Having Fun With Elvis On Stage Manhattan KS

Having Fun With Elvis On Stage

Elvis Presley

1975, RCA

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/19/2007

In almost every book or article I’ve read that talks about the worst records ever released on the market, the general consensus is that Having Fun With Elvis On Stage -- an album originally released as a souvenir at concerts in 1974 and officially released by RCA one year later -- easily qualifies at the worst.

And so, I went on a quest to find this disc -- kind of like to see if this is the musical equivalent of passing by a car wreck on the highway. After a long time searching -- I guess most people don’t want to admit they ever owned this one -- I finally landed a copy of this most reviled disc.

And… well, I don’t believe I’m writing this -- but it’s not as bad as everyone says it is.

Oh, sure, at one time it might have been the worst disc on the market -- an honor I claim is owned by Ringo Starr’s I Wanna Be Santa Claus. But remember that at this time, Elvis had become a caricature of himself. Gone was the thin, movie-star idol that everyone remembered; in his place was the fat, sweaty, jump-suited character that kind of looked like Elvis in the right light if you squinted, surrounded by screaming, crazed fans who would have applauded Elvis farting.