Elvis Presley In Concert

Spanish Eyes (Fort Baxter) [May 24*, 1974 MS, Lake Tahoe, Stateline, NV]

an incomplete (see below) soundboard recording of good quality;
21 tracks in total, with "Also Sprach Zarathustra" missing;
the Closing Vamp is incomplete (and tagged onto the end of "Can't Help Falling in Love"), runs for 11 seconds only and then fades out;
the artwork is very basic and at the same time quite unusual for an import CD; the disc is housed in a cardboard slipcase, with no booklet of any kind; the two small photographs featured on the back were taken during the infamous closing show on September 3rd, 1974 in Las Vegas.

Running time: 61 min. 46 sec.

Spanish Eyes, By Request! (Gravel Road Music) [May 24*, 1974 MS, Lake Tahoe, Stateline, NV]

an incomplete (see below) soundboard recording of good sound quality
when compared to Fort Baxter's release, it is obvious some tinkering with the sound has definitely been done - the volume level is up and the overall sound seems a bit more open, yet contrary to the label's press release, not really much improved);
22 tracks, with "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and most of "Closing Vamp" still missing;
"Can't Help Falling In Love" and "Closing Vamp" are presented as two separate tracks;
the artwork and overall design are very good; the three-panel, gate-folded digipak houses the disc and a 20-page full-color, informative booklet; however, the five photographs gracing the covers of the digipak were not taken at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel but on tour on March 14, 1974 in Murfreesboro, TN; the pictures in the booklet are said to be have been taken on May 24, 1974 and are sourced from the "World's Best Kept Secret: Elvis live at Sahara Tahoe" book by Sue McCasland and Joseph A. Krein; some copies of the CD were supplemented with "a reproduction of the rare May 1974 Sahara Tahoe reservation postcard with the color photo of Elvis on back, and another menu-sized, "Your Personal Invitation", card with the invite on the flip-side."

Running time: 61 min. 48 sec.

General comments:

* the correct date for the show may possibly be May 23rd as Elvis sings "Spanish Eyes" as a birthday request/present for a Linda ("We got a request for somebody's birthday. I'd like to dedicate this song to Linda. It's her birthday and she wants to hear 'Blue Spanish Eyes'"). Linda Thompson's birthday is May 23rd, but of course it doesn't necessarily have to be her, it may as well be another Linda. (One might think Elvis would sound more affectionate when fulfilling his girlfriend's request.)
the May 24 soundboard recording of "Spanish Eyes" is one of only 3 currently available soundboard recorded performances of the song and the only one exclusive to an import CD; the other two versions can be found on FTD's "I Found My Thrill" (January 27, 1974 MS) and "It's Midnight" (August 24, 1974 MS).

Running time differences:

there is a one-second long silent spot prior to "C. C. Rider" and one after the (faded out) "Closing Vamp" which make the Gravel Road CD 2 seconds longer than the Baxter disc.