Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies

I really like Ricky's version.

 

Here's Ricky's version, featuring a young James Burton, btw:

 

I hate double tracked vocals, no matter who the artist is .

 

If it is used sparingly as an effect on a line or two, it can have a nice effect. But, doing it for the whole song is overkill. Big time.

 

I have no problem with double tracking voices.
Sometimes it is effective, sometimes it isn't.

 

Lots of artists have used the double tracking vocals to some degree. It's just like reverb. It can make things smooth out or make it unbearable. This discussion of double tracked vocals did bring something to my mind. How many of you guys watched SCTV back in the late 1970's? Anyway they had one of the ladies in the cast playing Connie Francis and not only did she have lots of reverb and vocal doubling when she sang, she also had it when she was just talking to people backstage or something. Seems that was the biggest gag of the skit as I recall. Lol.

 

Ha, ha I LOVED that show. Yes, I remember the Connie Francis skit. (not a fan of reverb either)

 

I WAS BORN ABOUT 10.000 YEARS AGO (a very fine mixture of Gospel, C&W and Rock) remains the best vocal performance of the album - EP's voice is powerful and on fire - but, in this particular context, it's totally out of place. It just didn't deserve being part of such a terrible LP release. What a waste.

 

I always enjoy James Burton's playing but Elvis doesn't improve on Ricky Nelson's recording. Not even close! It's not an uptempo song but if Elvis was going to cover a Ricky Nelson tune, I wish he had tried Lonesome Town.

 

He Touched Me *
Bosom Of Abraham **
(US) RCA 74-0651
Released: February 29, 1972
* Recorded: RCA Studio B, Nashville, May 18, 1971
** Recorded: RCA Studio B, Nashville, June 9, 1971



Another new one or me, or in this case two. Again we will go through these in the context of the album

 

HE TOUCHED ME (LP)
(US) RCA LSP 4690
Released: April 1972



Released April 1, 1972
Recorded March–June 1971 [1]
Genre Gospel, contemporary Christian
Length 30:50
Label RCA Records
Producer Felton Jarvis

He Touched Me is the seventeenth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on April 1, 1972. A contemporary gospel music album,[7] it earned him his second of three Grammy Awards. The album was his third and final studio gospel album, and the most contemporary of the three.[7] He Touched Me was certified Gold on March 27, 1992 and Platinum on July 15, 1999 by the RIAA.[8]

• Elvis Presley – arranger, vocals
• Felton Jarvis – producer
• The Imperials – vocals
• David Briggs – organ, piano
• James Burton – guitar
• Kenny Buttrey – drums
• Jerry Carrigan – drums

• Joe Esposito – guitar
• Charlie Hodge – guitar
• Ginger Holladay – vocals
• Mary Holladay – vocals
• Millie Kirkham – vocals
• Kathy Westmoreland - vocals
• Charlie McCoy – organ, piano
• Sonja Montgomery – vocals

• Joe Moscheo – organ, piano
• Al Pachucki – engineer
• June Page – vocals
• Norbert Putnam – bass guitar
• Temple Riser – vocals
• Chip Young – guitar

Side one
1. "He Touched Me" William J. Gaither May 18, 1971 2:40
2. "I've Got Confidence" Andraé Crouch May 18, 1971 2:23
3. "Amazing Grace" John Newton; arranged and adapted by Elvis Presley March 15, 1971 3:36
4. "Seeing Is Believing" Red West, Glen Spreen May 19, 1971 2:55
5. "He Is My Everything" Dallas Frazier June 9, 1971 2:42
6. "Bosom of Abraham" William Johnson, George McFadden, Ted Brooks June 9, 1971 1:37

Side two
1. "An Evening Prayer" C. Maude Battersby, Charles H. Gabriel May 18, 1971 1:56
2. "Lead Me, Guide Me" Doris Akers May 17, 1971 2:42
3. "There Is No God But God" Bill Kenny June 9, 1971 2:21
4. "A Thing Called Love" Jerry Reed May 19, 1971 2:27
5. "I, John" William Johnson, George McFadden, Ted Brooks June 8–10, 1971 2:18
6. "Reach Out to Jesus" Ralph Carmichael June 8, 1971 3:13
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Again here we have one of the few albums I haven't listened to yet, but I actually have no doubt that it will be good. Elvis always seemed to step up when he recorded a gospel album, and I have no reason to believe that he won't here.
It is an interesting batch of songs, and if Elvis holds his commitment to honouring God in his recording as he has all the others, then I assume we will be raising the bar from the last couple of releases.

Anyhow.
Tell us what you think of the recording, and what it means to you.
Give us all the ins and outs that relate to you and this album.

Cheers
Mark

 

"He touched me" is IMO Elvis' last good album. It is not perfect - HE IS MY EVERTHING should not have been used - but the best recordings are truely well performed and infectious. From the gospel rocker I'VE GOT CONFIDENCE to the magnificent AMAZING GRACE, there is enough good material to dive in. And 33 years after having discovered Presley's gospel legacy, I JOHN has remained to this day one of my favorite studio performances ever. Lord have mercy!

 

He Touched Me is my favourite of Elvis' three proper gospel albums, and it contains some of his all-time greatest performances. It can be improved with a few track substitutions (like almost any Elvis album), but the album as-released is a fine collection of songs.

 

On the other hand. I think His Hand In Mine is the best sounding of the three and Elvis' early 60s voice is outstanding. I also like the material. How Great Thou Art, I also like the material and the sound is decent, but not great. Elvis' voice has changed but is still fantastic. Now He Touched Me loses on all 3 counts. The material is mediocre, the sound is pretty bad and the vocals are definitely not Elvis in his prime. I tried listening to this again in anticipation of this discussion and it was a chore to say the least.

 

My favorite of the gospel albums is How Great Thou Art for sentimental reasons but this is the least formal and most jamming of them. Unlike the first two albums which I would compare to Elvis performing upfront during church service through most of the album, this album isn't so formal sounding. It's like Elvis and the band are in the fellowship hall in the basement and are having a singing service during a weeknight. The song's are still reverent but just not as ceremonial sounding. I always enjoy giving all of the gospel albums (Camden included) a spin as Elvis always brings the goods IMO.

 

I had to go for a drive, and I had already listened to this ... that box is a lot of music to digest
I like it. I think it has good variance. We have some very traditional stuff, a few Elvis' style things, and just a nice broad palette to take in.
I don't find there to be anything wrong with Elvis' vocal and on a drive listen, the arrangements sound good. We'll get closer to that on the breakdown.
I think How Great Thou Art still takes the prize as my favourite though.

 

It is really hard for me to rank Elvis's three full studio gospel albums in order as I love all three almost equally for various reasons, but if push came to shove, I would probably put His Hand In Mine and He touched Me at the top of the list, just ever so slightly above How Great Thou Art. I think that Elvis's voice was just about at its peak from 1968 to about 1974, although there are certainly distinct fluctuations within that time frame in quality and effort. So that would have his voice at its peak between the ages 33 and 39, which I think is a reasonable expectation for a male baritone singer. It also may be why I think his voice is so gorgeous and powerful sounding on the songs for He Touched Me.

I think His Hand In Mine is sonically speaking the best sounding album Elvis probably ever recorded, along with Elvis Is Back!, and it is even more amazing given the fact that Elvis and those Nashville musicians recorded the album on a single night. I also love the angelic quality of that baritenor voice that Elvis had in the early 60's, but I find his later full baritone voice had even more layers of complexity and intonation in his phrasing, and I also love the use of his magnificent vibrato that some fans find displeasing. I guess it is truly a case of "different strokes for different folks."

Now getting back to the splendor of He Touched Me, I just do not think that Elvis could have sung a song like An Evening Prayer with the type of power and dynamic range that he displays on this performance in 1971, back in the early 60's. It surely would have been great performance, if it had even been written at the time, but I just do not think that Elvis had the raw power and range to match what he did with this song or the magnificent title cut from the album in 1971. I know this view runs counter to the conventional view on Elvis's voice, but I have never really bought into the conventional view of Elvis's artistry and talent on a whole lot of matters concerning his vocal ability or career history.

 

I really like the He Touched Me album, but I also like How Great Though Art and His Hand In Mind. They're all very different sounding, so it's impossible for me to rank them. I just play whatever one I'm in the mood for.

And once again, quality issues plague an Elvis release. Initial copies of the US 45 of He Touched Me / Bosom of Abraham were pressed at the wrong speed (of all things!). Between LPs and 45s with shoddy artwork, poor track slection, market oversaturation, limited promotion, confusiong titles and a plethora of other issues it's amazing Elvis sold as many records as he did.

 

Speaking of "Help Me Make It Through The Night", I first heard it on the "Welcome To My World" album.

To this day, I really love that album. It was a weird compilation of previously released material, but it was a nice combination of songs that really worked. Great cover art too.

 

He Touched Me
Written By :
William Gaither

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, May 15-21, 1971: May 18, 1971. take 4

This is a very traditional sounding Gospel song. In fact it sounds somewhat like it could have been recorded years earlier.
We have just the piano, and the vocals. The is a ensemble vocal arrangement that does what it does to highlight the song. Although we can hear Elvis, and although the vocal is really great, the arrangement isn't about one singer, it is all about the song, and that is how it works.
This is an excellent arrangement and vocal. Very good indeed.

 

I've Got Confidence
Written By :
Andrae Crouch

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, May 15-21, 1971: May 18, 1971. take 2

This track has a country rock feel with a touch of gospel. Most of these songs have a gentle reverb on them that fills the vocals out a little, without getting too splashy.
This track is interesting in its consistent modulations. I think the track is very well done. Again with this track we have a focus on the lyrics and the form, and it again works to the benefit of the song. There is a certain vigor in the song that makes it somewhat emphatic and engrossing.
Another good track.

 

that goes for me too.

I would rank the three gospel records in this order:

HIS HAND IN MINE
HOW GREAT THOU ART
HE TOUCHED ME

 

Naughty Elvis:

Petula Clark: ‘Elvis angled for a threesome – he was raring to go’

 

My boy, my boy!

 

I've Got Confidence is probably the HTM song that I've listened to the most. Elvis' performance just exudes pure joy.

The somewhat rawer take one is an interesting alternate: