The live album from the Elvis special is the audio-only version of the special, and consists of a mixture of studio and live recordings, the live material itself a mixture of "sit-down" tracks with a small group and "stand-up" tracks with an orchestra. Unlike the drudgery of the feature film soundtrack recordings, Presley was genuinely excited by the project. For the album, the musical format presented Presley in three different settings: production numbers featuring medleys of his material; an informal small band featuring full songs in front of a live audience; and the two original numbers with Presley backed by an orchestra in front of a live audience. The two ballad tracks from this album were issued as singles. "If I Can Dream" being released earlier in the month, backed on the B-side with a song from his movie in theaters at the time, Live a Little, Love a Little, making it a double promotion on one record. It peaked at #12 on the BillboardHot 100, his highest charting single since 1965. "Memories" was released over two months after the broadcast, backed with the title song to his next film, Charro!. By making it to the top ten on the album chart after his previous album had charted at a dismal #82, this LP resuscitated his recording career at a time when it seemed practically moribund. Presley insisted the mono mixes for these songs were retained for the album.
Reissues
Several hours of music were recorded for the special, and the unused material has been reissued in many different formats over the years.
On August 27, 1991, RCA released an expanded version for compact disc, including unedited versions of the medleys in several cases.
Two extensive compact disc releases appeared in 1998, featuring more comprehensive versions of the production and orchestral numbers, along with the complete first informal small band show of June 27, and Tiger Man featuring the complete evening show of the two informal small band concerts of June 27, 1968.
On August 5, 2008, Legacy released The Complete '68 Comeback Special, a 4-CD compilation of the complete recording sessions for the special. It was later expanded and re-issued as '68 Comeback Special - 50th Anniversary Edition on November 30, 2018, adding new stereo mixes of "Memories" and "If I Can Dream" as well as a bonus disc of sessions and alternate takes and two blu-rays worth of video.
