Favorite Elvis period

[halblaineisgood]

This

[halblaineisgood]

although

[MBE]

Well as Elvis is one of the only people I like as much as the Beach Boys I will say what I like and don't like about each era.
Sun 1954-5 was great on the rockers but his ballad singing wasn't there yet. Of course this is some of his purest most groundbreaking work

The early RCA (56-58) shows his voice getting better on ballads and the rockers are even more high octane.

1960 was a uniformly excellent year. Ok so the soundtracks aren't quite up to standard, but they are still pretty respectable with G.I. Blues making for a good pop LP and Wild In The Country having a nice folkish sound. Elvis is Back is the best LP he ever cut imho.

61-65 gets worse each year. The studio cuts are still ok if not up to what came before but the soundtracks just start getting terrible. There are always at least one or two good songs, but other then Kid Galahad and Viva Las Vegas they don't work as a whole. Elvis was not in charge of these recordings and any that he was remained good. The rock from this period IS good as are the ballads. His voice is really getting stronger.

1966-68 is a gradual comeback in the studio and even the movies improve. Spinout and How Great are his best LP's in years, his voice is increadable by now. There are still some downright terrible movie songs, but by 1968 his is back on top form. THe comeback special of course is one of his best moments.

1969-72 was probably his best era. The Memphis stuff is good but so are the underrated Nashville sessions. Easily the best live shows he ever did, his voice from 1970 on is fully devloped, almost operetic in it's flexibility. Burning Love comes from 72 and don't belive what you read, he was commited to the song. He worked on it hard and invented the improv screaming at the end himself. 

1973-77 while he gained weight and was a little uneven at times he didn't decline artistically too drastically. In fact Moody Blue (his last LP) is one of his finest. The Stax sessions from 73 have hm really modernising his sound. He get's mainly into soul music and country with good effect. Some don't like these recordings because he performes them in a low key fashion but I think they are effective. Some of his best shows came in the summer of 1975 and in December of 1976. He wasn't healthy at times but he hardly ever came on stage "high". I am helping on a book that blows the drug stories out of the water and hope that it helps restore the dignity to what is actually some of his finest work.

[Rocker]

This is tough. The early 60s were awesome and produced some of the best music ever. The "Elvis is back"-album (which gets my vote as one of the greatest albums of all time) sounds as great as that it is on one level with "Sunflower" and "Surf's up", it's really that great. At that time he was very creative and tried alot of new things.

The years '68-'70/'71 were great because his voice got deeper and fitted his soulful singing even more than the higher voice (compare "It hurts me" from '63 ith the '68-comeback version, both great btw). Added to that comes his unbelievable stage-appearance, which of course was almost not there in the early and mid-60s. His '69-shows are probably the best live concerts ever (check out his "In person"-album)

The 50s of course were the Rock'n'Roll-years and changed the music world forever. I agree that his ballad-singing was not as great as in the 60s or later but still better than many of the other acts around. And of course not many people could and can hold up to him when it comes to rocking. I don't really want to start talking about the cultural impact Rock'n'Roll and especially Elvis had.

We shouldn't forget that Elvis even did great things during the soundtrack-years. "How great thou art" is a fantastic album and belongs to the best of '66, but although he got a grammy for it, not too many people noticed this. And the Nashville-recordings from the mid-60s ("Guitar man" "Too much monkey business" "Tomorrow is a long time" and the awesome "Love letters") show that Elvis still could've been one of the biggest and best stars of the 60s.

Unfortunately the trend of looking at Elvis as a "brand" makes it hard for outsiders to appreciate the genius of this guy.

[halblaineisgood]

 "How great thou art" is a fantastic album and belongs to the best of '66, but although he got a grammy for it, not too many people noticed this.

I love that album,......i especially dig side 1......I always have imagined "somebody bigger than you an I" would be a great song to play over the closing credits of a movie........

[Rocker]

Burning Love comes from 72 and don't belive what you read he was commited to the song. He worked on it hard and invented the improv screaming at the end himself. 

That's interesting. The "official" story is that he didn't want to record it. But if you listen to the live-versions, he was really into it (and if he didn't like it, he wouldn't have performed it at all 'til as late as '75).
You know I trust you in everything Elvis, but there certainly were concerts where he was quite "stoned".

@halblaineisgood :

I think that album shows just how easily Elvis could compete with the current stars, say Beatles, etc. I think it's sound shows a Spector, Beach Boys and even Stones-influence (iirc there's a distorted guitar on "By and by" not unlike the sound on "Satisfaction") . But most of all, it feels great and Elvis really is into it. "Run on" is the same song as "God's gonna cut you down" by Cash (Brian Wilson appears in the official video to that song) and I could listen for hours just to that acapella-intro. "Crying in the chapel" was of course from the sessions of his first gospel-album, which is fantastic imo, but was a big hit in the mid-60s.
I think his re-recording of "Swing down sweet chariot" from the soundtrack of "The trouble with girls..." would've fit great in here. I think it's a very good soundtrack btw

[MBE]

One thing I want to say about Elvis being "Stoned" is that it's not like he smoked a joint before a show, or dropped acid etc. He was on Donnatol which impares your speach. The June 19th show of 77 shows this but he was still able to sing with great power ie the version of "How Great" That drug isn't given much anymore but I was on it for a colon condition myself and it slurred my speach. People thought I was on dope too but at the time it was one of the few drugs given for colon problems. Sure he was given pills by his doctors but he was a hypochondriac not an addict. He was often given placebos, and the huge amount of pills perscribed were for the whole touring party.  Honestly  the guy was only addicted for a short time in fall 1973 when he was getting accupuncture treatments where the doctor dipped the needles in an opiate. Elvis didn't even know he was being given this drug and nearly died. Rocker I know you have a lot more of an open mind then many Elvis fans so please buy this book. I helped with it but I don't get paid a cent if you do or not so I am telling you it is great simply because it is great.
www.elvisconcertmyths.com/DesertStorm.html

Also I am not a guy who doesn't admit someone he likes had or has a drug problem. Brian and Dennis were addicts and I have no trouble with it. Yet simply put Elvis was a great role model whoose name has been unfairly tarnished. I think you will change your mind if you get the book.

[Rocker]

I didn't want to critisize you, as I said, I trust you in everything you say about that guy because I know you have the knowledge. And of course I know he didn't take cocaine or that other "hard" sh*t. But even if he's on Donnatol, he's "high", if you wanna call it like this. I guess there's more hype than truth to the whole prescribtion drugs-thing, but we shouldn't white-wash it. That guy had his problems and there are alot of concert recordings that show this.
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. Which version of "It's midnight" is played there? Must be some alt. take.
I hope to get a copy of the book as I know that you wouldn't work with people who are just trying to make money of an old topic with stuff they can't attest. You don't know if there will be a german edition, do you?

[MBE]

The author actually has spent most of his savings doing this book so I don't think there will be but the one edition. Read for yourself what he has to say because again I think you have an open mind.  Elvis wasn't perfect. As a hypochondriac (which is what I feel he was) he made some bad choices. He also trusted his doctors too much and not all of them had his best interests at heart. I guess I don't look at it as getting high because of the difference is cultural attitudes between Elvis and the typical narcotics user. That's again not to say he should have gone on stage on certain nights, but only because it had a poor effect on his health. 99 percent of the time his singing was undiminished, and it makes me sad that more people don't realize what a great artist he remained. One thing we all know is that he had very poor health in the last four years of his life with some legit issues and it was just a sad way for things to end.

[Rocker]

99 percent of the time his singing was undiminished, and it makes me sad that more people don't realize what a great artist he remained. One thing we all know is that he had very poor health in the last four years of his life with some legit issues and it was just a sad way for things to end.

True, but on the other hand I don't think that many people even consider him an artist, no matter which period, which is a shame. He was so great.

[Rocker]

I found some stuff on youtube that I thought you might be interested in.

This is one of only a few songs of Elvis that have a "Beach Boys"-kinda feel imo:

Love song of the year

It was during the sessions to this song that Brian Wilson stormed into the studio and wanted to talk to Elvis. They used the undubbed version for this video:

Pieces of my life


Of course you can argue about the pictures the creators used for the videos. I don't think they chose them very well, but the music is what counts imo.


And this is his '70 version of :

You've lost that loving feeling

[MBE]

Actually Elvis met Brian during the Today sessions.

[Rocker]

Actually Elvis met Brian during the Today sessions.

Yes, and if I remember correctly it was, as I said, during the sessions to "Pieces of my life". I think it's in Jorgensen's book

[pixletwin]

The Sun Sessions period is my favorite for one reason alone: Blue Moon. The best vocal Elvis ever recorded IMO.

[MBE]

Blue Moon has grown on me through the years. Very eerie sounding.

[Ron]

I gotta go with the fattening Elvis period, I think the huge (over?) produced sound worked well with him since his voice was so incredible he actually overcame it.  When I think of Elvis being great, I think of the period a few years before he died... Kentucky Rain, Suspicious Minds, etc. and of course American Trilogy.  I love listening to him do that in concert... here's a man who holds gospel and his southern roots, and his mother all very close to his heart; perhaps better than anybody else alive he is a singer in the greatest sense of the word.  When he sings that song, he SINGS that song.  The band and orchestra swell, the backup singers swell, the Jordanaires swell, but Elvis sings above all of them like perhaps in all of the world, only that 1 man could.  Tears me up everytime I hear it! Without a doubt, to me that later stuff was far superior to the early stuff. 

[shelter]

I think that album shows just how easily Elvis could compete with the current stars, say Beatles, etc.

Did Elvis see the Beatles as competition? The Beatles were progressive artists, Elvis was purely an entertainer (the best there ever was, actually). I think they were in a completely different ballgame.

[MBE]

He liked them except for their Sgt Pepper era. He met them in 1965 and then later individually and got along with them. He felt threatened at first, but once he came back in 1968, he could relax more about them.  He was creative in a different way but he also was one of the first self produced artists. He didn't get credit for this so most don't know about it.

[Rocker]

I think that album shows just how easily Elvis could compete with the current stars, say Beatles, etc.

Did Elvis see the Beatles as competition? The Beatles were progressive artists, Elvis was purely an entertainer (the best there ever was, actually). I think they were in a completely different ballgame.

Elvis always was an artist. He became an entertainer in the mid-70s. I'd say '73 when he imo lost interest in recording new material, but MBE might tell you more about this, since he got lots of knowledge about Elvis' works.
Elvis usually said that there's place for everyone in showbusiness but of course he had an eye on his rivals. But don't let those historians tell you he was just an entertainer. He was a real artist, one of the very best.

The Sun Sessions period is my favorite for one reason alone: Blue Moon. The best vocal Elvis ever recorded IMO.

I love that one ! His singing sounds almost spooky. It's as if he's singing out of his grave, but with his teenage-voice. Unbelievable. This ain't no doo-wop (like the Marcelles' version) or country nor blues. This is pure Elvis !

[MBE]

Elvis always was an artist. He became an entertainer in the mid-70s. I'd say '73 when he imo lost interest in recording new material, but MBE might tell you more about this, since he got lots of knowledge about Elvis' works.Well

Elvis stayed an artist to me through the whole thing. It may have been harder to get him to commit to sessions but I think his last half dozen studio albums have some of his most heartfelt music. He was hurting and didn't care who knew it. He did some interesting forays into country and blues during that time. I also think the December 1976 tour was his best in years. Even on his very last show he was mixing up the setlist trying to keep things fresh. He had six new songs he was going to include on his August 77 tour so I think he never quite gave up creatively. Only during some of the summer tours of 76 do I think he went on autopilot and even then he would throw in one off's like Danny Boy or  Return To Sender. I think concerts were more important to him the cutting records in the seventies but he stayed very interesting to me. One last thing I forgot to mention, outside of producing most of his non soundtrack recordings, Ed Bonja (his semi official photographer) revealed that Elvis also knew what he wanted to be a single, and how he wanted his albums to flow. Some budget items didn't interest him, but he was far more involved creatively then most give him credit for.

[Rocker]

One last thing I forgot to mention, outside of producing most of his non soundtrack recordings, Ed Bonja (his semi official photographer) revealed that Elvis also knew what he wanted to be a single, and how he wanted his albums to flow. Some budget items didn't interest him, but he was far more involved creatively then most give him credit for.

Could you give some deeper information on this? That sounds very interesting and might change my feelings about the later years (I agree that "Moody blue" had some of his best recordings of the 70s btw. Just the way he beats George Jones on "She thinks I still care" is pheneomenal!)


EDIT: Did you see this? http://www.elvisnews.com/Presentation/Functional/Page/news.aspx?command=show&item=9029

Looks almost as if they got him out of the grave.

[pixletwin]

He liked them except for their Sgt Pepper era. He met them in 1965 and then later individually and got along with them. He felt threatened at first, but once he came back in 1968, he could relax more about them.  He was creative in a different way but he also was one of the first self produced artists. He didn't get credit for this so most don't know about it.

He tried to bar George and John from entering the US in the 70's (this we know from the FBI files just released on John Lennon).

[MBE]

I wrote extensively on the relationship between the two parties. I did a lot of research on and all of this material is not valid. He took no part in that kind of thing and even hung out with George backstage in 1972. He also told Lennon to make an anti drug statement which can be seen in the Imagine doc.  He just told Nixon that he felt songs like Magical Mystery Tour were too drug oriented for youth to hear.  If he hated them he wouldn't have spoken with them or have recorded their songs.

[pixletwin]

He just told Nixon that he felt songs like Magical Mystery Tour were too drug oriented for youth to hear.

He told the president of the United States that he thought Lennon was a druggie (bear in mind this was during all of Lennon's immigration problems)... I stand by what I said.

George was back stage at the Hawaii concert and Elvis walked by him. That hardly constitutes hanging out with him.

As for recording Beatle songs, well I'm not sure Elvis was doing that in homage to them. They were great songs. He would be stupid not to record them if he had the opportunity.

 

[Rocker]

He just told Nixon that he felt songs like Magical Mystery Tour were too drug oriented for youth to hear.

He told the president of the United States that he thought Lennon was a druggie (bear in mind this was during all of Lennon's immigration problems)... I stand by what I said.

Well, in fact this is not true. It's more like Elvis helped Lennon and Harrison to get into the States in 1970.
In'68 Elvis even said publicly that he liked the Beatles on his TV-show.
You should trust MBE, he knows very much about this stuff and helped on a lot of books about this topic. Kinda like an Elvis-AGD on this board.

George was back stage at the Hawaii concert and Elvis walked by him. That hardly constitutes hanging out with him.

I seriously doubt that Harrison was backstage at the hawaiian concert, which was in '73. He was backstage (and in the audience as were Lennon and Dylan) at the '72 Madison Square Garden-shows. And I guess you understand that Elvis couldn't talk hours with him when he had to go on stage and give a performance.
Elvis even asked Ringo Starr to be part of a project he was doing, which later came out as "That's the way it is" (1970), but Ringo had to decline.


On the other hand, this has nothing to do with the music.