Mahalo, Elvis! King’s Hawaiian Retreat is Latest Expansion from Legacy

Tomorrow is Elvis Presley’s birthday, but we’re celebrating with good news today!

America said Aloha to Elvis Presley in between a trip to the Dark Side of the Moon and a visit to the Houses of the Holy when the once and future King’s Aloha from Hawaii album earned a berth between Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin atop the Billboard chart.  Presley’s Honolulu concert of January 14, 1973, preserved on an RCA long-playing record, was monumental in every respect.  The most expensive entertainment broadcast to that point in time, Aloha from Hawaii was viewed by an estimated audience of over one billion people.  The RCA soundtrack has long been one of Presley’s most beloved concert recordings, and it’s returning for its fortieth anniversary in a deluxe Legacy Edition due on March 19, 2013 from Sony’s Legacy Recordings.

Though initially aired via satellite to over 40 countries in Asia and Europe, the United States didn’t get to see Elvis in his splendor until April 4, 1973 due to a conflict with Super Bowl VII on January 14.  But by the time the concert special aired in the U.S. on NBC, most fans’ appetites had already been whetted by the release of the double-LP set preserving the concert.  Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite was released to stores by RCA on February 4, 1973, initially in the quadraphonic format only.  It became the first quadraphonic album to top the Billboard chart, and was certified Gold shortly after its release.   (A stereo release was first offered through the RCA Record Club before it supplanted the quadraphonic disc in shops.)   Aloha has since been certified five times platinum.

For the performance at the Honolulu International Center, Elvis was backed by his regulars: the TCB Band (including James Burton, Jerry Scheff, Ronnie Tutt, John Wilkinson, Glen Hardin and Charlie Hodge), Joe Guercio’s orchestra, and vocalists Kathy Westmoreland, The Sweet Inspirations and J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet.  All tickets for the concert and a January 12 rehearsal show would be on a “pay what you can” basis benefiting the Kui Lee Cancer Fund, for which Presley raised over $75,000.00.  Five additional songs were recorded by Presley after the concert to be inserted into the eventual U.S. broadcast, four of which, appropriately, came from his film Blue Hawaii.  (One of these five, “No More,” didn’t get an airing until the release of the 1978 album Mahalo from Elvis.)

After the jump: what can you expect on this Legacy Edition?  Plus, a pre-order link and the track listing with discography!

The original Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite album was, of course, released on CD by RCA, and was joined in 1988 by The Alternate Aloha, containing the entire dress rehearsal performance.  In 1998, Dennis Ferrante remixed Aloha from Hawaii for a 25th anniversary CD from RCA which included the five additional songs.  Though it features no previously unissued music, the new Legacy Edition includes the remastered original album on its first disc, while its second disc includes The Alternate Aloha plus the five bonus songs.  This is the first time Aloha and The Alternate Aloha have been paired in one release.  To sweeten the pot, Steve Rosenthal and Rob Santos have completely remixed and remastered The Alternate Aloha from the original multi-tracks.  A 24-page booklet with new liner notes by Stuart Colman and rare photographs rounds out this package.

This definitive edition of King’s triumphant, history-making Hawaiian concert arrives in stores from RCA and Legacy Recordings on March 19.  You can pre-order below!

Elvis Presley, Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite: Legacy Edition (RCA/Legacy 88765 43389-2, 2013)

CD 1: Original LP (originally released as RCA VSPX-6089, 1973)

1. Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey)
2. See See Rider
3. Burning Love
4. Something
5. You Gave Me a Mountain
6. Steamroller Blues
7. My Way
8. Love Me
9. Johnny B. Goode
10. It’s Over
11. Blue Suede Shoes
12. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
13. I Can’t Stop Loving You
14. Hound Dog
15. What Now My Love
16. Fever
17. Welcome to My World
18. Suspicious Minds
19. Introductions by Elvis
20. I’ll Remember You
21. Medley: Long Tall Sally/Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
22. An American Trilogy
23. A Big Hunk O’ Love
24. Can’t Help Falling in Love

CD 2: The Alternate Aloha (originally released as RCA 6985-1-R, 1988) remixed and remastered plus bonus songs

1. Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey)
2. See See Rider
3. Burning Love
4. Something
5. You Gave Me a Mountain
6. Steamroller Blues
7. My Way
8. Love Me
9. It’s Over
10. Blue Suede Shoes
11. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
12. Hound Dog
13. What Now My Love
14. Fever
15. Welcome to My World
16. Suspicious Minds
17. Introductions by Elvis
18. I’ll Remember You
19. An American Trilogy
20. A Big Hunk O’ Love
21. Can’t Help Falling in Love
22. Closing Riff
23. Blue Hawaii
24. Ku-U-I-Po
25. No More
26. Hawaiian Wedding Song
27. Early Morning Rain

All tracks on CD 1 recorded live at the Honolulu International Center – 1/14/1973
CD 2, Tracks 1-22 recorded live at the Honolulu International Center – 1/12/1973
CD 2, Tracks 23-27 recorded live without an audience at the Honolulu International Center – 1/14/1973. First released on Mahalo from Elvis (Pickwick ACL-7064, 1978). These songs, with material on Disc 1, used on Aloha from Hawaii broadcast.