Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

I can see what you're both saying and it is somewhat of a grey area.
Elvis probably could have recorded.
The question is the public perception if he did.

 

That makes sense. The point I was trying to make though, is that regardless of what the Colonel might have said to Elvis, the real reason there were no recording sessions in Germany is because the Colonel didn't want them to happen for reasons of power and control. I believe that if Elvis had been stationed in the US, there would have been more sessions like the June 1958 one. I think they could have framed it in a way that didn't seem negative (eg, "Elvis gives up his furlough time to record more songs for his fans"). What happened worked out well in terms of positively changing Elvis' image, but that was just a side effect of what was at its heart a self-serving decision by the Colonel.

I guess another debate we could have is whether changing his image was ultimately a good thing for Elvis. It made him more acceptable to older fans I suppose, but it probably made him less appealing to some younger ones (most famously, young Mr. John Lennon) because it took away his rebellious, bad-boy appeal.

 

I'm certain that the decisions were to satisfy Parker's needs and control issues.
I just think that it was accidentally helpful for Elvis also.

 

The most successful parasites keep their host alive.

 

That is would be an interesting debate as well. I hate it when I end up in a position of looking like I am defending Tom Parker as he is a man that I have a lot of issues with for the careless and often reckless disregard he often showed for the longterm interests of his one and only client. There are so many issues I have with Parker's greed and unscrupulous business tactics with regard to the management of Elvis's career, but I just do not want my contempt for the man to blind my interpretation of events to the point that I try to rewrite those events to fit my feelings I have about the man now. I just want to review these events as accurately and objectively as I possibly can, because I think we have all done an exemplary job on this thread of analyzing some of the most important events surrounding the career of one of the most iconic and singularly great artists in popular music history.

 

Yes, just because one does not like someone does not mean that someone can't be right sometimes. It takes a certain sophistication to appreciate that.

 

Thanks Skatter, I appreciate your comment a great deal.

 

I have a question about Elvis' business relationship to Colonel Parker. When Elvis originally signed with Parker or to say his father since Elvis was not yet 21 years old, how long was the term of the agreement? Did he sign up with Parker again on more than one occasion after this? Hopefully someone might know.

 

I think a contract was signed in 1967, but I'm not sure.

 

Suspicious Minds



Written By :
Mark James

Recorded :
American Studios, Memphis, January 13-16 and 20-23, 1969: January 23, 1969. take 8

Elvis' primary producer Felton Jarvis made the unusual decision to add a premature fade-out to the song starting at 3:36 and lasting for 15 seconds before fading back in. The first verse then continues repeatedly until it completely fades out. In a 2012 interview with Marc Myers of The Wall Street Journal, Moman disclosed that Jarvis was never happy with Elvis recording at American Sound Studio, saying "it was a control thing." Moman added, "So when Jarvis took the tape of 'Suspicious Minds,' he added this crazy 15-second fade toward the end, like the song was ending, and brought it back by overdubbing to extend it. I have no idea why he did that, but he messed it up. It was like a scar. None of which mattered. Soon after the song was released, Elvis was back on top of the charts."[2]

Personnel

• Elvis Presley – vocals
• String and horn arrangements – Glen Spreen
• Reggie Young – electric guitar
• Bobby Emmons – Hammond organ
• Mike Leech – bass guitar[13]
• Gene Chrisman – drums

Overdubbed

• Wayne Jackson, Dick Steff, R.F. Taylor – trumpets
• Ed Logan, Jack Hale, Gerald Richardson – trombones
• Donna Thatcher, Toni Wine, Dolores Edgin, Mary Greene, Ginger Holladay, Mary Holladay, Millie Kirkham, Sonja Montgomery, June Page, Susan Pilkington, Sandy Posey – backing vocals

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With Elvis' Career being so successful for so long, it is a hard one to state, but Suspicious Minds may well be Elvis' signature song...
Certainly it was Elvis last mega hit in the US. This song seems to have a bit of a life of its own, and I know many people that refer to the song as Caught In A Trap ...
Just about everything about this song is perfect.
Apparently Mark James came down to the studio during the recording sessions, but felt that Elvis was uncomfortable with him being there, so he left. When he heard the original recording he thought the song was a bit too slow. When he heard the finished overdubbed version, apparently he was blown away. In later years, whenever Elvis saw James he would cross the room to say hello.
This is the song that caused controversy and friction with Parker and the management team. The management team wanted half the publishing credits, Moman called them thieves ... eventually common sense kicked in and the representative came to the conclusion that this was going to be big, and there would be enough to go round. It is also put forward that Elvis stepped in and made sure that his sessions at American Sound weren't compromised by this situation, because Moman was ready to pull the pin.
Anyway
This track starts with an iconic little guitar riff that tells most anybody instantly what song is starting. The vocals come in and then at the end of the first line we have strings gently colour the space and the beat kicks in. At the end of the chorus that driving beat drops out again for the first line, during which the strings hover waiting to burst out, but the link is filled with some horns this time, and it is a beautiful punctuation. The strings and horns colour this song beautifully, as do the backing vocals... I know many aren't fond of these overdubs, but I like them ... I look at it this way. I like the undubbed version as a great sketch, and I like the dubbed version as a masterful painting full of colour and depth ... both have value.
After the second verse we have something very different, and I don't know if it was part of the original song, or how common it was to do, or whose idea it was ... but the bridge comes in very as a very slow piece of music, completely unrelated to the rest of the song.... The body of the song is a fairly quick 4/4, and the bridge drops in as a pretty slow 6/8, and as awkward as it sounds on paper, it is executed brilliantly and for me has always been the thing that stands this song up above an average pop song.
Felton's Fade
Moman's opinion is that Jarvis was jealous of the American Sessions, and that he sabotaged the song ... he used the phrase that Jarvis left the song with a scar. That certainly seems altogether possible, as there were certainly tensions in the Elvis camp about Elvis recording with someone that obviously wasn't going to toe the party line and submit to that teams demands ... In reality it seems in hindsight, that exactly what Elvis needed was a no nonsense producer that would push him to get the best out of him, wouldn't accept second rate songs because of some ridiculous publishing rights (at the end of the day, a crap song isn't going to sell, so publishing is pretty much redundant) Moman was a great thing for Elvis, and it remains a tragedy to me that they never worked together again.
From Jarvis' perspective, the story is that he was trying to recreate the live scenario where Elvis would bring the band down in volume and then erupt again, and live it was very effective. Without the actual dynamics of a band actually doing that, I'm not sure how successful that really is, but I don't hate the version that we have.

Anyhow, to me, even in spite of probably be overplayed, this song still stands up as an absolute classic. Mark James can be proud of the song he wrote, and Moman and Presley did a remarkable job of interpreting that song, and it still stands as a classic

 

We will be going through some live stuff at some point, but in the off chance that someone has never heard the live version, here you go.


We can see quite clearly how much Elvis enjoyed doing this early on, sadly he would become tired of it and this marvellous enthusiasm and performance would fade. In some live recordings he even states how sick he is of playing the song.

 

You'll Think Of Me


Written By :
Mort Shuman

Recorded :
American Studios, Memphis, January 13-16 and 20-23, 1969: January 14, 1969. take 23

You'll Think of Me is the b-side and it is coming up on the next album. So we will give it a run down when we hit it there.

 

Oh man, Suspicious Minds...one of those songs that I loved from the start (this was even before I was into Elvis), and one that I still love just as much now. I'm burned out with most of Elvis' hits, but this one still knocks me out every time. Everything about it is perfect, from that opening riff to that amazing first line to the soaring chorus to (yes) the false fade. As far as A-sides go, this is the Elvis single for me. You'll Think Of Me is a great Elvis performance as well, but it works best on BIM, imo. On the single, it gets overshadowed by an absolute masterpiece.

Apart from the studio master, I'm also partial to the rehearsal and take 6 as heard on Memphis Sessions (wonderful warm sound, and it's magical to hear Elvis go from experimenting with the song to outright singing it), and the live version on In Person is just extraordinary. The undubbed version on The Memphis Record (supposedly as close to Moman's preferred version as we have?) is an interesting curio, but it has none of the single's power for me. Finally, the Mark James version is pretty good on its own terms, but what it really shows is how Elvis could take an already-great song/arrangement/performance and somehow make it even better:

 

I've always wondered about that fade at the end and now I know. I'm used to it now as part of the song but it does seem odd that it was done as it was recorded because it could have been added at any time in post production when overdubbing was being done as an effect. I love the song even though it gets played to death on radio.

 

Suspicious Minds is a tremendous song, another one where I feel Elvis 'is' the character in the song, saying those words to his partner. Mark, to carry on your thoughts on the song's musical structure, I LOVE the hard Em chord that starts off the 'Oh let our love survive...' section. Elvis would have a bit of fun with this part on occasion in concert, doing a bit of dramatic stage movements right at that point. So cool.

I've heard a large number of cover versions of the Elvis performance and no one seems to ever get that opening Reggie Young guitar part just right, like he played on the 45.

 

The version from the original cut of That's The Way It Is.

 

Another interesting thing about all this to me is that this is fifteen years into Elvis' amazing career.
He exploded onto the scene in Memphis in 1954, and then absolutely exploded onto the world scene in 1956. He was huge, in a way that nobody prior was. The whole foundation of modern music seems to be built on what started in 1956, and that isn't to say that there weren't any other important figures in the early rock and roll scene.
He went into movies, and for all the disappointments from Elvis' perspective and from the fans perspective musically, he was a huge success there also. This set the stage for those who followed, as much criticism as it appears John Lennon has for Elvis movie years, he didn't stop the Beatles from following in Elvis' footsteps.
As we know from the thread, Parker, Rca and the movie companies milked this cow til it was bleeding and the hemorrhage seemed like it may be terminal. Through a series of good decisions, that had Elvis for once rebelling against his oppressors (which for this particular man was a hard thing to do, as it went against his nature) he managed to get his real self back in the spotlight for what he was unarguably good at, and he hit the ball out of the park. The tv show was a success and showed everyone this guy was actually a musician, and not just the pretty prop used to sell product. The Memphis sessions showed that this guy could still sing up a storm in a way all his own.
This single sealed the deal and went gangbusters. The album should also have gone gangbusters, but life doesn't always work like that. In spite of all the power brokers doing their best to ruin Elvis' career, he had the fortitude, if only for a short time to fight back and this was the result.
It gets tiring punching an immovable object, and most times good manners and a friendly nature will be crushed by the wheels of business, but Elvis managed to stand up long enough to deliver the goods in spades here, and it is a remarkable feat when you consider the odds against him.
This was one of the most successful comebacks, against the odds (his management, business, the change in the music scene and culture) that there has ever been. This was the pinnacle, the crowning moment, and well deserved.

 

Chips Moman would re-use the Mark James backing track for B.J. Thomas's version a year later, complete with looped ending.

 

Suspicious Minds is definitely overplayed, and yet it never gets old.

 

The 1969 live arrangements, as well as Elvis' execution, are superior to 1970:

 

Never knew that. Strange.

 

I so appreciate your analysis and expertise as a musician here, reviewing and commenting here with great deftness on the complicated, but brilliant arrangement by Chips Moman and Glen Spreen. Reggie Young is playing an electric guitar borrowed or gifted from Scotty Moore, if I am remembering this correctly (Someone please correct me if I have this wrong as I cannot seem to find my original source for this tidbit), and he and Mike Leech's propulsive bass line provide all the musical hook you need or want for the super-charged rhythmic ballad. String and horn arranger Glen Spreen was of the impression that Mark James's voice on the original demo was "Too pretty, too lacking in rough edges, " and he went on to say that "Elvis he felt, would be able to add the missing element of passion," to the song. He was correct.

I am right with you here on every single point you make, right down to the controversial false fade-out that Chips Moman believed was a direct shot across his bow from Felton Jarvis. I too fell in love with this iconic signature hit song, long before I became a complete Elvis enthusiast. I still think it is probably his greatest hit single A side release in his entire career. Stupendous. Oh yeah, the B side ain't too shabby either.

 

As a sidenote.
When I was a puppy I misheard the words, and it seems silly now, but
I always heard it like this "We can't go on together, with suspicious minds, and we can't build our dreams on suspicious mountains"
I guess the phrasing tricked my puppy dog ear, and now I don't hear it, but when I was younger than ten, somewhere in the deep dark past, that's what I thought the words were.

 

SUSPICIOUS MINDS / YOU'LL THINK OF ME

OK, SUSPICIOUS MINDS was / is / will always be a stone classic recorded by the King at his very very very best. From that rocking intro to that soulful bridge and then until the last repetitions of the chorus, everything is plain perfect. Rock and Soul blend effortlessly, the band is tight, the arrangement is tastefull and Elvis' voice (including some beautiful harmonies) is at full blast. It's a winner from the very first second and it has become a Rock anthem since then. The best live version? Well those 1969 versions are pretty awesome, true rockers. I always go back to them (specially the one on the Double disc set "Viva Las Vegas" with the full show from August 21st 1969) and I tend to forget the rest (although the original "That's the Way it is" performance - with those stupid zome-in/zoom out - is fun to watch.)

So with such a landmark on SIDE A, it was pretty difficult to live up to it on B. But you know what? YOU'LL THINK OF ME actually did it. OK, it's got only one - tiny - flaw: it's a product of its time. I mean, YOU'LL THINK OF ME is very 1969. SUSPICIOUS MINDS is timeless. For the rest, Mort Schuman last composition for Elvis is plain wonderful. Again, there is a great intro and then, it starts to build and build and build. It goes from Country Folk to Soul in a very elegant way and Elvis voice and phrasing are nothing but sublime. The backing vocals are also top, very soulful again. The whole thing is another American Sound Studios masterpiece. Chips Moman was damn right to feel proud of such amazing recordings.

At the end, SUSPICIOUS MINDS / YOU'LL THINK OF ME represents in my own opinion Elvis' very best single since the legendary LITTLE SISTER / HIS LATEST FLAME released back in 1961.
1969: what another beautiful era to be an Elvis fan!

 

Another stellar description of Elvis's signature hit song, and I agree with you wholeheartedly about it being his best overall single since the double sided smash of Little Sister/His Latest Flame.