Elvis Presley: The Way It Is
by John L. Wasserman
San Francisco Chronicle
November 13, 1972

ELVIS PRESLEY, probably the world's greatest musical superstar, played his concert of the 70's here on Saturday night at The Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The show opened with some bad comedy - the better to wet your appetite, my dear - followed by a couple of numbers by the Sweet Inspirations. Then the Dramatic Overture (the theme from "2001" or equivalent) and There He Was!!!

Presley swept on stage, abandoned his guitar after a few perfunctory swipes, adjusted his sequine, practiced a few karate punches and, blinded by a thousand Kodak instamatics, roared through such as "Polk Salad Annie," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Love Me Tender," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Blue Suede Shoes" and other rock and roll favorites and suffused the long since sold out hall with the special and irresistible charisma that is, among singers, his alone.

The audience, ranging from the new "Burning Love" coverts to us oder folks who remember the '50s, screamed howled, cried and clapped as vigorously that a post-concert palm-reader would have been unable to pinpoint a life-line, much less an abnormal desire for cranberries.

UNFORTUNATELY, I was unable to attend, nor I spoken with anyone who did. Nevertheless, the above is al true. After seeing Elvis four time in Las Vegas, once in Oakland and twice in concert-tour films in the last 24 months; after seeing basically the same show - with a few changes in repertoire - every single last time ... well, as the title of the first film predicted, that's the way it is.

Elvis is, to put it simply, a bore to write about after the first half-dozen excursions into his costumes, his money, his retinue, his vocal limitations and his hair-sprayed and hysterical followers. He is a man of astonishing appeal, historical impact and limited ability. That's the way it is.

Courtesy of Francesc Lopez