Elvis Presley - Aloha From Hawaii (Deluxe Edition) [DVD]

What does the 'Aloha' release mean to Elvis fans? It means seeing him in his 'finest hour', wearing THAT suit. It's also about when he took off his belt and threw it into the audience at the end of 'An American Trilogy' (as well as his $1000+ cape after 'Can't Help falling In Love'), His mention of Jack Lord (of Hawaii 5-0 fame) sitting in the audience and introducing Charlie Hodge as his general 'flunky' - All the things that have never been seen or heard before (unless you were privilaged to see the original broadcast).

Trust me, whether you watch the dress rehearsal, the original aired version or the US. 'edited' one, you'll be in awe as 'The King' rocks his way through favourites such as C.C Rider, Burning Love and Suspicious Minds. The tribute to Kui Lee (an Hawaiian songwriter who penned 'I'll remember You), and Peggy Lee's 'Fever', are particularly special.

Make no mistake, this DVD release is THE one to own for both Elvis fans, musical historians and lovers of pure entertainment.
There was only one King - There still is!
Long live the King!!!

In fact, this new set brings 3 full length concerts: the rehearsal concert filmed on January 12, the actual concert from two days later, and that same concert as it was edited for the US television broadcast in April 1973. All are finally presented in their complete form and unlike previous home video issues none of the songs are missing.

Soundwise the set is a marvel. The remix is absolutely thrilling, with enhanced clarity and detail, and there is choice between Dolby stereo and Dolby 5.1 - why no DTS? Even though it surpasses all previous video efforts, the image quality is slightly less satisfying, especially in the rehearsal concert where the horizontal bands gliding over the screen bottom to top, are at times still quite visible. The completely re-edited January 14th concert fares a whole lot better, though, with superior lighting and more vibrant color. In matters of picture sharpness we have never seen better either.

As a bonus we get 17 minutes of the raw, uncut "Elvis arrives" sequence, part of which opened the TV broadcast, as well as the five post-concert insert songs, often in different takes. I wonder though if we needed to have disc 1 started with the "Elvis arrives" sequence, as this is material for die hard fans only. (There is an error in my disc as the image jumps after a few minutes to the beginning of the concert).

All in all, a fantastic set, nicely packaged in a three-fold digi-pack and including an informative booklet, which no Elvis aficionado can (or should) live without. Bound to give more than a few hours of listening and watching pleasure. Thanks BMG!