Various Artists - Elvis: The Tribute, Pyramid Arena, Memphis, TN, 10-8-1994

Here's another interesting tribute concert, with loads of big stars. All of the songs performed were made famous by Elvis Presley. 

This concert seems to have mostly disappeared down the memory hole. An album of highlights from the concert was released, called "It's Now Or Never: The Tribute To Elvis." However, it's only 45 minutes long, containing just 15 songs. But the full two plus hour long concert was broadcast on TV at the time, so excellent sounding video footage of it exists.

This concert took place in 1994 despite the lack of any big anniversary or other important timely reason for it. Instead, the Elvis Presley estate decided that Presley's music was being forgotten by younger generations, so the concert was meant to help bring his music back into the spotlight.

As you can see from the album cover or the song list, a great many music stars performed in this concert. A few more - Jon Bon Jovi, Jeff Beck, and Cher, at least - backed out at the last minute. I found that mentioned in a newspaper article, though it didn't give a reason why. 

I used two versions of the video files of this concert, converted them to audio format, and broke them into mp3s. During that process, I cut out some material. There were several sections of a few minutes each that consisted of short films highlight different aspects of Presley's life. I removed all of those, plus their intros, since they were meant mainly to be seen, not heard. I also edited out some more talk by the announcers. However, I kept all the intros relevant to the songs. Plus, of course, I kept all the music.

The concert was mostly hosted by Karen Duffy, an MTV DJ, and singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson. But actor John Stamos introduced a few acts, and TV host Phil Donohue introduced one, and sometimes one act introduced the next one.

Occasionally, I had a little trouble with the edits at the starts and ends of songs. For instance, there were quick cuts to or away from TV commercials, as well as the short films I mentioned above. I tried my best to smooth things out, but occasionally the transitions between tracks is abrupt.

Scotty Moore, D.J. Fontana, James Burton, and the Jordanaires didn't have any performances on their own. However, all of them were key backing musicians or singers for Presley. From time to time, they backed up some of the other music acts. 

All of the performances were live from the concert, with two exceptions. I think "Too Much" by NRBQ actually took place before the TV broadcast began. But I slotted it into a logical spot in the concert. And U2 didn't show up for the concert, but sent video footage of their performance to be broadcast instead.

By the way, if you want to know more about the concert, I found a New York Times article of it from the time. Here's the link (I think you have to click on Option 2 to see it):

RemovePaywall | Free online paywall remover 

This album is two hours and three minutes long.

01 talk (Karen Duffy)
02 Good Rockin' Tonight (Sammy Hagar)
03 Too Much (NRBQ)
04 Baby, Let's Play House (Michael Hutchence & NRBQ)
05 talk (Kris Kristofferson & Karen Duffy)
06 talk (Chet Atkins)
07 How's the World Treating You (Chet Atkins)
08 talk (Karen Duffy)
09 Mystery Train (Dwight Yoakam)
10 talk (Kris Kristofferson)
11 Don't Be Cruel (Marty Stuart with the Jordanaires)
12 talk (Marty Stuart)
13 All Shook Up (Cheap Trick)
14 talk (John Stamos)
15 That's Alright Mama (Kris Kristofferson)
16 talk (Kris Kristofferson)
17 One Night (Billy Ray Cyrus with the Jordanaires)
18 talk (Karen Duffy)
19 Lawdy Miss Claudy (Travis Tritt)
20 talk (Karen Duffy)
21 Blue Moon [Edit] (Chris Isaak with Scotty Moore & D.J. Fontana)
22 Love Me (Mavericks)
23 talk (John Stamos)
24 talk (Carl Perkins)
25 Blue Suede Shoes (Carl Perkins with Scotty Moore & D.J. Fontana)
26 talk (Carl Perkins)
27 Rip It Up (Iggy Pop)
28 Memories (Mac Davis)
29 talk (Mac Davis)
30 talk (Bryan Adams)
31 Hound Dog (Bryan Adams with Scotty Moore & D.J. Fontana)
32 talk (Kris Kristofferson)
33 Always on My Mind (Sam Moore)
34 talk (Karen Duffy)
35 Heartbreak Hotel (John Cale)
36 talk (Karen Duffy)
37 I Want You, I Need You, I Love You (Ann Wilson)
38 talk (Karen Duffy)
39 Teddy Bear (Tanya Tucker)
40 talk (Kris Kristofferson)
41 Trouble (Paul Rodgers)
42 talk (Phil Donahue)
43 [Marie's the Name] His Latest Flame (Scorpions)
44 Can't Help Falling in Love (U2)
45 talk (Kris Kristofferson & Karen Duffy)
46 It's Now or Never (Wet Wet Wet)
47 talk (Mac Davis)
48 Love Me Tender (Tony Bennett)
49 talk (Mac Davis)
50 Young and Beautiful (Aaron Neville)
51 talk (Mac Davis)
52 Jailhouse Rock (Michael Bolton with Scotty Moore, D.J. Fontana & Carl Perkins)
53 talk (Karen Duffy)
54 Tryin' to Get to You (Faith Hill)
55 talk (John Stamos)
56 See See Rider (Jerry Lee Lewis with James Burton & NRBQ)
57 Kentucky Rain - Suspicious Minds (Eddie Rabbitt & Mavis Staples)
58 talk (Karen Duffy)
59 Burning Love (Melissa Etheridge)
60 talk (John Stamos)
61 Amazing Grace (Billy Ray Cyrus & Everyone)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/GWnJSkKo

alternate: 

https://bestfile.io/cqa2ziePj3VTmo8/file 

The cover image is a pretty weird one for this concert, but bear with me for the explanation. It depicts Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley (the daughter of Elvis Presley). They had recently gotten married at the time of this concert. (Their marriage only lasted from 1994 to 1996). The weird thing is that neither of them performed at this concert. However, they did attend it. At one point near the end, you can hear the announcer mention their names, along with those of Janet Jackson (Michael Jackson's sister) and Priscilla Presley (Lisa Marie Presley's mother). All four of them briefly stood up and waved to the crowd. 

The main reason I chose them for the cover is because this was the only decent photo from the concert that I could find. The mere fact they were at the concert made news, especially due to the fact that they had just been recently married. I think the image shows the two of them backstage before or after the concert. Even this picture was rather low-res and rough, but I used the Krea AI program to improve the image quality. 

The Velvet Underground - The Playhouse, Edinburgh, Britain, 6-2-1993

The Velvet Underground is one of the most legendary and revered rock bands of all time. But it seems like their 1993 reunion tour has been mostly forgotten. Maybe that's because the only way most people have of judging it, the official live album that documents it, "Live MCMXCIII," was curiously lackluster. Perhaps this concert bootleg will change some minds. I like it a lot, and I much prefer it to the official album.

Velvet Underground member John Cale considered the official album a disappointment, mainly due to the way it was mixed. He later commented:

The trouble is that we had an opportunity here with the live album to really show what the band sounded like and it really doesn't give it to you. Some of the bootlegs that came out of the tour are almost a truer vision of what the band sounded like than the well recorded one, because the well recorded one really didn't take advantage of the ambiance of the room in the mix of the music. And that's what we were always pushing at. We wanted to fill the room up with this noise. Unfortunately it wasn't quite as present in the mix as I would have liked it to be or others would have liked it to be either.

I wonder what Cale would think about this particular bootleg. I didn't post anything from this reunion tour prior to this, because I thought there was nothing but rough audience bootlegs. But I recently discovered this. It's either a soundboard or an FM radio broadcast. Either way, I think the sound quality is as good or better than the official live album.

Now, let me say a little bit about the reunion tour in general. The two main singers and songwriters in the band, Lou Reed and John Cale, put out an album together in 1990, "Songs for Drella." While they toured together to support that album, they were joined on stage for a single song at a concert in France by the other two original members of the Velvet Underground, Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison. That set the stage for a reunion tour with all four of them.

The tour began in Edinburgh on June 1, 1993. This was the second night of the tour, also in Edinburgh. Creative juices must have been flowing, because the last song played here, "Coyote," was apparently written jointly by Reed and Cale mere hours before the concert began. That's according to some banter in the concert by Reed. But that also matches the information at setlist.fm, because it wasn't performed on the first night, and this was the first time it was played in public. 

The tour was a relatively short one, hitting different countries in Europe over six weeks. There was a plan to follow it up with a North American tour, a studio album, and more. But relations between band members quickly deteriorated, and all further reunion plans were canceled at the end of the six weeks. So we're very lucky to have this excellent recording from the second night of the tour, before the troubles began. By the way, the "Live MCMXCIII" was recorded over a couple of nights in Paris, France, about two weeks later. So maybe the band was already in decline by then compared to this night, who knows.

John Cale was only in the Velvet Underground for their first two albums, "Velvet Underground and Nico" and "White Light/White Heat." So, not surprisingly, many of the songs in this concert came from those early albums. But it's interesting to see Cale take part in the songs that were recorded after he left, such as "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll." This reunion tour was probably the only time he ever did that. 

Also, Cale didn't sing lead vocals much at all while he was a member of the Velvet Underground, but he did have a long, successful solo career as a lead vocalist afterwards. So I liked how he sang lead on a few of the songs here, taking vocals that had been done by Nico or even by Reed.

Although the bootleg was excellent in most respects, it did have some problems. The biggest problem was that all but the first minute and a half of the song "I Can't Stand It" was missing. So I used the "Live MCMXCIII" version to patch in the rest. That's why that song has "[Edit]" in its title. Also, in some cases (but not most cases), the applause at the ends of songs was cut off. So I patched in applause from the ends of other songs to give every song a normal sounding ending.

Sterling Morrison died of a degenerative disease (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) just two years after this tour, so we're lucky it happened when it did. 

This album is an hour and 55 minutes long.

01 Real Good Time Together (Velvet Underground)
02 talk (Velvet Underground)
03 Venus in Furs (Velvet Underground)
04 talk (Velvet Underground)
05 Guess I'm Falling in Love (Velvet Underground)
06 After Hours (Velvet Underground)
07 All Tomorrow's Parties (Velvet Underground)
08 Some Kinda Love (Velvet Underground)
09 I'll Be Your Mirror (Velvet Underground)
10 Beginning to See the Light (Velvet Underground)
11 The Gift (Velvet Underground)
12 I Heard Her Call My Name (Velvet Underground)
13 Femme Fatale (Velvet Underground)
14 talk (Velvet Underground)
15 Hey Mr. Rain (Velvet Underground)
16 talk (Velvet Underground)
17 Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground)
18 Velvet Nursery Rhyme (Velvet Underground)
19 talk (Velvet Underground)
20 White Light-White Heat (Velvet Underground)
21 I'm Sticking with You (Velvet Underground)
22 The Black Angel's Death Song (Velvet Underground)
23 Rock and Roll (Velvet Underground)
24 talk (Velvet Underground)
25 I Can't Stand It [Edit] (Velvet Underground)
26 I'm Waiting for the Man (Velvet Underground)
27 Heroin (Velvet Underground)
28 talk (Velvet Underground)
29 Coyote (Velvet Underground)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/f2j62dqb

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/WKgJXJR7BeX4jH2/file

The cover photo isn't from this concert, but it's close. It was taken three days later at the Forum in London. From left to right, that's Cale, Reed, Tucker, and Morrison. For the band name at the top, I used the art from the official live album.

John Cale, Nick Cave & Chrissie Hynde - Songwriters' Circle, Subterania Club, London, Britain, 7-9-1999

I recently discovered a bunch of "Songwriters' Circle" albums, and I plan on posting more of them soon. Most of them are pretty hard to find, except this one. It probably gets around more due to the star line-up of John Cale (formerly of the Velvet Underground), Nick Cave, and Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders.

By the way, I've already posted two Songwriters' Circle albums. They all follow the same format, in which three singer-songwriters are chosen and take turns singing songs in an acoustic format. Sometimes they join in a bit on each other's songs, sometimes not. Then, at the end, they usually sing a song together. 

I've already posted two such shows. Here's one with Jimmy Webb, Chip Taylor, and Nick Lowe:

https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2023/03/jimmy-webb-chip-taylor-nick-lowe.html

And here's one with Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega, and Loudon Wainwright III:

https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2022/12/richard-thompson-suzanne-vega-loudon.html

I have figured out all of these come from a BBC TV show called "Songwriters' Circle." But the odd thing is, this show has had two brief runs. There were a bunch of shows in 1999, including the one I'm posting here. Then there was a second bunch in 2010 and 2011. There haven't been any since. All the episodes remain unreleased as audio albums, but you can often find the videos of them on YouTube.

For this show, I found out there are two versions. One ends with "The Ship Song," and goes into a BBC DJ announcing the end of the show. Another has one more song, a cover of "I'm Waiting for the Man" by the Velvet Underground. I used the shorter version for most of this concert, since I had that in better quality. But I added in the extra song from the other version.

This album is 49 minutes long.

01 talk (John Cale)
02 Dying on the Vine (John Cale)
03 talk (Chrissie Hynde)
04 Talk of the Town (Chrissie Hynde)
05 talk (Nick Cave)
06 West Country Girl (Nick Cave)
07 Thoughtless Kind (John Cale)
08 talk (Chrissie Hynde)
09 Kid (Chrissie Hynde)
10 talk (Nick Cave)
11 Henry Lee (Nick Cave)
12 talk (John Cale)
13 Fear Is a Man's Best Friend (John Cale)
14 talk (Chrissie Hynde)
15 I'll Stand by You (Chrissie Hynde)
16 talk (Nick Cave)
17 Into My Arms (Nick Cave)
18 talk (John Cale)
19 Ship of Fools (John Cale)
20 Back on the Chain Gang (Chrissie Hynde)
21 The Ship Song (Nick Cave)
22 talk (Chrissie Hynde)
23 I'm Waiting for the Man (John Cale, Nick Cave & Chrissie Hynde)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/ewxUQBev

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/user/files/oKg50OZy7rZu2qu/file

The image is from this exact concert. I took it from a high-quality video. Nick Cave was far apart from the others on stage, due to him having to stick by the piano. I moved him in much closer.