Rocking the Garden (by Nadine Steffens & Taniolo)

Between June 9th and June 11th 1972 gave Elvis well-known-measured four concerts in the Madison Square Garden which made music history. From collectors point of view there is only very little video material (footage) of these events. 

There circles various Videotapes and/or VCDs with this material. Probably in particular the most well-known and most complete cuts of this pictorial material is under the video titles "An Afternoon in the Garden" or "Rocking the Garden" known and contains more or less completely for instance the same material. There are small differences what the quality concerns, as well as the length of the respective sequences. To my knowledge on the VCD Rocking the Garden is a relatively complete and good cut of this material. Therefore the following review is concentrated on that material, from the 79-min VCD version Rocking the Garden. Those actually play time of the MSG footage amounts to 42:06 min.

The VCD Rocking the Garden contains beside the 8-mm-concert footage also cuts from certain New York bulidings as the RCA recording studio. Probably a majority of the 8-mm-footage was originally taken up with original sound , why it was later overdubbed? Possibly the sound was too bad that the material needed an overdubb. In order to be able to make yourself an impression of the footage, there are in the Excerpts section some excerpts from the VCD Rocking the Garden. The actual 8-mm-Footage starts with cuts from the afternoon Show (2:30 pm) June 10th 1972. Elvis wears the Lightblue Grass Suit (Jumpsuits ). He begins this performance as for many times in 1972 concerts with That`s all right mama. The Song was nearly completely filmed. The play time of this Song 1:57 min.

How in further places of this video are the current pictures interrupted from the show of a few still pictures (like the following), during that, the overdubbed sound in the background continues to run. It has the appearance as if these would have been filmed out of a booklet. Cuts of Proud Mary (1:10 min.) followed of Polk Salad Annie (1:56 min.) also there are a few mad carat moves at the end of the songs. Afterwards there is again a sequence of Proud Mary (0:18 min.) The conception runs to Never Been to Spain (2:06 min), where we have a few beautiful, even if they are unfortunately easily indistinct close-ups. Sound runs here only very rarely with the picture synchronously.
Afterwards runs for 1: 32 min. Heartbreak Hotel . Also these scenes includes some close-ups and Elvis is only in large admission to be seen. It continues to Hound Dog (1:43 min). During the cuts of Hound Dog are again a few snapshots (still pictures). Also the following I`ll Remember You comes with overdubbed sound . Again picture and sound are not synchronous. That becomes clear with the close-ups.

We rise in Suspicious Minds (2:39 min). The video admission begins only, after the Song already past to the half. To see various Close Ups and Elvis offers quantity Action. Again at the end of Suspicious Minds a small carat demonstration is done. Followed again by a few concert photos. Afterwards the end of Suspicious Minds (0:30 min.) again repeats. (0:24min)Band introductions to come. It continues to go with An American Trilogy (1:30 min.) and also here overdubbed sound unfortunately not synchronously with the current cuts. The following cuts of Funny How Times slip Away (0:15 min.) were filmed from another position , possibly of a second camera. Also the colors of this sequence are somewhat better.A cutout follows from I Can`t stop Loving You for few seconds (0:04 min.), on what it draws to You`ve lost that lovin` feelin`(2:37 min) .

By the new camera angle we have also here a much better image quality, which is probably because of the better lighting conditions. During the performance of You`ve lost that lovin`feelin` there is a 16-mm (??) camera in front of Elvis in the picture to see (see right picture of the three following). The movements of Elvis are relative synchronous in this phase of the video with the music. A cutout follows from Love me (0:09 min.), which actually runs at a earlier time of the show. After Love me there is a further mark for 14 seconds of Suspicious Minds . A tiny cutout of For The Good Times (0:03 min.)I Can`t stop Loving You is next for (1:27 min.) from the middle to the end of the Song. Now the finish of Can`t Help Falling in Love and the closing vamp (0:40 min.). We see Elvis from the stage disappearing and again a few photos can be seen. Now An American Trilogy (1:02 min.) and likewise the end of Can`t Help Falling in Love plus Closing vamp (2:37 min.) again repeats, here from another camera angle.

The scenes of the Closing vamp follows - this time in slow motion and the speaker in the background divides us that Elvis has left the building.The following footage of That`s all right mama is taken from the concert of the June 9th 1972 (8:30 pm) and some cuts from June 10th (8:30pm). Elvis wears this time the Adonis Suit and in a sequence the Port Hole Suit(Jumpsuits ). The 2001 Theme (0:18 min.) starts and Elvis enters the stage. Footage of That`s all right mama follows (1:21 min.)mixed with footage from June 11th (2:30pm). Followed by Proud Mary (0:42 min.). Afterwards the footage from June 9th ends. With the footage mentioned last, it does not concern the usual 8mm-Material, but these are obviously moderate copies of the material filmed at that time by ABC.

This material can be seen partly in the Video section.Cuts of the RCA studio in New York and the indicating panel of the Garden follows. During that we hear Stranger in The Crowd in the background. There is now again footage of Elvis in the Lightblue Grass Suit, thus again from the June 10th 2:30 pm show . Also here it is to be recognized again clearly that Overdubbs were used. Again there is 1: 15 min. of That`s all right mama. Song parts, which were partly used at the beginning of the video, are to be seen now, the beginning of Proud Mary (0:19 min.). Never Been to Spain (1:27 min.) is represented also in this section of the video. It follows footage, which emerged before neither in short nor in a long version: You don`t have to say you love me (1:15 min.). At this time the video material becomes very indistinct and dark.Unfortunately it is no more recognizble if it is the original sound or not. But due to the very good sound quality one must assume that overdubbs were done.

On the footage of You`ve lost that lovin` feelin`(1:00 min.) Elvis is to be recognized only very badly. The conclusion part of Polk Salad Annie follows (1:30 min.). From the so-called 50`s block we have Love me(0:05 min.) All Shock up (0:08 min.) Heartbreak hotel (0:12 min.) and Love me tender (0:14 min.). Afterwards still another short cutout follows to the music of The Impossible Dream (0:20 min.) and in the middle of the Song the admission jumps again to Hound Dog . However is the image quality how already mentions very badly. It is noticble that Elvis in this concert did not sing The Impossibele Dream at all. So it is very clear that the overdubbs were done with song material from the evening show not knowing, that Elvis did not sing that song in the afternoon show June 10th 2:30 pm .

Now again small excerpts from the following Songs:

Suspicious Minds (0:30 min.)
Introductions (0:16 min.)
For The Good Times (0:07 min.)
At American Trilogy (0:14 min.)
Funny How Times slip Away (0:10 min.)
I Can`t stop Loving You (0:12 min.)
Can`t Help Falling in Love \ Closing vamp (0:36 min.)

With this, the Footage from the VCD Rocking the Garden ends..