Elvis Presley Conquers Again
by J. C. Casey
Monroe Morning World
May 4, 1975

He came, he appeared, he conquered.

Memories, cherished and nourished from a year ago, became reality again Saturday as the King returned to the Monroe Civic Center for two sold out performances.

Looking more like he used to a decade or longer ago with long sideburns and long hair combed back, Elvis Presley rode the expected wave of screaming hysteria to its climax at a matinee concerts that would be followed four hours later with the same slickly packaged show generating the same screaming hysteria.

And a fine package it is - with a touch of gospel from Voice and J.D. Sumner and The Stamps Quartet and a group of soul with the Sweet Inspirations and a touch of comedy with Jackie Kahane and a touch of class with a truly excellent Las Vegas orchestra and Elvis.

Knowing what to expect this time, made the concert more fun. As comedian Jackie Kahane commented, "Mothers are no different from the youngsters when it comes to Elvis", which is the understatement of the year. It still seems so impossible that this kind of emotional response can occur in real life just because one man flexes his hip. when he kissed one woman for instance, the entire floor section sat back as one in collective one. So did I.

Who can really tell if he is a good performer when half of his concert is taken up with his giving away scarves which have draped around his neck and absorbed his sweat?

(This of course, is responded to with screams which seem to be the consistent form of response to whatever Presley does on stage. Leading one to speculate that those doing the screaming can't possibly be aware of what he is singing while those listening to the screaming certainly can't hear what he is singing.)

The paradox is that when Presley really works at a number, such as "How Great Thou," he is truly magnificent. And when he lets all the stops out on a number that has a good arrangement and full orchestra and backup vocals, such as "Burning Love" he is dynamite.

But take those numbers or others such as the beauty of "My Boy" or the loveliness of "I'll Remember You" or the foot tapping excellence of "Let ME Be There" or even, the contrived drama of "American Trilogy" and contrast them with such vocal claptrap as "Teddy Bear" and "Love Me Tender" or the ordinariness of "C.C. Rider" and "I Got A Woman" and one can't help suspecting that adulation can make a performer lazy.

Of course, his 16,000 fans obviously adored every note, every word, every movement that occurred during the concert. No doubt, they would have adored every note, every word, every movement in just the same way had it been the same concert he brought last year. It seems that when you're the King, that's the kind of devotion you can command.

Courtesy of Francesc Lopez