Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, May 26, 2019.

  1. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    That is a fair enough point for sure. However, I do not think putting an occasional ONJ cover in his setlist excluded Elvis from also including one or more of his overlooked gems in there as well. It was not necessarily a zero sum game, if you get my drift.
     
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  2. JLGB

    JLGB Senior Member

    Location:
    D.R.
    I wish Elvis had performed live lots of songs of his vast catalog. But that doesn't make me enjoy less the ones he actually did.
     
  3. Matthew

    Matthew Senior Member

    Let Me Be There is kinda fun, and had its day on the 1974 live album. Recycling it again for Moody Blue was desperate.

    If You Love Me (Let Me Know) is awful, never liked that one.
     
  4. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    That ONJ cover is definitely the superior one by all measures, and yeah, it was a bit of desperation to recycle it for the Moody Blue album, but for those who did not have his Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis album, I guess it worked well enough in the context of the country-pop sound on the Moody Blue album.
     
  5. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    I agree - as a kid listening in 1977 I wasn't aware that Let Me Be There was recycled, and it seemed to fit well on Moody Blue. In hindsight it was a strange decision.
     
  6. JLGB

    JLGB Senior Member

    Location:
    D.R.
    And for those like me that enjoyed the track and played it a lot. A pain to find in in the non-banded live vinyl album as a kid in 1977. Perspective of the time.
     
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  7. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    He was in stage for roughly an hour. Throwing in an ONJ cover was not occasional during his last few years (he even reprised it during the same show on occasion!) β€” why would one want to listen to a lightweight ONJ cover (terribly arranged) during that short time when there where several dozen superior options? Those final years set-lists were frustrating to say the least. Even worse, that worthless cover was included on Moody Blue.
     
  8. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    I am starting to get the distinct impression that your not a big fan of that song or Elvis's take on it. :agree:
     
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2019
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  9. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Oh yeah, I meant to comment on this too earlier. I had a crush on her and so did my best friend in high school, so I have no doubt Elvis probably had one too. I mean, Olivia was just a knockout back in those days and I think her beauty was more than skin deep. I have a great and rare picture of her with Charlie Rich, when she opened for the Silver Fox in Las Vegas in 1974 at the Hilton Showroom, yep, the same one Elvis used to play in for so many years. She is looking up at Charlie quite fetchingly and he seems rather delighted as well. It had to be a thrill for her to open for Charlie Rich and she has talked about it quite a bit over the years. Ironically, that would be the last time for her as a sort of opening act in Las Vegas as her own singing career was just exploding at the time and the next time she played a Las Vegas showroom, Olivia would be the headliner.
     
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  10. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    she was a sweetheart in the truest sense of the word.
     
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  11. arriano

    arriano The California Kid

    Location:
    San Diego
    I find it kind of eerie that the last song Elvis recorded in a studio setting was "He'll Have to Go"
     
  12. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    What gave it away? ;) I think it is one of the worst recordings in the catalogue. I also think Elvis wasted his time with it, when he had so much else to offer.
     
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  13. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    I've still got to go with Yoga Is As Yoga Does.
     
  14. Matthew

    Matthew Senior Member

    Technically, yes, though I prefer thinking of Pledging My Love as his last studio recording, since "He'll Have To Go" was merely a vocal overdub.
     
  15. Revelator

    Revelator Disputatious cartoon animal.

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Reminds me of Oscar Wilde's last words: "Either this wallpaper goes or I do."
     
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  16. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    Yeah, that one was pretty appalling. However, he did not record that song or perform that song during a period of active non-soundtrack, secular recording and performing. When it came to soundtrack recording, he had few options other than what he was mandated to record for each respective project β€” with his live work, he had numerous options.
     
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  17. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    What he needed more than anything at that time was to get his health and life together. Sure he had bills and payroll and all of that but it all came to a stop anyway when he died. Like you, I like to think that he could have turned a corner and reclaimed his life. Not as "Elvis the rock star" but as Elvis the man. An older wiser Elvis that decides to dump Parker and find close friendships outside of a circle of employees. An Elvis that faces his demons once the media exposure of his secrets in 'Elvis, What Happened?' is published. I doubt any celebrity manager of importance would refuse to take a call from a recovering Elvis in say 1978 or '79 with an inquiry into doing a music, tv, or movie project. I know it's just spitballing but it would have been quite a comeback to see an Elvis that had taken stock of himself return.
     
  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Little Darlin
    Written By :
    Maurice Williams

    Recorded :

    Live Recording, Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan, April 24, 1977 : April 24, 1977

    Ok, this track is a bit of fun. The problem I have is that The Diamonds original is one of my favourite of the earlier rock and roll songs.
    You can tell all round that this is just a bit of fun, and I seriously doubt that Elvis ever expected it to be released, and he was just entertaining the crowd, which in the seventies was generally his forte.
    In the face of all that this is passable, but not a favourite, and probably the weakest track on the album for me.

     
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  19. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    He'll Have To Go
    Written By :
    Joe Allison & Audrey Allison

    Recorded :

    Jungle Room, Graceland, Memphis, October 29-31, 1976 : October 31, 1976. take 2

    This was recorded on my eighth birthday, just for some pointless trivia.
    I have always liked this song, and I think Elvis does a great job of it. I think the guitar sounds fantastic and that low slinky intro is great.
    I actually have no problem with this being Elvis' last recorded vocal, even though there is a bitter irony in the title.
    This song works for me, and I enjoy it a lot.

     
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  20. ClausH

    ClausH Senior Member

    Location:
    Denmark
    Undubbed master

     
  21. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    Not much to say about Little Darlin' other than that I love it and always enjoy hearing it when I play the album. Elvis' little laugh during the "I need you...God, how I need you" part is my favourite part.

    I like how they stuck He'll Have To Go in between two upbeat live songs. It's a jarring change of pace, and somehow it works. That having been said, Elvis doesn't really sell it for me (maybe because he overdubbed the vocal?). I probably shouldn't admit this, but the Prefab Sprout cover is by far my favourite, hitting me in a way that no other version does.

    (Oh, and happy belated birthday, Mark!)
     
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  22. Little Darlin' is simply a fun little song. IMO, it falls in the same vein as Elvis' version of I Can Help. Yeah, he shoulda been doing other, more important stuff yada yada yada but this one always brings a smile on my face.

    He'll Have To Go, I've always liked the Jim Reeves original but Elvis takes it in a slightly different direction and I enjoy the contrast. What strikes me about it is that it's quite long for an Elvis track, clocking in at 4:31.
     
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  23. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Cheers mate
     
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  24. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    I really didn't like it when I heard it on the original album, I thought Elvis' voice was very weak and tinny. But it sounded way better on the JR sessions and I really like that version. Pretty sad when the released version sounds worse than the original.
     
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  25. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    "Little Darlin" Big sigh....

    This can be viewed as either a platform for the mans sense of humor, or a chilling example of how out of control he was those last few months. I think I am inclined to go with the former in this case, as he never really performed a "serious" version of the song. Now, the EIC version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight" for example - totally different story. I recall Larry Gellers book, he claims Elvis shot him a look during that monologue that said to him, "I'm out of control."

    Either way, it's sad RCA had to resort to such desperation tactics to fill out the album.

    JQ
     

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