NBC-TV Special '68 Comeback!

NBC-TV Special '68 Comeback!

As pivotal a moment in his career as "That's Alright, Mama" and "Heartbreak Hotel," this was the show that put Elvis Presley back on his throne. It came at a time when the Beatles, the Stones, Hendrix, and acid rock ruled the genre and followed a decade of nothing but mostly lousy Elvis movies. On December 3, 1968, the camera panned in on the King's incredibly handsome face: "If you're lookin' for trouble, you came to the right place," he snarled before bursting into a terrific "Guitar Man." From that moment through the special's goose-bump-inducing finale, "If I Can Dream" (after which, legend has it, Presley collapsed from exhaustion backstage), this stands as one of rock music's great moments. Alas, it was recorded for television, so the audio quality on both vinyl and CD has never been of the highest quality. Memories, a two-disc compilation with cleaned-up sound, includes all the outtakes from the "unplugged" segment, but the stuff remains best viewed on video via either the special itself or the One Night with You outtakes video. --Bill Holdship

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