We could do whole thread about Charlie Rich songs that Elvis should have covered! There Won't Be Any More would have been nailed by Elvis IMO. Although it's similar to Please Release Me, I would have loved to hear Elvis' soulful take on She Called Me Baby Baby. The list goes on and on!
I prefer Elvis' version also. Just so I don't seem totally biased, I'd say Rich's version of Big Boss Man (minus the silly affectation he uses where he sounds like he just blew his nose) is superior to Elvis' original version, but not the '68 Special version.
I'm not even going to tell you what crazy things Manfred Mann's Earth Band was singing about the next night in that bar with that song Blinded By The Light!
Methinks thou doth protest too much! Admit it! You're humming a Carpenter's tune right now! It's ok, you're among friends.
Fairytale Written By : Anita Pointer & Bonnie Pointer Recorded : RCA's Studio C, Hollywood, March 10-13, 1975 : March 10, 1975. take 3 I hadn't actually ever noticed that this was a Pointer Sisters song. It shows my ignorance, but I didn't even know they were around at this point in time. This is a clucky, peppy, bouncy track. One of the things about this album that I love is hearing Elvis back in high gear vocally. I reckon this is a great vocal, perhaps not Elvis' most technically brilliant vocal, but he is 100% committed to knocking it out of the park, and for me he does. Listening to this album more closely suggests I haven't given this album the props it deserves up to this point. This track is again thick with country flavour, and I really like the steel guitar ... steel guitar is one of my favourite things about some country music. The backing music is very good, but my focus here is on Elvis vocal.
I Can Help Written By : Billy Swan Recorded : RCA's Studio C, Hollywood, March 10-13, 1975 : March 11, 1975, take 2 Up until getting this album set just over a year ago, I had never heard anyone but Billy Swan do it. I have always loved this song. I reckon Elvis does a great version of this. It is pretty much identical to the original, but that's fine. So this isn't probably an artistic highlight of Elvis' career, but it is a solid vocal, a very well executed arrangement, and keeps this album up in the high quality zone ... for me at least
When Elvis sang Fairytale live, he sometimes introduced it by saying it was the story of his life. I think his version is ok but I much prefer the Pointer Sisters version.
Thanks @ClausH , I have very much appreciated your support with these posts. It is unusual hearing the Pointer Sisters doing country, when I am only familiar with their late seventies and eighties pop. Very Cool
The Fifties Easy Reference guide Elvis Presley the Albums and Singles Thread * 1959 - Feb 10 1964 - Reference guide - Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties April 1964 - Sept 1967 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties October 1967 - December 1969 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties January 1970 - March 1974 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies
Reference Guide May 2 1974 If You Talk In Your Sleep/ Help Me Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies July 1974 Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 1 See See Rider Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 2 I Got A Woman/ Amen Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 3 Love Me Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 4 Tryin' To Get To You Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 5 Medley Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 6 Why Me Lord Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 7 How Great Thou Art Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 8 Blueberry Hill/ I Can't Stop Loving You Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 9 Help Me Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 10 An American Trilogy Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 11 Let Me Be There Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies track 12 My Baby Left Me track 13 Lawdy Miss Clawdy track 14 Can't Help Falling In Love Oct 1 1974 Promised Land/It's Midnight Oct 1974 Having Fun With Elvis On Stage Jan 8 1975 Promised Land 1 Promised Land 2 There's A Honky Tonk Angel 3 Help Me 4 Mr Songman 5 Love Song Of The Year 6 It's Midnight 7 Your Love's Been A Long Time Comin' 8 If You Talk In Your Sleep 9 Thinking About You 10 You Asked Me To Jan 1975 My Boy/Thinking About You Mar 1975 Pure Gold Apr 22 1975 T-R-O-U-B-L-E/Mr Songman May 7 1975 Elvis Today 1 Trouble 2 And I Love You So 3 Susan When She Tried 4 Woman Without Love 5 Shake A Hand 6 Pieces Of My Life 7 Fairytale 8 I Can Help
Fairytale is another one of those bouncy music/downer lyrics combos that Elvis really nails. The live versions are OK, but the original mix of the studio version is definitive for me. This is the one instance from the Today sessions where I prefer a version other than the master. It sounds a bit peppier, and seems to have more energy than the final version (the less intrusive backing vocals definitely help): Sort of a funny story about I Can Help. It was on the stereo when one of my friends was over, and she was getting into it ("I've got two strong arms, let me help..."). Then the "If your child needs a daddy line" popped up, and she said, "Wait a minute...I thought this song was about busting up chifferobes." Then she asked me which movie it was from! She was imagining Elvis speaking to a general "you," perhaps walking around a swimming pool whilst essentially telling a group of young ladies, "Not saying that you do, but if you DO happen to have a child, I'm available to help." Anyway, I'm a huge fan of I Can Help. Everything about it works perfectly for me, from that guitar intro to the Elvis-style breakdown at the end that never gets old, no matter how many times he used it. The song is a pure joy to listen to, and I think it's a highlight of his entire career - not just the 70s. This is one of those situations where the Elvis version sounds superficially similar to the original, but the Billy Swan version does very little for me. His vocal comes nowhere close to Elvis', and the music sounds like a rough demo compared to the slick-but-not-too-slick sound of the Elvis version. I'm also not a fan of the overpowering organ on Swan's version.
I think the same exact thing whenever I pull this album back out to play. It really is quite terrific all around and it doesn't bother me a single bit that it is made up of mostly covers. It took me a while to really warm up to Elvis's version of Faiytale, with its steel guitars and heavy backing vocals, but I think once I heard Elvis's live version from Elvis In Concert it made me realize how much he actually identified with the lyrics. The studio version is really superior, but the fact that he Elvis put it in his live set quite a bit made me re-evaluate the song. Dirk just nails the analysis of how I feel about I Can Help in almost every way. Even though Reggie Young and Mike Leech did a fine job on the original and Elvis and the TCB band follow their arrangement closely, Elvis's great vocal and the crispness of the rhythm section, without that dreaded organ, is superior to my ears.
I love the "Today" album. One of my absolute favorites. Flaws and all. I think this is one of Elvis' better sounding albums. Great mix, great EQ. Those Stax albums always sounded a bit muddy to me, this album sounds perfect.
I really like Fairytale but seemingly contrary to most here I prefer the live versions. Maybe it’s because that’s how I first heard it, but I think also because I don’t like the fiddle or the pedal steel guitar parts, they sound a touch cliche. Still it’s a strong track. But it seems Elvis couldn’t handle that note @ 1:58 when singing ‘there’s no need’ at that point. But maybe it’s intentional as he sings it that way in other versions. I Can Help - what else to say but it’s a really fun song and Elvis seems to be enjoying himself. It’s not a track that begs analysis, just have fun with it!
That is one of the issues with Today -- Elvis arguably does not improve on the covers. Most of his covers are well-performed, even containing very good vocals, but he doesn't elevate the material like he once did.
I thought you fellas might enjoy reading this. It is about much more than the '69 sessions. The Inside Story of Elvis Presley's 1969 Memphis Recording Sessions with Marty Lacker - RockCellarMagazine
Off topic: Does the anti skate knob work on your turntable? I have heard that they used the wrong size spring and the anti skate knob does not actually do anything. I really like those Audio-Technica quartz tables otherwise.
The original versions of the two songs we're covering today are vivid memories from my childhood, so again it's kind of weird to hear Elvis covering them. When I looked up the chart position of the Pointers' version of Fairytale a few days ago, I was really surprised to see that it topped out at 37 country. That song was in heavy rotation on the country station my parents listened to at the time (KNEW, California Country) and I thought for sure it was at least a top ten hit. It was extremely unusual though for black artists not named Charlie Pride to be heard on country radio back then, so I guess it's impressive it made top 40 country. Elvis' version is decent and one of the better tracks on the record, but doesn't surpass the original. After reading that Linda Thompson story about how she suggested Elvis record the song because she thought it summed up their relationship, it's interesting that Elvis would say onstage that it was "the story of his life." I don't see how he could claim that, unless he meant it describes his relationship with the Colonel. Speaking of Elvis' personal life, I was thinking more about Pieces of My Life. It's interesting to me that Elvis was unwilling to do We Had it All because he was afraid that people would think he was singing about Priscilla, yet he had no problem doing Pieces of My Life, even including that final section (the spoken-word "The one I miss most of all, is you, you know who"). When I first heard that song in the late 80s, before I'd learned about the whole mythology Priscilla had built up about their relationship, I did think it was directed at her. In fact, since I wasn't familiar with the Johnny Darrell version, I even thought it was an interpolation added by Elvis, since it wasn't in the Charlie Rich recording.
The one instance I'd disagree is I Can Help. Elvis' version is basically a copy arrangement-wise (except for toning down the organ) but he's a far better singer than Billy Swan, who sounds like Jerry Lee Lewis only with less range. By virtue of simply singing it better, I think Elvis outdoes the original, though again it's not because he radically reinvented the song. It does contain one of those rare legitimate Elvis interpolations too... "Have a laugh on me." Also, I think I've said before that I'm always a sucker for when Elvis throws in the bluesy ending on a song. This track is in my top ten post-71 recordings.