Keith Nivan Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 "Kentucky Rain" is a wonderfully polished and at the same time soulful track."K" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 If you dont have the 68-69 sessions in totality, really worth it. Some of the obscure numbers are outstanding, "Power of Love etc.etc. The only Elvis I didnt care for was the banana-bacon eating, amphetimine swallowing, wife beating and always in the bathroom Elvis of 76-77. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 To me, the pre-Army Elvis was superior to anything he ever did afterwards (ditto Johnny Cash and his Sun period). The early Elvis was the whole package...all he needed was minimal backing instrumentation (Scotty, Bill, DJ) and slightly rearranged old blues or bluegrass songs.While I really enjoy all of his recordings, I agree with the comments about his later need to be able to latch onto the best songs available....and he also needed the best arrangements, backing singers, etc. I also agree that the movie soundtrack stuff is totally killer....BUT, to me, it doesn't get any better than Sun and early RCA Elvis...Just my 2 cents... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAM Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 Yeah, I love the raw quality about that Sun stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 The Memphis sessions certainly proved that given the incentive, Elvis still had it. Even during the last few years of Elvis's recording life, he could still pull a 'rabbit out of the hat': His last album "Moody Blue" had a great version of Chuck Berry's "Promised Land", and the wonderful "Way Down." Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 I think Marvin hit the nail on the head with the incentive comment....I think it was very difficult to get Elvis fired up and passionate about his music in the late 60's through the 70's. (Hell, it was probably hard to get him fired up about anything except eating and drugs, I'm guessing...) Colonel Parker never seemed to gave a rat's ass about the quality of his music, provided the records sold. I saw one of his mid-70's Vegas shows, and it was almost a parody of Elvis....it seemed like he was just going through the motions at that point. There's no doubt that he could still bring it if fired up....but getting the fire started was likely a chore and a half... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 For sure. This was a guy in alot of pain. I imagine that his personal and career failures really ate away at him. And , by all accounts,he didnt have the emotional capacity to positively deal with his failures and demons. I would lump the Colonel Parker "control/dependency" issues in there as a main influence. I think that's the beauty of 68-69, in retrospect, is that all the great stuff was accomplished, regardless of Parkers influence, which tended towards schlock and the banal. While there are a handful of great songs on the film soundtracks, the majority are rubbish and even laughable. In my mind I think of 56-58 and 68-69 as two wonderful Elvis periods, each equally powerful and , in totality, demonstrated his great versatility as an entertainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 Right on Raspberrywine and JohnO. Put Elvis back with DJ Fontana, Scotty Moore and Bill Black, and you had the heart of rock and roll, the genesis of what we listen to today, and someone who deserved to be called the "King." Now to bring things back to the thread topic, did Elvis ever record any of Jimmy Webb's songs?Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling Posted December 23, 2005 Author Share Posted December 23, 2005 Yes, he did. I know for sure that Elvis recorded MacArthur Park in the late sixties...Not sure about all the other songs.Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 I think Elvis did in fact record "MP", but don't know if it was ever actually released. I'll ask the expert on "All Things Elvis", my sister.Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling Posted December 23, 2005 Author Share Posted December 23, 2005 I looked it up Marv. Elvis recorded MacArthur Park on June 29, 1968 and you can hear it on THe Burbank Sessions Vol 2.Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 Thanks Phil. In addition, the "From Elvis In Memphis" album has "Gentle On My Mind" on it.Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 "Gentle On My Mind" was by John Hartofrd, though, not Jimmy Webb, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 I meant "Hartford", nut "Hartofrd" above.....To get back off track, one more comment about Elvis' movie music. IMO, just as in the case of the rest of his career, I believe the soundtracks for his earliest movies were by and large excellent ("Love Me Tender", "Jaihouse Rock", "Loving You"), and the later ones ("Speedway", etc.) mostly trash. The middle ones were hit & miss..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 JohnO you're right about Hartford writing "Gentle." Elvis' 1960's movies had a bunch of forgettable tunes, but then there were some that stood out, at least for me. Off the top of my head, here's a list of 1960's movie songs that I liked: 1. Return to Sender2. Viva Las Vegas3. Kissin' Cousins4. Flaming Star5. GI Blues6. Can't Help Falling In Love7. Rock-A-Hula Baby8. Follow That Dream9. King of the Whole Wide World10.Bossa Nova BabyMarv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling Posted December 23, 2005 Author Share Posted December 23, 2005 Yes, Gentle on My Mind was the Glen Campbell sung song written by John Hartford who later became the riverboat captain for the Julia Belle Swain. Julia Belle Swain was the steamwheeler located in Peoria, IL for many years that Capt. Hartford piloted there.Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 Now Marv, that Elvis list isnt all stand outs @! "Rock a hula Baby", Bossa Nova Baby?? Also I think "GI Blues" is the first recorded indication that Elvis is about to sell out. I.e., Ive turned in my rock n roll shoes and am safe now America.Still, you list some very good ones. What was that tune, "Pocketful of..." from one of the films? Pretty nice tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ira Posted December 23, 2005 Share Posted December 23, 2005 I know that in terms of the brilliance of the lyric-the credit goes to Mac Davis.But man the cycle of birth and hopelessness and birth and hopelessness again and again in the inner city-has never been better expressed in pop music than in the last verse of "In The Ghetto".When Elvis intones in that deep baritone-"On a cold and grey Chicago morn' ANOTHER little baby child is born....and his mama cries".Read any city newspaper.That was such a poignant way to touch so many people through a popular medium.Impressive even 30+ years later.-Ira. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted December 24, 2005 Share Posted December 24, 2005 Yes, for sure Ira. That 68-69 material was incredible and Elvis' vocals amazing. As I mentioned, some of the obscure material from those sessions also superb. Elvis version of "Any Day Now" awfully good I think. Im sure Colonel Parker was behind Rock a Hula Baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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