Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies

I'll echo what everyone else says about this song. Really nice arrangement, and in particular I LOVE the drumming and how it seems to be trying to loosen up the seriousness of the song. It seems like it wouldn't fit, but it fits perfectly. I had forgotten who it was, so I went and checked and was surprised to see it was the great Kenny Buttrey, who played on Harum Scarum but is probably best-known for his work with Dylan, including the incredibly clever drum work on Lay Lady Lay. He does an brilliant job here.

I cut Christmas music a lot of slack, but if I'm objective I'd have to say this is probably the worst track on the record, primarily because of Elvis' vocal. He pitches it way too high, and his voice sounds strained and weak. And as you noted, mixing the backing vocals so high only underscores the impression that he's struggling here.

 

My favorite version by Elvis on O Come All Ye Faithful is the alternate version that can only be found on the hard to find 1984 CD compilation Merry Christmas. If I am correct, it is a composite of the master and take 3 with that great guitar lick that James Burton throws in before the very last verse, but it also has the additional string and horn overdubs on it as well. I really dig Kenneth Buttery and Larry Londin's drum and percussion work on the song too, which I should have mentioned earlier. I hope @ClausH can come in here and correct me if I have anything wrong about the creation of this rare version of O Come All Ye Faithful as he is the true expert on these matters for this great thread.

Elvis Presley - Oh Come All Ye Faithfull (alternate version) - YouTube

 

It sometimes scares me how much we think alike on these things when we are on the same page, which is fairly often it would seem. Apparently, we were both writing about the great drumming of Kenneth Buttery at exactly the same time.

 

His reading of Silver Bells is pretty weak as well.

 

That version is also available on this cd.
Elvis Presley - Memories Of Christmas

The sound is quite loud and compressed in the video, but it's definitely the same version.

 

Memories of Christmas as a couple "rarities" on it. But its greeting from Elvis on Silent Night has plagued so many Elvis Christmas compilations since, replacing the clean Silent Night master.

 

Edited by Dick Bogert and Joan Deary, a composite of takes 1 (master) and 2. There wasn't a take 3.

 

Thanks Pelvis, my mistake and I had the FTD right in front of me when I wrote the post. I really should use my reading glasses more often.

 

I have to admit that the Kentucky Rain tie in blows my mind. I also have to say that the "smothering her with a pillow" comment creates a bit of dark comedy when I think of the disembodied female voice in the background while he's singing "sleep my love" and she just won't die. Lol

 

And I wouldn't mind but the intro behind that greeting is from 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' anyway...

 

Yup, that message was original recorded in 1967 for the radio christmas special. BMG used it for the first time on the 1994 cd If Every Day Was Like Christmas and that version was used on Christmas compilation for more than ten years. The message wasn't used anymore but BMG/Sony simply removed the message without realizing that the piano intro to Silent Night was missing. That version was used on Christmas Peace from 2003 and Elvis Christmas from 2006 so stay away from those.
Here is the complete message.

 

It is things like leaving off the piano intro to Silent Night that REALLY tells me the people in charge are not Elvis experts. What? Have they never heard the original LOC-1035, LPM-1951 or the original Camden Christmas album before? Stunning.

What is interesting the 50s economy reissue box from the UK lists the medley of the Greetings and Silent Night, but the proper Silent Night actually plays on the disc.

 

Some idiot edited out the finger snap on White Christmas too on many releases.

 

On A Snowy Christmas Night
Written By :
Stanley Gelber

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, May 15-21, 1971: May 16, 1971.

This track starts with a really pretty melodic line.
Elvis does a pretty good job of this, and it is a pleasant song.

 

Winter Wonderland
Written By :
Dick Smith & Felix Bernard

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, May 15-21, 1971: May 16, 1971. take 10

This is one of those Christmas classics I guess, although in Australia it was always weird singing or hearing a song like this around Christmas when it is 115 degrees. This is a very serviceable version of the song. The guitar is pretty good. Elvis goes for the big wind up finish to give it a small twist in the tail.

 

A Christmas song of gratitude. When we have snow on Christmas, I like to play this one at the end of the day.

 

Winter Wonderland is one of my favorite winter songs. I like the heavier feeling of the bass and drums in this version. James Burton gets to shine here. I almost expect to hear Ricky Nelson's voice come in after the break. I like the chimes or bells in the mix. The big ending is OK with me. We get some more JB, some piano chords and drum to end it off.

 

On A Snowy Christmas Night is one of the many highlights on the album. Elvis sounds impassioned on the 'give thanks...' lytric, very nice. As Ace24 mentioned, this song is wonderful to hear when snow is falling on Christmas Eve/Christmas day.

I know Winter Wonderland isn't appreciated by many, but it's a nice, breezy cover with (as Mark stated) a nice guitar part. And yes, I get a smile on my face with the rave-up ending

 

Sorry for going out of sequence here, but this morning I had time to listen to the whole album, and it’s such a strange set of songs. I like the traditional Christmas classics such as The First Noel, Winter Wonderland, and Silver Bells, but Elvis doesn’t seem fully engaged with these songs. It’s still Elvis, and it’s still fun to listen to him sing these songs, but none of them are great.

On the other hand, Elvis sinks his teeth into It Won’t Seem Like Christmas Without You, because, I think, it’s just as much of a heartbreak ballad of the sort he would increasingly be drawn to in the 70s (Always On My Mind, Separate Ways, etc.) as it is a Christmas song. I’ll Be Home For Christmas likewise seems to be as much a meditation on Elvis’s fame and his relationship with his roots as Long Black Limousine or Stranger In My Home Town as it is a Christmas somg, and draws another heartfelt performance from Elvis. Merry Christmas Baby turns into a smoldering blues that is right in Elvis’s wheelhouse, yet another example of how the oddest songs could provide a vehicle for Elvis’s greatness. If Every Day Was Like Christmas is kind of like If I Can Dream in that Elvis finds something in a hokey set of lyrics that he takes deadly seriously: “why can’t every day be like Christmas / why can’t that feeling go on endlessly?” strikes me as a metaphor for the central problem of Elvis’s life once he became a superstar as a teenager: when you live in a heightened reality much of the time, how do you deal with the ordinary days and moments?

 

It is amazing to me that Elvis found so many fine and original Christmas songs for this album, and I agree with you that On A Snowy Christmas Night is one of this albums many highlights. I suppose sone people could find Elvis's voice a little too melancholy or disinterested on this album, but to me personally, it reflects the reflective nature of most of the material. I also really like Elvis's deepening vibrato with some occasional use of his upper register, which stands out all the more because of the former. I know this emerging deeper baritone is not for everybody, and I am not saying it is superior to whatever came before it, but I still enjoy its unique beauty and warmth.

I would not say that Elvis's unique take on Winter Wonderland is one of my favorite versions of this Christmas standard, but it is one of the most original. He starts out with a sort of country-shuffle that George Strait would be proud of before he ends it with a kind of burlesque stripper ending that he would use later on his great take of Billy Swan's I Can Help in 1975 for his Today album. It always puts a smile on my face as well, and I should add that James Burton's guitar licks are pretty great too.

 

I pretty much totally agree with this

 

It is shameful. There is no excuse for a major label to release material with these mistakes today since there are many experts that can be consulted for fact and mix details. This holds especially true for artists like Elvis and The Beatles. The fans will catch the errors immediately upon release so why not consult the expert fans during the process?

 

I agree. If you want to know something, ask a fan. The Execs do not have a clue.

There was somewhat of a ****storm when The Complete Masters came out, as there was with The Album Collection.

 

Jorgensen writes: After two more takes of “I’ll Be Home On Christmas Day,” they went on to cut “On A Snowy Christmas Night” and “Winter Wonderland.” Now, though, Chris Arnold witnessed how quickly things could change. Elvis had lost interest, repeatedly breaking into old favorites; finally he said flat out that he hated “Winter Wonderland” and proceeded to prove it with a lifeless rendition.

I have to agree. Boring song, boring rendition.

 

This is the Robert Goulet of Elvis Presley recordings. if I had a gun, I'd shoot the turntable to.

why oh why did this Man of mine, with such magnitude and multitude of talent have to do this crap consistently and over and over (especially in the soundtracks and later years) is beyond mystery.