Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies

Until It's Time For You To Go
We Can Make The Morning
(US) RCA 74-0619
Released: January 4, 1972



In 1972, Elvis Presley recorded the song which peaked at #40 on the US Hot 100, and #9 on the US Easy Listening chart.
Again these songs were the lead single from the forthcoming album, so we will go through them on the album.
At least management and the record company had gotten in the habit of having a lead single from the album, to at least give the album some kind of advertisement.
One can only wonder how well From Elvis In Memphis would have done had they adopted this method when he was recording those albums. Also obviously the early sixties albums too, which were great albums but not announced with singles, we had separate singles and the albums seemed somewhat ignored.
It seems like the one really good thing that the movies soundtracks did was lead Elvis' management to realise, even if delayed, that lead singles help sell records.

 

ELVIS NOW (LP)
(US) RCA LSP 4671
Released: February 1972



Studio album by
Elvis Presley
Released February 20, 1972
Recorded January 22, 1969 – June 8, 1971
Genre Rock, country
Length 31:34
Label RCA Records
Producer Felton Jarvis; Chips Moman ("Hey Jude")

Elvis Now is the sixteenth studio album by American singer Elvis Presley, released on February 20, 1972. The only single from the album, "Until It's Time for You to Go" / "We Can Make The Morning" reached number 9 on the Adult Contemporary Chart in the US in March 1972 and number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1972. The album was certified Gold on March 27, 1992, by the RIAA. "Sylvia" became a hit for Elvis in Brazil in the 1970s.

Despite the "now" in the title, the tracks on this album were recorded anywhere from one to three years before its release. The Beatles' "Hey Jude" was a leftover from the sessions at the American Studio in Memphis in early 1969. "Sylvia" and "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago" were recorded during the Nashville sessions of June 1970 (the latter had been released in fragmentary form on the Elvis Country album). The rest of the songs were from more recent sessions held at RCA Studio B in Nashville in March, May, and June 1971.

Unlike Elvis' other albums of that period (Elvis Country, He Touched Me and Elvis sings The Wonderful World of Christmas, each dedicated to a particular genre) Elvis Now encompasses a variety of genres, including country, gospel, soul and pop.

In 2010 an extended version of the album was released as part of the FTD collector series. It consists of the original 1972 album and a number of bonus tracks, originating from the 1971 Nashville sessions: two non-album singles from 1971 ("I'm Leavin'" and "It's Only Love"), a B-side from the upcoming "An American Trilogy" single ("The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face") as well as plenty of outtakes, including "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" informal jam, lasting more than nine minutes (its shortened version having been included on the 1973 Elvis album).

• Elvis Presley - lead vocals; acoustic rhythm guitar on "Hey Jude," "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago," and "Sylvia"
• James Burton - lead guitar
• Norbert Putnam - bass
• Chip Young - rhythm guitar
• Charlie Hodge - acoustic rhythm guitar
• David Briggs - piano
• Jerry Carrigan - drums, percussion on "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread," "We Can Make the Morning," and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"
• Charlie McCoy - harmonica on "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago" and "Early Morning Rain"; organ, percussion, or harmonica on "Sylvia" and "Miracle of the Rosary"; organ on "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Put Your Hand in the Hand," and "Until It's Time For You To Go"
• Kenneth Buttrey - drums on "Until It's Time For You To Go," "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)," "We Can Make the Morning," and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"
• Reggie Young - lead guitar on "Hey Jude"
• Bobby Wood - piano on "Hey Jude"
• Bobby Emmons - organ on "Hey Jude"
• Tommy Cogbill - bass on "Hey Jude"
• Mike Leech - bass on "Hey Jude"
• Gene Chrisman - drums on "Hey Jude"
• Joe Moscheo - piano on "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)"
• Glen Spreen - organ on "Until It's Time For You To Go"

Side one[4]
1. "Help Me Make It Through the Night" Kris Kristofferson May 16, 1971 2:49
2. "Miracle of the Rosary" Lee Denson May 15, 1971 1:52
3. "Hey Jude" John Lennon, Paul McCartney January 22, 1969 4:31
4. "Put Your Hand in the Hand" Gene MacLellan June 8, 1971 3:17
5. "Until It's Time for You to Go" Buffy Sainte-Marie May 17, 1971 3:59
Side two
1. "We Can Make The Morning" Jay Ramsey May 20, 1971 3:56
2. "Early Mornin' Rain" Gordon Lightfoot March 15, 1971 2:57
3. "Sylvia" Geoff Stephens, Les Reed June 8, 1970 3:18
4. "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)" Johnny Mercer, Rube Bloom May 18, 1971 3:18
5. "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago" adapted and arranged by Elvis Presley June 4, 1970 3:12

2010 FTD
11. "I'm Leavin'"
12. "It's Only Love"
13. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
14. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" (unedited master)
15. "Help Me Make It Through The Night" (takes 8-10)
16. "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)" (takes 11, 12 & 14)
17. "Lady Madonna"

1. "Help Me Make It Through The Night" (takes 1-3)
2. "Early Mornin' Rain" (Takes 1, 2 & 9)
3. "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)" (takes 5 & 6)
4. "Until It's Time For You To Go" (takes 1-5)
5. "I'm Leavin'" (take 1)
6. "It's Only Love" (takes 1-4)
7. "I Shall Be Released"
8. "It's Only Love" (takes 6 & 7)
9. "Help Me Make It Through The Night" (takes 4-7)
10. "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)" (takes 8 & 9)
11. "Put Your Hand In The Hand" (take 1)
12. "It's Only Love" (takes 8 & 9)
13. "Miracle Of The Rosary" (take 1)
14. "Until It's Time For You To Go" (takes 6 & 7)
15. "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)" (take 10)
16. "Early Morning Rain" (take 11)
17. "Help Me Make It Through The Night" (take 15)
18. "I'm Leavin'" (takes 2 & 3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think we already have a reasonable idea of how folks feel about this album, and certainly it is a weaker album.
I don't think the album is a complete right off by any means, but there are a couple of poor song choices and also so less than inspired performances, but I still find this album to be enjoyable, if not classic Elvis.
Perhaps it is just some kind of nostalgia in me, but I can happily listen to this album, even if it is not in my first line of albums to reach for.
To some degree I get the impression Elvis was starting to get somewhat jaded by the whole ever circling carnival he was involved with, and the result was a going through the motions scenario that was somewhat reflection of the way he felt towards the end of the movie years. This attitude certainly wasn't helped by his ever growing prescription medication problems and the end result is a disappointment to fans really.
There is some good stuff here, but it starts to become a little thin on the ground. I get the impression that a lot of these songs are going to have their detractors, and that's understandable, but lets see how we go.

What are your feelings about this album? (he asks with minor trepidation )

Cheers
Mark

 

Elvis actually recorded the song in 1971. But it was released in 1972.

 

Yea, unfortunately the release schedule of Elvis songs always seemed a little erratic.
We will get into more detail as we go through the songs.

 

Elvis Now fails for me because of 'Miracle of the Rosary' being track 2 and 'Hey Jude' track 3. We get a tolerable opener followed by these. Falls almost at the starting post in my opinion. The rest of it is only tolerable and I much prefer side 2 but even then it's all a bit pedestrian, a bit middle of the road.
Thing is, it plays like an album that has been thrown together, simply because it is...

 

What sticks in my mind about "Elvis Now" is how, when I first tried to go catalog with Elvis, (way back before I discovered--and could afford--FTD reissues, not to mention Amazon/Ebay) this album was something of a white whale, as it contained "Sylvia", which was otherwise only available on the 3-disc "That's The Way It Is" deluxe edition. It was a satisfying experience to finally found a used copy of "Now" on CD.

What the album ultimately made me realize is the extent to which the Presley catalog was rehabilitated in the early 90's. I'm not as inclined to fault Elvis, or even Tom Parker, as much as I'm willing to question RCA's marketing strategy, which seemed to target truck stop cassette racks rather than actual record stores. As a result, even when the material was good, it was plagued by stupid editorial choices (adding canned applause to "Bridge Over Troubled Water", splicing snippets of "I was Born 10,000 Years Ago," etc.) The practice of Elvis recording multiple albums at marathon sessions was also resulting in diminishing returns, although his growing apathy in 1971 may well have been his annoyance at recording a Christmas album on demand.

The question of whether "Elvis Now" could have been a better album at the time it was released would probably require figuring out exactly what recordings were in the can at the time. For all that, however, the album (probably) never struck me as an "odds and sods"-style compilation; even if three of the ten tracks apparently originated as spontaneous studio performances. I say "probably" because even though I generally enjoy Presley's 1970's studio material--which I was mostly introduced to via the "Walk A Mile In My Shoes" boxed set--I often find it hard to differentiate between "Now" and "Fool" and "Today" and "Good Times" without looking at the track list. Even the photos on the album covers all tend to look the same.

I don't think that "Elvis Now" is a bad album as it is. "Sylvia", it turns out, is not a great song, but that's not Presley's fault. I wonder if it's still hard to find?

 

I can't disagree with that.
And yes they are the two low points for me.... I just don't understand why Hey Jude was included... I don't know why somebody didn't give Elvis a lyric sheet after the first couple of takes ... How hard would it have been? ...... Bizarre

 

Even though I love Sylvia and like some of the other songs on Elvis Now, the album itself isn't enjoyable at all for me. The sequencing is terrible, and they should have found slots for songs like Rags To Riches, The Sound Of Your Cry, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, and I'm Leavin'. Heck, even throw in the edited Lady Madonna jam as a bonus track (or as a daring opening number). It still wouldn't be a great album, but it could have been a pretty good one.

 

This is a very poorly titled LP or it's a sarcastic one. As a whole, a mediocre compilation of leftovers. I agree 100% with DirkM that this could have been improved with some material from previous singles. "Hey Jude", if it was to be released during his lifetime, should have been released in A Legendary Performer series album with the explanation that it was really an unfinished outtake. It does have some highlights for me.
Put Your Hand In The Hand, Until It's Time For You To Go, Early Morning Rain, and Fools Rush In are all favorites of mine. "I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago" is not bad but my view of this song is tainted from being cut up between tracks on Elvis Country (cringe factor) and it helps to remind me of a much more superior album to this one.

 

I must admit though, I think the 'Elvis Now' cover is cool...

 

Agree. Very cool pose, lighting, and jumpsuit.

 

"NOW" is one of the weaker releases from the 70's Elvis. The title does not fit as the LP is mixed bag of tracks recorded from 1969 (3 years earlier!) to 1971. The music itself is not the most exciting (Pop, Mor, Country & Western, some sacred compositions and a little touch of Folk here and there) and the sequencing is terrible: even the best songs get lost in such a mishmash of genres. Side A is particularly depressing. Side B is not much better, even FOOLS RUSH IN - the only Rocker - is tame and lifeless. Again, one song stands out: the laidback rendition of EARLY MORNING RAIN has got the right mood and Charlie McCoy's harmonica is almost hypnotic. All the rest is from average to boring and dull. The front cover is the archetype of most the following Elvis cover arts from that last decade.

"Now"

Side A
1- HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT ... 7/10
2- MIRACLE OF THE ROSARY ... 2/10
3- HEY JUDE ... 3/10
4- PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND ... 6/10
5- UNTIL IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO GO ... 3/10

Side B
1- WE CAN MAKE THE MORNING ... 4/10
2- EARLY MORNING RAIN ... 8/10
3- SYLVIA ... 4/10
4- FOOLS RUSH IN ... 5/10
5- I WAS BORN ABOUT 10.000 YEARS AGO ... 6/10

 

Am I correct in saying that this 1994 disc is the best Elvis compilation to get? It seems that way, even down to the sequencing. I think the only thing missing is the live Christmas tunes from 1968, and of course the long Merry Christmas Baby, right?

Funnily enough, so did Billy Idol on his Christmas album.

Yes, really. Same exact Elvis arrangement:

This just gave me nightmares of Elvis doing Frosty the Snowman.

Thanks for this! I've only ever heard the BB King version:
Bringing In A Brand New Year

This might be the greatest Christmas song in the Elvis catalog. Maybe.

Keith Flynn indicates this is the FTD version:
https://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/710515.html
Is the problem with the "full" FTD version that it in fact contains the overdubs as well as the full length track?

 

There was maybe half an album of material to work with. How anyone involved was content with the final product is astounding. Parker didn’t care as long as product was delivered under the terms and obligations of the RCA contract, Jarvis backed himself into a professional corner by becoming Elvis’ employee and therefore could not demand that Elvis properly complete the album, RCA put itself at the mercy of Tom Parker and accepted whatever was delivered, and Elvis had lost virtually lost all interest in recording a viable album. The end result was a careless grab-bag album lacking cohesion.

 

I like most of Elvis’s 70s material, I fundamentally like the heartbreak ballads and MOR/adult contemporary material, but I find Until It’s Time For You To Go and We Can Make The Morning to be such weak songs that not even Elvis can redeem them.

 

My issue with Elvis Now is that I think of this when I see the front cover.

 

Yes, it's sort of a Frankensteined creation. They took the edited album version (with the overdubs) and then spliced onto it the part that had had been cut from the original recording. The two parts have notably different mixes.

 

That was the issue. I remember now. Yikes. I think there is a full take, uh, *cough* circulating.

 

Now! might be my least favorite non-soundtrack studio Elvis LP (although Fool is right there too). We'll discuss the virtues of each track as we get into it, but I'm fond of only a few of them. At least the FTD adds the appropriate bonus content that should have been on the LP in the first place.

 

Yea, I shake my head at many of the decisions made.
When looking at what they used and what they could have used, it becomes quite bewildering.

 

Was Felton over-stressed and under-qualified to be in the position he was?
Was he pressured by Parker to make certain decisions?
Were there directives in place about songs being left out for future Camden releases?

Anybody know?

 

The feeling probably was we can put “Elvis”
on the cover and put any random ten tracks on the LP and it will sell acceptably. And then repeat the process in three months.

 

So tragic ...
It's like ever step of Elvis life after 1958 was mismanaged ...

 

I feel exactly the same way as you do about the Elvis Now album, which really is my least favorite Elvis studio album of the 70's, if we can fairly even call it a studio album as it more closely resembles a compilation in some ways with the older cuts on it. I really like about five or six cuts on the album, but it is patched together so haphazardly that I reach for this album very rarely to actually play. As Dirk mentions in his post, you would really need the bonus songs that they put on The Album Collection version of the CD to make it a decent album worth playing occasionally.

 

I won’t touch From Elvis In Memphis, even though I feel the track listing could be improved, but, starting with Elvis Country, I find I have to burn my own custom CDs and playlists to create the 70s Elvis studio albums that should have been.