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. The two tracks above (The Walls Have Ears and We're Coming In Loaded) are somewhat trite but oddly enough I enjoy listening to them. I don't seek them out but I also don't run for the skip button when they come on.
     
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  2. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    We're Coming' in Loaded is a better song than it's often given credit for. Musically it's another fine R&B cut from Blackwell and Scott that I think gets overlooked because of the lyrics. If it was a song about love rather than a plot-specific song about a shrimp boat it would be much more highly regarded, I think.

    I can't get behind the revisionist thinking about Song of The Shrimp, though. It's a silly song, and more to the point it's not a song that someone of Elvis' talents should have been wasting his time on.
     
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  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I can't disagree too much there. I reckon I agree on both points
     
  4. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    The Walls Have Ears is a strange little song. At times I quite enjoy it, while at other times I find myself reaching out to switch albums. I think it's that creepy guitar riff around 0:18.

    We're Coming In Loaded has a promising title, and the riff has potential, but the performance falls completely flat. It ends up being one of the sloppiest-sounding (and least-interesting) recordings in Elvis' catalogue. As you can tell, I'm not a fan.
     
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  5. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    One Broken Heart For Sale

    [​IMG]

    Written By :
    Otis Blackwell & Winfield Scott

    Recorded :
    Radio Recorders, Hollywood, August 30 and September 22, 1962: September 22, 1962. take 5
    So here we have 1963 January 29 opening with a new single, and again the soundtrack is lead out of the box by a single. We have a moderate tempo gently rocking tune, that almost reminds me of a slightly quicker Return To Sender, but without the witty lyrics. Don't get me wrong, this is a cool little song, but probably one of the weakest Elvis lead singles so far in his career.
     
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  6. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    They Remind Me Too Much Of You

    [​IMG]

    Written By :

    Don Robertson

    Recorded :

    Radio Recorders, Hollywood, August 30 and September 22, 1962: September 22, 1962. take 9

    I'm not sure if this counted as one of Elvis' traditional double a-side, as the cover doesn't appear to give it this distinction.
    This is a beautiful mellow ballad. Nicely arranged and beautifully sung, we have one here definitely for the romantics and of course carried of with aplomb.
    Good song.
     
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  7. NumberEight

    NumberEight Came too late and stayed too long

    And one of the shortest!
     
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  8. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Too bad they did not use the version with the additional verse for the single:
     
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  9. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    They Remind Me Too Much Of You is the best song on the LP. The movie scene features Ginny Tiu's sister, Vicky. (with added annoying reverb)

     
  10. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    I do not recall the situation, but I think Vicky's character gets separated from her dad. But in any case this scene is great where she starts out despondent and bored and slowly, reluctantly her mood is lifted by Elvis' character's efforts:



    This was her only movie appearance.
     
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  11. Ace24

    Ace24 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    What was used to make the clicking sound in the percussion of this song? It always reminded me of how a scratch or pop in a record sounds.
     
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  12. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    probably a guitar case or something like that, it doesn't sound like the snare rim
     
  13. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Well there were 3 percussionist on the GGG soundtrack sessions including Hal Blaine. But maybe the sound is the pick on a tic-tac bass?
     
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  14. Revelator

    Revelator Disputatious cartoon animal.

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Another classic Don Robertson ballad. Here's what Don had to say about it:

    "One evening at Elvis' house in Bel Air he asked me to play his piano and we spent some time jamming, with Elvis and some of his friends singing. It was not long after that that I got called to play on his sessions for the soundtrack for It Happened At The World's Fair. We recorded for about twelve hours at Radio Recorders, completing the entire soundtrack in one day. There was a moment, when I had to fight for 'They Remind Me Too Much of You,' when someone mentioned that it resembled 'Chapel In The Moonlight.' It wasn't Elvis that noticed the similarity, it was someone in the control booth while we were rehearsing. I was afraid they were going to throw the song out of the session, so I worked out new opening notes at the piano. Then I went over to Elvis where he was standing in front of his vocal mike and I sang him the new notes. He said, 'Fine. I think I can do that!' So that's the way he sang it on the next run through, and the powers that be in the booth said OK and we did a finished take."

    Robertson also had the following to say about Elvis in person:
    "In the studio? Highly professional and really remarkable from one standpoint, and that was his patience and generosity with the other people in the studio. I don't know how he was on other sessions but on this one he would consistently put in excellent performances and they frequently would have to stop because someone had made a mistake in the booth, or a musician or back-up singer goofed, or whatever. And in good spirits he would say, 'Let's do another one'. Then he'd do another great vocal. We'd do take after take—sometimes five or six of them—and they were almost all good on his part. And yet he didn't blow up at anybody. I was amazed.

    "...he was willing to do more than most, to do a lot of takes when other people were messing up, without losing patience. Other artists might have said, 'Look that was a good take for me. So to heck with it: we're going to use that one.' Elvis displayed no arrogance at all.

    "He was definitely in charge. But he would listen to other people. In fact I remember after we got through rehearsing 'They Remind Me Too Much Of You'—he said to me, 'Don, have you got any suggestions?' I actually did but I felt that they had already gone so far with it and he had learned it a certain way. I felt there were some things that could have been improved but they weren't critical and it would mean starting all over, so I said, 'No, I think it's fine'. But he was open to whatever suggestions I had. What more could a writer ask for?"
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2018
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  15. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    This seems like a classic example of a songwriting team following up a hit with a similar-sounding song, since this is clearly cut from the same cloth as "Return to Sender." The result is a song that's good rather than great (like "Sender" was). Still, it's a decent little R&B tune.
     
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  16. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Western Union is another clone.
     
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  17. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    I have to admit that it never occurred to me that One Broken Heart... sounds like Return To Sender, and even listening to it now, I can't quite hear it. Either way, it's a pleasant song that I tend to forget about until it appears on a comp, or when I spin the soundtrack. Ditto for They Remind Me Too Much Of You, for that matter.
     
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  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD'S FAIR
    (US) RCA LSP / LPM 2697
    Released: April 1963

    [​IMG][​IMG]

    Soundtrack album by
    Elvis Presley
    Released
    April 10, 1963
    Recorded August 30 and September 22, 1962
    Genre Rock and roll
    Length 21:21
    Language English
    Label RCA Victor
    Producer Leith Stevens

    Singles from It Happened at the World's Fair
    1. "One Broken Heart for Sale" / "They Remind Me Too Much of You"
      Released: January 1963

    It Happened at the World's Fair is the sixth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2697, in April 1963. It is the soundtrack to the 1963 film of the same namestarring Presley. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on August 30 and September 22, 1962. It peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.[2]

    Initially booked for August 28 and 29, sessions were delayed as Presley had taken ill, and only two numbers were completed satisfactorily on the first night of August 30.[3] Ten songs were tackled for the soundtrack, the standouts being two written by one of Presley's favorite songwriters, Don Robertson (who took an active part in the sessions by playing keyboards), and one by Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott, the team that had written the #2 hit single "Return to Sender" the previous year.[4] All three of these songs, "I'm Falling In Love Tonight", "They Remind Me Too Much of You", and "One Broken Heart for Sale", would be included on the 1995 compilation CD Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II.[5]

    "One Broken Heart for Sale" and "They Remind Me Too Much of You" would be released ahead of time on January 29 as a single to promote both the album and the film.[6] "Broken Heart" just missed the top ten, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, with the b-side charting independently at number 53.[7] It became a gold record. Truncated with a verse excised to a very short length of 1:35, "One Broken Heart For Sale" was the first RCA single of Presley's career that did not make the top five, excluding "Shake Rattle and Roll" which did not chart at all after being released on August 31, 1956, simultaneously with Presley's debut album divided up into six singles.[8]

    Originally a deluxe - priced gatefold sleeve album was planned, but with 20 minutes of music and the relative failure of "One Broken Heart For Sale" the idea was abandoned.[9]

    Side one
    1. "Beyond the Bend" Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Dolores Fuller September 22, 1962 1:50
    2. "Relax" Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett August 30, 1962 2:19
    3. "Take Me to the Fair" Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett September 22, 1962 1:34
    4. "They Remind Me Too Much of You" Don Robertson September 22, 1962 2:30
    5. "One Broken Heart for Sale" Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott September 22, 1962 1:45

    Side two

    1. "I'm Falling in Love Tonight" Don Robertson September 22, 1962 1:39
    2. "Cotton Candy Land" Ruth Bachelor and Bob Roberts September 22, 1962 1:33
    3. "World of Our Own" Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye September 22, 1962 2:14
    4. "How Would You Like to Be" Ben Raleigh, Mark Barkan September 22, 1962 3:26
    5. "Happy Ending" Ben Weisman and Sid Wayne August 30, 1962 2:08

    2003 Follow That Dream reissue
    11. "One Broken Heart for Sale" (takes 2,3,1) 4:12
    12. "They Remind Me Too Much of You" (take 1) 2:34
    13. "I'm Falling In Love Tonight" (take 1,4) 3:16
    14. "Beyond The Bend" (take 1,2) 3:32
    15. "Cotton Candy Land" (take 1,2,4) 2:35
    16. "How Would You Like To Be" (take 2) 3:33
    17. "They Remind Me Too Much of You" (take 4) 2:30
    18. "Beyond the Bend" (take 3) 1:58
    19. "Take Me to the Fair" (takes 4,5,6,7) 3:54
    20. "I'm Falling in Love Tonight" (take 6) 1:56
    21. "They Remind Me Too Much Of You" (take 6,7) 2:44
    22. "Relax" (takes 5,6,7) 2:50
    23. "Happy Ending" (takes 4,5,6) 3:35
    24. "Take Me to the Fair" (August master-from acetate) 1:32
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This album actually seems to surprise me each time I listen to it. For some reason I get it in my head that it is a dud soundtrack album, but that really isn't the case. I suppose it's because it is one of those Elvis movies I am unfamiliar with. Although I haven't seen that many Elvis movies, I have heard of most of them, but this one seems like one that got lost along the line somewhere ....
    Anyhow, this is a pleasantly surprising album. Sure it isn't Elvis Is Back, but the songs are good and the album has a coherence that probably come from the track listing making sense as a movie, even finishing with the track happy ending.
    A pleasant album with some very good tracks.

    What do you think of this album?
    Anything special come to mind when you think of or listen to this album?
    Have you seen the movie?
    Please let us know anything that comes to mind with or about this album, and we'll hit the first couple of songs tomorrow.
    Cheers,
    Mark
     
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  19. SKATTERBRANE

    SKATTERBRANE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    The Colonel at first wanted a gatefold cover. But if that happened RCA would have put it in the deluxe category adding $1 to retail. Back then it was $3.98 for mono and $4.98 for stereo. So then the deluxe would have been $4.98 and $5.98. The Colonel did not want to charge more so he abandoned the idea.

    Like the GGG LP, this one included an insert with picture of Elvis with his RCA catalog on the back. While we are at it, Golden Records and King Creole also had inserts. Golden Records a coupon and King Creole a picture of Elvis in his Army uniform.
     
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  20. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    It Happened At The World's Fair is one of those "sum is greater than the parts" albums for me. Few of the individual tracks really stand out, but I've never not enjoyed hearing the album. It's a gentle, fun listen when I just want to mellow out.
     
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  21. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Like most parents, I exposed my daughter to music that I like when she was little. She was "meh" about some stuff I played her, but one thing she took a liking to was Elvis. As a result, we started watching Elvis movies together. Watching those movies with her gave me a completely different perspective on them than I'd had before, and allowed me to enjoy the music from them after dismissing most of it for years.

    It Happened at the World's Fair is one of the films that was a favorite of hers (no doubt in part because we live in Seattle). As a result, I'm not really objective about the soundtrack, and probably tend to go easier on critiquing it than I would on other albums. If I try to be objective, I'd say it's for the most part a collection of lightweight pop/rock songs, which I probably enjoy more than I should. They are well-crafted lightweight pop songs, and Elvis displays clear effort and enthusiasm, which helps. But I do have to admit that beyond the two songs we've already discussed (the leadoff single) there is nothing that's above-average or really exceptional on here. And there's also pretty much nothing that could be called serious rock-n-roll. On the flipside though, there's nothing that is cringeworthy or truly awful (no "Ito Eats" here). Dirk's comment about "greater than the sum of its parts" is one I can agree with, since I do enjoy the album as a whole though I cannot identify anything exceptional about anything on it.
     
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  22. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I didn't mean to suggest it's melodically similar, merely that it hits the same smooth, early-60s R&B groove as Sender. Same tempo, same general feel. Easy to tell the two songs came from the same songwriting team.
     
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  23. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina

    Another 45 single where I like the "B" side more than the "A" side. Elvis had many of those IMO.
     
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  24. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Beyond The Bend
    Written By :
    Ben Wiseman, Fred Wise & Dolores Fuller

    Recorded :

    Radio Recorders, Hollywood, August 30 and September 22, 1962 : September 22, 1962. take 4

    Beyond The Bend is a great opener, uptempo, summery and great music and vocals. I really like this song. This is one of those tracks that is new to me since getting the box, and I think it's a fine song. Although it is a soundtrack album song, I personally think it could happily survive on a standard album issue.

     
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  25. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Relax
    Written By :
    Roy C. Bennett & Sid Tepper

    Recorded :

    Radio Recorders, Hollywood, August 30 and September 22, 1962: August 30, 1962. take 13

    This track is a distant relation to Elvis' version of Fever. We start with some finger snaps and a very blues feel, the arrangement slowly builds around it. We get a little bit of jazz styling to the guitar at times. I reckon this is a great song and is a bit of fun. Again nicely sequenced after the opener.

     
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