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Sony/Legacy is doing another Presley project. This time it's about his sessions at Stax in 1973 which imo gave us some of Elvis' very best 70s material but also some of his very worst. More infos:


ELVIS AT STAX: DELUXE EDITION CHRONICLES 40th ANNIVERSARY OF HISTORIC HOMETOWN STUDIO SESSIONS OF JULY AND DECEMBER 1973

DELUXE 3-CD BOX SET MARKS FIRST GATHERING OF 28 MASTERS AND 27 OUTTAKES IN ONE COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE

Master recordings at Stax Studios in Memphis include 1973-1975 RCA single sides: Mark James’ “Raised On Rock,” Tony Joe White’s “I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby,” Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land,” Larry Gatlin’s “Help Me,” plus Dennis Linde's "I Got A Feelin' In My Body," Danny O’Keefe’s “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues,” Waylon Jennings’ “You Asked Me To,”and more

Available everywhere through RCA/Legacy on August 6, 2013

The last major studio sessions in the career of Elvis Presley have finally been gathered together for the first time in one comprehensive package as ELVIS AT STAX: DELUXE EDITION. The deluxe 3-CD box set, a 40th anniversary chronicle of a dozen nights that Presley spent at Stax Recording Studios in his hometown of Memphis in July and December 1973, will be available everywhere August 6, 2013 through RCA/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. The box set arrives in stores ten days before the anniversary of Presley's death on August 16, 1977.

Released simultaneously will be a single CD of highlights from the box set simply titled ELVIS AT STAX, and a 180-gram, double-vinyl LP.

ELVIS AT STAX: DELUXE EDITION bristles with energy and dynamism. The proof is in the six consecutive singles that the Stax sessions produced, all of which skirted the Top 40 from 1973 to 1975. In effect, they rivaled some of the hottest streaks that Presley had charted a decade earlier. The Stax singles still resonate today:
•“Raised On Rock” b/w “For Ol’ Time Sake” (Hot 100 #41, country #42);
•“I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby” b/w “Take Good Care Of Her” (Hot 100 #39, country #4);
•“Promised Land” b/w “It’s Midnight” (Hot 100 #14, country #9);
•“If You Talk In Your Sleep” b/w “Help Me” (Hot 100 #17, country #6);
•“My Boy” b/w “Thinking About You” (Hot 100 #20, country #14); and
•“Mr. Songman” (B-side of “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” Hot 100 #35, country #11).

"I Got A Feelin' In My Body" (recorded at Stax, catalog RCA PB-11679), was reissued as a posthumous single by RCA Records in 1979.

The historical significance of Presley’s work at Stax is appreciated by such music scholars as Peter Guralnick, the award-winning author of Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley (1994) and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley (1999); and producer Ernst Mikael Jørgensen, respected director of RCA’s Presley catalog for over two decades, and author of the critical research guide, Elvis Presley: A Life In Music (St. Martin’s Press, 1998).

Jørgensen has long been concerned with doing justice to the Stax sessions, which were never acknowledged by the artist's record label RCA as a unified whole. Instead, as with most of Presley's studio work in his second decade as a recording artist, the tracks were scattered onto LPs and intermingled with material recorded in Nashville and Hollywood. The bulk of the Stax cuts showed up on Raised On Rock/For Ol’ Times Sake (1973), Good Times (1974), and Promised Land (1975). For ELVIS AT STAX, many of the outtakes originated on the CD-era reissues of those three albums on Jørgensen’s and co-director Roger Semon's own label, Follow That Dream (FTD) Records. ELVIS AT STAX was produced by Jørgensen, Semon, and Rob Santos of Legacy A&R.

Taking up the cause for ELVIS AT STAX is another scholar and aficionado of the artist, award-winning resident Memphis journalist Robert Gordon, who has written an in-depth, day-by-day (i.e. night-by-night) liner notes essay for the box set. Previously, Gordon and his wife Tara McAdams (author of The Elvis Handbook, 2004) co-wrote the liner notes essay for RCA/Legacy's From Elvis In Memphis: Legacy Edition (2009). In addition to major biographies of Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis, Gordon is the author of two important Elvis Presley studies, The King on the Road: Elvis Live on Tour 1954 to 1977 (St. Martin’s, 1996) and The Elvis Treasures (Random House, 2002). Gordon has also written two books on the Memphis music scene, the acclaimed It Came from Memphis (Faber & Faber, 1995, foreword penned by Peter Guralnick) and the upcoming Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion (Bloomsbury USA, set for publication in November 2013).

Etched in music history, 1973 was a crucial watershed year for Presley, in the wake of his return to extended concert touring in 1972, after 12 years away from the stage and 27 movies in Hollywood. His New York City concert debut was emblematic of an exciting new chapter in his career. It was chronicled last year on the RCA/Legacy deluxe 2-CD+DVD box set, Prince From Another Planet: Elvis As Recorded Live At Madison Square Garden / 40th Anniversary Edition, which captured an afternoon and an evening concert staged on June 10, 1972. His manager, Colonel Tom Parker, sought a world-class mega-event to underscore the touring, which led to the one-hour global satellite broadcast from the Honolulu International Center Arena on January 14, 1973, viewed by over one billion people around the world. That, too, was recently chronicled on the RCA/Legacy double-disc set issued this past March, Aloha From Hawaii: Legacy Edition.

The highs of 1972-’73 led Presley and Colonel Parker to accept RCA’s $5.4 million offer for an outright transfer of Presley's complete back catalog. He wanted a new start, new control, and a new publishing company. But the RCA deal also called for his return to the studio and a promise for him to deliver 24 new masters, i.e. two new singles (four songs), a new pop LP (ten songs), and a new gospel LP (ten songs).

Four years earlier, in 1969, Presley had made his Memphis recording return (after a 13-year absence) at Chips Moman’s American Studios. These triumphantly successful sessions had yielded a year-long string of ‘comeback’ hit singles: “In the Ghetto” (#3), “Suspicious Minds” (#1), “Don’t Cry Daddy” (#6), and “Kentucky Rain” (#16), the last such string of major consecutive hits in his life. But by 1973, American had closed up shop, and most of its musicians had relocated to Nashville. However, Stax Studios, the launching pad of such greats as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Booker T. and The MGs, and Isaac Hayes was still thriving at its original 926 E. McLemore Avenue space. In fact, Isaac Hayes relinquished his studio time to accommodate Presley. Ironically, less than two years later in 1975, the Stax offices would also be closed.

Presley spent 12 days at Stax in 1973 (July 21-25 and December 10-16), and the rollercoaster ride of those sessions is meticulously detailed in Gordon’s liner notes. ELVIS AT STAX neatly compartmentalizes the results:
•Disc 1: The R&B and Country Sessions – The Outtakes: 17 tracks
•Disc 2: Part 1 – The Pop Sessions – The Outtakes: 10 tracks
•Disc 2: Part 2 – The July 1973 Masters: four single sides and six album tracks, and
•Disc 3: The December 1973 Masters: seven single sides and 11 album tracks.

ELVIS AT STAX: DELUXE EDITION by ELVIS PRESLEY
(RCA/Legacy 88883 72418 2)

Disc 1: The R&B and Country Sessions – The Outtakes: Selections –
1. I Got A Feelin’ In My Body - take 1 (I)
2. Find Out What’s Happening - takes 8-7 (B)
3. Promised Land - take 4 (I)
4. For Ol’ Times Sake - take 4 (I)
5. I’ve Got A Thing About You, Babe - take 14 (I)
6. It’s Midnight - take 7 (F)
7. If You Talk In Your Sleep - take 5 (J)
8. Loving Arms - take 2 (I)
9. You Asked Me To - take 3A (F)
10. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues - take 8 (I)
11. Talk About The Good Times - take 3 (I)
12. There’s A Honky Tonk Angel - take 1 (I)
13. She Wears My Ring - take 8 (I)
14. Three Corn Patches - take 14 (I)
15. I Got A Feelin’ In My Body - take 4 (J)
16. If You Don’t Come Back - take 3 (I)
17. Promised Land - take 5 (H)

Disc 2:
Part 1 – The Pop Sessions – The Outtakes: Selections –
1. Mr. Songman - take 2 (F)
2. Your Love’s Been A Long time Coming - take 4 (I)
3. Spanish Eyes - take 2 (I)
4. Take Good Care Of Her - takes 1,2,3 (D)
5. It’s Diff’rent Now (unfinished recording) (G)
6. Thinking About You - take 4 (I)
7. My Boy - take 1 (D)
8. Girl Of Mine - take 9 (I)
9. Love Song Of The Year - take 1 (F)
10. If That Isn’t Love - take 1 (I)

Part 2 – The July 1973 Masters:
11. Raised On Rock (Hot 100 #41, country #42) (A)
12. For Ol’ Time Sake (charts same as track 11) (A)
13. I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby (Hot 100 #39, country #4) (C)
14. Take Good Care Of Her (charts same as track 13) (C)
15. If You Don’t Come Back (A)
16. Three Corn Patches (A)
17. Girl Of Mine (A)
18. Just A Little Bit (A)
19. Find Out What’s Happening (A)
20. Sweet Angeline (A)

Disc 3: The December 1973 Masters: Selections –
1. Promised Land (Hot 100 #14, country #9) (E)
2. It’s Midnight (charts same as track 1) (E)
3. If You Talk In Your Sleep (Hot 100 #17, country #6) (E)
4. Help Me (charts same as track 3) (E)
5. My Boy (Hot 100 #20, country #14) (C)
6. Thinking About You (charts same as track 5) (E)
7. Mr. Songman (Hot 100 #35, country #11) (E)
8. I Got A Feelin’ In My Body (C)
9. Loving Arms (C)
10. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues (C)
11. You Asked Me To (E)
12. There’s A Honky Tonk Angel (Who Will Take Me Back In) (E)
13. Talk About The Good Times (C)
14. She Wears My Ring (C)
15. Your Love’s Been A Long Time Coming (E)
16. Love Song Of The Year (E)
17. Spanish Eyes (C)
18. If That Isn’t Love (C)

Album source index:
A – from Raised On Rock/For Ol’ Times Sake LP (RCA APL1-0388, released October 1973)
B – from Raised on Rock CD (FTD 86971 28432, released July 2007)
C – from Good Times LP (RCA CPL1-0475, released March 1974)
D – from Good Times CD (FTD 50602 09750 0 3, released December 2012)
E – from Promised Land LP (RCA APL1-0873, released January 1975)
F – from Promised Land CD (FTD 50602 09750 1 9, released December 2011)
G – from Walk a Mile in My Shoes – The Essential ’70s Masters 5-CD box set (RCA 7863-66670-2, released October 1995)
H – from Platinum - A Life In Music 4-CD box set (RCA 67469, released July 1997)
I – from Rhythm and Country CD (RCA 07863-67672-2, released August 1998)
J – from Today, Tomorrow and Forever 4-CD box set (RCA 07863-65115-2, released June 2002)


Source: http://elvisnews.com/news.aspx/elvis-at-stax/14199



(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ND2lEnjAMs/TZnKPD2t0wI/AAAAAAAACdA/NJvR5exwEy0/s1600/staxut0.jpg)

(http://elvis-memories.de/memories/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/stax73elvis.jpg)

(http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/pictures/img/elvis/70s/wayne_jackson_elvis.jpg)
with Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns

(http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/pictures/images/1972_stutz_blackhawk_pearl_white_stax_studio_1973.jpg)
Elvis at Stax Studio July 22, 1973 &
Elvis' 1972 Stutz Blackhawk at Stax Studio December, 14, 1973. © Photo by Sandi Pichon



Here's just some of the music recorded by Elvs at Stax in 1973:

"Promised Land" - this was a hit, peaking at #14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nhLWymOZBs

"If you talk in your sleep" - this was later covered by Little Milton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5bRvciQS9g

"Good time Charlie's got the blues"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk4eQTVNTaw

"For ol' times sake" - the story is that the writer of this song - Tony Joe White - was in the control room during the recording. Elvis told him afterwards that TJW was writing about Presley's life. During the Stax sessions, Elvis recorded another White composition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZINvp6SEw4

"Talk about the good times"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3QPyZbqyoM

"It's midnight"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGKNQOXn49Q

 The December 1973 sessions were productive, resulting in several hits ("If You Talk in Your Sleep", "Promised Land" and "My Boy") and a good if truncated LP (PROMISED LAND) which found Elvis in fine voice.  The overblown "My Boy", btw, was #1 on the Billboard AC chart. "Talk in Your Sleep" was a funky track about adultery written by Elvis' cousin/buddy/bodyguard Red West. Ironically, Red's lyric had Elvis playing the Mike Stone* role. "Promised Land" was of course a rollicking rendition of the Chuck Berry classic that should have peaked higher than #14.

 The July sessions were a bit of a mess. Elvis was in a funk, and unfortunately his blue mood did not translate to great art. RAISED ON ROCK is likely his worst 70's studio LP. His singing...was not up to par.

 I believe there was a concerted effort by Elvis to clean things up (a bit) following the finalization of his divorce and a subsequent hospital stay sometime in October, resulting in a vastly improved set of recordings at the latter sessions. Unfortunately, he did not make it back into the studio until about March 1975, for the sessions that produced the TODAY album. 

 * Mike Stone: Priscilla Presley's karate instructor and lover.

I'm all over this release!!

TCB

So Elvis didn't do a concert between 60 and 72??

Well, they used a confusing wording.

Etched in music history, 1973 was a crucial watershed year for Presley, in the wake of his return to extended concert touring in 1972, after 12 years away from the stage and 27 movies in Hollywood.

1972 marked the first year of extended touring. In '69 he only played Vegas. The first tour was in '70 but as in '71 he was still mostly in Vegas with some small tours thrown in. 1972 had him touring across the country, selling out Madison Square Garden 4 times in a row and making the concert movie Elvis On Tour.
While on this topic I have to post the link to this website that I can't praise enough:
Elvis Presley In Concert (http://www.elvisconcerts.com/)






They weren't related.
Red wrote some quality material for Elvis. I wished they had done more together musically.
West is a succesful actor btw.

Here's Little Milton's version of "If you talk in your sleep":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NivDiCuCUfk

Little Milton wasn't very impressed by Elvis' version so he recorded it. Unfortunately I can't find the quote online.
Milton talked about Elvis again in 2005:
https://rockhall.com/blog/post/8799_interview-with-little-milton-campbell-on-elvis/

I think the funny thing is that I like Raised On Rock as an LP, and in my Elvis book I discuss why.

(http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/uploads/2/1973_elvis_at_stax.jpg)
At Stax





For some strange reason I like it too. But certainly not because of Elvis' performance. The band plays great and funky, the songs are cool. BTW Elvis got the idea to record "If you don't come back" "Three corn patches" and "Just a little bit" from T-Bone Walker's great '73 album "Very rare" (produced by Leiber & Stoller). Those three songs featured the Sweet Inspirations on T-Bone's album so I guess that was the connection.
IIRC Elvis mentioned during an interview in '72 that he was about to cut a rock or blues album and I wonder if "Raised on Rock" is what remained of that idea. After "Aloha" he needed a strong album but unfortunately this wasn't it.

Looking very much forward to reading your book!

Cool! Would green rep if I could!

I'm afraid I don't know what that means...  :-[



Anyway, instead of opening another thread here are the "Follow that dream"-releases for June. Another one of the '69 shows. Fantastic! Doesn't get any better than those concerts:

Next month FTD will release 2 new CDs and a 2LP set. There will be a limited reprint of The Best of British. The items will be added to the shop when we receive the cover art.

ELVIS PRESLEY SOLD OUT! 2-CD
FTD is proud to announce their next release focussing on the 1974 March & June tours. Prepared and researched for FTD by Robert Frieser / Hans Slebos ( 'Forty Eight Hours To Memphis' and '3000 South Paradise Road') this release will be presented in 7" format accompanied by 16-page 4-color booklet and extensive liner notes

HOT AUGUST NIGHT 1-CD - AUGUST 1969
Includes the complete live recording from the amazing midnight show, August 25, 1969! Presented in 7" format with 12-page 4-color booklet.
Tracks: Blue Suede Shoes, I Got A Woman, All Shook Up, Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock/Don’t Be Cruel, Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, I Can’t Stop Loving You, My Babe, Mystery Train/ Tiger Man, Life story Monologue, Baby What Do You Want Me to Do, Runaway, Are You Lonesome Tonight, Words, Yesterday/Hey Jude, Elvis introduces, Tom Jones, Buddy Hagard, Shelly Frabares, and Nancy Sinatra, It’s Now or Never (one line), In the Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, What’d I Say, polk Salad Annie (one line), and Can’t Help Falling in Love

ELVIS RECORDED LIVE ON STAGE IN MEMPHIS 2-LP Vinyl
FTD's next vinyl release features, for the first time on this format, the complete concert recorded on March 20,1974 in Memphis Tennessee. Issued on 180gram vinyl.


Source: http://www.elvisnews.com/news.aspx/ftd-june-releases/14201

  He played a benefit in Hawaii in 1961, then no live performances until the 1968 sit-down shows. After that, about 1100 concerts from 1969-77.


  BTW-Thanks for correction on my error re Red being Elvis's cousin.

Raised on Rock was one I bought in a bargain bin years ago, and it was worth the 3 or 4 dollars I paid for it, but I much prefer Good Times and Promised Land. The December sessions produced a lot of great music - Elvis sounds committed again, and there's some great material there. I am surprised this is going to be a Legacy release - but hoping it is the beginning of a new type of release for that label.

Just wanted to post the covers for the new FTD's:

(http://elvisnews.com/images/coverart/big/cd-hot-august-night.jpg)

(http://elvisnews.com/images/various/flyer-sold-out.jpg)

FTD is proud to announce ELVIS PRESLEY – SOLD OUT! featuring the March and June concerts in 1974 from Tulsa and Cleveland. Prepared and researched for FTD by Robert Frieser / Hans Slebos ( 'Forty Eight Hours To Memphis' and '3000 South Paradise Road') this release will be presented in 7" format accompanied by 16-page 4-color booklet and extensive liner notes.

DISC 1

01) Also Sprach Zarathustra 1:19
(Richard Strauss)
02) See See Rider 3:21
(Trad. Arr. E. Presley)
03) I Got A Woman/Amen 3:05
(Ray Charles)(J. Hairston)
04) Love Me 1:38
(J. Leiber/M. Stoller)
05) Trying To Get To You 2:13
(Singleton/McCoy)
06) Sweet Caroline 2:33
(Neil Diamond)
07) Love Me Tender 1:44
(V. Matson/E. Presley)
08) Johnny B. Goode 1:49
(Chuck Berry)
09) Hound Dog 1:10
(Leiber/Stoller)
10) Fever 2:58
(Davenport/Cooley)
11) Polk Salad Annie 3:19
(T.J. White)
12) Why Me Lord? 3:01
(Kris Kristofferson)
13) Suspicious Minds 3:28
(Mark James)
14) Introductions by Elvis 1:28
15) I Can't Stop Loving You 2:26
(Don Gibson)
16) Help Me 2:41
(Larry Gatlin)
17) American Trilogy 4:00
(Mickey Newbury)
18) Let Me Be There 4:04
(John Rostill)
19) Funny How Time Slips Away 2:42
(Willie Nelson)
20) Can't Help Falling In Love 1:39
(Peretti/Creatore/Weiss)
21) Closing Vamp 0:49
22) Announcements 0:39

Recorded March 1, 1974 at Mabee Special Events Center, Oral Roberts University, Tulsa Oklahoma

DISC 2

1) See See Rider 3:51
(Arr. by E. Presley)
2) I Got A Woman /Amen 5:33
(R. Charles) / ( J. Hairston)
3) Love Me 2:03
(Leiber/Stoller)
4) Trying To Get To You 2:06
(McCoy/Singleton)
5) All Shook Up 1:11
(Blackwell/Presley)
6) Love Me Tender 1:41
(V. Matson/E. Presley)
7) Hound Dog 1:23
(Leiber/Stoller)
8) Fever 3:13
(Davenport/Cooley)
9) Polk Salad Annie 4:58
(Tony Joe White)
10) Why Me Lord 2:58
(Kris Kristofferson)
11) You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me 2:08
(Wickham/Napier-Bell/Donaggio/Pallavicine)
12) Suspicious Minds 3:52
(Mark James)
13) Introductions 3:17
14) I Can’t Stop Loving You 2:50
(Don Gibson)
15) Help Me 2:50
(Larry Gatlin)
16) Bridge Over troubled Water 4:12
(Paul Simon)
17) Let Me Be There 5:04
(John Rostill)
18) Funny How Time Slips Away 2:50
(Willie Nelson)
19) Big Boss Man 3:21
(Smith/Dixon)
20) Can’t Help Fallling In Love 1:45
(Peretti/Creatore/Weiss)

BONUS SONG

21) Turn Around, Look At Me (four lines only) 0:35
(Jerry Capehart)

Recorded June 21, 1974 at Convention Center Public Hall, Cleveland. Ohio
Track 21 recorded June17, 1974 at Louisiana State University Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana


Compilation produced by Ernst Mikael Jørgensen & Roger Semon
Mastered by Jan Eliasson at Audio Planet

Project coordinated and researched by Robert Frieser
Artwork and Design by Hans Slebos


Here's the merely terrible artwork:

(http://s1.directupload.net/images/130609/hgcidan6.png) (http://www.directupload.net)


And the cover for the FTD Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis vinyl:

(http://elvisnews.com/images/coverart/big/vinyl-recorded-live-on-stage-in-memphis.jpg)
Source: http://elvisnews.com/news.aspx/cover-recorded-live-on-stage-in-memphis/14223

Here's the tracklist for the vinyl Elvis At Stax:

Disc: 1
1. Promised Land
2. I've Got A Thing About You Baby
3. If You Talk In Your Sleep
4. Raised On Rock
5. Help Me Presley
6. I Got A Feelin' In My Body (Take 4)
7. For Ol' Times Sake (Take 4)
8. Talk About The Good Times (Take 3)
9. Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues (Take 8)
Disc: 2
1. You Asked Me To (Take 3A)
2. Loving Arms (Take 2)
3. Your Love's Been A Long Time Coming (Take 4)
4. Spanish Eyes (Take 2)
5. It's Midnight (Take 7)
6. Find Out What's Happening (Takes 8-7)
7. Three Corn Patches (Take 14)
8. My Boy (Take 1)

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-At-Stax-Anniversary-Vinyl/dp/B00DD1X99C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1372336166&sr=8-2&keywords=elvis+at+stax

Ready for pre-order: http://www.shopelvis.com/Dept.aspx?cp=796_56191_14047

I never listen to the July material but the Dec 73 Stax sessions feature some great late period Elvis.  But I question how generally happy he was-he seemed the most invested in his "Love gone wrong" material.  Loving Arms, Good Time Charlie and It's Midnight are the stand-outs for me.  Those three are really sad. He was the master of translating emotion into a song.  As I said once before-a lot of his sixties material (1961-1967) weren't always particularly good songs-but he really added of emotion even to trite material.  He had better material in the 70s-but I think it now depended on his mood.  If he really felt the song-he was still great, but if he didn't-you'd have a limp master-like much of that July stuff.  Also he had a lot of great musicians with him-but he always seems like a guy in a hurry-I bet musicians didn't really get enough time to come up with stuff-it was basically get it right on the first few takes or move on.

Not even "For ol' times sake"? I can understand it for the other recordings but that one is a standout on all levels imo.



Yes, that is what I was told that one of his studio musicians mentioned (I don't remember right now who it was though). On the other hand there are enough examples of times it worked perfectly. 

yeah-that one is ok.  But the rest are not that exciting.  Other than packaging-I am not sure I need this release. I own all 4 box sets (50s masters, 60s, 70s and the film songs box).  Even though I am a major fan-I feel like there is not much else I really need-except a few songs here or there that I have downloaded (for some reason I really love "I Need Somebody To Lean On" and "Big Love, Big Heartache" neither of which was on the movie-Boxset)

For some reason?! "I need somebody to lean on" is one of the best things he's done in the 60s.
I don't think the packaging on this release is very good. Not sure if I'll get it. I think I'd rather buy the FTD's which I don't have.

well when I just listen to "I Need Somebody To Lean On' it is nice but when you watch the movie scene it is great.  I agree with Guaralnick that it was one of the few times in his 60s movies where song and image really gel to create a satisfying whole without kids, bathing suits or animals, etc.

USA TODAY's Elvis Presley special edition celebrates the 60th anniversary of his first recording, a $4 acetate of 'My Happiness' that he cut as a gift for his mother. The 48-page keepsake, on newsstands July 9, covers the King of Rock 'n' Roll's influence on music and society.


(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/ac1394dbdcca6a36cbf486633b129cd813095ac3/r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/07/08/1373318852000-Elvis-promo-1307081728_4_3.jpg)


Need evidence to defend the King's throne? Read on; USA TODAY's Jerry Shriver plays DJ.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Why quibble whether 'How Great Thou Art' was greater than 'Hound Dog'?
The King of Rock 'n' Roll recorded more than 750 songs
USA TODAY's special Elvis edition is on newsstands July 9



Wise men say only fools rush in to a debate on Elvis' oeuvre. The man could, and did, sing just about anything. Including the phone book (cue up Memphis, Tennessee).

Elvis Presley adopted Mario Lanza-inspired romantic pieces, Arthur "Big Boy'' Crudup's down-and-dirty blues, pop tunes from Brill Building wiseacres Leiber and Stoller, Jackie Wilson-style R&B and several shades of country — and spit them out as rock 'n' roll.

Along the way, there would be cool Christmas songs, blue-eyed soul, soundtrack snoozers and enough schlock to make you Do the Clam. Plus, he knew gospel, chapter and verse. Lord, could Elvis sing gospel.

He was Americana before we knew the word.

That's why, when assessing the more than 750 songs Elvis recorded, it's more useful to appreciate his mastery of multiple styles rather than quibble over whether How Great Thou Art was, well, greater than Hound Dog.

So put your suspicious minds at ease and savor this survey of the best of his breadth, from the Sun sessions to the sunset years: 20 essential Elvis songs and the moments in them that make you turn your head (and pelvis) toward the speakers.



Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/07/08/20-essential-elvis-presley-songs/2497407/

Found on the For Elvis CD Collectors-message board, here's a review from the Uncut magazine:

(http://s1.directupload.net/images/130717/temp/79utsucj.jpg) (http://s1.directupload.net/file/d/3319/79utsucj_jpg.htm)

Btw for Elvis fans here I just finished today one of the final drafts of my Elvis book. I am really happy and I think I whipped into good shape. Had my gall bladder out last week, and the book release date is only three months away  so I had to really push. Funny though it makes it that much more rewarding when you are through. Hope you don't mind a little plug here.
http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-Music-FAQ-Recorded-Series/dp/1617130494/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374107234&sr=8-1&keywords=elvis+music+faq


I wonder if the vinyl is going to really be that skimpy. They really should just put all the outtakes on vinyl and forget about the original cuts for it if they needed to not release the entire thing on the format. After all getting vinyl on the original Stax LP's isn't too hard.

Hey Mike -- do you have (or can you) post any samples from the book?

Here's an interview with bassist Norbert Putnam about the Stax sessions.
A little trivia: Elvis did cut two other Dobie Gray songs at Stax - "There's a honky tonk angel" and "Loving arms"





Source: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2013/07/presleys_bassist_recalls_stax.php


The year 1973 was a pivotal one for the King. Elvis Presley was at a definite crossroads, both personally and professionally.
On one hand, he had returned to consistent live shows in 1969 after a lot of years making mostly insipid movies in Hollywood, to rapturous audiences. And the live record from his then-groundbreaking television event, Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite, was selling well.

On the other hand, he was in the throes of marital separation and divorce from wife Priscilla, heartbroken over time he'd lose with daughter Lisa Marie, and starting to pack on weight. And what was with all those little brown bottles?

Partly to fulfill a contract obligation to RCA, and partly because the studio was just a ten minute drive from Graceland, Elvis chose Stax Studios - where Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, and a galaxy of soul stars laid down their biggest tracks - to record some new material.

In two separate week-long sessions in July and December, Elvis, producer Felton Jarvis, and a crack band finished 28 master recordings. They came out over several records, but did not meet with the commercial success Elvis or manager Colonel Tom Parker was hoping for.
Now, all of those masters, along with a treasure trove of outtakes and alternate versions, come together on the 3-CD compilation Elvis at Stax: Deluxe Edition (RCA/Legacy).

Muscle Shoals-born Norbert Putnam was the bassist for the December sessions, and spoke with Rocks Off about both the performer and private man.

"Fans really want to hear everything that was recorded -- and I mean everything from Elvis, even if it was just him joking with the band," Putnam recalls. "But he had a great sense of humor. He would entertain us for hours with stories and the karate demonstrations. It was like the last thing he wanted to do was make a record! And even when he was chastising you, there was a smile on his face. He never thought he was superior."


ElvisStaxcover.jpg
Among the tracks on the CD which Putnam counts as his favorites are the hard-chugging Chuck Berry cover "Promised Land," a perfectly weary take on "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues," and the sentimental "My Boy."
The last song -- about a father's fear for what marital separation would do to his child -- obviously hit home for Elvis. But Putnam says they tried another, even more painful number, that they never finished.

It was a song called "We Had it All" that Dobie Gray had previously done, about a chance, sad meeting between a divorced husband and wife, or at least ex-lovers. Presley decided on the spot he wanted to do it.

"Now Elvis was a very quick study, he could hear vocals and arrangements once or twice, grab the lyric sheet, and just kill it," Putnam says. "But on this particular night, we four, five six takes, and he wasn't getting it. I'd never seen him have problems like that before."

He says they ended up with two or three incomplete takes before a frustrated Elvis just threw the microphone on the ground and loudly proclaimed the stunned assembled "You can put that one out after I've been dead 20 years!"



"We thought at first it was a joke," affirms Putnam. "Then Jarvis said he just couldn't get through the words because he was thinking about himself."
Another futile stab at the song the next day yielded nothing usable.

It wasn't all doom and gloom, of course, as the finished tracks show. Wildly varying in genre, the songs recorded at Stax ran the gamut from rock, pop and country to ballads, gospel, R&B, and even Spanish-influenced numbers.

And Elvis performed them with a flair and passion usually missing from the movie soundtrack recordings. The new compilation will, if anything, renew appreciation for the material original record buyers may have missed nearly four decades ago.

Still, Putnam couldn't help but see a "troubled man" in front of the mike, on a variety of levels. That trouble would, unfortunately, not get better in the coming years.




Coming up tomorrow: Norbert Putnam and what might have saved Elvis and who he holds accountable, more from the Stax sessions, how he fell into record producing by accident, and which song he's been involved with that is heads-and-parrot-supporting shoulders above all others in terms of influence and affluence.





Dobie Gray - We had it all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-58IT0FbdRw

And another part of Norbert Putnam talking about Elvis, Stax etc.

Source: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2013/08/could_elvis_have_been_saved_fr.php



When Elvis Presley came into Memphis' Stax Studios in December 1973 to cut some new material, Norbert Putnam -- the experienced Muscle Shoals-born session bassist -- could tell that something was off about the King.
"He had gained a bit of weight, I noticed. And he had gone through the divorce with Priscilla," Putnam recalls. "But he was definitely there to work. And this guy could do anything vocally. He could croon with Sinatra or scream with Little Richard."


Still, the thing that Putnam says he admired most about Presley -- then and now -- was his intelligence. especially when it came to human emotions.
All of the 28 masters that Presley and his backing musicians recorded in July and December 1973 sessions -- along with multiple outtakes and alternate cuts -- are on the new 3-CD compilation Elvis at Stax: Deluxe Edition (RCA/Legacy).

Putnam played on the December sessions, which yielded material higher in quality and quantity than the July one. He says that the musicians never had any sheet music to refer to, and instead would each scratch down keys, chords, and changes on legal pads while a demo recording played in the studio. Somehow, they managed to find the right groove in short order.

And while the songs dribbled out over several LPs and singles over the next few years, it didn't provide Elvis with the commercial comeback he had hoped for.

"It didn't have a lot of chart activity at the time and that's a shame," Putnam says today. "But people have clamored for this material. When I play with the TCB Band and we go to Europe and South America, they are yelling for [the Stax] material. Those records were more popular there than in the states. I think Elvis was more appreciated around the world than he was in America."


The "TCB Band" Putnam refers to is the occasional still-touring stage show in which many of Elvis' former band and revue members play live music to the accompaniment of Elvis singing the same song on filmed concert footage that plays on a huge video screen (can the Elvis hologram be far off?).
Which, of course, makes blindingly obvious the obvious - live people are playing with movies of a dead man. Elvis' drug-and-obesity induced death in 1977 at the age of 42 has been overly documented so as not to bear repeat here. But - feasibly, had he not succumbed to his own self-destruction - could Putnam & Co. have played in 2013 with a 78-year-old Elvis?

After all, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B. King, and others are still going. And septuagenarians Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney are still fronting two- and three-hour shows. And with 1973 being a crucial year, could Putnam or any other players have saved Elvis?

"Of course, I've thought about it a lot over the years. A lot. I was shocked when he died," Putnam reflects today. "But you have to remember that we saw him in a recording environment. I've known musicians who were drunk and stoned and crazy on the road or [at their houses], but when they came into the studio, they were ready for business. They all knew that it would be the recordings that would survive us all."

However, Putnam points to one man who could have -- should have -- seen the warning signs and done something about it but didn't: Elvis's manager/Svengali, Col. Tom Parker.



"Someone should have staged an intervention, and that someone was Tom Parker. But he didn't, and I wish I knew why," Putnam says bluntly. "But I have to add that I have a lot of respect for [Bodyguard/Memphis Mafia member] Red West. He always had Elvis' back and I think he tried to do something. But no one could get through to him with all of that medication."
Ironically, Putnam says that Elvis himself looked down upon drug users and thought of them as "second-class citizens." He once even tried to get the Nixon White House to investigate the Beatles. But as long as you had a prescription for something, then you weren't a drug addict or user.

Outside of playing bass, Putnam has also had a storied career as a record producer, working with artists like Dan Fogelberg ("the greatest singer/songwriter/player combo ever"), Joan Baez ("I got that job by accident when Kris Kristofferson decided on the first day of recording he didn't want to do it"), John Hiatt and the Flying Burrito Brothers among them.

But it was his time spent working on the records of one man -- and in particular one song -- that may be his most lasting legacy. For it was Norbert Putnam twiddling dials and calling out instructions behind the glass when Jimmy Buffett recorded "Margaritaville."

"He brought me this song and when I heard it for the first time, I thought it was one of the best-written songs ever. It was a complete story in the lyric, and day in the life of Jimmy Buffett on Key West!" Putnam laughs. "He gave you the sight, the smell, and the sound of it. And the lost shaker of salt! And he built a huge business and lifestyle off of that one song. Jimmy sure hit the nail on the head, didn't he?"

There will be a 1 hour special on the new Stax release on Elvis Express Radio. It will be available on August 5th.

http://www.elvis-express.com/

Review by the Guardian, 3 out of 5 stars:



"Damn, these takes are going by fast," Elvis tells the studio engineer at the beginning of one song on this 3CD set, which has been pulled together for the 36th anniversary of his death this month. And he would know: while recording at Memphis's Stax studios in 1973, he did up to 14 takes per song. So many of these unused versions survive, with jivey studio banter intact, that they make up half of the 55 tracks. (The other half is comprised of masters that were originally released on several albums of the period.) Without the cutting-room-floor extras, RCA would have had the makings of a decentish double album: among the highlights are a cover of Chuck Berry's Promised Land that drips with rockabilly sweat, and a French ballad, My Boy, that's transformed into a ripsnorting Southern tearjerker. By padding it so shamelessly, however, the label is hastening the day when there's simply nothing left to release – not even an outtake of Find Out What's Happening in which he slips in part of The Star-Spangled Banner in a jokey lisp.



Source: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/01/elvis-presley-at-stax-review?INTCMP=SRCH





EDIT:

Sound samples:

http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-At-Stax-Deluxe-3CD/dp/B00COCY67A/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1375407749&sr=1-3&keywords=elvis+presley

Since this is not only a topic about Elvis but also about Stax and it's legacy, I'd like to share this '94 documentary about Stax Records that I found on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfkeqbd2OCc


EDIT:


Elvis Presley – Elvis at Stax (2013)
by Nick DeRiso


So much for the long-held notion that Elvis Presley had simply thrown away his own gifts by the 1970s. In fact, these soul-soaked sessions at Memphis’ legendary Stax Studios show an artist still deeply committed — for now, at least.

How much of that has to do with working within those hallowed halls, we’ll never know. But over a dozen days in July and December of 1973, Presley managed to coax out some 28 songs — three of which became late-period Top 20 hits. Interestingly, Presley had never recorded at Stax before then, despite living less than 10 minutes away in Graceland. His 1969 comeback recordings (including “Suspicious Minds” and “In the Ghetto”) had been done at American Studios in Memphis, but Chips Morman had since closed up shop — leading Presley to new environs.

Something important happened there, a last gasp of fizzy artistry from a singer about to disappear into his own jump-suited myth onstage, though you would have been hard pressed to put it all together before now. The bulk of these efforts would be scattered about a trio of recordings beginning with 1973′s Raised on Rock/For Ol’ Times Sake, including 1974′s Good Times and 1975′s Promised Land. Presley’s Stax tracks were blended with material put to tape elsewhere, however, blunting their ultimate impact.

The 3-CD Elvis at Stax — due August 6, 2013, from RCA/Legacy — puts a frame around this special moment, then enlarges it. The sneer that seemed to be forever working around Presley’s smile fit right in, of course, with the tough, swaggering music long associated with Stax. But as this set pairs those original 28 masters with 27 interesting outtakes, it also offers new insights into just how meticulous, how lovingly crafted and focused, these seemingly care-free recordings had always been.


Sure, Presley had gotten much of the way there on instinct (just as Stax legends like Otis Redding, Booker T and the MGs, Wilson Pickett, and Sam and Dave had), but this kind of magic really isn’t magic at all. It’s work, and a lot of it. Elvis, for instance, would have a hit with Tony Joe White’s “I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby” from these sessions, but it would take 15 tries to nail it to his satisfaction.

Presley was making song selections that hit home, and working in his own backyard. That part came easy. Getting it just right often did not. “Girl of Mine” took 11 takes; “You Asked Me To” needed 6; “If You Talk In Your Sleep” was mastered from take 9. The sessions, which included guitarist James Burton and Elvis’ regular working band — though Donald “Duck” Dunn, Al Jackson Jr., Steve Cropper protege Bobby Manuel and some Muscle Shoals sidemen occasionally chipped in — would stretch into the wee hours.

Yet, it was over in the blink of an eye. The schedule came together so quickly, in fact, that Isaac Hayes — and this is an incredible image — ended up having to move his studio schedule around to accommodate things. Presley and his manager Tom Parker had recently sold the singer’s complete back catalog to RCA, for a then-whopping $5.4 million, and part of the deal called for two new singles, and two new 10-song albums — one devoted to pop and another to gospel music.


The Stax stuff would, sadly, became grist for the mill, only notable if you listened closely on albums populated with blended sessions. Even so, “Promised Land,” “If You Talk In Your Sleep” and “My Boy” were each Top 20 smashes. “Mr. Songman” went to No. 35, “I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby” to No. 39, and “Raised on Rock” to No. 41.

Unfortunately, Presley wouldn’t return to Stax, passing away on August 16, 1977. A posthumous single, “I’ve Got a Feeling in My Body,” would follow in 1979 — providing yet another glimpse into this largely forgotten time. It’s a moment finally placed into proper perspective with the lovingly compiled, utterly revelatory Elvis at Stax.


Source: http://somethingelsereviews.com/2013/08/03/elvis-presley-elvis-at-stax-2013/

I don't know where the information that the Stax material was blended on albums with material from different sessions comes from but it is wrong. Raised On Rock, Good Times and Promised Land were all completely recorded at Stax except for two songs on Raised On Rock that were recorded at Presley's Palm Springs home (I Miss You and Are You Sincere) and one was overdubbed there with Elvis' voice (Sweet Angeline), the track though was basically recorded at Stax.

You can win a copy here:

http://tasteofcountry.com/elvis-at-stax-box-set-giveaway/

Elvis Presley’s Stax Sessions To Be Reissued As Three-Disc Box Set

By Associated Press | August 05, 2013 1:49 AM EDT




It was 1973, and Elvis Presley's comeback was in fifth gear.

After years of making mediocre movies, he had returned to touring and performing in Las Vegas. In January of that year, he staged the "Aloha from Hawaii" concert live via satellite, viewed by a billion people worldwide.

But, due to a contractual obligation, he also needed to create new material. He and manager Col. Tom Parker decided that Presley's beloved Memphis was the place to do it.

The result was two recording sessions at Stax Records, the influential studio where Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave and others created the "Memphis soul" sound in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Presley's sessions in July and December 1973 produced country, R&B and pop songs that were released in three separate albums.

Forty years after Presley's Stax sessions, RCA Legacy is releasing the three-CD box set "Elvis at Stax: Deluxe Edition" on Tuesday. It's the first time Presley's songs recorded at Stax are together in the same release, which also includes outtakes and rare photos.

"The dissipation of the Stax recordings across three albums over 18 months provided little or no creative kudos for such deserving artistic accomplishment," wrote "Elvis at Stax" producer Roger Semon in notes accompanying the release. "The objective of 'Elvis at Stax' is to reflect the true spontaneity and musicianship of Elvis' sessions."



The release of the set comes days before the start of Elvis Week on Saturday. Thousands of the singer's devotees flock to Memphis each year for a celebration of his life and career, with a candlelight vigil serving as a memorial for his death, on Aug. 16, 1977, in Memphis at age 42.

Presley recorded his first song, "That's All Right," at Sun Studio in 1954. Fifteen years later, after making movies and staying away from the performing stage, he cut a series of hit singles at Memphis' American Studio, marking the start of his comeback. Those hits included "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds."

Presley returned to touring in 1972, a year that also saw the release of the Golden Globe Award-winning documentary "Elvis on Tour."

According to author Robert Gordon, Presley and Parker wanted to build on the success in 1973 to try to re-establish Presley. Parker cut a deal with the record company RCA, selling Presley's rights to his existing song catalog for $5.4 million. Part of the deal required that Presley deliver new material, according to Gordon's notes in the box set.

With American Sound Studio closed, Presley turned to Stax.

The sessions, on July 20-23, produced "Raised on Rock," ''I've Got a Thing About You Baby," and "For Ol' Time's Sake."



But on the last night, while recording "Girl of Mine," Presley noticed a change in sound from the previous night.

He discovered that his personal microphone had been stolen, considered a virtual crime in the music business.

"The theft was a disappointing end to a good session," writes Gordon, who also authored the books "It Came from Memphis" and "The Elvis Treasures."

Presley came back to Stax on Dec. 10 for a weeklong session. By then, his divorce with Priscilla Presley had been finalized.

The session included the energetic "I Got a Feeling in My Body," written by Dennis Linde, who also had penned "Suspicious Minds."

Former Muscle Shoals keyboard player David Briggs and bassist Norbert Putnam, who recorded with Presley in Nashville, were among the session musicians.

Putnam recalls noticing that Presley had gained some weight and lost some of the infectious energy he displayed when Putnam worked with him in Nashville. But once the recordings started, Presley's voice sounded strong as ever, Putnam said.

"We started an old Chuck Berry tune, and he came alive," Putnam said. "He immersed himself in the music."





Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5638173/elvis-presleys-stax-sessions-to-be-reissued-as-three-disc-box-set

(http://elvisnews.com/images/various/vinyl-at-stax.jpg)


Music on Vinyl released Elvis At Stax today.

SIDE 1
01 Promised Land
02 I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby
03 If You Talk In Your Sleep
04 Raised On Rock
05 Help Me

SIDE 2
01 I Got A Feelin’ In My Body
02 For Ol’ Times Sake
03 Talk About The Good Times
04 Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues

SIDE 3
01 You Asked Me To
02 Loving Arms
03 Your Love’s Been A Long Time Coming
04 Spanish Eyes

SIDE 4
01 It’s Midnight
02 Find Out What’s Happening
03 Three Corn Patches
04 My Boy




Source: http://elvisnews.com/news.aspx/vinyl-at-stax/14266

Wow-you ought to get a commission from RCA-you are really promoting this Elvis set!!! Interesting stuff.  As I said earlier though, I just am not sure I need it.  I have all the choice stuff from the sessions in the 1970s Box Set.  I also have the newer version of Burning Love and the Rhythm and Country compilation.  I do love the King, but I feel like I have everything I need from the 70s.

haha, well I could ask them....  :-D
But I only post updates that I find somewher else. Some of us have all the stuff but if there's just one who will get deeper into Elvis' catalog and see the great music that guy has made then I'm happy. Presley's status as a musician imo has been so destroyed by the myth and the way he is represented by ElvisPresley Enterprises so I just try to get the view back on the important thing - his music and work. I know it's not much but I can try.




Well, I personally won't get it. I'd rather have the FTD releases but I guess for a new fan or someone who's not into the collector-releases this could be a cool set. I only have the Madison Squae Garden shows of the Legacy releases and that one was doner very, very good. If the Stax CDs are like that I'm fine with that.

Oh I didn't see this. Just because you asked I'll reveal the chapter titles.

Introduction: Do You Know Who I Am? xiii
1 Have You Heard the News: 1954 1
2 706 Union: The Birthplace of Rock and Roll 7
3 Nothing That Could Hold Me: 1955 12
4 I Forgot to Remember to Forget: A Guide to the Sun Years 17
5 One for the Money: Colonel Tom Parker 25
6 It All Happened So Fast: 1956 34
7 I Want to Be Free: 1957 45
8 I’m Not Asking Much of You: 1958–59 53
9 The Music Really Sends Me: Fifties Elvis on RCA 58
10 Doin’ the Best That I Can: 1960 79
11 Dreams Come True?: 1961 84
12 For EP Fans Only: E. P. on EP 89
13 I Don’t Want to Be Tied: 1962 101
14 Just Three Words and No More: 1963 106
15 Come Along with Me: The Discards 112
16 It Hurts Me: 1964 137
17 Long Lonely Highway: A Guide to the Hollywood Years 141
18 Hard Luck: 1965 177
19 Sweet Song of a Choir: Elvis’ Gospel Recordings 181
20 I Can’t Remember the Sound of My Own Name: 1966 191
21 Just Pretend: Borrowed Songs and Other Oddities 195
22 Suppose: 1967 198
23 Don’t Count Your Chickens: The Strange Saga of Jimmy “Orion” Ellis 201
24 Goin’ Home: 1968 208
25 Saved: The Comeback Special 214
26 Change of Habit: 1969 221
27 Standing Room Only: Elvis Live on Vinyl 1969–77 225
28 Got My Mojo Working: 1970 233
29 The Next Step: A Guide to the Comeback 239
30 Love the Life I Lead: 1971 267
31 Where Do I Go from Here?: 1972 272
32 Find Out What’s Happening: 1973 278
33 It’s Hard to Comprehend: The Satellite Special 284
34 Don’t Mention My Name: 1974 295
35 Fairytale: A Consumer’s Guide to the Later Years 302
36 If You Got a Problem: 1975 313
37 Medicine Within Me: The Effects of Drugs on the Music 319
38 I Can Roll, but I Just Can’t Rock: 1976 326
39 It’s Different Now: Covering the King 331
40 Alone, Lonely Times: 1977 338
41 You Don’t Have to Face the Crowd: The CBS Special 343
42 Who Are You, Who Am I: When Elvis Isn’t Elvis 348

This would have been great had this not been a two LP set. No gatefold or booklet either, not even the die cut cover. Really wasted opportunity to do a good vinyl release. I would have gladly paid more for the whole package on LP. Worst conceived vinyl release since the Pickwick/Pair days.

Thanks Mike! Sounds like some interesting chapters!






I'm not sure if I understand it the right way but I guess it has to do with cover versions etc. Because of that I got the idea to post the original versions/the versions that Elvis was inspired by of the songs reorded at Stax. Of course I can only post videos to what I can find on youtube. So, let's see...



Jerry Reed - Talk about the good times
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkuTCxyCbBs


Billy Lee Riley - I've got a thing about you baby (one second and you'll know that this version was the blueprint, not Tony Joe White's original)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtdmtW1hOz8


Dobie Gray - There's a honky tonk angel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuxe6YWSewI


Dobie Gray - Loving arms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTg0aIhB3EM


Waylon Jennings - You asked me to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeZbdwr62CA


Tony Joe White - For ol' times sake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTaGxtW5WuE


The Spidells - Find out what's happening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZH8IrUsKAw


Adam Wade - Take good care of her
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4NenkB44cI


Danny O'Keefe - Good time Charlie's got the blues  (this is the original. I'm not sue if Elvis maybe took it from a different version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YP3pIPp8P8


Engelbert Humperdink - Girl of mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QJIAJCZjmg


Chuck Berry - Promised land
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ueTLNxNrGE

Elvis knew and loved Chuck Berry's original but I have a feeling that he also knew Jerry Reed's Chuck Berry medley. The feeling is closer to Ree's "Promised land" part imo

Jery Reed - Chuck Berry medley (live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQNiZWmi2GE


Engelbert Humperdinck - Spanish eyes  (Elvis also knew Al Martino's version I guess)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTUpWwDRrv8


Richard Harris - My boy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM1eEfwzjqA


The Rambos - If that isn't love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4srSW6jP98


Jimmy Bell - She wears my ring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lo3UmrPeZQ


Faron Young - Are you sincere  (as with some other songs, this is just one of a few. Marty Robbins', Eddie Arnold's and Andy Williams' versions certainly were familar to Elvis)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbLRBCkDa4I



T-Bone Walker - Just a little bit, Three corn patches, If you don't come back  (this is the link to amazon Germany because there you can listen to samples)
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00004ZBZN


Couldn't find a link for Larry Gatlin's "Help me"

In conjunction with the release of "Elvis At Stax," the 3-CD box set chronicling the music Elvis recorded at Stax Studios in July and December 1973, RCA/Legacy Recordings is hosting a very special listening party at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Fans will have an opportunity to stand in the very same spot where Elvis recorded the music they are hearing, in addition to witnessing stories and details behind the music and recording sessions from representatives of Sony and special guest Norbert Putnam, who recorded with Elvis at Stax in December 1973.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LDpbGrIJp8




Starts at around 6:30 mins.

  ELVIS AT STAX is an interesting set but I may not buy it. (Will likely recant.) 

  In general, the Dec 73 sessions are undervalued and some of that comes from RCA scattering the best cuts over several albums. (GOOD TIMES and PROMISED LAND.) An excellent 12 song LP could have been assembled. RCA was playing this outmoded game as late as 1976 when "Moody Blue" was left off FROM ELVIS PRESLEY BOULEVARD MEMPHIS TN. Good old RCA.

Aquarium Drunkard(.com) has a write up of the album over on their site.

There's also a download of "If You Talk in Your Sleep," if you want a preview of the album.

I'm not all that familiar with the material, but I'm considering getting it eventually if I can get it for a good price. Is it worth getting? Or should I start out with a more "simple" disc with the highlights of the material for this era?

Jay I like Elvis' music of this era, but it really varies person to person. Check out a few cuts on youtube on see what you think. As far as post Aloha stuff it's a good place to start. I must be weird but I like the Raised On Rock stuff best in general, I also like things like Thinkin About You which go against type.

Do you mean the 70s periode or the Stax recordings?
If you're talking the 70s in general, there's a great FTD called "Hits of the 70s" which iirc collects all single a- and b-sides of the 70s.

Look here:

http://www.elvisoncd.com/frame.htm?http://www.elvisoncd.com/EIGENECD_a-z/ftd-label/hitsofthe70s.htm




BTW I don't know about the U.S. but the single Stax-disc charted in quite a few european countries. It is #47 in Germany I believe.

 Can't wait to read this. When does it come out?

If you are an Elvis fan-I think the 3 Box sets RCA put out are indispensable (Those being- The King of Rock N Roll: The Complete 50s Masters,  From Nashville To Memphis: The Essential 60s Masters I and Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Essential 70s Masters).  You could stop there but if you want more than there is The Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II.  This collection is more hit and miss, as it collects the "best" of his soundtrack recordings-all EP fans admit that pickings got increasingly slim as the years went by.  By 1965-66 most soundtracks were pretty dire, but there are some great songs on there.  There are also excellent collections of his gospel material and live material. 

Here's another reviw:




Good-time Charlie’s got soul

Elvis Presley Elvis At Stax: Deluxe Edition

Ridiculously, some have complained that this comp milks the catalogue too far. Nonsense. Elvis at the landmark studio of the 60s and 70s in the pivotal city of his life? How could it not be vital? The three CDs divide into 27 tracks in which you find the relaxed Elvis trying tunes in the company of some of America’s greatest musicians and singers, and 28 masters dating from July and December ’73. Fusing R&B (ie soul) and country in equal measure, this is top-quality stuff straight from the tunin’-up opener, I Got A Feelin’ In My Body. The outtakes come first, so you hear songs taking shape prior to the finished article.
Elvis’ main gig may have been Vegas but, in the right company, spirit was on tap. Find Out What’s Happening, Promised Land, Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues… all beautiful, honest performances, even in the learning. If the quality flags on Spanish Eyes or Girl Of Mine, that’s down to oversentimental material. And when the completed versions kick in with Raised On Rock, it ain’t hard to see why Elvis was still scoring hits amid glam, metal and Philly soul; class wins out. Never loved Elvis? Play it on a Sunday morning and find out what was happening.
4 stars  4 stars  4 stars  4 stars
RCA/Legacy | 88883 72418 2 (3CD)



Source: http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/elvis-presley-elvis-at-stax-deluxe-edition

Elvis really couldn't get a break.  He could have pulled up to a McDonald's drive-thru -- and if someone knew in advanced he was gonna be there -- and thought ahead enough to record his order over the speaker -- BAM! We'd have an album "Double Shakes (and Two Large Fries!!)" two weeks later.  :-D

Other than what happened at the sessions themselves, I get the feeling he had little control over "what" got released -- and how it was presented.  I suppose if he made his plans clear beforehand, he had a lot of control -- but these Stax sessions, which I freakin' LOVE btw, are a good case-in-point.  It was only a few days.  That's it.  And basically everything was used.  Three albums.

The few days that made up the July sessions, which were kind chaotic with a numbed up Elvis, produced an entire album.  Imagine if The Beach Boys had that same pressure.  We'd have Adult/Child and everything in between (and I'd be a fcking happy camper).  But everything was used.

I'm not complaining since I love Elvis and cherish every second he recorded in the 70s -- which wasn't nearly enough.  And when he did record, he was beat, tired, drugged and rushed.  But he was such a hot fcking commodity, that all of it was used.  And it all sold.  He was milked dry.



EDIT:  This Stax Boxset btw, is pitch-perfect.  Totally badazz.  Three discs, great sound, nice packaging, and under 30 bux.  I got mine for like $23!  Hardcore fans like myself, can (also) get the individual FTDs 2 disc sets that cover each album (for a total of 6 discs) -- but this set nails it.  It condenses it down to a succinct three discs -- making it a homerun, slamdunk super-deal -- and a fantastic listening experience.  A BRAZILIAN STARs.

It's nice to see these sessions finally getting the proper appreciation. As noted above, if RCA had been patient, and chosen the best of these tracks for a couple strong studio albums, public perception would've been much different. Strangely enough, the best album of the bunch, Promised Land, was the last released from the Stax sessions, while the weakest was the first, Raised on Rock.

Am I right in recalling that Elvis was getting increasingly reluctant to go into the studio around this time in spite of RCA/The Colonel signing contracts demanding a lot of material?

Yes, you are correct.  The only reason Elvis was recording at Stax was because of its very close proximity to Graceland, where his daughter was staying with him for the summer.  RCA's demands were very heavy on Elvis...it was no surprise he got as burnt out as he did; couple that with the heavy touring schedule he kept which included two 1 month engagements each year in Vegas where he did two shows a night during those engagements.

Well, yes and no. Elvis had total control. He was the one who decided what was the mater, what was released as a single, etc. People often say the Beach Boys were the first self produced act but Elvis did all that already in the 50s. Colonel made sure that Presley was the only one who had control over his music. That was unheard of in the business before. But there's no question that Elvis at one point in his career became not as demanding and letting other people have a say too. But in the end what was released was released because Elvis said so. It's another topic if he really cared much about his albums and stuff in the later 70s as his health began to get worse and worse.







Shortly before Elvis and the Colonel made a deal with RCA signing off the rights to Presley's backcatalogue for a laughable sum of money (reminding of Murry). That deal included that there had to be new chart recordings and albums. Elvis could've cut down the touring a little but he didn't want to. So, RCA is not really to blame. Their just wanted Elvis to do his work.

Clearly from comments he made elvis didnt love making many of his films or soundtrack recordings and lost interest in Vegas after the first couple of years.  I think despite the fact that he was a natural rebel, he was incredibly passive in many respects and didn't go in much for confrontation.  He was frequently dissatisfied but didn't really make it known. So nothing changed

I'm quite surprised about this rebel thing everybody always talks about. From what I read and hear about him he wasn't anything like a rebel. He went along with everything because he had to fulfill his contracts (and that is btw a good feature imo because you have to be able to rely on someone you make contracts with; and Elvis and the Colonel were true-to-their-word with that). He didn't try to break any rules or something. He just wanted to make his music the way he wanted it. But to me that's not really rebellious but an artist who is self confident about his music and style (something I respect much more than any rebellionism). But I'd say the Colonel was more of a rebel than Elvis.




Anyway, here's another interview with Norbert Putnam:

http://www.popmatters.com/feature/175031-for-ol-times-sake-an-interview-with-norbert-putnam/

When I say he was a natural rebel-I mean that he rebelled against the conformity of his times.  When everyone else in his school had a flat-top crewcut, Elvis had long greasy hair and sideburns.  In a time of segregation-Elvis was a huge fan of the blues-and said so.  When everyone else dressed like Joe-Average, Elvis showed up in crazy pink jackets and pants.  That wasn't an image that was him and that is why when he appeared on TV in 1956 it was as if an alien from Mars had landed!!! He transformed American culture and that is why he'll be recalled.   Later on he made lots of great music-but he seldom took control (other than perhaps in 68-69).   He believed, and I quote Elvis from a 1972 interview "Hollywood's image of me was all wrong and I knew it" but though he said he got so upset about it that it was all he could think about-he just sullenly retreated inward into isolation and drugs and didn't express himself.  He seldom expressed his displeasure to the Colonel-but silently brooded about everything. 

Well, maybe we have a different understanding of what a rebel is. Most of what you say hasn't to do with rebellionism but with style. Let me just give a few examples.

See, I don't think there's nothing rebellious about listening to some certain kind of music, even in times of segregation. In fact many white kids were listening to that stuff and there's a long line of interchange between black and white music (which btw is a terrible expression). I could understand calling this rebellious if Elvis did it because he wanted to make a case. But he listened because he loved music (he also listened to other music). He was a natural musician.
 
He dressed differently - as he himself said - not to be different but because he wanted it to try for himself. But a rebel would've done it because of wanting to be different. It was just his style and it wa influenced by other peope's styles.

Elvis wasn't a rebel. He went along with the business. He did wear the Tuxedo on Steve Allen, he did make those movies he didn't like and he did go into the army, although it was a big risk for his career at that time. A rebel would've rebelled against this. Elvis went along. He was a pro. He did what was expected from him. He just had enough talent to do that and still do it in his own style.
And that's also part of why he was so successfull. If Elvis and the Colonel gave you their word they stuck to it.
He also was a mama's boy who travelled by train because his mother didn't want him to use plane's anymore. (I'm exaggerating a little so my point is clear)


The rebel-image is just another way for the Elvis-fans to have an apology to other people for liking Elvis ("see, he was cool, he was a rebell") and another way for not having to focus on the music. Just like that dumb generalization that Rock'n'Roll is just about sex.

BTW I'm not saying that you are like that.


All in all, what you could call Elvis was maybe a martyr but even that would be more iconic than it was. He was an artist. A self confident artist who knew
how to play the game and still not sell himself out.




About the music, he clearly was also in charge after '69. With hiring Felton Jarvis he made sure that he could do what he wanted without anyone telling him to do it again or try it differently. No one would've released crap like "Girl of mine" (I'm talking about the recording and Elvis' performance; the song is nice). But Elvis did, because he was Elvis and what he said applied. A producer who didn't follow him in everything would've demanded something else. But Presley made sure he had someone who could focus on the record while he himself could conentrate on the singing.

It's not as romantic but probably nearer to how it was.

Elvis = rebel.  That's what Elvis was.  When he stopped being Elvis -- a rebel -- that's when his output became stale and his artistic direction becomes faint. 

Being a rebel was in his DNA, in his soul 100% -- and it was his destiny.  That's what he was.  And it made him filthy rich (50 million Elvis fans can't be wrong!)  And every time he stopped being his rebellious self, for whatever reason, he kind of wilted and died a little.

Yes he did go along with those anti-rebellious phases (being a man of his word/honoring his movie deals, etc.) -- but clearly... that just wasn't him.  That wasn't his song.  So, to say Elvis is a rebel, I think that is a very true, honest statement of the man's soul.

(http://www.scottymoore.net/images/studios/studio50/DorseyShow.jpg)

OK, so I just aquired "Elvis At Stax", "Stay Away Joe", "Hot August Night", "Las Vegas Happening", and "Aloha Jerry".

For the Elvis buffs, what are the highlights of these five recordings?  Rocker, Moon Dawg, whatia think?

Thanks in advance!

"Elvis at Stax" is a fascinating revisit at the Stax material and most of the success of this package is in the sequencing.  Great review from a song's early stages to the finished product.  The mix of the studio banter and listening to the progression of how a song moves forward in the recording/writing stages is very rewarding.  Highlights include "I Got A Feelin in my Body"  "I've Got A Thing About You" "Loving Arms" and "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues."  There is a mix of soft/MOR type of songs but the songs that do stand out are great highlights in Elvis' immense catalog!  Would love to hear your thoughts after listening to it!

Elvis never stopped being a rebel because he never was one in the first place.

Guys, you get fooled by the image he himself created. That was a role he played in the 50s following his influences by the rebellious movie characters of James Dean and Marlon Brando - and remember these were also just roles, even if they would've been rebels in real life, Elvis didn't know them personally and could just go with their public image.
During his career he had more than just that one image.

So, what is a rebel? A rebel is someone who activey and knowingly breaks rules (in many cases to make his standpoint clear other times just for the sake of breaking them or shock people) and who does things he was told not to do or isn't even allowed to do.
Elvis doesn't fit with these descriptions.


Elvis, who always wanted to be accepted by everybody - young and old, squares and free thinker - and also always wanted to make music that he liked (that includes what we call rock music but also ballads, gospel, "schmaltz" a.s.o.) did use the show business and it's conditions to become a great success, probably the greatest in the 20th century. He did and achieved that by his tremendous talent that gave him the ability to do whatever was expected and do it well. Therefor he had success in everything he himself wanted to do (music, films, being a star).
For this he joined with the best manager he could find to get to his goals. The Colonel had the skills to make everything possible, business-wise, for Presley.


So, after this, where do we go with that rebel myth? Let me explain in going further into the examples I mentioned above. These examples are the Steve Allen Show, the army and the movies.


Elvis was booked on the Setve Allen Show. After the host saw Presley's act on the Milton Berle Show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=883n2BhoT3k) he demanded that Elvis toned his performance down and wrote a skecth that had Presley wear a tuxedo (so he couldn't move around) and [=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoG3oSka_QI]singing "Hound dog"[/url] to an actual hound.
Elvis reportedly hated this idea and 'til the end of his life expressed his dislike of that show when asked.
Now, what would a rebel have done? A rebel would have fought against this, refused to do it or in another way tred to break the deal. Elvis obviously didn't do any of that. It was part of his job and he knew that he had to go on tha show and play along. He also knew that he probably would've had a hard time getting bookings for other shows when word got out that this was someone whom you couldn't trust. Plus he got money. So he went along with it and dressed in the tuxedo and sang to that dog.


When Elvis was drafted he became very upset because he thought his career was over. Two years without him being on the scene might very well mean exactly that. Of course there were options to not go that way, but this is not what Elvis did. Elvis went into the army (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5-_KJzKtM0) and served like any other regular guy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FlbenUvzBY). Someone in Elvis' position, with this kind of income and with the Colonel as manager easily could've been released from the draft or gotten a job on the entertaining division.
But Elvis didn't go that way, because he knew it would hurt his image and his dream of becoming an artist who is liked by people of all ages.


The movies. After being the highest paid actor in Hollywood for a few years and having very successful movies the scripts began to get worse and worse. The formula wa not just milked dry, in the end it was dust. Not only the movies were terrible, also the masses of songs that had to be included often were miserable (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqEAa13ktic). Elvis performances and looks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01S6mhbg4us) showed that this was not a good time for him and his career.
As a natural rebel he would've refused to do this kind of sh!t or demanded to get him better scripts. Did he do any of that? No. He fulfilled his contracts and made Spinout, Clambake, Paradise Hawaiian Style, etc. He did also record the soundtracks for those movies.
Someone posted the quote "Hollywood's image of me was wrong". In the same interview he said that the only one to blame was himself and that he couldn't do anything about it.
He wanted to go on tour again but the movies kept him at work. He was contratced for three movies a year. If he was a rebel he could've told the Colonel to f*ck Hollywood and book him a tour. He didn't do it because it also would've hurt his career.


So, once again: Elvis was no rebel! Elvis was a pro and that is also why he was in the position to use the business to his benefit.

I don't know why it is so important for some people to keep up the rebel image at all costs. It is just plain wrong and nothing more than the image that Elvis wanted to have and saw fitting to the zeitgeist of those certain times. It had no effect on his music or otherwise on his great talent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cS5aCozhcA). In fact he made some of his very best (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7O8UulcVhA) recordings at a time that to those people wasn't rebellious but adapted.


It is not rebellious to listen to different kinds of music and being influenced by them. Neither is it to make music in his own style, 'cause that is the way a natural musician like Elvis works.
History is clear and so are Elvis' comments. He never claimed to be a rebel but in fact showed that he wanted to please everybody and be the best entertainer he could be. if someone can't understand this I fear that he hasn't understand Elvis Presley none.



I haven't seen any reasonable arguments for him being a rebel, just some pale cliches that are based on nothing. If you got some, please tell them. I could think of a few happeings but at a closer look they still fall apart mostly.

Rocker, I believe you are taking the "rebel" definition too literally.  I'm not sure anyone is saying that Elvis was a hard-ass and broke the law.  If that were in fact the definition of a true rebel. then the only people allowed to be called that would be criminals.    The way you describe it above implies that Elvis should have given a huge F-you to the movie studios and the US Army in order for him to be a true "rebel."  Elvis was who he was.  You make it sound like he was a character made out of thin air, fabricated by the teen magazines.  There was a rebellion quality in Elvis because he went against the norm. 

Your definition of a rebel:  


It is in this manner that Elvis was clearly in fact a rebel...in music.  We're not talking about leather jackets, putting up fights andr carrying a knife.  I'm talking about the rules he broke in music.  Elvis was a rebel much like Jerry Lee Lewis was a rebel or Little Richard was.  These guys exploded onto the scene and rocked music as people knew it.  When Elvis arrived with his hips moving, singing like a black man and dripping of raw sexuality---that sent shock waves around the world. I don't need to give you a lesson on his impact when he first arrived.  Elvis was just being who he was, how he wanted to do it--on his terms.  The guy made a lot of people very angry along the way during those first few years but he pushed through it.  

Artistically speaking, Elvis was most definitely a rebel.

No, I didn't say that there was a criminal side to it. I wasn't talking about breaking the law but breaking the rules.

Elvis, Jerry Lee, etc. weren't breaking rules in music as much as people like to think but much more important, they weren't doing it knowingly (as I wrote above) which would be the assumption for rebellion. If you look deeper into the whole southern music  you see that it developed 'til those guys were the logical consequence. That takes nothing away from them (why should it?), since they were great stylists but it wasn't that new a case. White and black music always interchanged with each other. The reason for the big fuss was that thanks to radio, TV etc. it took over to people who hadn't any clue about this kind of music (blues, country, gospel a.s.o.) and therefor it became THAT big. In the south and music scene of hillbilly and country it was a new sound that was quite appreciated (the exception proves the rule).

Also before it came to those "northern"-people - 1956 - no one really seemed to have much of a problem with Elvis' wiggling.

Elvis (and of course all the other cats) were a mirror and the result that the southern music had naturally to result in.


And before anyone misunderstands me: that doesn't degrade the musical (may I say) genius that Elvis was. It just puts him in context. The guy was like a sponge that absorbed every musical influence he could get (mirror), not focusing on just one style, and then had the talent and ability to transform it all into his own (result).
Elvis was like the chosen one (or "the door opener" as Little Richard called it) who was to lead this revolution, because he had the looks, the charisma and the talent. He had a natural sense for show business and what to do in which way to become an icon. He was very intelligent for that matter.



Exactly, that is what I said.



Again, exactly. But this would be a very nice definition of a martyr not a rebel.




No, re-read my post. I said exactly the contrary. I said Elvis himself made that up.
He had a vision of how he wanted to appear as an artist. And in the 50s it was this image. He changed his images more than once.

Again, you are putting too much emphasis on the word rebel itself.   Your over-emphasis on the word suggests that only revolutionaries who start riots and overthrow governments are the only people to deserve the use of the word.  Let's please see the use of the word in context, as it is used in art, specifically music. 

I don't necessarily buy that Elvis was unaware of what he was doing.  That may have been the case when he was a young guy entertaining crowds in Tupelo, but by the time he broke out nationally he was very aware what his actions meant and what it did to people.   And he did them anyway.

Elvis "created" his image no less than any one of us creates our image of ourselves.  The clothes we wear, the way we wear our hair--that's all us being who we are.  Elvis didn't purposely manufacture a false image of himself...he was who he was.  Somebody trying to go against the norm just because they want to be different or get a reaction is a poser and a fake.  Elvis was neither. Any change that Elvis went through wasn't a conscious one or one that was for the benefit of his career.  He moved from one phase of his life to the other--just as any one of us would in our own lives.  He didn't make the conscious decision, "okay, so I was the leather jacket rebel in the fifties...I was the clean cut sexy dude in the sixties, for the seventies I think I'm going to try the older/respectable crooner of heavy ballads!"  He matured and adjusted himself appropriately in every stage of his life where he found it appropriate.

In the end, you don't seem to give Presley enough credit for what he did do during his first years as a performer.  He was aware of everything he was doing and he was no dummy to see what kind of reaction he was getting.  To go out on a national broadcast and to gyrate the way he did when he sang "Hound Dog" on Berle's show is, to me, a huge F you to the rules.  He knew what kind of programs were on television, he was very aware what kind of entertainment was popular at the time, he knew what was accepted as "the norm" in society, he knew the safe direction to go and yet he did it his way anyway.  The fact that he played it straight with Steve Allen, or eventually joined the Army does not take away from the things he did do before then.   

Well, if the word rebel is used, then it has to be taken as that. I don't think I read too much into it. There are enough other words that can be used to describe Elvis more properly, even if it ought to give him such an iconic rng as "rebel".
I don't think the meaning of the word is different in german as in english, is it?
It is used very inflationary in Elvis circles, almost as if it had something to do with his music or the quality of it, and that is why I get very upset by it.




First, I think you don't understand my point. I give Presley every credit there is. Everything - the good and the bad. There are people who blame the Colonel for... well, almost everything but Elvis was the boss, the one who had absolute control over his decisions; and he made them. I thought I'd made that clear enough.
But on the other hand I think you don't give him enough credit. Of course he evolved as a human being. But you don't seem to want to admit that show biz was his life and he was extremely paying attention to what the public thought of him.
He very certainly was working up an image and a way he wanted to be seen in the public's eye. He himself admitted such things when asked on the Madison Square Garden conference ("The image is one thing the human being another").


I don't think the two of us are too far apartin our opinions to tell you the truth. I can't tell you how much respect I have for Elvis for coming up with what he did. And I think I take him and his work and the culture it came out of more serious than many other Elvis-fans and music critics.
But I think it is wrong to think he had some kind of "masterplan" behind his music except becoming an successful entertainer. There are enough interviews and quotes by Elvis stating that he just wants to make music. But you haven't even named one in which Elvis says he'd do this for another reason like changing society or shake anything up.
There are quotes of Sam Phillips saying that he wanted to change it and that he wanted to get black music getting the respect and recognition it deserved. And probably Elvis under the influence of Phillips had smilar thoughts. But he didn't mention it.  
All he said was that he wanted to be an entertainer and that he did his music by instinct, not with a plan.
Again, if you can come up with concrete examples and quotes of Elvis please name them. I did, and what I have mentioned is imo very clear. But you can't look at it from a perspective decades after the happenings and assign today's view and historic understanding of what happened in the aftermath of the facts and assume that this is the way the people back then thought too (how should they have known?). It was just life as it went to them as is today's life for us.
I'm not saying that there might not have been a rebellious side in his private life once in a while, but from everything we know it wasn't very big.

And regarding the Ed Sullivan show, of course he knew what was causing the publicity he got (his wiggling). But I don't think he was giving a f!ck you to Sullivan (how you or me or whoever interprets it is another question). He did it because that is what brought him onto the show in the first place, that was what the people/his fans wanted to see and since Elvis was someone who wanted to please, he gave them what they wanted.

Again, I'd ask you to cite some examples as I have. Which interviews have him obviously showing that he was a rebel? I could think of a few (but of course I won't tell you which ones now ;) ) but all in all it just wasn't as much part of his nature as we (can) know it.



All in all, I fear that we at some points talk at cross-purposes. That has to be seen.



Anyway, I like these discussions and I love it that here's someone who to discuss with!  

The '69 live shows all are highlights. And since this show is represented on the original "From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis"-live album (which as of now still beats every other '69 live release imo) with 7 recordings you can be sure that it is something very special.
I always loved the "Stay away Joe" recordings. The FTD will give you the sessions to those. It is very well done imo. I don't know what else to say. I guess it's also depending on what you think about the material. But Elvis' version of "Too much monkey business" is a masterpiece imo; in fact I think his Chuck Berry recordings are all great, except for "Memphis, Tennessee".


I don't know Las Vegas Happening or Aloha Jerry. Have you some more infos about them?

Notes on Aloha Jerry:

This very interesting release features a soundbooth recording of Las Vegas, February 23, 1973 CS and an incomplete soundboard recording of Las Vegas, February 10, 1973 DS.

We already had the CS from February 23, 1973 back in 2005 on "What Now My Love" (X-Entertainment) but definitely not in this excellent sound quality ! For sure this show belongs to the better ones of this Vegas season with highlights like What Now My Love, Steamroller Blues, Fever or I'll Remember You. The DS from February 10, 1973 debuts on silver disc and in addition ìt's  a soundboard recording which makes it worthwhile for your collection in any case ! To sum it up: Highly recommendable !!! It`s already in our Concerts On CD - 1973 section.  On the Audionics label.


Tracklisting

Also Sprach Zarathustra
C. C. Rider
I Got A Woman / Amen
Love Me Tender
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
Steamroller Blues
You Gave Me A Mountain
Fever
Love Me
Blue Suede Shoes
Hound Dog
What Now My Love
Suspicious Minds
Band Introduction
Introduction of Celebrities
I'll Remember You
I Can't Stop Loving You
An American Trilogy
Can't Help Falling In Love
Closing Vamp

Bonus tracks (February 10, 1973 DS):
Fever
Heartbreak Hotel
Johnny B. Goode
Hound Dog
What Now My Love
Suspicious Minds
Band Introduction
Introduction of Jack Lord
I'll Remember You

The bonus tracks are soundboard recordings.

I enjoy discussing Elvis with other knowledgeable fans as well but I fear we are splitting hairs here and having two very different discussions in one breath.


I'm pretty sure the definition of the word "rebel" is the same in both language but it is up to the person to interpret it and apply it appropriately whenever they use it.  It does not have one singular interpretation only to be used as a person who causes riots and starts a government revolution.  As you can see, the word has a couple meanings:

Rebel:
1
a :  opposing or taking arms against a government or ruler
b :  of or relating to rebels <the rebel camp>
2
:  disobedient, rebellious

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebel


That's the dead end you and I are having here.   Your interpretation of the word is very, very limited and seems to be stuck on the first option in the above definition regarding taking arms on a ruler when my use of the word is the second one: disobedience.  Whether or not Elvis may or may not have been aware that he was a rebel---the point of the discussion is how he came to be known as that.  The public and the media viewed him as a rebel.  Period.  End of discussion.  You wanted to know why people started calling him that?  The answer is in the reaction from the people at the time.  They labeled him as such because that is what they saw him as:  the guy who broke the rules, the guy who danced and sung about sex, the not clean cut Bobby Darin or Frank Sinatra.  He was the anti-everything.  Whether or not it was Elvis' intention to portray this is completely not the point.  It was the public's perception of Elvis Presley that brought this label on him.   You can refute Elvis' "intentions" all you want but it does not change the fact that history has shown that the general public perceived Elvis as the enemy.  We are having two discussions simultaneously here:  "Why was Elvis labeled a rebel?" and "Was Elvis really a rebel?"  Two very different topics.  You cannot refute someone's use of the word when it is based on a perception that had been already established--and long standing.  If you want to discuss the legitimacy of the label---that is a different discussion all together.


You are free to interpret that any way you wish.  Elvis admits that there is a clear line between the Elvis on stage/in front of cameras and the Elvis at home in Graceland.  For this quote to reveal that Elvis was secretly creating a false image of himself, fully conscious that it wasn't him on stage would imply that he was a fake.  His quote touches on many aspects of his career..not just his "image."  He is referring to the false perception that people had during the movies he made, the perception that he was a rock and roll singer that only sang fast rock and roll tunes that he didn't have any depth to sing any ballads...there are tons of factors to keep in mind here.  He isn't just referring to one aspect of the word image:  looks, attitude etc.


I'm not sure anyone is re-interpreting the facts of nearly 60 years ago.  This is how it was then...the fact that people saw Elvis as the anti-Christ isn't something people are applying today in 2013.   Everything said in this thread is completely representative of what was believed in the 1950's:

(http://www.pophistorydig.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1956-Look-cvr-250.jpg)

“…But Presley is mostly nightmare. On stage, his gyrations…are vulgar… He has also dragged ‘big beat’ music to new lows in taste…”
              – Look magazine, 1956

(http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/download/file.php?id=25151&t=1)


If you want me to provide a quote that has Elvis say: "I sang these songs with the full intention of causing an uproar.  I knew people were upset but I didn't care--I did it anyway.  The world needed to change and I was going to be that person to change it!"....you're not going to find it because it doesn't exist.  But his actions speak louder than words.  Elvis had played many, many shows before he made his debut on the Dorsey show singing "Flip, Flop and Fly.'  He knew exactly what he was doing and although he gave the press the reason saying it was all natural--he still didn't stop what he did.  He saw the resistance from all directions yet he persisted.  That doesn't sound like the behavior of someone who wanted to appease people.  That sounds rebellious.  And I will not force you to agree with me.

Notes on Las Vegas Happening:

The new Rock Legends have released a double soundboard CD. The Elvis Presley Show was a HAPPENING and first Spring appearance in Sin City since 1956 was no different. The 50s gig was definitely way above in terms of performance, but nonetheless a flop at the time. Wrong place, wrong moment! But by 1969 Elvis returned and established himself as the King Of Vegas. March 1975 wasn't a flop although he had health problems, but he still was in an excellent mood and with new studio material recorded about a week before. He was away from Las Vegas since Sept 1974, but he opened this Season with some of his new songs; And I Love You So, Green Green Grass Of Home and Fairytale. T-R-O-U-B-L-E would wait up to his next tour before entering his song list as a regular number, whilst the odd Shake A Hand and Pieces Of My Life were performed a bit later during the July 1975 tour.  The first CD features the nearly complete pre-show (no Elvis), and on the second CD the March 22, 1975 Midnight performance along with some bonus tracks recorded three nights earlier. The March 22, 1975 MS has been released twice but our source is definitely from an earlier generation. The very short Joe Orchestra introduction before the Also Sprach Zarathustra is not on the aforementioned releases and presence of vocal distortion in Elvis' vocal is rather smooth and less annoying than it was before.
This new digipack double set will be a very LIMITED EDITION and first intended for the fans who didn't have these recordings, or all the ones wanting the COMPLETE HAPPENING.

March 1975 wasn't a flop although he had health problems, but still came in an excellent mood and rich of new studio material recorded about a week before. He was away from Las Vegas since September 1974, but he opened this Season with some of his new songs ; And I Love You So, Green Green Grass Of Home and Fairytale. T-R-O-U-B-L-E would wait up to his next tour before entering his song list as a regular number, whilst the odd Shake A Hand and Pieces Of My Life were performed a bit later during the July 1975 tour. Some material from the strong December 1973 sessions like Promised Land , It's Midnight and My Boy were incorporated along some unrehearsed moments to his basic program.
The first CD features the nearly complete pre-show, and on the second CD the March 22, 1975 Midnight performance along with some bonus tracks recorded three nights earlier.


Suppose to be better quality than the Profile box set and Big Bang release.


CD 1:
01 Joe Guercio's orchestra opening  
02 Voice introduction / Going Back To Memphis Tomorrow      
03 Into The Father's House / Closing      
04 Philadelphia Freedom      
05 Introduction of the Sweet Inspirations / Stevie Is A Wonder / For Once In My Life / You Got It Bad Girl / Superstition / You Are The Sunshine Of My Life / Livin' For The City / All In Love Is Fair / Higher Ground / Closing      
06 Jackie Kahane introduction and Comedy Act      

CD 2:            
01 Also Sprach Zarasthustra      
02 C. C. Rider      
03 I Got A Woman / Amen      
04 Love Me      
05 If You Love me (Let Me Know)    
06 And I Love You So      
07 Big Boss Man      
08 It's Midnight      
09 Promised Land      
10 Green Green Gras Of Home    
11 Fairytale      
12 Band Introductions      
13 What'd I Say (featuring James Burton)        
14 Drum Solo (by Ronnie Tutt)    
15 Bass Solo (by Due Bardwell)      
16 Piano Solo (by Glen D. Hardin)      
17 Electric Piano Solo (by David Briggs)      
18 Introductions of vocalists and orchestra      
19 Orchestra solo      
20 My Boy    
21 I'll Remember You      
22 Let Me Be There (with reprise)      
23 Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel      
24 Hound Dog (with reprise)      
25 I'll Be There (excerpt only) / You're The Reason I'm Living        
26 Can't Help Falling In Love      
27 Closing Vamp        
28 Big Boss Man        
29 My Boy      
30 I'll Remember You      
31 Hound Dog      
32 An American Trilogy    
33 If You Love Me (Let Me Know )
      
      
  
Note:   CD1:
Tracks 1-6 recorded in las Vegas on March 19, 1975, Dinner Show
Tracks 2-3 performed by Voice
Tracks 4-5 performed by The Sweet Inspirations
Track 6 performed by Jacky Kahane
CD2:
Tracks 1-4 recorded in Las Vegas on March 20, 1975, Dinner Show
Tracks 5-27 recorded in Las Vegas on March 22,1975, Midnight Show
Tracks 28-33 are bonus songs and recorded in Las Vegas on March 19, 1975, Midnight show

 
 

Sorry, Justin, didn't mean to step on your "rebel" discussion with Rocker there. Just giving him the info on a couple of recent releases. I'm very slowly coming up to speed with all of this. There's so many Elvis releases that it's kinda hard to keep track. Sure glad I'm not an Elvis completist or I'd be in debt!

Thanks you guys for the good info here and the responses. Gonna go listen to the Elvis Stax release now, which is the main premise of the thread, isn't it?  ;D

Hope you don't mind me chiming in here!

The Audionics label does quality stuff---well renowned in the Elvis circle.

I see I can listen to it on YouTube: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyQbGzLCWrA)  The description proudly says it's a soundboard yet the main show is obviously an audience recording.  Weird! The one significant aspect of this show is that it is one of the last Jerry Scheff plays with Elvis before leaving the band for a few years hence the name "Aloha Jerry."  "Aloha" I guess in reference to the Aloha From Hawaii show that aired earlier that year. 

1973 was a rough year for Elvis and really began the permanent downward slide both personally and professionally.  There aren't many shows I listen to from this year, even the Aloha show borders on iconic and sleepy.  It's a better event to watch rather than listen to. 

Anyway, apparently one of the highlights from this show is the performance of "What Now My Love"...some comments here from an older version of the recording  here:  http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=54536   It is in fact a very striking version as Elvis speaks some of the lyrics.  He seems to be in a spunky mood throughout the show.  The show seems like a standard '73 show only helped by the enthusiastic crowd who really support Elvis 100%.  His mood reminds me a little of the iconic "Desert Storm" show from the following year:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGIGZ1RNtB4  A trip!

No problem at all..probably my fault for side tracking it a bit....either way this thread seems to be acting like the general Elvis thread!  Any kind of Elvis discussion is good discussion in my book!!

You're definitely right that it's an expensive hobby!  There are still a few active bootleg labels still pumping out new titles (mainly reissues of past titles) so there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.  I've personally scaled back considerably with Elvis boots.  I've become really picky with what I purchase.  I've moved away from much of the material between 1973 and 1977.  But there are some good stuff there to be discovered!   I hope you are also following the FTD collectors label!

Anyway I'm glad to see some fans on this board.  Elvis was my first obsession way before the Beach Boys!  ;D  Do share your thoughts about the Stax set. I had found a new appreciation for the recordings after I got my set--and that's after having the material in other releases.  The set really re-focused my attention on the songs and I came away with a new love for them as I noted a few posts up.

@Justin:

Now, there we go! I was talking the whole time about nothing else but Elvis the person and not what he was in the public's eye. I did so, because I was referring to someone saying Elvis was "a natural rebel" and had it "in his DNA" (maybe it was two different guys, I don't remember) which certainly wasn't .
Of course, in the public's eye he was seen as a rebel. No question about that. That's what I meant when I mentioned the image he made, etc. Sorry, maybe I wasn't too clear.

Exactly. IIRC in august of '73 he overdosed and nearly died.
Elvis' voice was also going through some phase. Already on Aloha you can hear it becoming a little flat on some songs (not only the throw away performances), though it was very strong on other songs. I don't know what it was, maybe it was caused by whatever drugs he took at that time. It came down I guess in february when he had to stop a show because his voice was gone.
His voice sounded already a little strange in '72 when he was on stage, but not when he was in the studio. It was still powerful and all that but something was different. In '74 and '75 it again sounded more like '71 just a little "updated" so to speak. And than the terror of '76/'77 started.

Elvis' voice had changed a few times before 1973.  His voice matured as he shifted from decade to decade.  I would personally argue that it was no coincidence that Elvis' voice shifted each time as he faced a major change/shift in his personal life.  Artists are very sensitive creatures and Elvis was a very emotional singer.  It sounded to me that his voice was a sonic representation for the emotional state he was in.  That couldn't have been more clear especially during his final years.

What I find interesting about elvis the live performer is how much his intensity could vary song to song. By the time of aloha he treats the oldies in a cavalier throwaway fashion but he really invests lord you gave me a mountain with concentration. He seems bored with suspicious minds but boy does he belt out my way

I agree Ian.  Elvis always had that ability to channel the exact energy that each song required and floated gracefully from a rock and roll song to a ballad with ease.  To him, it seemed, each song existed in its own universe and he delivered each song with the just the right amount of everything, tailor made for that particular song he was singing.

During the later years though, you can tell exactly how he feels about his early hits by the way he sings them and by how much of them were in his set.  He seemed to enjoy the challenge of more complicated and vocally demanding songs over the quick, rough and tumble "Hound Dog" for instance.

Right. Times changed.  In 1968 he really was charged up to sing one night with you and boy did he sing a rocking version! But only two years later in that's the way it is he seems to just want to get the song over with so he can sink his teeth into polk salad Annie or i've lost you.

Sure. And since we have Elvis' voice for almost all of his life it is easy to follow the evolution.
I just meant that part of '72 live (I don't listen to too much '73 showas, so I don't know about that) sticks out as quite strange, given that in '74 his voice again sounded more like '71/earlier '72.





Hm, I think he did great versions of "One night" in '70. I like those versions very much and to me they don't sound rushed or uninspired. But other oldies certainly do, although thankfully not as much as in later years.
There is an audience recording of "One night" in '69 (I believe it was quite a spontaneous decision to play it). I haven't heard it in a long time. That could be the "missing link" between the '68 and TTWII performances.

Obviously-it's all subjective.  Personally-I think Elvis as a live performer was never better than in the 2 sit down shows in June 1968 (though I wish there was a high quality video/audio of the July 31 1969 Vegas debut as that probably came close).  The Live Vegas LP of the August 69 shows is nice-but I don't find myself listening to it much.  The On Stage 1970 is also good-but way too short (again I don't listen to it that much).  I like the Madison Square Garden LP, but it is not the same as 1968 for me.  When Elvis sang "Trying To Get To You" and "Lawdy Mrs Clawdy" in 1968 he literally seemed to leave the Earth for a second in terms of how into the performance he was.  Amazing.  Even lip-synching "If I Can Dream" on that show he was truly inspired.  That intensity is also in evidence on some of the January 69 American sessions-I can really picture Elvis writhing on the floor singing Any Day Now and Long Black Limousine.

I love the sit down shows, don't get me wrong. But I like me a good drummer and a rocking band. To me there's almost nothing better in terms of Rock'n'Roll as Elvis live '69. The "From Memphis to Vegas"-album is just incredible.
But the sit down shows are totally different and therefor it's hard to compare. They are like jam sessions or backporch performances. Very raw and rough. As I said, I love them. The stand up shows unfortunately are not that good imo. The big exception is the spontaneous "Baby what you want me to do" and I also like "Love me tender" of which I can't stand the other live versions from '69 'til the end very much.
The few 50s performances we have show that those shows must've been awesome, too.
The boy was just a born entertainer. Fantastic!

The Gospel medley from the Comeback Special is among the finest pieces of music Elvis ever did. His "saved" even beats LaVern Baker's original imo.

BTW I have an interview with D.J. Fontana and he said that the first plan was to have the original full band (with a replacement for Bill Black obviously) play the show. "Full" meaning with a complete drumset. But allegedly there were problems with the light. It was then decided to do the sit down shows, which was an idea that Steve Binder and Elvis both had individually as can be heard on the recordings done in the dressing room IIRC


EDIT:

Just saw this flyer. The book will be released early next year.

(http://elvisnews.com/images/various/flyer-king-of-the-jungle.jpg)

And this one (click for bigger size):

(http://s14.directupload.net/images/130928/temp/5olx62pr.jpg) (http://s14.directupload.net/file/d/3394/5olx62pr_jpg.htm)

It's hard to beat the sit down shows for pure rockin' intensity, Elvis is completely in the moment, giving everything he has to those simple, 3 chord bluesy songs. I guess that's why it's hard for some of us to understand how he could be so bored with them just a couple years later, but for whatever reasons, those songs no longer interested him. Of all the 50's hits he did on stage in the 70's, the only ones that seemed like more than throwaways were A Big Hunk O' Love, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Tryin' to Get to You, and That's All Right. In fact, one of my favorite versions of Lawdy is from the Spring Tours '77 FTD.

CBS News Names "Elvis at Stax" Among "Best 2013 Album Reissues"

September 25, 2013

In company with other legendary artists such as The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac and Bob Dylan, the latest release from SONY/LEGACY Records "Elvis at Stax: Deluxe Edition" has been named among "Best 2013 Album Reissues" on CBSNews.com.

The article states, "This 3-CD set collects the King of Rock 'n' Roll's recordings at the famed Stax Studios in Memphis in 1973. Riding high from his triumphant shows in Madison Square Garden in the summer of 1972 and his 'Aloha from Hawaii' television special in early 1973, Presley entered Stax Studios and recorded some gritty and soulful tracks there that were eventually released over the course of several studio albums and compilations between 1973 and 2002. This new set also features previous outtakes from those sessions."

Fans can check out the complete list in the new article titled "What's Old is New Again: The Best 2013 Album Reissues" on CBSNews.com. Get your own copy of the "Elvis at Stax: Deluxe Edition," as well as the hottest in apparel, home decor and much more by visiting ShopElvis.com.




Source: http://www.elvis.com/news/detail.aspx?id=7247

Yes, it's a nice version, especially when compared to a lot of the crap that this CD features. My favorite version of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" is the one from October 6th, 1974 (http://jordans-elvis-world.com/audio/profile2/61.ram). Love his phrasings here...

Norbert Putnam on Elvis picking songs to record:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucssp2ItWts


Elvis Presley - Norbert Putnam on Elvis as a record producer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSxPgvU18tA


Norbert Putnam on his start, playing with Elvis and publi...:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbWMvACaqhg


Norbert Putnam on recording with Elvis and Priscilla in s...:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15jTTmuDhl0


Elvis Presley - Norbert Putnam on recording with Elvis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvyzEvJ007g