Elvis Presley - Words - The Complete 7 August 1970 stage rehearsal - Re-edited with RCA/Sony audio

On his return to live performing on 31 July 1969, it could quite reasonably be perceived that Elvis played it safe as far as his set list was concerned. It was heavily loaded with 50's hits and some from the early 60's. There was also a couple of recent hits and recordings with "Suspicious Minds", "In The Ghetto" and "Memories", with the latter a likely nod to his recent TV special.

In regards to "Suspicious Minds", it was performed at every show, probably because it was due for release as a single in the second week of the engagement. There would be a few single performances of recent recordings, but these would be for the benefit of RCA, as they were present with their recording equipment for tapings intended for what would become the "In Person" album.

Contemporary covers were also kept to an absolute minimum, with only four used,0 and of those only two, The Beatles' medley of "Yesterday / Hey Jude" would be regulars throughout the four week run. "Funny How Time Slips Away" would be be used occasionally. but The Bee Gees' Words would appear just in time to coincide with the presence of RCA.

In his next Las Vegas engagement, January and February of 1970, "Words" would be dropped completely, and he would return to it just twice on 10 and 12 August 1970, both times in front of MGM's cameras who were filming "That's The Way It Is" but neither version would make it into the final edits of either the 1970 or 2001 versions of the movie.

Rehearsal versions of "Words" by Elvis however, would feature in both movies, and we first hear of it in Culver City, on 14 July, as Elvis and the band discuss the problems that they had performing it on the stage, and this may help to explain why it was dropped in January.

Much like a composite of rehearsals of "Twenty Days and Twenty Nights" was used in order to move the 2001 version of the film on from Culver City to those at The International Hotel's convention center on 4 August, a similar tactic was also employed using "Words". In the case of the latter it was used as a tool with which to move from the Convention Center to the stage rehearsals in the main showroom on 7 August.

This video has been re-edited with audio from the new official That's The Way It Is rehearsal set. It also shows the complete stage, as only the second half was shown in the re-edited 2001 version of the movie. This section is easily identifiable, as the HD movie footage for that portion.

As with all of these videos, to get the most out of the re-edited audio, I highly recommend you use ear /headphones and turn the volume up as much as you dare!

Видео Elvis Presley - Words - The Complete 7 August 1970 stage rehearsal - Re-edited with RCA/Sony audio канала The Ultimate Elvis Channel by Leon