Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies

Fair enough. I love both of those songs.

 

As with Promised Land, Today kicks off with a great uptempo number and then immediately hits the brakes with (imo) an extremely dull song. The spelling gimmick in T-R-O-U-B-L-E shouldn't work, but it does, and though the track doesn't have the energy or toughness of Promised Land, it's much more fun to listen to.

I usually end up skipping And I Love You So if I'm actively listening to the album. I have a high tolerance for cheese, but And I Love You So is too cloying even for me. The unambitious intro and half-baked attempt to kick it up a gear later on just make it worse.

 

I don't mind the 'Today' album, it's a little middle of the road country, admittedly but Elvis seems committed and in fine voice. Also, to me, this album sounds like the most modern and professionally record album Elvis ever put out.
When I came to this album I only knew 'Green, Green Grass Of Home' so it never felt like a 'covers' album at all to me, especially as none of the songs were too familiar (to me anyway) in the UK...

 

Wow, I step away for a couple days and the thread is several pages longer! I don't think I'll play catch-up so as not to derail things but I will say I quite enjoy the Today album. It'll be fun to re-asses over the next couple of days to see if I rank it just above or just below Promised Land.

 

Thank you for reminding me of this. I'm guessing the reverb was added at the matering stage, and that the tapes the mastering engioneer worked from were those with the bass/treble manipulations baked-in. And therefore those early CDs just used the baked-in tapes and not the final LP masters. I've got a few of those rechanneled CDs as I pick them up in the used bins when I see them priced for a couple dollars but there's no way I'd actively seek them out.

 

There was a conversation about ERS or something lol ... you know how it goes

 

They're actually quite collectible. I have the two Golden Records discs but haven't located Elvis Presley or Elvis for a reasonable price.

 

Yeah Fail-tone was not of the "less is more" school that is for sure. He over produced many Elvis songs that would have fared better with a lighter touch.

 

Yeah ERS: Everything Really Sucks.

 

I like And I Love You So. Elvis' vocals are good, but as mentioned the overdubs are just too much. I think Elvis liked backing vocals to his detriment as well. He could have easily not had any for at least 1/2 of his songs that used them. Thankfully the Sun sides did not have them!

 

I seem to remember reading that the tape brand or formula used for the Today sessions did not hold up well. It deteriorated quicker than other brands/formulas typically used.

 

He believed in "less is more", and quite a few masters prove this. But Elvis had the final word with his recordings, and his live shows with a 40+ piece orchestra with additional backup singers, is telling. Elvis liked the overproduction, obviously to me.

 

Yeah Elvis liked it too. His tasted devolved as he got older. The Stutz cars and the bling are evidence of this. He would have fit well into the rapper culture of today.

 

But then again, there's "Danny Boy" from 1976. Can't get sparser than that.

 

I would imagine if Elvis ever had to place a "Help Wanted" ad in the news paper it would be like this:

Wanted: Someone to boost my ego and do whatever I say. Only sycophants and yes men need apply.

 

And it is an outstanding highlight of his post 1970 career. No coincidence.

 

That is simply not true. There is nothing in the historical record to suggest Elvis gave a directive to Jarvis to saturate the master recordings in layers of postproduction orchestration, in part to emulate elements of the live show. Elvis was known to have listened to rough mixes on occasion, but during the 1970’s, Elvis was rarely if ever involved with the production process once he left the recording session, nor was he involved with compiling and sequencing the albums post-1970.

 

Elvis got all the acetates after overdubs...and Graceland and collectors way back many years have known this for fact. Elvis approved. And just like the live touring orchestra plus many backup vocalists, show how Elvis loved the overblown horns and voices. Elvis even packed more sound compared to the original studio masters IIRC....

 

The overdubs employed on the Moman sessions and the June 1970 Nashville sessions work well for the most part. But man, something happened after that! Overdubs should enhance the spirit of the recording not change the character for the worse.

 

And, thankfully I have most of this material as undubbed masters. Yay!

 

The overdubs worked well in 1969-70 cause IMO, were better songs, for the most part. "Burning Love" is another case in point of sparseness, with little but effective, overdubbing with the extra guitar licks and cowbell in Nashville.

 

Considering he was so disengaged with the recording process throughout the 1970s, it is highly unlikely he reviewed the acetates when they arrived. Do you really think he was reviewing the masters for Elvis Now or Elvis (Fool)? He was sent the tapes of Elvis In Concert during the summer of 1977 and never bothered to review them, later giving them away to a fan. But due to your ongoing defense of Felton Jarvis, which has lasted several years, you will continue to blame all the recording mishaps on others, including Elvis, even though Jarvis was the exclusive producer and A&R representative during that period.

 

Here we go again....

 

Oh there are sparse production example sprinkled here and there for sure. It is like that pit bulls and related breeds seem to be the most aggressive and dangerous dogs and whenever that statement is made owners come out of the woodwork stating how loving and wonder their pit bull is. Yeah that is because yours has not attacked anyone YET. I have lost count of how many dogs have bitten me and the owner says "he has NEVER done that before!"

I get mostly two reactions from dogs, either they roll over and expose their belly to me or they bite me. I have been told by pet trainers that I exude an "alpha dog" aura that some dogs surrender to and others want to challenge.

 

Isn't it confirmed that Elvis listened to the masters for Today and ordered them remixed and the bass replaced? I thought that that was why we have the "rough mixes" section on the FTD and Legacy Edition (and imo, the masters are almost always better in this particular instance, with one or two exceptions).