Elvis - 30 years after

[MBE]

Jerry Lee's is a great version but he and Elvis approached the song quite differently. Elvis kind of made it sly subtle invitation to bed, Jerry Lee attacked it hard, with pure energy substituting for anything subtle. He is demanding sex. Promised Land is very good too but I still love Raised On Rock and the way Elvis sounds on everything (except Girl Of Mine that does sound bad). Glad you like it too even if for different reasons.

[NC]

It's fairly evident to me that he was disinterested during the ROR sessions. It was an interesting experiment that failed. Consider the December Stax sessions where he sounds much more engaged. The first sessions were scheduled during a terrible time in his life, and that is evident in the performances. It's still an album I enjoy, mainly because it is so different. On a few songs, the laid back feeling adds to the feel of the track, like "Just A Little Bit" and "For Ol' Times Sake". On others, like "Raised On Rock" and "Girl Of Mine", he sounds tired and lifeless.

I also like Good Times a lot. I consider it more introspective than anything before From Elvis Presley Boulevard. The only tracks that don't fit in are "Spanish Eyes" and "I've Got a Thing About You Baby", which would have fit in better on ROR.
 

[Rocker]

I also like Good Times a lot. I consider it more introspective than anything before From Elvis Presley Boulevard. The only tracks that don't fit in are "Spanish Eyes" and "I've Got a Thing About You Baby", which would have fit in better on ROR.
 

Really? I always feel that "Good times" was one of his weaker albums, although there are a few great cuts on it. "Take good care of her" though is imho one of his worst performances. "I've got a thing about you baby" (inspired not by Tony Joe White's original but probably more by Billy Lee Riley's awesome '72 version) is a classic and should have been a hit. "My boy" is great and I think it reveals some of his personal feelings. I don't know why he didn't use the "pills"-line in "Good time Charlie's got the blues", probably because he didn't wanna be put in that direction. Cool performance btw, same for "Talk about the good times" and the awesome "Loving arms", one of his best songs ever. Now wait... I actually might like this album much better than I thought.... Except for "Take good care of her", there's alot of great music on it... Thanks for reminding me...

[NC]

I think the big problem with the three albums that came from those sessions was one of sequencning and editing. The weaker stuff brings each of the albums down.

[pixletwin]

I was surprised on this anniversary that noone posted Bono's awesome tribute to Elvis: American David.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ke2Yd3IV3To

I love this poem! 

[Rocker]

I think the big problem with the three albums that came from those sessions was one of sequencning and editing. The weaker stuff brings each of the albums down.

Well to me "Promised land" is probably his best album from the 70s and I can't find anything really weak on that. Some filelrs but still of high quality. They should've put the title track on "Raised on rock" though and another sad ballad on this album and it would be perfect. A great collection of sad songs, like Pet Sounds was once described.

I was surprised on this anniversary that noone posted Bono's awesome tribute to Elvis: American David.

 

Very interesting, I never saw this. Although I usually don't care much about all this myth-things but for the only important thing, the music, it's always fascinating what he means to others and this here was done pretty intelligent.

[MBE]

It's funny how much debate the Stax sessions always provoke. Kind of like the 8-74 shows which I love myself. In fact the only concerts I find consistently poor are the ones from the first nine months of 1976. While I don't really like the  Love Letters LP as a whole nor the 71 Xmas, the other studio LP's Elvis did in the 70's are very good. I really think a record like Fool, Raised On Rock, Elvis Now etc are superb albums despite them stemming from various sessions. I mean take Girl Happy Kissin Cousin's or things like that. That is the bad stuff. From 1954-1977 Elvis was usually an amazing artist. Only on some of the soundtracks do I truly dislike anything.

[Rocker]

From 1954-1977 Elvis was usually an amazing artist. Only on some of the soundtracks do I truly dislike anything.

I don't think anyone was denying this, but even a great artist like Elvis could do merda when he wasn't in a good enough mood. Anyway, thankfully most of his 70s stuff is far from being merda.


Guys, I just got the new "Viva Las Vegas"-CD. No, not the soundtrack to his movie, but a new BMG/RCA-CD of live stuff. I believe in the U.S. there will only be the one disc-edition, which is a shame, as the second includes an unreleased complete '69 concert, the first one that was recorded by RCA back then. The first one has some of the best Vegas-recordings Elvis did in great sound quality and at least "Polk salad" comes in the original mix, not the new one they used many times for CDs. Don't know about the other ones, because I hadn't had a chance to listen to everything yet. But I managed to listen to the '69 concert. It's not the best one from that time, but even an average '69-Elvis is better than most other rock-musicians. You should check it out, as it really is a fantastic release with probably the best music Elvis recorded.
There will be a TV-special on Elvis and Las Vegas and this CD should be the soundtrack to it if I understood it rightly.
If anyone wants to hear a snippet or two of this double-CD, email me at  onkelzlife@gmx.de or pm

Here's the single disc:

http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-Viva-Las-Vegas-Presley/dp/B000RIWAWQ/ref=sr_1_23/105-8601982-2757267?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1186497592&sr=1-23


and this is the double disc with the unreleased '69 concert:

http://www.amazon.com/Viva-Las-Vegas-Elvis-Presley/dp/B000RZOR6G/ref=sr_1_68/105-8601982-2757267?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1186497764&sr=1-68 (romours were that this won't be available after the TV-show, but I don't know if they changed their mind about it)


BTW did I told you that a german TV-station will play "Flaming star", "Elvis by the Presleys" plus the '68 Comeback in a row on august 15th? Word was that they also show the Aloha-concert the next day but I couldn't find it on their site.


EDIT: See this, official, site for a trailer for the "Viva Las Vegas" (single disc) and I guess infos where you can get the 2-disc-edition n the US:

http://www.elvisthemusic.com/

[halblaineisgood]

Has anybody heard Arthur Alexander's original version of Burning Love?.....I have not.

[MBE]

Yeah I have Alexander's  LP it's pretty good.  Elvis added the ending with the screaming.

[Rocker]

Elvis added the ending with the screaming.

But not the "hunka-hunka burning love", right? I heard that that was on the original too, but I haven't heard it, so I can't say.
I have to admit that I like the liveversion of that song better, he seems more into it.

While we were talking about the Memphis-albums from the early 70s (Stax), I think there was a big chance which they blew, to really make a great series out of it. Imagine three complete albums recorded in Memphis and then he presents them live with his first Memphis-show since '61, released as "Recorded live on stage in Memphis". I think that album is a very good one (in fact I wished the Aloha show would've been this good, performance wise). He's in very strong voice and sings with power, which was this way on many of the early '74-shows. Unfortunately he only played "Help me" from the Stax-sessions. Over the years "If you talk in your sleep" "My boy" "Raised on rock" "It's midnight" "Promised land" "Spanish eyes" "Good time Charlie's got the blues" were all played live and "You're love's been a long time coming" was rehearsed (which shows how much respect he had for the material that was recorded). That could've been such a fantastic show and very good promotion for his new albums. Just a little thought

[MBE]

The hunka hunka is there but not emphisised as much. I think the song ends with the first verse being sung at the fade. What I am getting at actually is that Elvis had to have gotten into Burning Love once he started recording it because it's hardly a paint by numbers cover version. Getting him into the mood may have been hard but I think he really made a classic once he decided to record it. That live album would have been a good idea, he probably just didn't think of it.

[Rocker]

Check this out:

http://www.smileysmile.net/index.php/news/jerry_schilling_and_elvis

And with a little more text:

http://musicnews.virginmedia.com/news/?news_id=26196

Anyone has that book? It seems not to be available in Germany, so I couldn't get it yet...

[MBE]

I have it and I like what I have read so far. He speaks of Elvis as a real friend no garbage in it.

[Rocker]

So yesterday was a big Elvis-event on a german TV-station, as I have posted before. they showed "Flaming star", after that "Elvis by the Presleys", which was nice but imo has no reason to exist because it's basically the same stuff that was already know, but Jerry Schilling and Michelle Beaulieu were tehre for a little Beach Boys-connection (unfortunately the don't talk about any relationship between Elvis and the boys). After that came the first big thing, a new edit, made out of the deluxe-DVD-edition, of the '68 comeback special. Very well done and changing between Stand-up and Sit-down-shows, unfortunately none of the production numbers (except "Trouble/Guitar man" and the new video of "If I can dream"). I wished they wouldn't have showed one of the stand-up "Blue suede shoes" but the one from the second sit-down-show.
After that came the Aloha-concert and fortunately they mostly used the stronger performances from that show, no boring "Hound dog" or "Blue suede shoes". the worst thing they showed was "I can't stop loving you" and that one is only bad because of the intro which Elvis totally blew. Actually you could almost think that this was a great concert, which it wasn't of course. They even used different camera-angles from the Deluxe-DVD.

All in all, a great evening of Elvis on TV and finally they showed that you can pay tribute to him by showing some of his finest hours and not "Paradise hawaiian style".
At the same time as "Elvis by the Presleys" and the Comeback was shown, another TV-station showed "It happened at the world's fair" and today they gonna bring "Viva Las Vegas" while a german-french art-TV-station is doing another Elvis-evening. Hope that I can watch enough of that as it's my mother's birthday and we all go out tonight.


Oh and the new best-of "Elvis - the King", which was advertised very much, because the TV-station, along with another one and Germany's biggest boulevard-magazine are the partners, is selling very good over here. It was top 5 yesterday on amazon.de and the awesome "Viva Las vegas" double CD was in the 60s.

Hope that they'll show "That's the way it is" and "Elvis on tour" for the next anniversary. I think this is the way to go to get Elvis back into everyone's minds as an artist

[Rocker]

Here's something cool. It's a documentary about the making of Elvis' first album (the one with the cover that "The Clash" used for "London calling"). Sam Phillips, DJ Fontana, Scotty Moore, BB King, Keith Richards and Ernst Jorgensen are among those who where interviewed. You can hear how Sam Phillips was the producer during the Sun-years and how Elvis became his own when going to RCA (I hope those sessions you can hear little snippets of, will be released on FTD someday). I think it could've been a little deeper with more detail but at least there is a documentary that is about Elvis' work and music. It features some live-performances too. What do you guys think about it?


Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

[MBE]

It's ok but should have been more strictly on the album because so much of what's there is covered elsewhere. Also got tired of the celebrity talking heads. I would have rather seen a little more of the musicians who worked on it and of course more Elvis footage.

[I. Spaceman]

There's a lot in Elvis By The Presleys that isn't covered elsewhere.

[Rocker]

There's a lot in Elvis By The Presleys that isn't covered elsewhere.

But not too much about his work, or am I wrong? I only saw the edited version of "Elvis by the Presleys" that was shown on TV and to tell you the truth, I'm not very keen on seeing the rest if all is about this personal stuff.

[I. Spaceman]

There's a lot in Elvis By The Presleys that isn't covered elsewhere.

But not too much about his work, or am I wrong? I only saw the edited version of "Elvis by the Presleys" that was shown on TV and to tell you the truth, I'm not very keen on seeing the rest if all is about this personal stuff.

Yep, it is not about the music. But for anyone who cares about the man himself, not just the artist, it is a great documentary.