Blown away by From Elvis in Memphis

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Merrick, Oct 28, 2017.

  1. deanrelax

    deanrelax Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Hands down one of the greatest albums of all time. The way he sings "Well, I never, I never loved another, oh my heart, all my dreams..." in Long Black Limousine is proof enough - not that there was ever needed - that he towers above everything, lost in music.
     
  2. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    It would not have mattered if Felton Jarvis produced the sessions and if Elvis' material was predominately supplied from his own publishing entities. Look what happened with Elvis' work at Stax in 1973 -- there is nothing "Stax" about those results.
     
    Pelvis Ressley and hodgo like this.
  3. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    Exactly! Jarvis and Parker poisoned Elvis mind against Chips Moman purely out of their own self interest. Had this not occurred maybe Elvis could have worked more with Chips and gained access to better material.
     
  4. Price.pittsburgh

    Price.pittsburgh Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    Yeah overall, but I think we could probably create pretty good playlist from those sessions that holds up to the Stax name.


    Promised Land
    Honky Tonk Angel
    Loving Arms
    My Boy
    I've Got A Thing About You Baby
    For Ol' Times Sake
    Help Me
    If That Isn't Love
    It's Midnight
    Spanish Eyes
    You Asked Me To

    I think those are all good songs and performances
     
    minkahed, mrstats, Revelator and 4 others like this.
  5. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    I think the Stax sessions produced very mediocre results overall. There were a couple of highlights (Promised Land is arguably one of Elvis' finest recordings from the 1970's), but a lot of the recordings were uninspired and the quality of material uneven. I would never list Elvis' recordings from the famed studio as contributing to the Stax legacy in any noteworthy way.

    Here is my attempt at compiling a single disc album from the 1973 sessions (including Palm Springs). The rest of the recordings I would have relegated to the vaults indefinitely.

    Side A:
    Promised Land
    I've Got A Feeling In My Body
    Loving Arms
    If You Talk In Your Sleep
    Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues

    Side B:
    I've Got A Thing About You Baby
    For Ol' Times Sake
    You Asked Me To
    There's A Honky Tonk Angel
    Are You Sincere
     
  6. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member

    Interesting that twice in his career, Elvis had a sound on his records, captured in a particular studio by a particular producer, that was never completely duplicated by the vaunted RCA and their facilities.

    Must have been something about Memphis. I'm not sure that's there for anyone anymore now that American is dust and Sun is a museum.
     
  7. kdawg

    kdawg Senior Member

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio
    [​IMG] This is really the only Elvis i ever listen to with any consistency. Fantastic collection
     
    Dave112, Lonesurf, Galley and 2 others like this.
  8. d.r.cook

    d.r.cook Senior Member

    Not bad for 3 weeks' work!

    And the band was cutting a Roy Hamilton Lp by day (Elvis after hours)
     
    blastfurniss likes this.
  9. samthesham

    samthesham Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moorhead MN
    I would suggest these on vinyl
    1.The Many New Sides of Charlie Rich-Monoraul
    2.Charlie Rich-Fully Realized(2LPs-Re-Stereo of MNSOCR&SWFTGLCR)
    3.Charlie Rich The Best of Charlie Rich(1972 Epic )
    4.Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis
     
    Merrick likes this.
  10. Fleet Fox

    Fleet Fox Forum Resident

    Location:
    Waterford, Ireland
    For some reason the vinyl editions of these FTDs do not contain the single 'Don't Cry Daddy' ...?
     
  11. bibijeebies

    bibijeebies vinyl hairline spotter

    Location:
    Amstelveen (NL)
    Should read: Fully Realised is a 1974 compilation of Charlie Rich's two Smash albums The Many New Sides Of Charlie Rich (1965), and Fast Talkin', Slow Walkin', Good Lookin' Charlie Rich (1966).
     
    Merrick likes this.
  12. Wes_in_va

    Wes_in_va Trying to live up to my dog’s expectations

    Location:
    Southwest VA
    Any consensus on the best version of From Elvis in Memphis whether vinyl or cd?
     
  13. Pelvis Ressley

    Pelvis Ressley Down in the Jungle Room

    Location:
    Capac, Michigan
    The 40th anniversary/Legacy Edition has Vic Anesini's mastering, a solid track lineup (both LP's of '69 Memphis recordings plus mono singles), and is reasonably priced and easy to obtain.

    https://www.amazon.com/Elvis-Memphis-40th-Anniversary-Legacy/dp/B002BX4VEK
     
    Galley and Suspicious Minds like this.
  14. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    It's worth noting that record contains remixes which (IMO) are notably inferior to the original mixes. That was actually the first version of the album I ever heard, and when I later heard the original mixes I was blown away by how much better they were.
     
    I333I likes this.
  15. Rick H.

    Rick H. Raised on AM Radio

    That’s a great LP right there IMO.
     
    PacificOceanBlue likes this.
  16. Rick H.

    Rick H. Raised on AM Radio

    Neil Diamond was asked to reschedule his recording session so Elvis could get in there. The LP That has Sweet Caroline on it was at least partially recorded there. A favourite of mine.
     
    ARK likes this.
  17. Matthew

    Matthew Senior Member

    The original planned tracklist for this release didn't include the mono singles, did include the stereo singles and the track order was a tad different (and a much more satisfying listening experience for disc 1):

    [​IMG]

    Sadly even this earlier design was underwhelming, turning Elvis' first Legacy Edition release into a glorified "twofer".

    A better commercial presentation of the Memphis Sessions was 1999's "Suspicious Minds - The Memphis Anthology"

    Disc 1 launched with the From Elvis In Memphis album, then continued with the singles and "producers' choice" best of the sessions.

    Disc 2 contained the remaining session masters and 10 outtakes.

    It is better compiled, but doesn't sound as good as the Legacy Edition. Ironically it is more like a traditional Legacy Edition in compilation though.
     
    Rob Hughes and PacificOceanBlue like this.
  18. Trashman

    Trashman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    The mono singles are what sold me on the Legacy Edition. I already had the other tracks (some on multiple releases), so those singles were the only thing that was "new" to me. But I can understand the desire to have "Suspicious Minds" in stereo. There was room available to include it (in addition to the mono version, of course).
     
    hodgo likes this.
  19. Jimi Bat

    Jimi Bat Forum Resident

    Location:
    tx usa
    I heard the Legacy Edition of FEIM for the first time last week and really enjoyed it.
    Based on that I've decided to explore his 70s work starting with Legacy Editions of Country, On Stage and That's The Way It Is.
    Any suggestions on how to proceed after that? At what point does the quality of the studio work go downhill in terms of material chosen?
     
  20. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Things go down hill fast after Elvis Country. After you get the above mentioned 70s Legacy Editions, then it is time to move to the 50s and 60s Legacy Editions, the Debut album and Elvis Is Back. But it is hard to top the FEIM/EIB Legacy Edition!
     
    Jimi Bat and hodgo like this.
  21. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    I agree, adding the mono singles was the thing that sold this set to many of us. That said there was also enough room to have all the singles featured in both their mono and stereo incarnations.
     
  22. Jimi Bat

    Jimi Bat Forum Resident

    Location:
    tx usa
    Its funny, as a rule I tend to lean toward liking mono mixes best but, I think I prefer the stereo mix of Kentucky Rain that's on The Essential Elvis Presley collection to the mono single mix on FEIM. Its fun to compare the two of them. Not sure if the mix on Essential is from back in the day or a newer remix.
     
  23. Thesmellofvinyl

    Thesmellofvinyl Senior Member

    Location:
    Cohoes, NY USA
    I've owned this set for years and have not yet played these; thank you for the suggestion.
     
    Price.pittsburgh likes this.
  24. Rick H.

    Rick H. Raised on AM Radio

    Here is a video by a youtuber I follow. He has a whole lot of very interesting stories about Elvis that we may have heard about but he takes us to the places that they actually happened through research he has done. Probably my favourite youtube channel.
     
  25. Rick H.

    Rick H. Raised on AM Radio

    A follow-up video about American Sound Studios.
     
    Tuckerboy likes this.

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