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. artfromtex

    artfromtex Honky Tonkin' Metal-Head

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    That was great to read. Thank you for posting that.
     
  2. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    you're not derailing anything mate. It's all good. I agree. I just find it frustrating. When I listen to Elvis Is Back, From Elvis In Memphis, Back to Memphis (or the double with the live album) Almost In Love (in Spite of being a budget album) and many others that I am not fluent enough to name at this point, I hear fantastic albums and see so much potential gone to waste .... which sounds bizarre when you think of what we actually have lol
     
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  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    That's a beautiful story.
    Cheers mate
     
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  4. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    So while this album is selling, Elvis is filming Blue Hawaii
     
  5. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

  6. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

  7. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

  8. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

  9. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    It's A Sin
    Written By :
    Fred Rose & Zeb Turner

    Recorded :

    RCA's Studio B, Nashville, March 12-13, 1961 : March 12, 1961. take 4
    This is a piano led ballad with Elvis singing in that gentle style that marked songs like "That's when your heartaches begin" as something special. The arrangement and vocals are all excellent. The only downside is the sequence of the album. I think to a small degree, having started the album with a slow ballad, followed by a moderate ballad and then into another slower ballad, just takes the edge off the song. It could have had a lot more impact, from an album perspective if the sequence was somewhat rearranged.
    Having said all that, this is a beautiful song, on an album that contains a lot of great songs.

     
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  10. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Sentimental Me
    Written By :
    Jim Morehead & Jimmy Cassin

    Recorded :

    RCA's Studio B, Nashville, March 12-13, 1961 : March 13, 1961. take 2

    This song brings in a nice swing to it with a 6/8 blues kind of feel to it. There is a very delicate vocal that works well. Elvis using his full range to put the song across. I enjoy this song a lot.

     
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  11. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Well, this is one of my all time favorite ballad covers by Elvis and to be quite honest, he leaves Eddy Arnold's original version in the dust. Mr. Arnold, who I am a big fan of too, took the song as almost a western swing, and he was definitely in the very early stages of his great recording career. Elvis seemed to show such passion and vulnerability in his performance and music writer Dave Marsh has pointed out Hank Garland's fantastic trailing coda on the guitar. I also love Floyd Crammer's work on the ivories as well. A very underrated performance in Elvis's early career, and the fact that he could best one of country music's greatest vocalists on their own original song would say a lot about Elvis's vocal abilities at this stage.
     
  12. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Again, this song is just absolutely ear candy to me. I love the vocal range that Elvis demonstrates in less than three minutes. You could almost believe that there are two separates singers on this song, one an angelic tenor, the other a powerful and passionate baritone. Oh my, just a delight to listen to his voice modulate between the two ranges and do it so damn effortlessly!
     
  13. BigBadWolf

    BigBadWolf Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kernersville, NC
    Ok, good to know. I usually don't post anything unless I feel I have something to contribute
     
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  14. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Post your heart ... that's all that matters
     
  15. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    I always appreciate your perspective and comments on Elvis. Please keep posting, sir!
     
  16. BigBadWolf

    BigBadWolf Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kernersville, NC
    Wow, I really appreciate that. I'm fairly new to really getting into Elvis. All my observations are from what I've read and things my dad has told me. The man really did have talent, and it's a shame it was used on some mediocre material at times. (Old MacDonald and Confindence, I'm looking at you). He had a stellar career despite that, but it still could've been even more spectacular and influential if some different decisions had been made.
     
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  17. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Starting Today
    Written By :
    Don Robertson

    Recorded :

    RCA's Studio B, Nashville, March 12-13, 1961 : March 13, 1961. take 3

    This song is sublime. It has a very country feel and I like the mix a lot. The balance between the piano and guitar is great. The vocal sits on top perfectly. This is really a superb piece of work all 'round.

     
  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Gently
    Written By :
    Edward Lisbona & Murray Wisell

    Recorded :

    RCA's Studio B, Nashville, March 12-13, 1961 : March 12, 1961. take 5

    This track is really nicely written and arranged. The key changes work beautifully. It has been recorded in such a way as to reflect the title, in that musically and vocally it is gentle.
    Although I have somewhat criticised the sequencing of this album, there is certainly nothing wrong with the content.
     
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  19. Revelator

    Revelator Disputatious cartoon animal.

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Agreed! Some context from Robertson:

    "The more I listened to Elvis, the more I tended to write the songs and sing the demos in his style. It was a fortunate coincidence that we both had about the same comfortable vocal range (his was greater), and we understood each other's phrasing. He also liked my accompaniments, whether just piano, or with small or large orchestras. At his house one time, he told me how much he liked the intro and fills on "I Met Her Today" and on "Anything That's Part of You" and asked me to play them several times for him on his grand piano."
     
  20. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    What a delightful example of the countrypolitan sound that Elvis and the Nashville cats could do in their sleep. Great song and Elvis is giving it the royal treatment it deserves. I love how that voice drops into his powerful lower range on the line "Gonna live for tomorrow...starting today." A wonderful song and performance really, all around.
     
  21. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    "Starting Today" is yet another example of Elvis' sublime vocal work from 1961, beautifully arranged, and impeccably performed by his assembled group of dynamic collaborators. That said, as with the majority of "Something For Everybody," the music and its pop sensibilities are a product of the era, and while it is beautifully presented, Elvis' music is beginning to lose some of its edge. But that was the evolution he wanted -- in 1961, Elvis very much was in command of his musical direction. However, the soundtrack recordings would start to predominantly dominate his commercial output and with a subsequent dip in the overall quality of his secular, non-soundtrack song submissions, Elvis' genuine creative endeavors would soon come to halt.
     
  22. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    The alternate take of Gently that's on Collector's Gold is absolutely gorgeous, and I much prefer it to the album version. Not that the album version is bad, but the Collector's Gold version is more...um...gentle. The backing vocals sound less aggressive, Elvis sounds more seductive, and the vocal/guitar mix is absolutely perfect (it has to be the CG version for me; the same take on the Something For Everybody FTD just doesn't sound right).
     
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  23. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    Anyone who's a fan of Don Robertson needs to pick up a copy of And Then I Wrote...Songs For Elvis. Among other gems, there's a stunning version of Starting Today that's at least the equal of Elvis' version, and might even have the edge.
     
  24. ClausH

    ClausH Senior Member

    Location:
    Denmark
     
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  25. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Appreciating your input @ClausH ... I know you've been here before doing this
     
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