Elvis Presley has never been lacking in live recordings.  Five such albums (not counting partially-live albums like the ’68 comeback album Elvis and the documentary soundtrack That’s the Way It Is) arrived in Presley’s lifetime, and countless more after his tragic death on August 16, 1977.  All were certified gold or platinum, and all were from the period between 1969 and 1974 when the superstar reinvented himself on the concert stages of Las Vegas.  If any album captured the bond between entertainer and audience, though, it was 1972’s 3x platinum Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden.  The four concerts of Presley’s Big Apple stint were heavily promoted.  He hadn’t appeared in New York since television appearances of 1956 and 1957, and excitement was high in 1972 following recent concert triumphs and a flow of hit records.  It’s been reported that David Bowie, George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel and Bob Dylan attended the shows.  So hot a ticket was the engagement that the album was rushed out one week after the concerts took place, so all could revel in the splendor of the King at the top of his game.

The concert presented on the original album was from Saturday evening, June 10, 1972.  That day’s afternoon performance was also recorded, though it wasn’t issued in full until 1997’s An Afternoon in the Garden.  Now, both concerts have been paired for the very first time in a new deluxe 2-CD/1-DVD box set due on October 30 from RCA Victor and Legacy Recordings, Prince From Another Planet: Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden - 40th Anniversary Edition.  The box set’s unusual title comes from a New York Times headline accompanying Chris Chase’s enthusiastic review of the MSG stand: “When Joe DiMaggio hit a baseball, his grace made the act look easy and inevitable; whether it turned into a pop fly or a home run, it was beautiful, because he did what he did so well.  Friday night, at Madison Square Garden, Elvis was like that. He stood there at the end, his arms stretched out, the great gold cloak giving him wings, a champion, the only one in his class.”  Chase attended the Friday night performance on June 9 as well as that afternoon’s press conference; the final show was on Sunday, June 11.  Make no mistake, this was Elvis’ own Main Event.

For Legacy’s box set, both the afternoon and evening shows have been newly-mixed by engineer Michael Brauer, and liner notes have been commissioned from Lenny Kaye, the Nuggets curator and guitarist for Patti Smith.  As music editor of Cavalier magazine, Kaye covered the press conference and concerts at the time, and his 5,000-word note draws on those memories.

In addition to the two CDs, a DVD presents previously-unseen footage of the Saturday afternoon show, captured on hand-held camera by a fan, and now acquired by Legacy for this package.  This concert footage takes its place alongside a document of the press conference that took place on Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.  Colonel Parker was, of course, in attendance, as was Presley’s father Vernon.

Hit the jump for more, including a pre-order link and full track listing with discography!

For his New York stand, Elvis and his TCB Band had a typically diverse setlist.  There’s plenty of Las Vegas grandeur on hand from the opening fanfare of “Also Sprach Zarathrustra,” not to mention big-voiced renditions of Mickey Newbury’s “An American Trilogy” and Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie.”   Elvis took on the Righteous Brothers with Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Phil Spector’s “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and channeled both Creedence Clearwater Revival and Ike and Tina Turner with his rip-roaring take on John Fogerty’s “Proud Mary.”  Elvis stormed through “Suspicious Minds,” and revisited his older classics, too, with rockers “Hound Dog,” “All Shook Up,” “Don’t Be Cruel” and ballads “Love Me Tender" and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Four songs from the afternoon show were not performed at the evening show: Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes,” Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Until It’s Time for You to Go,” Lowell Fulson’s “Reconsider Baby,” and Don Ho’s “I’ll Remember You.”  Just one song from the evening show was not performed at the afternoon show: the oft-covered “The Impossible Dream” from Broadway’s Man of La Mancha.  Still, Elvis fans have enjoyed dissecting the minutiae that differentiates the shows, and both are altogether electrifying listening experiences.

A 2-CD Legacy Edition of Prince from Another Planet will also be available.  Both titles arrive on October 30 from RCA and Legacy and can be pre-ordered below.   For many shows, it’s de rigeur to say “you had to be there.”  Since we can’t see the likes of this otherworldly visitor in person again, this set will likely prove the next best thing.

Elvis Presley, Prince from Another Planet – Elvis as Recorded Live at Madison Square Garden: 40^th Anniversary Edition (RCA/Legacy 88691 95388 2, 2012 – also available as 2-CD Legacy Edition)

Disc 1: Afternoon show recorded June 10, 1972 (previously released on An Afternoon In the Garden, RCA CD 67457-2, 1997)

1. Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey)
2. That's All Right
3. Proud Mary
4. Never Been To Spain
5. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
6. Until It’s Time For You To Go
7. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
8. Polk Salad Annie
9. Love Me
10. All Shook Up
11. Heartbreak Hotel
12. Medley: (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear/ Don't Be Cruel
13. Love Me Tender
14. Blue Suede Shoes
15. Reconsider Baby
16. Hound Dog
17. I’ll Remember You
18. Suspicious Minds
19. Introductions by Elvis
20. For The Good Times
21. An American Trilogy
22. Funny How Time Slips Away
23. I Can't Stop Loving You
24. Can't Help Falling In Love
25. End Theme (Orchestra)

Disc 2: Evening show recorded June 10, 1972 (previously released on Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden, RCA LP LSP 4776, 1972)

1.  Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey)
2. That's All Right
3. Proud Mary
4. Never Been To Spain
5. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
6. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
7. Polk Salad Annie
8. Love Me
9. All Shook Up
10. Heartbreak Hotel
11. Medley: (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear/ Don't Be Cruel
12. Love Me Tender
13. The Impossible Dream (The Quest)
14. Introductions by Elvis
15. Hound Dog
16. Suspicious Minds
17. For The Good Times
18. An American Trilogy
19. Funny How Time Slips Away
20. I Can't Stop Loving You
21. Can't Help Falling In Love
22. End Theme (Orchestra)

Disc 3 (DVD)

1. Afternoon show filmed June 10, 1972 (approx. 1 hour)
2. Afternoon press conference held June 9, 1972 (approx. 20 minutes)