I at first gave this 10 out of 10, but then I realized, what would I give "That's The Way It Is"? So OK I give Aloha 9, and TTWII 10.
Anyway, those that compare Aloha to Elvis' earlier shows in Vegas (eg. TTWII) are not remembering that Aloha is a TV special, not a Vegas show. Things were a bit looser and faster in Vegas (and on tour). I would speculate that Elvis wanted to put across a slightly more sedate and for lack of a better word, dignified show.
I would reluctantly agree with critics that Elvis did hold back on his voice a bit, probably out of nerves. But it is still beautiful. Those that complain about the large number of covers: I've never heard Elvis cover a song that wasn't better than the original. Elvis' version of Early Morning Rain (not actually in the concert btw) is my favorite version of one of my top 3 favorite songs. That's saying a lot because I'm happy to listen to most anyone sing it.
Other songs that are still spine-tingling-give-you-goosebumps quality in Aloha are "What Now My Love," "I'll Remember You," and "An American Trilogy," among, well, pretty much all the others! I've seen Aloha hundreds of times. I'm an admitted Elvis junkie. So that does bias my review some, I admit. But anyone who comes in here and puts in a review that refers to "Suspicious Minds" as "Satisfied Mind" has zero credibility with me. That's not really how I wanted to put it, but hey, I'm trying to remain polite here.
I could go on and on about this show, and I won't. It's truly an awesome show, and if you haven't seen it, do see it. You'll be glad you did and will probably want to buy the DVD!
