Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Forgive me if this was already posted ... @ClausH may have posted this but when I went to watch it, it had been deleted ....

 

Thanks Mark for posting this interview again as it has been a while since I have watched it. Several things strike me though after viewing it now after so long. Firstly, what a bright and intuitive you man that Elvis was in this interview. Careful with his words about his European fans vs. his American ones and reluctant to talk about Priscilla openly or frankly. Secondly, and surprisingly, how respectful the press is to him, and of course as is no surprise here, how respectful he is to them. Boy, we could sure stand some more civility these days. Just a random thought that occurred to me, while watching this splendid interview with a very young Elvis.

 

Definitely... it's more like a cage fight these days

 

Such A Night
Written By :
Lincoln Chase

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, April 3-4, 1960 : April 4, 1960. take 5

"Such a Night" is a popular song from 1953, written by Lincoln Chase and first recorded by The Drifters.

The Drifters, featuring Clyde McPhatter, recorded the song in November 1953, and Atlantic Records released it in January 1954 as the intended B-side of the McPhatter-penned "Lucille", which was recorded by an early version of the group. Despite being banned by some radio stations as too "racy", it reached number 2 on the American R&B chart in 1954.[1]

The song also became a hit single for Johnnie Ray, whose cover version reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1954.[2] Ray's version entered the US Cash Box chart on 27 March 1954, peaking at No. 18 two weeks later on 10 April.

Elvis Presley also recorded the song and released it on his 1960 album Elvis Is Back. Presley's version made number 13 in the UK and number 16 in the US, when released as a single in 1964.[2]
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So we come to one of the highlights of the album for me. This song and Elvis' delivery are playful and fun and we have also possibly one of Elvis' best ever vocals.
This song struts and bounces with some cool saxes playing a rhythmic motif, that gets doubled by the backing vocals. Listen for the guitar, there is some really nice guitar buried in there. The drums work beautifully and there are some really nice fills leading into and going through the chorus section (?) and also a nice big drum solo finish.

 

It Feels So Right
Written By :
Ben Weisman & Fred Wise

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, March 20, 1960: March 21, 1960. take 5

Here we have a really nice blues variation. It has a great slinky, semi-sleazy feel about it. I like the laid back guitar chord that gets repeated through the verses. Elvis' has got as much fire in his voice here as the Sun recording studios ever saw. This is another favourite and in reality the more I try to appraise the songs on this record the more this record stands up as an all time classic .... and the 9/10 rating I gave it in some thread the other day just doesn't seem enough.

 

Easy reference guide
Feb 23 1960
Touch Of Gold Vol 3 EP - Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Mar 23 1960
Stuck on you Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Fame And Fortune Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Apr 6 1960
Elvis Is Back - Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 1 Make Me Know It Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 2 Fever Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 3 Girl Of My Best Friend Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 4 I Will Be Home Again Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 5 Dirty Dirty Feeling Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 6 Thrill Of Your Love Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 7 Soldier Boy Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 8 Such A Night Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 9 It Feels So Right Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

May 12 1960
Elvis - Frank Sinatra show - Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

 

Misc reference
Press conference Mar 7 1960 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Interview Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

 

Side 1 of Elvis Is Back! is pretty good, but side 2 is phenomenal. After the beautiful Soldier Boy, we get two of the rawest vocals that Elvis ever laid down in the studio. Such A Night cooks along nicely, but it's really the ending - much more powerful than similar dramatic endings on songs like It's Now Or Never or Surrender - that makes it great. The live version from Pearl Harbor is even better, and if you haven't heard that concert in its entirety, go track down a copy right now. It's Elvis at his most exciting and immediate, and there's far more beauty and subtlety in his voice than there is in later concert recordings (and no, I haven't forgotten about Burbank 1968).

I'm really not a huge blues fan, but It Feels So Right is pretty good as far as the genre goes. It's Elvis' passive-aggressive vocal ("Step...in these arms") that really sells it for me, but this is also another track where I actually enjoy the Jord's backing vocals (they add a fantastic sense of urgency between the verses).

 

I love Such A Night, it reminds me a bit of Elvis' vocal melody on When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again.

 

Thanks to this thread, I've listened to this album a few times over the weekend, mostly as background music over an Amazon Echo while I do things around the house (so no sound quality comments hah!). But it's amazing how well this album works, the flow is perfect. And I've gained a new appreciation for Girl of My Best Friend. What a wonderful arrangement, and once again Elvis' vocal is just so smooth, perfect delivery. And it sure sounds like he's having fun taking the range up and down.

For those who bemoan backing vocals, you can turn off one speaker and almost wipe them out. To me though, it only goes to show how they're an integral part of the soundscape and how they compliment what Elvis is doing.

 

I am am total agreement with this statement. The full Elvis voice is on display here as he shows off power, range, grunts and moans with a fantastic rhythm arrangement that seems to drive Elvis into overdrive. His vocal modulates between sheer passion and understated bliss. Terrific to say the least and one of the greatest vocals he ever cut in a studio setting.

 

I really appreciate everything you say here. I probably was not the biggest blues fan in the world either, but three very versatile artists really got me to appreciate the genre over the years, Ray Charles, Charlie Rich and Elvis. They just added their own passion to the genre and laced their version of the blues with some country and pop elements as well.

I love your wording here about Elvis vocals on It Feels So Right being "passive-aggressive". I think you really nailed that on the head as I was just listening to his stellar vocals on this great song a minute ago. I mean, Elvis's voice goes from dripping honey sweetness to powerful stud in a matter of seconds. Wow, the King's voice never sounded any better than during this early sixties period, and I am a big fan of some of his later stuff from the late 60's and 70's.

 

I can see the appeal of this song to Elvis, as he presents it/sings it almost as if it’s a gospel song.

 

Agree completely. Surprised no one mentioned this sooner. Even the lyrics could be reinterpreted that way.

 

Wow, never even thought of it ... (shaking head at myself)

 

Yes indeed, more than a few music critics have talked about how both the structure of the production and Elvis's vocals are seemingly rooted in gospel music on Thrill Of Your Love.

 

As I said earlier, I consider Such A Night to be the singular highlight of Elvis' recording career, the best performance he ever put on tape. Everything about it is perfect... arrangement, vocal, the work by the A Team. In particular, Buddy Harmon shines on drums... as you noted, his big finish is fantastic.

Takes 2 and 3 of the song (both false starts) were first released on A Legendary Performer Volume 2, edited onto the finished master take 5. Listening to them is fascinating, as Elvis makes a decision on the fly and tells Harmon to lay off the drums at the beginning until he signals him to come in ("wait for my hand, chief"). No question who the producer was on Elvis' sessions, regardless of who got credited.

All five takes are below. Take two and three start at 3:20 in the clip:

 

The sound quality on that recording is so bad you can hardly make out any beauty or subtletly in Elvis' voice...

 

Maybe it's because I grew up on cassettes and crappy bootlegs, but I have no issues whatsoever with the Pearl Harbor concert. It is what it is - a recording that we're lucky to have, showcasing Elvis in his prime. No, it can't live up to the Bill Porter recordings that we have on his proper studio recordings, but we can hear enough of the performances to realize just how extraordinary Elvis and his band were on that night.

 

Girl Next Door Went A'Walking
Written By :
Bill Rise & Thomas Wayne

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, April 3-4, 1960 : April 4, 1960. take 4

Girl Next Door Went A-Walking is a song recorded by Elvis Presley in 1960 for his first post-army album Elvis Is Back!. Thomas Wayne, the co-writer, recorded the original version in 1959 on Scotty Moore's own short-lived Fernwood record label. It was released as a single in May 1960. [1]
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This song bounces along nicely and although it doesn't have any super outstanding features, it works well in the album and is quite a good song.

 

Like A Baby
Written By :
Jesse Stone

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, April 3-4, 1960 : April 3, 1960. take 6

This song is fantastic. From my understanding the intro lick is played by Elvis and very effectively introduces the song. This is a good version of Elvis doing the blues. For me it comes into the album just at the point where you feel the high points may well have already been reached, but reaffirms that this album rolls the quality high right until the play out groove.
The more I have listened to the album over the last week or so, the higher my regard for it.

 

This Army demo always reminds me of Thrill Of Your Love:

 

Nice to hear. Cheers mate