Rippin' It In Cincinnati

Announcement: The second 2018 release from Straight Arrow is entitled Rippin' It In Cincinnati from March 21st 1976 (2:30pm show).

It was the 1st tour of 1976 and some of Elvis' key musicians were replaced. Unexpectedly, the result was a surprisingly fresh sound, with keyboards and drums prominent. During this rather short tour, Elvis performed 8 solid and entertaining shows in 4 cities.

The Cincinnati show is previously unreleased. Once again, this show was not available in acceptable sound thus far. The only existing tape in circulation was in poor quality. This was the show where Elvis ripped the seat of his blue Bicentennial suit during Polk Salad Annie, and finished the show dressed in the Rainfall suit. It is one of the very few shows where Elvis left the stage for awhile (another example is Baltimore, May 29, 1977, released on our 2xCD Breakdown In Baltimore).

This recording has been taken directly from a first generation copy of a previously unreleased original audience-recorded cassette. This concert was recorded by Elvis super-fan John Herman, who also taped the legendary Pittsburgh 1976 New Years Eve show, widely released by bootleggers and by the official FTD label.

As usual, this release is presented in a deluxe 6-panel digipak with collection of photos taken in Cincinnati and local press reviews. A couple of unpublished John Herman snapshots were added, too!