well, in-between Presley ad-libs "...and spring became the matress".

Giving the crowd no time to applaud the stage darkens, Elvis turns around and the band starts to play the intro of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". As expected it's a strong and emotinal performance.

A few seconds after the final note of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" Jerry Scheff starts to play the bass intro of "Polk Salad Annie". The king uses the spoken introduction to joke a bit, then he segues into a parade of all the tried and tested moves the fans came to see. At 36 Mr. Presley obviously is in top form!

Now Elvis introduces his lead guitarist, the fabulous James Burton. He fires off a hard rockin' "Johnny B. Goode" and his boss quickly joins in to prove, why he's called the king of rock'n'roll.

Of course Elvis never was a one-trick-pony. The Beatles' mega ballad "Something" is mastered with the same ease. Even though the two years old tune already has been covered to death, it fits Presley's voice well and he certainly presents it in his own style. Afterwards he especially mentions Kathy Westmoreland, who provided the soprano voice.

Now Elvis also mentions The Imperials, which are featured with the next song. It's the gospel hymn "How Great Thou Art", which is the title song of his second gospel album. It has to be mentioned, that this longplayer earned Mr. Presley his first Grammy Award. The stage presentation is a tad on the bombastic side, but very impressive by any means.

It's no less impressive, how fast Elvis is able to switch styles. Within a second he turns from a gospel singer into a rocker and shakes his body to the fast and furious sounds of "Mystery Train" and "Tiger Man".

Musically the king stays in the 1950s and presents the Leiber/Stoller classic "Love Me". It's a fine rendition and a welcome reminder of everyone's youth.

Elvis follows up with "Don't Be Cruel", which is said to be the best selling single release of the 1950s - worldwide! The former teenage idol has a bit of fun with the song and delivers an entertaining rendition.

Once again the man on stage changes his style and mood and segues into a serious and impressive performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Like many of his songs it's a cover version, but as usual he turns it into a stone cold Presley tune.

Of course Elvis knows, that the folks came to Vegas to hear the golden greats. And so he continues with a short, but rockin' "Blue Suede Shoes".

 The current incarnation of Presley's first national number one hit sounds modern and bluesy.

Now the king moves on to the early 1960s and presents his hit "Little Sister". He couples it with the more recent "Get Back", one of the last releases of his competitors (and finally overtakers) The Beatles.

Despite dethroning him as the ultimate teenage hero, the fab four didn't manage to release the most successful single of the decade. Just like in the 1950s, it was Mr. Presley, who delivered the best selling record of this kind. Eleven years after its original release Elvis still is able to deliver a vocally stunning presentation of the song.

Unfortunately one cannot say anything similar about "Hound Dog". The band still is rocking and James Burton's guitar solo sounds great, but Elvis doesn't take the tune seriously anymore. So maybe it's time to comb that one out and include something else instead.

Two years ago the king topped the popcharts with "Suspicious Minds" and of course he cannot stage a live gig without performing it. Nowadays he uses it to communicate with the audience and to joke with the band. But he also delivers a great performance including all the famous moves, the people came to see.

To re-charge his batteries Elvis takes a minute or two to introduce his band and harmony singers.

Suddenly the king yells out the first words of "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy". The musicians are on their toes and quickly join in. It's obvious, that it's not really ready for the stage, but at least everyone knows the song rudimentary and is able to follow Elvis along. It's always great to hear, how spontaneous and capable all these people are.

Strangely though the orchestra begins to play while Elvis still is introducing the song. Here and there one can hear a few insecurities, but the country ballad is a new item of the show and wasn't performed on a regular basis throughout this stint. However, the song fits Presley very well and easily could have been included on his current album "Elvis Country - I'm 10,000 Years Old".

Maybe the king thinks the same, since he continues with "There Goes My Everything", a song from that very record. The stage presentation is played a bit faster, which serves the ballad well.

Switching to his previous longplayer "That's The Way It Is", Mr. Presley announces to sing "Just Pretend". During his last stint here he included the ballad just a few times and also more or less ignored it during the current engagement. But the song obviously was rehearsed since everybody -including the harmony singers and the orchestra- knows exactly what to do. The result sounds just as great as the version on the album.

Now Elvis isn't sure what to do next and fools around with "Old Shep" and "Love Me Tender". Someone in the audience uses the opportunity to call out for "One Night". But Presley quickly settles for "In The Ghetto". Once again it's a surprising choice, since he hasn't sung his hit too often during the previous engagement. It soon turns out, that it wasn't really rehearsed for this stint, too. Elvis has some trouble to remember the details and jokingly sings about a "runny little boy with a hungry nose". In total it's not a serious performance at all, but certainly a very entertaining one.

Since the king is so impressed with the orchestra's performance of "Einleitung, Oder Sonnenaufgang" from Richard Strauss' opus "Also Sprach Zarathustra", he has them performing it once again.

But the spontaneities are not over yet. Suddenly Elvis comes up with "Snowbird", another song from his current album. He has sung it two or three times during this stint, but it's anything but a regular feature of the show. Presley just starts to sing and within a second or two the band, the choir and the orchestra are joining in. It's a short, but nice performance.

Elvis bows out with a few words and starts to sing his new closer "The Impossible Dream". Once again the singer, the harmony groups and the orchestra are able to show off their skills. The arrangements also includes a solo part of The Imperial's bass singer. As usual the tune segues into the "Closing Riff" and the singer vanishes behind the golden curtain.