19 Elvis Fans Can Be Polled: The ILM Elvis Presley poll roll out thread

Have to admit I don’t have the deepest knowledge of the catalog. Over the years I just went for some of the obvious high points, made my way through some box sets, stuck random probes into different career phases, followed various blips of reappraisal or cover versions leading me back to the Elvis version. First heard “Little Sister” - my #5- when it was done by Robert Plant and Rockpile at the Concert for Kampuchea. The more I listen, the further into the rearview mirror go various retro/kitschy/American/bloated pop-star baggage simplifications and I just hear the excellence in the singing, the combination of technical chops, careful listening and emotional interpretation. For one thing, he has a lot of big effects that one might imagine he lays on a bit thick, but in fact way more often than not he keeps a lot of it in reserve so it doesn’t get wasted until the big moment is needed.

yeah the conventional wisdom re cheesiness of his later material really falls away once you dig in

unless majesty is cheese in which case CHEDDAR ME UP

Yup. Meant to type “Americana” above.

It's funny, because he didn't even become an album artist in the post-Beatles sense of that term until From Elvis in Memphis, but almost all of the 12 non-gospel studio albums he did between 1969 and 1977(!) are really good. There are a couple of awful ballads (I really, really hate "My Boy") but overall the music is pretty astonishingly strong.

I would like someone to tell me which of the 1971-77 albums are really good, because I only know the singles from that period, and to be honest, I'm skeptical. I don't like "My Boy" either.

By the way, apologies if I've overstated this, but 10 of the final 50 in this poll were recorded in January-February 1969. That means seven of the From Elvis in Memphis tracks plus "Stranger in My Home Town," "Suspicious Minds" and "Kentucky Rain." That's remarkable.

As a person who has had an longstanding fascination with the various studio house bands, particularly along the Memphis/Muscle Shoals axis, to me those recordings represent one of the greatest harmonic convergences in pop music history (and I still keep finding/relearning new trivia about them I’d like to bore you with). Even so, I mostly concentrated on the biggest hits and only gradually spread out in concentric circles to listen to the other tunes and after the voting was in I saw that I may have given some of those short shrift.

I had three in my top seven (could easily have been 1,2 and 3) and then another three in my top forty.

I would like someone to tell me which of the 1971-77 albums are really good, because I only know the singles from that period, and to be honest, I'm skeptical. I don't like "My Boy" either.

Weird how some of the singles were not originally on From Elvis to Memphis, same way singles were not on UK Beatles albums, and their corresponding live versions weren’t on the original release of On Stage.

Looking at the cover art for the single “In the Ghetto” b/w “Any Day Now” and the image of Elvis totally makes it seem to be another soundtrack-related release

Both of which were on the original version of the album, as you are aware.

Another weird thing is that the singles released from this recording session were alternating with singles drawn from soundtracks. To add another layer, some of those tracks were also written by Mac Davis (and Billy Strange)

One of my new favorite stories is of Freddy Bienstock flying back from the sessions in Memphis, running into Bob Dylan on the airplane and, momentarily forgetting about being mumped up about missing out on his taste of the publishing, going on and on about what a great job Elvis did on “Only the Strong Survive.”

that's an awful lot of Coke, ribeyes, and ring-dings you're buying there, Mr. President. I think I'm gonna need to see some ID.

I would like someone to tell me which of the 1971-77 albums are really good, because I only know the singles from that period, and to be honest, I'm skeptical. I don't like "My Boy" either.

He touched me
Good times
Promised land

They're all good

otm

Elvis Country is great

This may have been mentioned already--the Comeback special is going to be in theatres within a couple of weeks. There was an ad for it where I was yesterday. I've never seen it, so if it shows up here I'll definitely be there.

I would like someone to tell me which of the 1971-77 albums are really good, because I only know the singles from that period, and to be honest, I'm skeptical. I don't like "My Boy" either.

They're almost all good (Love Letters From Elvis kinda sucks). Also, this set (Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters) is easy to find very cheap and is totally worth it.

Thanks for all the album recs everyone. Since Elvis Country is the earliest of this batch I think I'll start with that and move forward. Also I remember from the Guralnick book that the sessions that that record comes from, June 1970 in Nashville, had a relatively good vibe to them. Love Letters is from the same sessions but I'm guessing those are the second-tier selections. Will consider Walk a Mile in My Shoes as well.

It's hard with Elvis not to constantly psychoanalyze the man, but it seems to me mid-1970 is when something changes and the late-life oddness comes to the forefront. Pills, paranoia, failed relationships etc. Inevitably one listens to the music with that in mind, whether it's fair or not.

I go back and forth on that. It used to bother me more, but now I can tune it out for longer periods of time and in recent years it hasn’t seemed to interfere with my listening at all *knock wood* Not to start a fite, but at some point I crossed over and had more of a problem listening to The Beatles and thinking about the nonsense they got up to.

I just dug up this review of Goldman’s bio, gone off the web because of Moody Blue, but in the wayback machine, which I long ago found a helpful corrective to certain ways of thinking
https://web.archive.org/web/20160421064858/http://www.ulmus.net:80/ace/aceworks/presley.html

Also, this set🕸 (/Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters/) is easy to find very cheap and is totally worth it.

Meant to say he could always sing, even when he was hurt, way down in the jungle room.

Btw: speaking of The Beatles, don’t think we ever got the correct answer that the first recording of “Burning Love” was by Arthur Alexander.

Always think the backing vocal hook for that one comes from The Isley Brothers version of “Love the One You’re With” but maybe it’s just an obvious thing to do.

Ooh could well be the case

We never really discussed Patch It Up, which is one of his great 70s singles. I should have had it higher on my ballot. If you've never heard it, a quick youtube search will do you right.

Can you feel it?

It’s track 5 on that box set.

Which box set is also available on various major streaming services.

Looking at old setlists it's interesting to see that Elvis was doing not one but two Olivia Newton-John hits in his regular set for a stretch in the mid-'70s... "Let Me Be There" and "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)."

Both of those are on the album Moody Blue!

The way I try to think of it is: Do I NEED to hear Elvis sing those two Olivia Newton John songs? Probably not. Do I MIND listening to them. No. Does the album which they appear on, Moody Blue, have some good to great material and performances, which also appear on the box set Walk a Mile In My Shoes: The Essential ‘70s Masters? Hell yeah.

Part of the problem is that it was/is hard to parse Elvis through the lens of classic rock. Since he didn’t write his own material, he looked even more like a ‘50s vintage oldies act.

Meant to add “just going through the motions.”

Also, there is at least one interesting detail here in this Wikipedia entry
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_Down?wprov=sfti1

”Way Down" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley. Recorded in October 1976, it was his last single released before his death on August 16, 1977. The song was written by Layng Martine, Jr. and was later covered by Status Quo and Cliffhanger. Presley recorded the song at his home studio in Graceland on 29 October 1976.

Watching Elvis On Tour right now, as I type, and there's no way you can accuse him of "just going through the motions." He's on camera talking about how he always reminds the band that they need to approach every show like it's their first, because for the audience, it is; then there's the footage of him singing gospel songs backstage with a bunch of other people...plus, the range of material he does is pretty crazy. I mean, he's covering Creedence and Simon and Garfunkel (I'm not too pleased about the latter choice, but whatever) and is clearly more enthused about singing new songs like "Burning Love" than revisiting the 50s hits...

I'm also kind of amazed what a bunch of post-hippie dirtbags his band looked like, despite their uniforms.

Yeah, I am not saying he SHOULD be accused of that, just that one might have been encouraged to believe that at the time by lazy thinkers.

His act seemed corny to a certain segment of the population- he was back to projecting like a stage actor while others were emulating a cooler, more filmic style, trying to walk like Brando- and some never seemed to get beyond this way of thinking.

Perhaps I am projecting my own attitude at the time onto others, sorry.

yeah i dunno, maybe ppl think that bcz he stopped doing live shows when he was stuck doing movies all those years that his later period residencies would be sleepwalking through sets etc. But his skills & commitment were so ingrained, it’s honestly naive to think it would drop off. The “freedom” to perform again gave him a vigor to approach it wholeheartedly. I say “freedom” bcz the concert grind did turn into a prison sentence of its own too, sadly.

Also the fact that this dude had an incredible work ethic because of his dirt poor upbringing. Everything, whether it’s recording, acting, performing live - he knew it could be taken away at any moment, that nothing should be taken for granted, AND that you should always give people their money’s worth. Sure he might be playing every night in this ballroom but Mr & Mrs Hamhock from Idaho might be treating themselves to a once in a lifetime show. He understood that on a serious level imo.

Otm

In other news, just noticed super-low subwoofer backing bass vocal on the chorus of “Suspicion.”

Also sometimes think the rhythm of James Brown saying “Que pasa, people?” at the beginning of “Get On The Good Foot” sounds like the drum break intro to “My Baby Left Me.”

Mmm the Arthur Alexander version of Burning Love sounds like freaking John Mayer. I thought a different take on the song would be interesting but Elvis’ version is pretty much definite.

This has been posted on other threads but not on this one yet, where it is needed now in case there is an iota of doubt remaining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVPS0ETuUYE

Wait, sorry, I had one of those weird copy paste YouTube things happening, meant to post:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx7I4DfUGM4

Also the fact that this dude had an incredible work ethic because of his dirt poor upbringing. Everything, whether it’s recording, acting, performing live - he knew it could be taken away at any moment, that nothing should be taken for granted, AND that you should always give people their money’s worth. Sure he might be playing every night in this ballroom but Mr & Mrs Hamhock from Idaho might be treating themselves to a once in a lifetime show. He understood that on a serious level imo.

― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, August 6, 2018 9:40 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is otmfm.

Also sometimes think the rhythm of James Brown saying “Que pasa, people?” at the beginning of “Get On The Good Foot” sounds like the drum break intro to “My Baby Left Me.”

― Suspicious Hiveminds (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, August 6, 2018 10:02 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Speaking of James Brown, this is from Brown's autobiography The Godfather Of Soul (I think this is around 1965-66):

At a big party he threw in the Hyatt Continental, I think, when it got late, we threw everybody out of the room, and Elvis and I sang gospel together. We sang "Old Jonah," "Old Blind Barnabas," all the ones I'd been singing since I was little. He knew the harmonies, too. That's how we communicated -- by singing jubilee, the real upbeat kind of gospel. He told me he wanted to use my band to record. He said he wanted the horns and things behind him, but he wanted them strong.

If Elvis's Memphis '69 sessions have got you interested in hearing more music recorded by Chips Moman, Tommy Cogbill and the American Studios musicians, I made this Spotify playlist.