Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Oct 7, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. PepiJean

    PepiJean Forum Resident

    The soundtrack was also pretty nice.
    That funky bass at thE beginning of the song COH!
     
  2. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Once again, Elvis shows that he was no dummy. He knew he was boxed into this scenario and he was not going to get involved in some protracted litigation over it. But man, you can hear the regret in his voice. I have always said the real problem with Elvis's career is that he was usually the smartest man in the room. Other than some other intelligent people like Jerry Schilling on occasion, Elvis's biggest fault was trusting people that were either sycophants or simply ignorant, and I mean that in the kindest way possible. His own instincts were often good, but his support system was nonexistent for the most part. Kenny Rogers once said you don't have to know all the answers or be the smartest person in the world, but you need to be able ask the right questions to the right person.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2019
  3. Spencer R

    Spencer R Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oxford, MS
    Change of Habit was filmed in the spring of 1969, between the From Elvis In Memphis sessions and the August 1969 Vegas opening, so Elvis was in good shape and looking about as good as he ever did in his entire career.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. Pelvis Ressley

    Pelvis Ressley Down in the Jungle Room

    Location:
    Capac, Michigan
    Lyle Ritz on the record, Carol Kaye on the soundtrack.
     
  5. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    That's not entirely true. Marty Lacker talked about how he was constantly telling Elvis that his publishing setup was hurting him and costing him a chance to have good material, but Elvis wasn't willing to do anything about it. So there's a case where Elvis was receiving good advice but not acting upon it. I think a large part of the problem was who he chose to listen to out of the people around him, rather than that he never got good advice. Another classic example is Elvis' decision to not record at American after 1969, which was based on a lie he was told about Chips Moman. Lacker tried to tell him the story he'd been told about Moman wasn't true, but Elvis chose not to listen.
     
  6. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    A rare legitimate Elvis credit for Carol (in contrast to some of her false claims).
     
  7. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    As I said in my post, you have to ask the right question to the right person. And to be quite honest, I do not always hold everybody's account later of what they did or said to Elvis while he was alive as the gospel. It is in everybody's self interest to put themselves in the best possible light, not that I am saying Marty's account is not accurate, it very well might be.
     
  8. Spencer R

    Spencer R Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oxford, MS
    I recently picked up a used copy of Ginger Alden’s memoir, and her account from the perspective of a young woman entering Elvis’s inner circle in 1976/77 really drives home how sycophantic the Memphis Mafia, Dr. Nick, and the rest of Elvis’s entourage were. Charlie Hodge in particular comes off badly, but no one really comes off well.
     
  9. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    You not only have to ask the right question to the right person, but you have to be willing to listen to the answers you are given and act upon them, and Elvis was not. Elvis did not lack for good advice and he knew mistakes were being made in the management of his career, but most of the time he was unwilling to do anything about it, due to a combination of apathy, fear, loyalty, and habit. As long as the Colonel and Vernon were around Elvis and he was willing to put their advice ahead of anyone else's, it didn't matter what advice he received from anyone else.

    Its important to remember that Alden was only around during the last 9 or 10 months of his life, when most of the original Memphis Mafia had been pushed out of the picture as Elvis became increasingly insular and unwilling to hear anything negative. I don't think guys like Marty Lacker or Red West were sycophants.
     
  10. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Oh you are very mistaken, if you think I let Elvis off the hook. Again, Elvis was also ignorant on many business issues. Again, my gal always reminds me that being ignorant is not necessarily a negative term, it is just a fact that we all are ignorant on certain topics. I for one would be the last person you would want to consult about mechanical issues on your car. Elvis was ignorant on many business issues as well, but I just give him a lot of slack given the way he was raised, the stratospheric rise of his fame and fortune, and the fact that had no "real map to follow," which I think was more or less Tom Petty's description of Elvis's unique path in The Searcher. The fact that Elvis did not always seek the right person out or ask the right question or even choose the right person to listen to is not a revelation to me, Jason. The fact that Elvis got so far and achieved so much, given his circumstances and limited resources that he could draw from his upbringing is the real revelation to me.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2019
  11. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    And considering how unreliable she is, take her account of the period with a grain of salt, or perhaps the entire salt-shaker. The reality is that she was just as self-serving as the others in Elvis’ inner-circle at the time (with the exception of Billy Smith).
     
  12. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    They weren’t.
     
  13. DirkM

    DirkM Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA, USA
    My main memories of Change Of Habit are of a tasteless rape "joke" and a scene where Elvis cures a girl of autism by holding onto her until she finally stops screaming. It's been a while since I saw it, so perhaps the rest of the film is a bit better...

    On the plus side, the music is ace, and
    the ending was refreshingly ambiguous.
     
  14. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Oh man, I forgot about that scene. It is truly amazing how ignorant we were back then on some of these conditions. I have a granddaughter with autism and she is a sweetheart. Wow, I keep using that word ignorant in my posts, but it seems accurate in these contexts. Sometimes people or medical experts just did not not know any better.
     
    mark winstanley, Shawn, DirkM and 2 others like this.
  15. GillyT

    GillyT Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wellies, N.Z
    You missed insecurity. Sam Phillips observed it in Elvis and called him one of the most insecure individuals he'd ever met. I think it's a key factor in nearly all the decisions he made/didn't make. Frustrating as that may be.
     
  16. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I don't disagree with any of the above... we are on the same page about this. But I still do take issue with your earlier comment that "his support system was nonexistent." I think Elvis did have some supportive, non-sycophantic people in his inner circle. And the more important point is that the main reason he didn't have more is by his own choice. Elvis had multiple opportunities to acquire intelligent, experienced, creative advisors, but his invariable pattern was to work with such people briefly (eg Leiber/Stoller, Steve Binder, Chips Moman) and then discard them. Elvis chose not to have a better support system.
     
  17. Well, at least the underwater frogman fight is just as boring as the one in Thunderball.
     
  18. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    I actually said that Elvis's "support system was nonexistent for the most part," and I still stand by that statement 100 percent. When your manager is more concerned with how to pay for his gambling addiction than what is best for your career or ignores your own health issues, I think you are in a rough place. I also mention that there were "other intelligent people on occasion like Jerry Schilling" within his orbit that he could seek out, so really you are picking and choosing points here to argue with me about. I never said there were, "No supportive or non-sycophantic people in Elvis's life." In fact, I said that Elvis' biggest fault was that he often chose to trust people that were sycophants or ignorant. Some of these people were nice guys, like Joe Esposito and perhaps Marty Lacker, but I submit that even they were ill equipped intellectually or savvy enough to go toe to toe with Parker or even give Elvis critical show business guidance. I am not even sure the young Jerry Schilling was able to do this at the time, although I think he might have grown into the job, if he had been given time to observe and learn more before leaving Elvis's orbit.
     
    Dave112 and mark winstanley like this.
  19. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Forgive me not sticking my head in much, a bit crazy at work at the moment.
    Carry on :)
     
    Dave112 and RSteven like this.
  20. EPA4368

    EPA4368 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento CA
    I doubt anyone in Elvis' inner circle, had the business acumen to affect the control Parker had over both Elvis and his father.

    March 22, 1967
    “Easy Come, Easy Go” opens nationally (US), is #50 for the year and domestic gross $1,925,000. I think it was the lowest of Wallis's films, but still not bad.

    When Elvis talked about his movie career in the '72 clip, we know Elvis knew about having no script approval and when he said, "They couldn't pay me all the amount of money in the world, for any self-satisfaction inside", he also knew, the frustration side as well. Although Elvis didn't point any fingers at anyone other than himself, I'll bet Elvis was thinking of Parker. But either way, you can't have it both ways, get a million plus a percentage per film, no script approval and then complain about it.
     
    Iceman08, Shawn, RSteven and 2 others like this.
  21. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Sing you Children
    Written By :
    Gerald Nelson & Fred Burch

    Recorded :

    Paramount Studio Recording Stage, Hollywood, September 28-30, 1966: September 28, 1966. take 22

    This isn't a bad song, but it isn't something to get too excited about. To be honest this EP feels like a step backwards after the post Paradise recovery, I can only assume any big Elvis fans at the time would have been very disappointed after the signs of recovery, prior to this EP.

     
    Lance LaSalle likes this.
  22. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I'll Take Love
    Written By :
    Dolores Fuller & Mark Barkan

    Recorded :

    Paramount Studio Recording Stage, Hollywood, September 28-30, 1966: September 28, 1966. splice take 4 and end part

    This song is probably the best thing on here, and it isn't anything to write home about. We have somewhat of a La Bamba rewrite that has some nice little sections, but It is almost a case of "thank goodness that's over" (the EP) moment for me.

     
    Pelvis Ressley likes this.
  23. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Exactly.
     
    mark winstanley likes this.
  24. I had the C'mon Everybody LP back in the 70's and used to play it quite a lot. Probably why I have an affinity for I'll Take Love. One of my favorite Camden albums.
     
  25. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Well, Sing You Children gets off to a groovy start with that ominous bass guitar and I really like the brass on it once again, but I do believe this might be the least inspired vocals by Elvis I have ever heard on a gospel influenced number. I still like it a little.

    I am with Mark on I'll Take Love. I like the La Bamba beat as well and once again there is some nice piano playing on an Elvis record, but the bad sound sticks out like a sore thumb. Elvis's voice sounds distorted on the soundstage. This EP may have worse sound than the original mix of Harum Scarum or the Frankie & Johnny soundtracks.
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2019
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine