By the time Elvis mounted the stage at NBC's Burbank Studios in June 1968 for two shows, he had been languishing in Hollywood Purgatory for most of the decade. The director of the NBC special that would bare Elvis's name wanted to scrap the "Broadway/Supper Club" approach that Col. Tom Parker wanted and get Elvis "back to the basics" of his rockabilly roots.

The resulting special - aired in December 1968 - was a compromise: Elvis doing roughly half of the show in elaborate set pieces and the other half, a sit-down near-free-form jam session between Elvis and his band in front of a select audience. That jam - whose 6pm session makes up the second disk of this set - is ragged, repetitive, the songs frequently half-finished or interrupted - and its just about the most exciting music Elvis ever recorded. There's a sheer joy of re-discovery when he tears into "That's All Right, Mama" and the amazing energy he displays on "Tryin' to Get to You", "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", and "One Night" bespeaks a man liberated - albeit briefly - from the dreck he was saddled with singing during the 60's. This is a rare return to form in between Elvis's depressing slide into hack movie star and his even more depressing fall into drugged-out Vegas crooner.

The first disc features the more elaborate production music and while its not to be dismissed - especially Elvis's gospel medley - it not nearly as fascinating as the second disc.

RCA's repackaging of Elvis's material is frequently annoying - and this set is overpriced - but its worth it to get the first (and best) deliberately "unplugged" sessions in rock history. (A second disc - "Tiger Man" - features the set of "unplugged" sessions recorded at 8pm that night. Its somewhat inferior to the 6 pm session because the band didn't quite get it together again (NBC used most of the 6pm show for the special) but it does have a great version of "Tiger Man" that not available on the "Memories" disc. Why RCA didn't band all the sessions together is beyond me.)

Forget the Sun recordings or the 1969 Memphis sessions - this is Elvis Presley's best work. When John Lennon said that "Elvis died after he went into the Army," he obviously didn't see the historic Comeback Special. Lennon never came close to capturing the raw power of Presley's 1968 performance - nor has any other rock artist. "Memories" is an indispensable two-CD document of this legendary show. More than 35 years later, Presley's performance remains astonishing. The King not only earned his crown, but reinvented his music in the process.

Essentially this album is two parts--the over-the-top concert section where Elvis is pacing back and forth, and the unplugged set on the 2nd disc, which is pretty much the only thing that recommends this album.

Don't get me wrong, his voice hit its peak around this time--just compare the strength of these renditions to the 50's and 60's master recordings; you'll find there's no comparison. But the first disc is ruined by anemically taped music which is no more than Elvis doing Karioke. The song selection isn't bad; ditto the gospel medley. But disc one is NOT Elvis at his best.

Disc two, on the other hand, is the killer. It's far from perfect, filled with humour, and proves that all you need is heart and soul (you either got it or you don't) to make an audience feel what's real. Sparse acoustic guitars and just Elvis' voice make this disc kicking beyond belief, especially 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy', 'One Night', 'Baby What You Want Me To Do', and especially 'Love Me'.

3 stars for the first, 5 for the second, which is why this is only a 4 star rating.

Just for truth's sake, on disc 1, Elvis was not singing to taped music (or karaoke as it was condescendingly referred to), it was done live - I've SEEN THE OUTTAKES. You can see the band, and you can see if he makes a mistake the band stops. The only part that the vocals were dubbed were the story sequences, for obvious resons. He also jams with the band for a while during the stand up part playing lead electric blues guitar. You'd be surprised how good he really was on the guitar, no hendrix, but definately a Neil Young. I heard Elvis do guitar solos, oh yeah, the boy can play. And also, he has SO MUCH ENERGY on disc 1 it's mind-blowing. The sound quality is crisp, the bass is pumping, and Elvis vocals portray him as the grass-roots blues singer he is. Another thing is, you get a good glimpse of Elvis' sense of humor in this 2-disc set, which is good for seeing his humanity. That today a singer who gets involved with drugs is pitied and coddled, and Elvis gets called childish names is beyond me, but that's how comfortable it is to agree with a stereotype. Well, no stereotype here, you will hear why Elvis will remain the #1 Artist of all time.

For those who were paying attention, Elvis's music in the sixties were mostly confined to soundtrack recordings which were some of the lamest to be ever issued on vinyl, which is what makes his comeback so remarkable. This was no special where Elvis is crooning Christmas carols (which is what Colonel Parker wanted in the first place). This was do or die for Elvis's future to be taken seriously as an artist. It's hard to imagine what direction Elvis would've taken had this comeback special flopped. Fortunately (for him and for fans all over the world) it didn't.

The first disc concentrates on the elaborate production numbers. Although it loses some of its luster without the visuals, there are some fine moments here; "Trouble/Guitar Man" is a terrific opening number (in my mind Elvis rocks harder here than the King Creole version), and the gospel medley, "Memories", and "If I Can Dream", to name but three songs, are as moving as anything Elvis recorded up to this point.

The second disc features the informal "ringside" concert sequence and it is as incredible and soulful as other reviewers have alluded to. The same thing can be said really about the whole package. (So is the video of this program, which I also totally recommend.)

For Elvis diehards, this is an absolutely essential 2-CD set. But even if you're not don't let this stop you from enjoying the moment when Elvis stopped singing appalling junk for equally appalling movies by laying his (artistic) life on the line and truly recapturing the "Keys to the Kingdom".

Peace.