Quietly, Elvis Presley's December 1976 Concert at Memorial Auditorium Was Officially Released

​The boots got the boot last week, and my apologies to those Friends of Unfair Park who wrote in wondering what the what. (Out-of-town family obligations, if you must know.) I had intended to make up for that slight with a certain high-quality recording of some renown: Elvis Presley at Memorial Auditorium on December 28, 1976 -- otherwise known 'round my house as The Only Elvis Show My Parents Went To. (And to think -- Dad coulda gone to the Big D Jamboree.) It's a top-notch collection -- a Late '76 Comeback of sorts following what was said to be a miserable summer tour during which Presley was an out-of-breath, out-of-shape wreck.

Only, as I went about researching that particular show, I discovered this: Two months ago, the long-passed-around soundboard recording was officially released by the Presley peoples on the Follow That Dream label, set up via a partnership with Sony BMG. (These recordings, never advertised, are "considered of interest to serious Elvis fans and collectors.") The Memorial show is actually the second disc of a $30 two-fer titled Elvis Showtime! Birmingham/Dallas '76. He damned sure didn't sound like a man who had but eight months more to live. Forthcoming in moments, something for your weekend listening pleasure.