In 1970 Elvis had given two shows at LA's Inglewood Forum and beaten the ticket sales of The Rolling Stones. Four years later he returned for another two performances, once again filling the 18,500 seater to the roof. The box office figures are not known, but it's pretty safe to say that the concerts generated at least 500,000 USD. During the first concert Elvis wore the "Peacock Suit", in the evening he was dressed in the "American Eagle Suit", which can be seen on the front cover of this album. This very concert was also seen by Led Zeppeling, the most successful and popular rock group of these days. In a rare move Elvis decided to meet them in his hotel suite. The booklet even features a picture of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant leaving the Inglewood Forum after the king's show. Since the concert was not recorded in its entirety, MRS has added the final two songs as well as the "Closing Riff" from a recording of the previous days' concert.

As a bonus the disc also features an audience recording of "You Can Have Her", which Elvis sang during the matinee. As far as we know, this was the only time the king presented the song. It's often claimed, that this was a spontaneous performance, but everyone with a working set of ears easily can hear, that it's a rehearsed and properly worked-out performance. John Wilkinson, Elvis' rhythm guitarist from 1969 to 1977, delivered the final proof in his book "Memories - Sweetened Through The Ages Just Like Wine". On page 42 you can find the set list for the tour in May 1974, which includes "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me", "The Wonder Of You", "Your Love's Been A Long Time Coming" and "You Can Have Her". With the exception of the one-time performance of "You Can Have Her" Elvis left all these songs out, but added "Big Boss Man", which was not on the original set list.

The recording starts with the noise of the audience, then the orchestra starts to play the "Einleitung, Oder Sonnenaufgang" from Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra". Soon the band takes over with the "Opening Riff" and Elvis appears on stage. Charlie Hodge hands him his guitar and the show is underway.

Compared to his shows in 1970 and also the more recent television concert "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" Elvis has gained a few pounds. But that doesn't keep him from presenting his opener with a lot of zest.

Elvis toys around with the word "well" before he segues into the old Ray Charles classic. It also has a lot of drive, in-between the king changes a line to "I got a woman way accross Georgia". Who knows, if the singer really has a girl down there? Elvis also includes the gospel "Amen", demonstrates a selection of his tried and tested moves and gives his bass singer an opportunity to show off his deep voice. Afterwards he reprises "I Got A Woman", throws his guitar back to his assistant and jokingly introduces himself as Glen Campbell.

After fooling around with the fans Elvis continues with "Love Me". In general he uses the oldie to walk around and throw a scarf or two into the audience. Today he also repeats the last part of the song to offer JD Sumner another opportunity to present his bass voice.

The old SUN classic has much more substance. For the first time tonight Elvis really uses his voice and belts out the chorus in stunning style.

His RCA hit "All Shook Up" is rattled off within 60 seconds. It's not a bad performance at all, but Elvis' heart isn't in it.

The medley is another crowd pleaser, which is presented in a business-like fashion. Of course the fans don't care the tiniest bit, especially since the king throws some more scarfs into the audience.

Now Elvis announces "My first movie was Love Me Tender, I like to sing a little bit of that for you". That's enough to turn women in their 30s into screaming teenagers. It's a solid rendition, but once again the audience appears to have a tad more fun than the singer.

All this changes with "Steamroller Blues", Presley's top20 single from last year. Elvis obviously enjoys what he's doing and one might even say, that todays' presentation is much better than the one on the record.

Elvis just need to sing "You ain't" to get the fans on their feed. He toys a bit with the intro, but then he rattles through the same four lines over and over again. The fans love it, but Mr. Presley obviously is tired of singing stuff like this.

In contrast to "Hound Dog" Elvis seems to have fun here. He cleverly uses his legs to drive the ladies over the edge, but also makes fun of the procedure by pretending to loose control over his legs. He also adds some humor by screaming "Elviiiiiiiiiiis" after the line "I light up when you call my name".

With "Polk Salad Annie" the king returns to more recent material. He doesn't move as wild as three or four years earlier, but Elvis still dances to the music and includes some karate figures. The band is playing very tight, especially Ronnie Tutt beats his drums in impressive style.

To get his breath back Elvis hands the lead vocals over to JD Sumner. For the chorus he joins The Stamps and becomes a part of the group. We have to remember, that Elvis' original idea wasn't to be a solo performer, but a singer in a gospel group! He obviously likes what he's doing and even repeats the last part of the song.

Just like "Polk Salad Annie" this song gets a toned-down performance. At 39 Elvis doesn't move as much and as wild as he did in the past, but it's still an enjoyable performance.

Before he continues with another song, the king introduces the members of his group. Jokingly he refers to his lead guitarist as "Chicken Pickin' James Burton" and to his ryhthm guitarist as "Duckin' Pluckin' John Wilkinson".

Up next is "I Can't Stop Loving You", which is presented much livelier than on his album "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite".

Despite "If You Talk In Your Sleep" is the a-side of his current single, Elvis presents the song on the flip-side. However, "Help Me" gets a sincere and heartfelt performance and one can easily hear, that the king really likes this song.

To showcase the abilities of the orchestra and the harmony singers the king follows with "An American Trilogy". Jokingly Elvis changes the lyrics to "Look away, Disneyland", but otherwise it's a serious presentation. Compared to the version in the movie "Elvis On Tour" the song is played a bit faster now, which takes away some of its appeal.

Now the king covers Olivia Newton-John and presents his version of "Let Me Be There". What can I say? It's an improvement! The Presley incarnation has a better flow and his joyful performance just adds to the experience. Elvis even offers a reprise and repeats the last part of the song.

After having been seen by the audience for almost an hour, Elvis wants to take a look at his fans, too. When the house lights are switched on, he remarks to JD Sumner, that it had been a long way from the small auditorium in Memphis. It surely was! After some fooling around and a false start the king sings "Funny, How Time Slips Away". Jokingly he laughs in a hysterical way right after having sung the words "Ain't it funny".

Since "Big Boss Man" was added just recently, it's played slower than in later years. I like this early performance very much.

Now Elvis bows out with the usual "Can't Help Falling In Love", which segues into the "Closing Riff". The king shakes some hands, bows in every direction and leaves the arena. The recording ends with a voice saying "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and goodnight".

The song was written by Bill Cook and became a hit for Roy Hamilton (1961) and Sam Neely (1974). It fits Elvis very well and it's quite a pity that he didn't include it more often or even recorded it in the studio. In contrast to the other recordings on this set, this track was taped by a member of the audience, but considering the source and the size of the building it sounds quite good.