Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies

When Elvis was eager to work and was up for a challenge, there was really no stopping him. I agree that new people brought out the best in him in normal circumstances. My only concerns at this point is his drug dependence and the haze that he was in. I think everyone would agree at this point that Elvis should have focused 100% on kicking the drugs. Without doing that, he was at the mercy of the sycophants, controllers, and the drug effects. Elvis had the talent and regardless of producers, he had the ability to deliver. It just seems that Jarvis at this point had the advantage of knowing Elvis well enough at this state in his life to avoid the land mines and get something out of him.

 

I don’t disagree that his drug abuse was a serious issue and possible obstacle in the mid-1970’s, but an inspiring and productive meeting with a highly regarded producer that could instill hopes of creative and artistic work that was so infrequently part of Elvis’ then session work, plus with the possibility of chart and sales success, may have encouraged Elvis to focus and commit.

 

I cannot agree with you more. I cannot think of any single artist these days who stays with the same music producer indefinitely without getting diminishing returns over time. Felton Jarvis made some splendid music with Elvis over those last ten years, but I do believe that Elvis would have benefited a lot from mixing it up a bit with a different producer from time to time.

 

Elvis definitely needed to be challenged. His last real collaboration was with Marty Pasetta who challenged him and had a vision that captured Elvis' imagination and gave him a goal to achieve.

I am in the camp who believes "A Star Is Born" might have saved his life. But...

 

Agreed. The A Star Is Born debacle was the beginning of the end — Elvis would be dead within two years from the time Streisand and Peters pitched the project. It could have not gone unnoticed by Elvis that the film was a massive commercial success, grossing $80 million at the box office, delivering a hit soundtrack, and winning categories at the Grammys and Oscars. Meanwhile on the night of the Oscars on March 28, 1977, he was playing another tired and stale concert set in a secondary arena in Austin, TX.

 

I'm more in the camp of thinking it would have delayed his death. Elvis was never even close to being able to admit his drug use was a serious problem, so it's hard to imagine him getting to a point of cleaning up entirely.

 

Thank God Elvis didn’t play the clown role in that horrid movie that fell to Kris Kristofferson.

 

The only thing with that is that it was diminishing returns with any changes. When Elvis wanted it, he had a can do attitude and he would buck Parker or lose the entourage or whatever he had to do to get it right. Now he was addicted and withdrawn. Elvis was at Stax and the only real Stax type recording to materialize was "If You Talk In Your Sleep". Most of the rest could have been recorded in Nashville. There's a long list of top notch musicians and producers that would have jumped at the chance to work with Elvis but it seems that he was on cruise control. Even if Jarvis had bowed out, I don't know how much of an improvement could have come from another producer at this point. If Elvis had that fire, any decent producer could have made great music with him.

 

Agreed. It reminds me of that scene from Titanic: "Yes, the pumps will buy you time...but minutes only." In Elvis' case, the various challenges that he could have taken on - a world tour, a serious movie role, a new producer - might have bought him a few months or years, but I'm inclined to think that the ending would have been the same, and come sooner rather than later.

 

Radiohead with Nigel Goodrich is a good modern example of an artist and producer repeatedly working together for critically acclaimed results, but it’s a rarity.

 

Susan when She Tried
Written By :
Don Reid

Recorded :
RCA's Studio C, Hollywood, March 10-13, 1975 : March 11, 1975. take 6


This is a down home clucking and bouncing country song. I actually like this track. Elvis puts in a good vocal and when the chorus kicks in, it almost has a country gospel feel. I think the instruments are well arranged and come over very well, and manage to create this pulsating melange of sound that pushes this track along nicely.

 

Woman Without Love
Written By :
Jerry Chesnut

Recorded :
RCA's Studio C, Hollywood, March 10-13, 1975 : March 12, 1975. take 1

We have a moderate tempo country strut here. I like this song well enough but I can't really connect with the lyric and although the instrumentation is decent enough, and the vocal manages to put the song across well. This song doesn't really do it for me.

 

A man without love is truly half a man.

 

but he'll probably have less stress and live longer lol

 

Susan When She Tried is a highlight of the album for me. Great guitar picking, and nice harmony vocal doubling-up Elvis part in the verses. Oddly, it almost sounds like a Mellotron is coming in at the 25 second mark (almost a Strawberry Fields Forever vibe, of all things!). I'll have to listen to the outtakes again to see if I can better-identify the instrument. This track actually got me in to The Statler Brothers, who I gave no mind to prior to hearing the Elvis cover.

Conversely, Woman Without Love is my least favorite track on the LP. It does nothing for me.

 

Woman Without Love is one of the worst songs Elvis ever recorded. The music isn't bad, just a bit dull, but the words are appalling. I couldn't believe it when I first heard it...still can't, actually.

Susan When She Tried is wonderful. I like the contrast between the breezy arrangement and the sadness of the lyrics. Plus, Elvis sounds fantastic.

 

This is saying a lot, with things like "Old McDonald" and "Vino, dinero y amor"

 

Hey, I like Vino, Dinero Y Amor! Give me that any day of the week over Woman Without Love.

 

It's an average country ballad but Vino dinero y amor is abysmal

 

lol

 

In the soundtrack albums you have plenty to choose for "worst song Elvis ever recorded" candidates.
"Woman without love" in comparison would be a great song

 

I can see that. Like I said, I don't hate it, but I don't love it. Harum Scarum is particularly lamentable for its songs ... and the movie was pretty naff too

 

For this movie they considered the idea of a talking camel .
Enough said

 

And yet give me Animal Instinct (and several others) over Woman Without Love. At least on the soundtracks there's the excuse that they're there to move the plot along, flimsy as they might be. No excuse for a track like Woman Wothout Love other than laziness.

 

This is the highlight of the album for me, with big props going to James Burton here.