Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt3 The Seventies

I never understood this scene in the movie, the guy is clearly instructing the driver to keep "bringing it back", but then is frustrated at the guy slamming into the staircase !? LOL

 

Thanks for the information Pacific.

Do you own any of the Friday music LP'S or are at least familiar with these records ?

 

I have a number of Friday CD reissues. I am familiar with the vinyl releases, but have not acquired any of them.

 

I need to learn how to make a .gif file of that guy from the .05 - .08 second mark in that vid. He's kind of how I picture the guy from Kentucky Rain looking.

 

The I, John/Reach Out To Jesus combination is stunning. What a way to end an album! I, John is joyous, and Reach Out To Jesus is comforting. Elvis' vocal on the "C'mon and reach out to Jesus" part is absolutely tremendous, and never fails to give me shivers.

 

I agree with you about the greatness of Elvis's lead vocal on I, John, and I really like the comparison that you make with this performance and his one on Swing Down Sweet Chariot on His Hand In Mine. I actually was surprised by how much some of his vocals on He Touched Me reminded me of his great tenor voice that he uses on that splendid gospel album from 1960. The title track and the last notes on Reach Out To Jesus really sound a lot like Elvis's prime tenor voice from the early 60's to my ears.

 

Yeah, even though 1971 is the year his voice changed notably, he does manage to reach back on a few tracks and summon up some of his old sound, and this is one such example. Really nice.

Off topic, but I swear I remember reading somewhere (I think in one of Guralnick's books) that Charlie does play some piano on Silver Linings. I have a vague recollection of Milky White Way in particular being cited. Sherrill was willing to loosen up his rules because this was sort of a vanity project for Charlie, not a commercial one. It's been probably 20 years since I read it, but I'm pretty sure...

 

I think Elvis’ deep connection and passion for the genre still brought out results that otherwise would not have been within reach with secular material.

 

It really is a fantastic way to close out a truly magnificent album, is it not? I love both performances almost equally, but Elvis's last notes on the line you quote always gives me shivers as well. One of the most interesting songwriters that ever wrote a song for Elvis is Ralph Carmichael, the writer of Reach Out To Jesus, and perhaps best known for arranging and conducting the orchestra and choral voices on Nat King Cole's iconic 6x platinum selling Christmas album, The Christmas Song as well as its iconic title track. Mr. Carmichael's take on how Elvis came to record his song and his respect for the talent and passion of Elvis's singing on his classic gospel song, Reach Out To Jesus, is best told by the songwriter himself to author Ken Sharp in Writing For The King:

I never found out how Elvis came to record my song. The only thing I do know is Elvis had a church background and his first singing was in a church. I also know that a communicator like Elvis puts himself right in the middle of a lyric. He understands the lyric and I have to believe that Elvis knew full well what he was singing when he sang, (recites lyrics), "When you get discouraged, just remember what to do, reach out to Jesus, he's reaching out to you."

I found out that Elvis recorded "Reach Out To Jesus" when his record company applied for a mechanical license. Of course I couldn't believe that Elvis was recording one of my little gospel songs. His reading of it is flawless. It is heartfelt and I love it. I should be so fortunate. (laughs) He was very faithful to the original melody line and lyrical interpretation. But it definitely was all Elvis with his phrasing and his heart and the feeling. He put himself in it. It was pure Presley.

Elvis was a consummate communicator. I have watched many people perform and I'd put Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole and Elvis Presley in a very gifted and small group; their pitch, rhythm, presence, and projection was flawless.

 

I cannot say with any degree of certainty that Rich does not play some piano on Silver Linings, but I distinctly do remember one of the last interviews that he and Margaret Ann gave to a country music magazine, where she lamented about producer Billy Sherrill taking away Rich's piano playing playing on his own albums and sort of cutting her out of the production process on his records by the mid 70's, which is also mentioned in that truly fantastic article on Rich in the Oxford American by Joe Hagan, "Dear Charlie." I have followed Rich's career pretty extensively since 1973, and most experts seem to think his piano playing on his own records stopped right before the Behind Closed Doors album, although even engineer Lou Bradley said that the vocal booth was put right next to the piano, so if Rich wanted to switch over and play piano at any given moment, it was right there for him to do. It is well documented though by many historians and the musicians themselves that Hargus "Pig" Robbins, the great blind Nashville pianist, played the piano on the opening title track and most of the other cuts. I think it is possible that is is Rich and/or Robbins playing piano on his own self written song, Peace On You, on the album proper.

I have no doubt that Rich did play on a lot of the demo recordings for his songs that he or Margaret Ann wrote, and I have no doubt that Robbins followed the demo closely. Hargus himself has said it was very intimidating to play piano right in proximity of such a great piano player like Charlie Rich. The best example I can give you is on Rich's own demo version of I Feel Like Going Home that you can find on the Essential Charlie Rich collection and the actual studio version that was released on the original Silver Fox album back in 1974. Hargus clearly follows Rich's demo template closely, but there are sublet differences in the way they play Charlie's own great composition.

 

This is just a truly brilliant explanation for why Elvis's voice seems so majestic at times on this album.

 

Listening to the Legacy edition as we speak, and I think it’s outstanding. Just finished the dubbed version, moving on to the undubbed.

 

Catching up fast...

Those last 7 tracks from "He touched me" show how varied Elvis' sacred approach and legacy could be. BOSOM OF ABRAHAM is the gospel at his rockest with some nice rolling vocals and the Imperials singing along very effectively. What a contrast with AN EVENING PRAYER, something much closer to an hymn that reminds Elvis' treatment of the first side of "How great thou art" five years earlier before launching in a smoother and more melodical LEAD ME GUIDE ME that brings back also part of his 60s voice, something always welcome.
THERE IS NO GOD BUT GOD delves into the C&W territory - and is perhaps the least interesting track since HE IS MY EVERYTHING - before starting the final three highlights: A THING CALLED LOVE, while not being a gospel number per se, still works pretty well in this context with the Imperials and Elvis' voices and harmonies blending almost perfectly. There is also a shift into the joyfulness territory, something that gets confirmed with the next number, I JOHN, that brings back some of the early verve as heard on "His hand in mine" a decade earlier, which is no small feat at all.
Finally, everything comes together with the final number, REACH OUT TO JESUS, a Country Gospel plea, with some great phrasing and tremendous fervor. "He touched me" remains a highlight in Elvis' catalogue and deserves so.

 

It really is the last studio album he recorded that is consistent from top-to-bottom. From here on, it's gonna be a rocky road (which is not to say there won't be good stuff along the way).

 

If you removed "There Is No God But God" and replaced it with "Put Your Hand In The Hand" it would be a perfect gospel album.

I think "A Thing Called Love" is absolutely appropriate for this album. God is love and his love is transformative. That's the message of the song. The power of God's love.

 

An American Trilogy


Written By :
Medley of Three Songs, Arranged By Mickey Newbury

Recorded :
Live Recording, Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, February 14-17, 1972 : February 16, 1972 Midnight Show

American Trilogy **
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face *
(US) RCA 74-0672
Released: April 4, 1972
* Recorded: RCA Studio B, Nashville, March 15, 1971
** Recorded: Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, February 16, 1972, Midnight Show

This ends up being an American classic. It wasn't a big charting single at the time, but subsequent live performances highlighted its significance in Elvis heart, it would seem. Newberry arranged an excellent sequence of songs, and Elvis re-arranged them to be just that little bit more.
I think this version is new to me ... not sure, it is a little different to the versions I am most familiar with. I get the impression that the centre idea, or heart of this song, was a uniting of the US via a merging of very American themes.
There is something moving and emotional about this arrangement, and I am not even an American.

 

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Written By :
Ewan McColl

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, March 15-16, 1971 : March 15, 1971. take 12

This is a noble attempt to redo this song, but I doubt anyone will ever touch Roberta Flack's version for me.
This is made in a more uptempo way, but the vocals are a bit to straight .... on the beat ... they are wear a collar and a tie, rather than a t-shirt and jeans, and for me it doesn't suit the song as well. Don't get me wrong this is still a good and well done track. If I wasn't familiar with Roberta's version I would probably love this, but I just can't help but refer it to that version, and it doesn't reach the heights of Roberta's version for me.

 

On April 4, 1972 RCA continued with re-releasing singles, that had previously been released, as part of their "Gold Standard Series".

(US) RCA 447-0682 (45rpm) Only Believe / Life
(US) RCA 447-0683 (45rpm) I'm Leavin' / Heart Of Rome
(US) RCA 447-0684 (45rpm) It's Only Love / Sound Of Your Cry

 

A great song, especially the version from Aloha From Hawaii.

 

Here is the remixed version from the 70s box.

 

Here are the two duet versions. Both were rejected.

 

The 70s box remix is MUCH better as is the usually the case with the 70s box.

 

Beats any other version I've heard.



(sorry to skip in the timeline here )

Something about Elvis just watching the band buildup before the last verse and shouting encouragement before blasting the hell out of the vocal is outstanding.

 

I think it was a good idea not to use the duets. Both women have a more formal and disciplined vocal technique that does not blend well with Elvis' more "affected" style. Background singers HAVE To be more formal and disciplined as you do not want an affectation to stand out when you sing backup.

 

An American Trilogy was the first single I had NO IDEA of its existence. In retrospect after having seen the Aloha special, I thought the single was from that performance. I never heard the single version until after his death.