Elvis The Martial Artist

Even more than his "waist up" appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the "sit down" segment of Elvis's 1968 comeback special was by far his most powerful appearance on television. Proof that Elvis could still rock, it was also only his third live performance since 1957. This seminal rock & roll moment, with Elvis surrounded by Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana, was actually two separate sessions taped two hours apart. The first session, along with rehearsals, appears on Memories: The `68 Comeback Special. However, it's always been the second session, the 8 p.m. show, unreleased in its entirety until the appearance now of Tiger Man, that's lived in popular legend as one of the great undiscovered treasures of his oeuvre. An again confident Elvis really cuts loose here, launching into scorching versions of early classics. "That's All Right," "Heartbreak Hotel" (where he has to stop to catch his breath and remember the lyrics), and "Blue Suede Shoes" have all the fire that first made him such an arresting phenomenon. But it's the title cut, which was spliced into the TV special's second showing in August 1969, that is the showstopper. This disc instantly becomes one of the cornerstones of any Elvis collection. --Robert Baird