Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

I'm with you regarding the quality of Back in Memphis - in fact I play it far more than From Elvis in Memphis. An argument could be made that Back in Memphis was Elvis's first Adult Contemporary/easy listening album. It feels very much like a precursor to the likes of That's the Way It Is.

 

Yeah, it sort of is. To me the difference though is that it's not a deliberately-programmed easy listening album since it has some anomalies that really don't fit the concept (most notably Stranger and Jack to a King). I think the easy listening material on Back in Memphis is much inferior to what's on TTWII too.

 

I don't have a problem with the '69 "Blue Suede Shows" (I even like how the horn fanfare segues into the song), but I agree that the arrangements for "All Shook Up" and "Hound Dog" (and "Don't Be Cruel") were suboptimal and contributed to the throwaway treatment these songs eventually received at Elvis's hands in the 1970s. Some oldies work great at hurricane pace (like Elvis's assault on "Johnny B. Goode") but the charm of the Otis Blackwell hits is in their loping rhythm and bouncy structure. That's lost when the songs are rushed.

"Hound Dog" is different, since Elvis's version was fast from the start, but without that "they said you was high class" section the song becomes shapeless and repetitive, and in the '70s it degenerates into a blur. I would also point out that the '69 version "Can't Help Falling in Love" takes too much from Goldenberg's '68 arrangement--primarily its schmaltz. This is a song that should start out quietly and build in a dignified way, but in both arrangements there's too much sugar from the start.

 

I think many fans and non fans thought at the time, Elvis' sound was more Vegas than the sound at the time.

 

Blue Suede Shoes
This track has a bit of bite. The arrangement is a little on the quick side, but to some degree I think Elvis probably felt that he was competing in a music scene that was full of all sorts of heavier faster bands than when he last played live. So I think the natural reaction is to pump it up a bit. Elvis was never going to do heavy metal or hard rock, it wasn't in his nature, but these early shows, it seems like Elvis was fattening the rock songs up with the orchestra and speeding the songs up to be a part of the scene.
I enjoy this more than I thought I would to be honest. Upon dipping my toe in the water of the seventies stuff, I had gotten past the first hurdle of recognising that he had done a lot of great material. The live stuff was another matter. As much as I loved Elvis, I had grown up in an era where Elvis and the suits and the whole Vegas thing was seen as a bit of a joke, and countless Elvis impersonators had made careers out of pretending to be Elvis, and it didn't help that most of them were out of condition older guys that only managed to appear somewhat Elvis like by over emphasising the, to my young eyes, silly clothes and big Elton John style glasses and all this other stuff, that just did not say rock and roll, never mind rock.
When I got around to listening to the live stuff I enjoyed it, but it wasn't how I thought Elvis should have been doing things. It was a cabaret show. Storm through some old hits ... which really screams nostalgia act ... do some love songs and spend most of the time kissing the women in the audience ... it took me a while to actually get past all that. I now enjoy these shows, but there is still a twinge of sorrow about what could have been.
Elvis was a top flight performer. A charismatic person. Even at his least effective, he was a great singer. To see him reduced to this somewhat travelling circus situation was and is quite heartbreaking.
So this is really good, but still hurts my heart.

 

Johnny B Goode
This is really good version of Johnny B Goode and sits well alongside the rock acts of the day, with an exciting quick temp and a genuine rock feel. Elvis powers through the vocal and the song comes off really well.

 

All Shook Up
Although this track is a little quick also, I think it suits in some way. The track selection is dangerously close to being a nostalgia act, so the songs needed to be revamped in some way. So in light of what was being played and what year it is, this is a good version.

 

I like the way that the 1969 shows (and In Person, in particular) get the "big hits" out of the way first. Yeah, they're inferior to the originals, but they're also a lot of fun, and they do a great job of setting up the rest of the show. The first five cuts on In Person do sort of come across as a nostalgia act, but that just makes the "new" songs all the more exhilarating.

 

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

 

I like Elvis' treatment of Johnny B Goode in 1969.

 

Oct 10 1967
Clambake - Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 1 Guitar Man Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
full take with What's I Say Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 2 Clambake Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 3 Who Needs Money Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 4 House That Has Everything Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 5 Confidence Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 6 Hey Hey Hey Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 7 You Don'tKnow Me Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 8 Girl I Never Loved Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 9 How Can You Lose What You Never Had Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 10 Big Boss Man Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 11 Singing Tree Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 12 Just Call Me Lonesome Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Jan 3 1968
Guitar Man/ Hi Heeled Sneakers Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Jan 22 1968
Elvis Golden Records Vol 4 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Feb 27 1968
U.S. Male/Stay Away Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Mar 26 1968
You'll Never Walk Alone/ We Call On Him Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

May 21 1968
Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby/ Let Yourself Go Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

May 26 1968
Speedway Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 1 Speedway Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 2 There Ain't Nothing Like A Song Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 3 Your Time Hasn't Come Yet Baby Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 4 Who Are you Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 5 He's Your Uncle Not Your Dad Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 6 Let Yourself Go Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 7 Your Groovy Self Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 8 Five Sleepy heads Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 9 Western union Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 10 Mine Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 11 Goin' Home Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 12 Suppose Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Sept 3 1968
Almost In Love/A Little Less Conversation Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Oct 29 1968 (two days before my actual birth )
If I Can Dream/ Edge Of Reality Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Oct 1968
SINGER PRESENTS ELVIS SINGING FLAMING STAR AND OTHERS - Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 1 Flaming Star Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 2 Wonderful World Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 3 Night Life Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 4 All I Needed Was The Rain Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 5 Too Much Monkey Business Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 6 Yellow Rose Of Texas/ Eyes Of Texas Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 7 She's A Machine Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 8 Do The Vega Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 9 Tiger Man Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Nov 22 1968
Elvis - NBC TV special - Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
part 1 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
part 2 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
part 3 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
part 4 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
part 5 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Feb 26 1969 Memories/Charro
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Mar 25 1969 His Hand In Mine/ How Great Thou Art
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Mar 28 1969 (rerelease) Flaming Star
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Apr 15 1969 In The Ghetto/Any Day Now
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

June 1969
From Elvis In Memphis Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 1 Wearin' That Loved On Look Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 2 Only The Strong Survive Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 3 I'll Hold You In My Heart Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 4 Long Black Limousine Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 5 It Keeps Right On a Hurtin' Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 6 I'm Movin' On Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 7 Power Of My Love Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 8 Gentle On My Mind Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 9 After Loving You Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 10 True Love Travels On a Gravel Road Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 11 Any Day Now Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 12 In The Ghetto Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

June 17 1969
Clean Up your Own Backyard/The Fair's Moving On Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Aug 26 1969
Suspicious Minds/ You'll Think Of Me Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Oct 14 1969
From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
In Person
track 1 Blue Suede Shoes Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 2 Johnny B Goode Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
track 3 All Shook Up Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties


Misc reference
Press conference Mar 7 1960 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Interview Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Interview Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Interview August 1962 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
interview 72 Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

Rare Footage Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

The missing album "For The Asking" Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties thanks @czeskleba

Ginny Tui Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties
Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

news clipping Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

 

Just to hopefully get it out of my system, in theory the American Studios Sessions could have been an excellent three album set ... although in reality the Elvis market probably would have been too uncertain to issue such a bold album in 1969.

Side one

Stranger In My Own Hometown - 4:23

Any day now - 2:56

Inherit The Wind - 2:56

Mama Liked The Roses - 2:47

Power of my love - 2:37


Side two

Rubberneckin' - 2:12

From A Jack To a King - 2:23

Only the strong survive - 2:46

I'll Be There - 2:21

The Fair's Moving On - 3:09

After loving you - 3:09


Side three

Wearin that loved on look - 2:47

And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind 3:08

It keeps right on a hurtin - 2:38

If I'm a Fool (For Loving You) - 2:43

You'll Think Of Me - 4:01

True love travels on a gravel road - 2:38


Side four

I'm movin on - 2:50

This Is The Story - 2:28

I'll hold you in my heart - 4:34

Do You Know Who I Am 2:49

My Little Friend - 2:50

Hey Jude (completed properly) - 4:31


Side five

Suspicious Minds - 4:29

Poor Man's Gold - 3:10

Don't Cry Daddy - 2:48

Kentucky Rain - 3:14

In the ghetto - 2:57



Side six

Long black limousine - 3:44

Gentle on my mind - 3:22

Who Am I - 3:20

A Little Bit Of Green - 3:21

Without Love - 2:51

 

As to the "nostalgia act" discussion... it would have been unrealistic to expect Elvis to go out and do a show devoted mostly to new material at this point. Every artist who performed live had to do their biggest hits. The problem for Elvis was that he hadn't had any big hits since 1962, so doing his biggest hits meant doing songs that were at least seven years old. But about 40% of his 1969 setlist was "new" material, which was about average for the day. 40% new material is not a nostalgia act to me.

 

It worked for George Harrison with his triple album All Things Must Pass.

Elvis would have had to promote it by appearing on tv shows, going to radio stations and putting the Hilton on hold. Good luck with all that.

 

I merely meant in the presentation of this live album. I'm not saying he was merely a nostalgia act. The live album gives me that feeling. I know he was doing other stuff.
To some degree the live album song choices cornered Elvis into doing these songs, because the album suggested that this was what Elvis live was going to be live.
I hope that makes sense, without going into a fifty paragraph explanation of my thoughts lol

 

As much as I like all thing must pass, this is a way better collection of songs, better arranged ... and just a lot better in every way lol

 

Agreed.

I'm just saying it would have worked for Elvis too, but he needed to get out and promote it and put the Hilton on Hold.

 

Well, the live album isn't quite as oldies-nostalgia-driven as you are suggesting. It's fairly representative of the content of his stage show.

We've got five big hits from his peak (saleswise) 1956-61 era:
Blue Suede Shoes
All Shook Up
Are You Lonesome Tonight
Hound Dog
Can't Help Falling In Love

Four songs that were "new" to Elvis though obviously hits by others:
Johnny B. Goode
I Can't Stop Loving You
My Babe
Words

A medley of a deep cut and a relatively "new" song from a previous album:
Mystery Train / Tiger Man

And two brand-new songs:
In The Ghetto
Suspicious Minds

So only 40% of the live album is well-known big hit oldies. That's not an unreasonable amount and is comparable to what his stage show was like. Live albums typically had the hits... it would have been unusual to do a live album that left off the hits. The follow-up live album On Stage was innovative and unusual in that regard. I think part of what makes this album seem more nostalgia driven that it actually was is that it's front-loaded with the old hits. But that is representative of how his stage show actually was. I think that was a deliberate strategy, to hit the audience with the big hits at the beginning to warm them up with what was familiar, before getting to the newer, less familiar, and more challenging stuff.

 

That's fair... I just wouldn't have done it that way

 

In what way? Do you mean you would have included less oldies and more newer stuff, or do you mean you would have sequenced it differently? One thing I do like about this record is that even though it's a compilation live album, it basically follows the sequence of a real setlist. I wouldn't have liked it if they'd presented the songs in a radically different sequence than what Elvis did onstage. Even though it's a compilation, it's pretty representative of what you'd see if you saw him live.

 

Yea,i like that it is representative of what he was doing. I'm not overly concerned about it being from different nights.
I do understand that to some extent hits were expected ....
It comes down to the fact that although i like the live stuff we did get, i have a certain amout of problem, or reservation, or something along those lines, about the songs chosen to play live.
I think to some degree i have been fairly consistent on this. It's not that i don't think he should have played any fifties stuff ... i just feel it was an anchor holding him back, that became a bore for him, due to the fact it seems he felt he had to play them, or something.
To me Elvis' catalog contained so many great songs, that to a large extent the fifties stuff could (and again, merely my opinion) and should have been minimal.
This was the big Elvis comeback, and in spite of some great sixties songs not being number one hits, that doesn't diminish them in terms of being Elvis classics. In light of it being the big Elvis' comeback i would have liked it to be representative of that comeback.... great late sixties songs that seem all but avoided or ignored. The new album being so obviously briiliant represented by more than a couple of singles, one of which wasn't even on the album. I actually like that Elvis threw on some contemporary hits of others, but the overall lack of representation of his own contemporary hits, leaves the subtle impression that they weren't as good, when in fact they were better...
The fifties had been beautifully honoured in the tv special, and for me should have stayed there.... not totally, as i have said prior, i would have appreciated a medley as a nod of the head to the distant past, but mainly an embracing of where he was now....
There is a cynical little voice in the back of my head saying that the emotional control Parker had on Elvis made him doubt that any of the stuff he had recorded in recent years was good enough... persuaded him that he hadn't done anything worthwhile since the fifties. Goading him into a corner ... i don't know i may be completely off base, and i know I'm rambling a bit, but Elvis ould have sung a set of Monkees songs and the crowd would have still loved it ... i think the way the modern world views Elvis is "famous dude who was a Vegas guy, singing oldies" . Whereas more confidence in his more recent material would have left a considerably different legacy....
I may be completely silly in my thoughts, but as best as I'm able that waffle kind of represents my thoughts on it.

Edit: i also fear that Parker's disdain about Moman and the American experience had a big influence on some of these decisions

 

No doubt about it. 50 years after the fact, it might seem nostalgic to some observers, but in 1969, a considerable amount of the setlist was contemporary and/or new, with the remaining song selections mostly consisting of Elvis own hit catalogue. It was a solid spectrum of his own musical achievements, blues and/or country selections, contemporary radio staples by others, and a sampling of his current material. It was a carefully crafted hour-long concert presentation.

 

I think there are anomolies on all the easy listening albums of the 70s, though. Patch It Up, Mojo Working, etc.

 

Without any doubt at all, the live element of the double album was received with better reviews from critics that pretty much anything he had recorded up to and including that point. The praise was virtually unanimous - only the 1974 live album would come close to such universally good reviews. The same was not true for the Back in Memphis section.

The In Person album might seem flawed to us now, given how it was put together with inserts from shows left, right and centre, but it certainly seemed to deliver at the time, and of course it holds together as an album rather well - providing you don't sit there questioning why comments from this show was added to a song from another etc.

Perhaps both albums in the package should have been live, especially given how many shows RCA had to work with. I certainly wouldn't have gone for a complete show in that format, but the best of all of them could be pulled together to make a very satisfying listen. Certainly, the likes of Heartbreak Hotel, Runaway, Inherit the Wind, This is the Story, Rubberneckin' Reconsider Baby, Baby What You want Me To Do, I Got a Woman, Jailhouse Rock/Don't Be Cruel, Love Me Tender, Funny How Time Slips Away, Yesterday/Hey Jude, and an abridged version of What'd I Say could have been mined for the extra two LP sides (not all would need to be included) - with perhaps including an edited version of the life story monologue as the end track of side 2 or 3 (I always think monologues should be the last track of a side if they are going to be included).

And, given the reviews of the 1969 live album, we can only sit and wonder why RCA didn't do a double LP set of live material from August 1970. On Stage itself is problematic, as it is basically a studio album recorded live - not unlike the album Sammy Davis did with Buddy Rich in 1966 (?) or the one Ella Fitzgerald did which was issued under the title Sunshine of Your Love at the time. Both aimed to create a live studio album, although they used virtually no dialogue between songs (which On Stage could have benefitted from). But a double live album in 1969 would have meant that On Stage wouldn't have been required anyway as the Back in Memphis material could have been released in place of it. Given Parker's penchant for using every scrap of music recorded, it's surprising more of the live material from 1969 and 1970 wasn't used at the time.

 

Yes, Elvis was never an oldies act like so many of his contemporaries and others like The Beach Boys etc. But I would have rather him do whatever older hit he cared to perform with care and respect and do LESS of them than to try to cram in a bare minimum of hits in as little time possible. It is all about quality over quantity for me please.