Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies

Did you listen to Elvis' first take in RCA's Studio "B"? I think it first was on FTD "Nashville Marathon". I'm not sure it is "better" than S&G but it ALWAYS gives me goosebumps. Just plain amazing.

 

Without drastic emergency changes in Elvis' life, I don't think anything or anyone could have changed how things happened. If Dr. Nick hadn't provided Elvis with those drugs, it would have been others that Elvis had in his rolodex. An addict with the resources that Elvis had could always get what they wanted.

 

It is a constant source of frustration, doing this thread has brought it all home to me.
I am no doctor, but due to sad experiences with addicts and the issues they face, I would have been able to fix Elvis. It blows my mind that everyone was so blind to what was going on. Every single problem relates back to the pills. The weight gain, the constipation etc etc it is all directly related to one insidious killer ....
I turn 51 this year, and I never thought I would make it past 30.... to think I am nearly a decade older than Elvis was when he died is beyond comprehension.

 

As for Bridge, we'll get their soon.
I am fairly new to Elvis' version, but I will say I love both versions, but for completely different reasons.
To me S&G's versions is a loving caress. Elvis' version is a desperate plea. Both completely valid, both completely beautiful.

 

As it has been mentioned. I think TTWII would have been a perfect opportunity for another double LP. One being the best of the concerts and the other being 100% studio recordings even if it meant some repeating of songs. (Which they would NEVER have done back then).

I prefer the studio versions of the songs in question here. In fact there are very FEW live versions I prefer in Elvis' entire recording career. A couple being My Way, Love Me Tender (from the TV Special) and that's about it. I am sure I could come up with a couple more but they certainly do not come to me without digging. Certainly nothing on the lifetime releases other than the two just mentioned would I prefer the live version.

 

The singles got the usual overdubbing treatment almost ALL of the June 1970 recordings did. And these were studio recordings not in concert recordings with overdubs. But Felton DID add audience responses to some material especially I Just Can't Help Believin' which totally sucks. And that he used the studio version of Bridge Over Trouble Waters but added applause to make it SOUND like a concert recording REALLY sucks! He should have either left it alone or actually used a concert performance of this song.

If you listen to he unadulterated I Just Can't Help Believin' from the huge Deluxe set (I do not know which performance right off hand) and compare it to the one used on the original TTWII, the artifice shows up in stark contrast. Felton LOVED to add applause right after Elvis starts to sing a song on many of the live performances. What a dickweed.

 

Addictions and compulsions destroy lives and families. I have not seen my wife in over 6 years because (mostly) of her eating disorders. I probably will never see her alive again. She has come close to death more than a few times. She is living with her parents, whom I am convinced are the source of this. The combination of a very, very strict and probably abusive father and a very over protective mother, and she being the youngest of 3 probably got the typical "baby of the family" treatment on top of it all are where the roots lie.

 

I am just amazed how this drug epidemic never seems to leave us be. More people are dying from drug issues yearly than during the entire length of the Vietnam War. People seem concerned about so many various issues, but the one issue that is directly killing or terrible affecting so many millions of lives, just gets overlooked to some degree. It is just not considered woke enough or hip to really care or talk about this drug epidemic or mental health issues. Okay, I am done with my little rant, but these issues affect every single family I know, including my own.

 

Of all people, Tony Orlando said something similar. He told a story on the George Klein show about having heard of some of the issues Elvis was going through; perhaps through the Elvis: What Happened book, but that wasn't clear from the interview.

He referenced his own breakdown in early 1977 and mentioned that he had just started getting himself out of seclusion when he heard about Elvis, and realized one day that he knew exactly what Elvis was going through. He tried to call the mansion and couldn't reach Elvis. So, and I paraphrase, he did the only thing a good Catholic boy knew to do. He went to the church and prayed for the Presleys; he also lit three candles, one for Elvis, Priscilla and Lisa Marie. Said it was the first time he'd really been out of his home in a while.

After having a quiet moment in the church, he returned home and was given the news that Elvis had died.

I don't think the Mafia boys were equipped to handle what Elvis was going through, though I think Red, Sonny and Dave Hebler tried*. The Colonel certainly wasn't. Priscilla left partly because she couldn't handle it anymore. It's entirely possible Elvis was completely unwilling to listen to anybody but maybe Lisa Marie, and she was too young to speak up about such things.

It's a great tragedy of American pop culture.

*Elvis: What Happened was too little too late, and definitely came too far along in the cocoon Elvis had built for himself; he took loyalty and privacy very seriously.

 

Yes, exactly my thoughts as well. Thank goodness we finally got the Deluxe box set version of these splendid studio and live recordings and the additional studio single versions on the RCA Albums Collection.

 

I don’t see how anyone was ever going to fix Elvis’s addiction problems, or any other problem, when Elvis was the goose that laid the golden eggs for everyone in his orbit. No one could or would say no to the gravy train that supported all of their lifestyles.

 

That is sadly true.
I meant that purely as the solution was very simple, not that I have some power to make these things happen

 

Great as those shows are, I don't think I could listen to all 60 CDs!

I definitely think the studio versions of "I've Lost You" and "Patch It Up" are better--the live versions have very repetitive choruses. As for vice versa, the '68 live versions of "One Night" and "Tryin' to Get to You" are better than the studio ones in my book.

 

I don't think anyone can get to 1977 with Elvis and not mention the giant white elephant in the room that is drug addiction. I lost my brother to prescription pain medication addiction several years ago so I know what it's like watching while someone you love absolutely destroys themselves. Once the addiction has them, help will only be effective if they want it. We all tried to get him help. Even court ordered treatment didn't work because the addict will say whatever will turn them loose long enough to return to the drugs. The drugs take precedence over family, work, interests, everything. They cut off everyone that wants to take them from the drugs and surround themselves with fellow addicts and suppliers. My brother didn't have great resources but became totally crafty when it came to getting the drugs. I can only imagine how easily Elvis could get the drugs with his connections and wealth. I see Elvis in 1970 and then in 1977 and he looks like a totally different person (he was in many ways). It was the same with my brother before he died. There are a few sparks of the old guy that used to be there but the drugs destroy everything that makes them their original selves. I used to think that we didn't do enough or if we had only had some magic words, maybe we could have gotten through. My conversations with recovering addicts has taught me that unless there is some desire to recover, no treatment will "take". All recovering addicts seem to have that "moment" or "thing" that made them want to recover. Sadly, many never hit that point before the addiction totally consumes them.

 

The problem is that an addicted person can't get help unless they are willing to seek it. Being compelled to get treatment invariably does not work. The only people who might have had a chance to talk to Elvis about his problem were the Colonel and Vernon. If anyone else had tried, they would have been permanently banished from Elvis' presence so fast their heads would have spun. It wasn't that the people around him were blind so much as helpless.

Marty Lacker did say that he tried to bring up the issue with Elvis via a letter during his last year. Marty had cleaned up his own act regarding drugs and was no longer in the inner circle, and wrote a letter mentioning how much better he was feeling off drugs. He never received a reply or heard from Elvis again, but he learned later from Billy Smith that his letter had infuriated Elvis.

 

People in the know will tell you they have to bottom out, sadly that bottom is often final.
In reality even today the big problem with pharmaceuticals is "well the doctor said ..." . with all due respect to doctors. difficult job ....
I have been wrestling with my wife's issues for seven years, and she has finally realised that the illnesses they are supposed to be treating are made worse and added to by the medications they are giving her. The mentality of better living through chemistry is a dangerous one to start believing. Often it is better living without chemistry, and dealing with one problem instead of ten .... but it is a lot more complicated than that obviously

 

Yea I know. I have experienced the issue many times over. I have been the bad guy. I have been the cursed messenger. I have been the addict.
The only saving grace for me was when I was sixteen I was hanging out with a much older hippy type lady, and she laid it all out on the line and told me that with my personality type, if I ever did hard drugs I would die fast, due to my over doing everything, always. Thankfully I listened to her. It didn't stop alcohol putting me in a coma when I was nineteen though lol

 

My dad often quoted his dad who often said "A man who cannot learn from his mistakes is a fool. But a man who cannot learn from OTHER people's mistakes is a DAMNED fool." So all these people's lives are being destroyed by drugs. How it is that more and more people decide to take their first hit of some opioid? How it is that when the steel plant leaves town and you cannot afford your mortgage anymore, somehow you can afford heroin? I would think your addiction can cost as much or more than rent! I really have no compassion for people who CHOOSE to take drugs for recreation and end up destroying their lives. One thing about eating disorders, you cannot go without food. Your addiction is also what you need to live. Try going cold turkey with food.

 

I think you know that I meant the 60CD box The Album Collection. I mentioned it because Mark owns it and listens to it.

 

Without going into too much detail, someone in my life is suffering from a similar problem right now. Many family members and friends have tried to intervene, begged him to get help. There has been legal action taken. Nothing works, nothing changes. He’s going to have to bottom out, hopefully without dying in the process, and admit to himself that he needs help, before anything changes.

 

Having seen it in my own family, I can offer no wise words like Solomon. Hopefully when that "bottom", "moment", or "thing" happens that makes them want to recover, they will have the support of family and friends while they get treatment.

 

Sadly whether recreational or pharmaceutical the issues end up being the same.

 

Opioids are NOT for chronic pain. And the drug companies are making a fortune via doctors prescribing them as chronic pain therapy. It is criminal and even worse that the illicit drug market as it is under the guise of legality and "medication".

 

Thankfully I think she found her bottom. It is just a slow recovery. Twelve months ago she was on a walking frame ... she is not now

This is starting to turn into group therapy hahahahahaha

 

As I have said to my wife many times. We're getting older, s**t just hurts sometimes