Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Oct 7, 2018.

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  1. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    My first exposure to Elvis' early 60s material (besides the hit singles which I was familiar with from radio play) came via this box set:
    [​IMG]

    I've mentioned several times how I prefer listening to Elvis by session rather than by original albums, and this box played a big role in shaping that preference. As I've said, his output seems more coherent and flows better in chronological order.

    I bring this up now because I think Something for Everybody is exceptionally poorly sequenced. I am not ever a fan of the concept of separating uptempo and slower songs like this... I can't think of any album where this was done that (in my opinion) works well. It invariably results in a stilted listening experience. Something for Everybody is no exception.

    By way of contrast, compare the album as sequenced to the chronological recording order below. I think the latter flows much better and makes for a stronger listening experience (of course, we also end up substituting "I Feel So Bad" for "I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell" which more properly belongs to the Wild in the Country sessions).

    1. I'm Comin' Home
    2. Gently
    3. In Your Arms
    4. Give Me the Right
    5. I Feel So Bad
    6. It's a Sin
    7. I Want You With Me
    8 There's Always Me
    9. Starting Today
    10. Sentimental Me
    11. Judy
    12. Put the Blame On Me
     
  2. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Yeah, certainly the A-Team guys add their own style to the playing, but my point is that the arrangement itself is a direct copy of the original, and so are the most important musical hooks, the piano riff and the Latinesque drumming. All that is there on the original. Elvis does a fine job, but they don't really bring anything new to the performance, something he often did when he covered stuff. So to me it ends up being a good record, but not great.
     
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  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I think that is my only issue with the album to be honest. I like the songs, but i think the sequence undermines it to a degree.
     
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  4. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Beyond my dislike of this type of sequencing in general, I think it was particularly a mistake to sequence an Elvis album like this at the time. Opening the record with an entire side of ballads really feeds into the idea that Elvis had gone soft and was abandoning rock and roll.
     
  5. MaestroDavros

    MaestroDavros Forum Resident

    Location:
    D.C. Metro Area
    That is exactly why I didn't much care for the album upon first listen, although it has since become one of my favorite Elvis albums. Having a couple Don Robertson tracks on it bolsters it further.
     
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  6. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    You express my sentiments exactly! Elvis really connected with Don Robertson's melodic ballads in a very personal and intimate way.
     
  7. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    There's Always Me
    Written By :
    Don Robertson

    Recorded :

    RCA's Studio B, Nashville, March 12-13, 1961 : March 12, 1961. take 10

    This is a beautiful song and Elvis handles it beautifully. My only reservation about this track is whether it should have opened the album. I can only assume that Elvis was so happy with the result he wanted to open with it, and perhaps this is where the idea for a ballad side and a rhythm side came from. This idea was used quite a few times in the seventies that I can think of and I winder if this album was a inspiration for that idea. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of the fifties and sixties album era can tell us if this was something done much or at all.

     
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  8. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Give Me The Right
    Written By :
    Fred Wise & Norman Blagman

    Recorded :

    RCA's Studio B, Nashville, March 12-13, 1961 : March 12, 1961. take 4

    This song has a bit more bounce to it and perhaps even just swapping the first two songs around would have made a big difference. This is a moderate tempo blues/ rock and roll song that works really well. Elvis certainly sounds involved with the songs here. The songs on this album all sound like Elvis is where he wants to be, doing what he wants do.

     
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  9. HE1NZ

    HE1NZ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Russia
    The Beach Boys had an album like that.

    The Beach Boys Today! - Wikipedia !
     
  10. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Great movie, great soundtrack! If I recall, a snippet of Elvis' version can also be heard in that movie.
     
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  11. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    I am surprised it didn't reach number 1. It is at least as good as other number one he had in the early 60s.
     
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  12. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Anything That's Part Of You and I Met Her Today, are my favorite ballads from this era.
     
  13. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Once again you are showing off your exquisite and superior taste in music!
     
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  14. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Okay, I have already mentioned how great I think Elvis's vocal is on this beauty, and I really dig Floyd Cramer's touch on the piano. How about that last run on the very last notes? Marvelous! Well, I know I am repeating myself here, but my favorite story is when songwriter Don Robertson comes into the studio to see Elvis record a song or two and not knowing Elvis has already cut a fantastic version of There's Always Me already, Elvis starts singing the ad-libbed first line so Robertson would get the message that he cut it already, "When the evenings shadows fall, and your wondering who to b..ll." I never get tired of these stories and Elvis's amazing sense of humor!
     
  15. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    I am a huge fan of this song as well and I Want You With Me. I do agree with everybody else that the sequencing of this album could have been lot better and the addition of I Feel So Bad would have made it an even better album than it already was by adding that song to it.
     
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  16. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    From what I've read, Elvis chose the songs he wanted released as singles, but he took no active role in the sequencing of his albums... that was left entirely to RCA. He delivered the masters and the rest was left to them. So it was not his idea to split the album like this or open with this song. That's another reason I prefer to listen chronologically by session: it gives us something closer to Elvis' true artistic intent, since he had nothing to do with the compilation and sequencing of his albums.
     
  17. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Wow I can't even imagine letting someone else sequence my albums. I use to agonise over that lol
     
  18. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    i like this song/performance, but it always struck me as a pretty blatant rewrite of "Don't Leave Me Now," at least musically.
     
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  19. Neil Anderson

    Neil Anderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    i agree it's a great soundtrack. despite william hurt's presence (i can't stand him), I enjoyed the movie up until they arrived at wherever his mother was, waiting for her surgery. then it just ground to a halt, and i kept looking at my wrist, wishing i was wearing a watch.
     
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  20. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Well, if I had Elvis' talent I can't imagine wasting it on some of those soundtrack songs either. For a guy with such a strong artistic vision, he was remarkably passive about many elements of his career.
     
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  21. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I always just interpreted that as him wanting to make it in the movies so much, that he was willing to sing anything for it to happen.
    It is a shame though. I personally think that with someone actually directing him properly, he could have pulled the movie thing off, but he was just relegated to being the pretty boy in romantic movies. Shame really ... and it took him too long to realise it .... I think that's where a good manager would have stepped in and said "Hey, they are never going to give you what you want. They are just going to give you these pretty boy rolls. Get in the studio and make some music. Use whatever studio you want. Get whatever writers you can and knock it out of the park. You are Elvis Presley"
     
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  22. BigBadWolf

    BigBadWolf Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kernersville, NC
    Unfortunately, all the Colonel seemed to care about was how much money could he make off of his golden goose
     
  23. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    definitely ... and I hope I don't harp on it too much, but it really aggravates me lol
     
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  24. BigBadWolf

    BigBadWolf Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kernersville, NC
    My take is the Colonel didn't want to take very many major risks with Elvis. As long as money came in, he wasn't going to change anything. Plus, I think Elvis' stint in the army caused him to go along with things (not question orders, as it were).

    Sorry, I'm not trying to derail the thread. I will say this. No matter how good or bad the song was, Elvis really did seem to give it his all to make it as good as possible. And when he really liked it, he could go that extra mile.
     
  25. Revelator

    Revelator Disputatious cartoon animal.

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Here's what Don Robertson said about Elvis's rendition of his song:

    "I had received a phone call from one of Elvis' assistants (don't remember who) who told me that Elvis had said he wanted to meet with me and I was invited to go over to Radio Recorders in Hollywood where he was doing some sessions When I got to Radio Recorders I was directed down a main hall toward the control room of the studio where he was working. A door was open to the studio and as I walked past I could see Elvis standing in front of a microphone. He was wearing a sea captain's hat and was looking very dapper. I continued to the control booth and was directed to a little lounge off to the side with a view of the studio. In a few minutes Elvis took a break and came in to the lounge and we shook hands and introduced ourselves. We talked for 15 or 20 minutes, trading brief autobiographies. I remember one phrase verbatim when he was talking about Sun Records and the secretary/assistant to Sam Phillips. Elvis said to me, 'if it hadn't been for her I'd still be driving a truck.' When he went back to work, the first thing he did was to walk up to his vocal mike and, looking at me with a mischievous smile on his face, sing a naughty version of the first few lines of 'There's Always Me.' During another break, Elvis invited me to come to his house after the session, along with the Jordanaires and some of the musicians.

    "That evening, at his house, he played me his recorded version of 'There's Always Me' — it was the first time I had heard it. There were lots of people in the room. He was rather secretive about his new unreleased recordings so we listened on headphones. Just before the recording reached the end, he said to me: 'Listen to this ending.' He was very proud of his semi-operatic delivery of the title line at the end, as well he should have been.

    "To my surprise, he knew all about my having originated Floyd Cramer's piano style and announced to the room that I was the one that had invented Floyd Cramer's 'slip-note' style. It makes me sad to think about it, because I never really told Elvis how good he made me feel. Nor did I ever tell him how much I appreciated his fine renditions of my songs. I guess I assumed he knew how good he was. But I wish now that I had put it into words. It taught me a lesson. Now, whenever an artist does an outstanding rendition of one of my songs I make sure I thank the artist [and, if possible, everyone else who worked on the record]. I don't believe that any of them, no matter how rich or famous, are immune to expressions of appreciation from the writer."
     
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