Definitive Elvis
Elvis has a huge and sprawling catalogue that was very haphazardly released in Elvis’ lifetime, damaging his artistic reputation. Too many good and great songs were buried on poor albums or lost on B-sides. There was just too much ‘product’ all round, with everything seemingly having to be released. The result was a constant succession of uneven albums, allowing critics to claim that Elvis’ musical output was poor, even mediocre, beyond intermittent highlights. Even now it is common to meet the view that Elvis was great in his early years and then declined rapidly, with brief revivals that were never sustained. The truth is that Elvis’ talent was stretched to breaking point, running several careers alongside one another – singles, albums, movies, live performance. A further factor is Elvis’ genuine multiplicity in music, combining a range of musical genres that don’t always fit, at least not for those who like to categorize their music. Elvis has gospel and Christmas recordings alongside movie soundtracks, studio albums and single and EP releases. There was also an issue of quality control – there was none. The result is that a gem like ‘Tomorrow is a Long Time’ was wasted as a ‘bonus’ track on a decidedly average movie soundtrack album instead of being the lead cut on Elvis’ take on mid-sixties music. To cut a long story short, there is quality material to be found at every stage of Elvis Presley’s career. This material is of all kinds, from simply stellar recordings to decent songs beautiful sung to the plain entertaining. Not every song has to be a world-changing world-beater. Critics tend to judge Elvis by his pioneering work of 1954-56. You can only effect the creative fusion Elvis effected in those years the once. After that, Elvis gave increasingly mature readings of his original Sun synthesis of blues, country, gospel, and pop. You can hear him doing in the mid-seventies precisely what he had been doing in the mid-fifties, only this time as songs of experience rather than songs of innocence. I have a folder which contains the songs which I describe as ‘Definitive Elvis.’ Below I provide a list of each set of Elvis songs contained in this folder, all killer and no filler. I take a chronological rather than a thematic approach to the music, meaning that I abandon categorisation by genre and design. I take selections from the gospel, Christmas, and movie soundtrack albums and blend them in with other selections to simply provide a definitive Elvis, an Elvis that is beyond categorisation. A theme running throughout is the unity of the holy and the profane in Elvis’ music. I also blend the live recordings in with the studio recordings. The result is that Elvis’ music is presented as all of a piece.
Sun 1954-1955
01 That's All Right 02 Blue Moon Of Kentucky 03 Good Rockin' Tonight 04 I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine 05 Milkcow Blues Boogie 06 Tomorrow Night 07 Baby Let's Play House 08 You're A Heartbreaker 09 I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone 10 Blue Moon 11 I Forgot To Remember To Forget 12 Mystery Train 13 I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin') 14 Just Because 15 Fool, Fool, Fool 16 When It Rains, It Really Pours 17 Trying To Get To You
This is a straightforward selection of the Sun essentials with a few unfinished sides added. To be truly definitive, the list could have been reduced by 3-5 to leave tracks of sheer quality. (Remove ‘Tomorrow night,’ ‘Fool, Fool, Fool,’ and ‘When It Rains,’ but I thought Sun to be so important to merit extensive treatment.
2 Rock'n'Roll 1 1956
01 I Got A Woman 02 Heartbreak Hotel 03 Money Honey 04 I Was The One 05 Blue Suede Shoes 06 My Baby Left Me 07 One-Sided Love Affair 08 So Glad You're Mine 09 I'm Counting On You 10 Lawdy, Miss Clawdy 11 Shake, Rattle And Roll 12 I Want You, I Need You, I Love You 13 Any Way You Want Me 14 I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)
The recordings from the first sessions of 1956. These are of such a high standard that they selected themselves.
3 Rock'n'Roll II 1956
01 Hound Dog 02 Don't Be Cruel 03 Love Me Tender 04 Playing For Keeps 05 Rip It Up 06 Ready Teddy 07 How's The World Treating You 08 When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again 09 Paralyzed 10 Anyplace Is Paradise 11 Too Much 12 How Do You Think I Feel 13 Love Me 14 Long Tall Sally
omitted: Poor Boy; First In Line
The recordings from the later 1956 sessions. The same blend and balance of blues, rock, country, and ballads. These 1956 sides show Elvis at his creative peak.
4 The Holy and the Profane Elvis '57 I
01 Mean Woman Blues 02 (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear 03 Don't Leave Me Now 04 Have I Told You Lately That I Love You 05 All Shook Up 06 That's When Your Heartaches Begin 07 Lonesome Cowboy 08 Got a Lot O' Livin' to Do! 09 Tell Me Why 10 White Christmas 11 Santa Claus Is Back in Town 12 One Night 13 Hot Dog 14 I Need You So 15 (There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me) 16 Loving You 17 (Let's Have A) Party 18 Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
1957 is the year in which Elvis exploded in all his multiplicity. He issued two soundtrack albums, a Christmas album, a gospel EP, and singles and EPs of studio work. Rather than stick to category I have broken the material up and issued my selections according to the theme of ‘the holy and the profane.’ My intention is to dissolve categorisation into Elvis’ variegated musical identity.
5 The Holy and the Profane Elvis '57 II
01 Jailhouse Rock 02 Treat Me Nice 03 (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care 04 Blue Christmas 05 I Beg Of You 06 Is It So Strange 07 One Night Of Sin 08 When It Rains, It Really Pours 09 Blueberry Hill 10 Don't Leave Me Now 11 True Love 12 Young And Beautiful 13 Take My Hand, Precious Lord 14 I Want To Be Free 15 It Is No Secret (What God Can Do) 16 I'll Be Home for Christmas
As above. In his recording sessions, Elvis would record gospel, blues, ballads and Christmas songs back to back. Music was all of a piece to him. Making my selections this way enables us to see the spiritual roots of the emotional charge he brought to his secular material. ‘He sings the blues sanctified,’ Big Bill Broonzy commented disapprovingly of a fellow artist. The phrase fits Elvis.
6 Elvis Gold 1958
01 Trouble 02 King Creole 03 Don't 04 Crawfish (Track F, Take 7) (with Kitty White) 05 Hard Headed Woman 06 A Big Hunk O' Love 07 (Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I 08 I Got Stung 09 Ain't That Loving You Baby 10 Don't Ask Me Why 11 My Wish Came True 12 Dixieland Rock 13 I Need Your Love Tonight 14 As Long As I Have You 15 Danny 16 Doncha' Think It's Time 17 Wear My Ring Around Your Neck 18 Young Dreams 19 Your Cheating Heart (Take 9) 20 New Orleans
Here I combine a selection of the great songs from the ‘King Creole’ album with the singles and studio work of 1958, issuing in a series of big hits and gold records. A point I hope to make in my selections is that the soundtrack albums contained a number of great songs possessing qualities which are independent of the movies. My selections attempt to blend the songs together as great music regardless of their source and classification.
7 Elvis is Back 1960
01 A Mess Of Blues 02 Make Me Know It 03 Soldier Boy 04 It Feels So Right 05 Stuck On You 06 Fame And Fortune 06 Fame And Fortune 07 Fever 08 It's Now Or Never 09 Like A Baby 10 The Girl Of My Best Friend 11 Surrender 12 Are You Lonesome Tonight 13 I Will Be Home Again 14 Dirty, Dirty Feeling 15 I Gotta Know 16 Such A Night 17 Thrill Of Your Love 18 Reconsider Baby
The studio work of 1960, marking Elvis’ return from the army.
8 His Hand in Mine 1960
01 His Hand In Mine 02 I'm Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs 03 In My Father's House 04 Milky White Way 05 Known Only To Him 06 I Believe In The Man In The Sky 07 Joshua Fit The Battle 08 He Knows Just What I Need 09 Swing Down Sweet Chariot 10 Mansion Over The Hilltop 11 If We Never Meet Again 12 Working On The Building 13 Crying In The Chapel
The gospel album of 1960, which is a perfect case in itself. ‘Crying in the Chapel’ was recorded at these sessions but released only in 1965, when it became a #1 hit single.
9 Flaming Star
01 Tonight Is So Right For Love 02 What's She Really Like 03 I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell 04 Wild In The Country 05 Lonely Man 06 Flaming Star 07 Summer Kisses, Winter Tears 08 In My Way 09 Pocketful Of Rainbows 10 Wooden Heart 11 Tonight's All Right for Love 12 G.I. Blues 13 Forget Me Never 14 Lonely Man (Solo) 15 Doin' The Best I Can
Here I have combined songs recorded for three movies, ‘GI Blues,’ ‘Flaming Star,’ and ‘Wild in the Country.’ I should, to make a nice even number, remove the solo ‘Lonely Man,’ seeing as the released version is also selected. But it is very nice.
10 Elvis for Everybody 1961
01 I'm Coming Home 02 Put The Blame On Me 03 Sentimental Me 04 There's Always Me 05 In Your Arms 06 (Marie's The Name Of) His Latest Flame 07 Little Sister 08 Starting Today 09 Kiss Me Quick 10 I Feel So Bad 11 I'm Yours 12 Gently 13 Judy 14 Give Me The Right 15 I Want You With Me 16 That's Someone You Never Forget
These are selections from the ‘Something for Everybody’ album plus the singles and B-sides. The ‘Something’ album was divided between ballad and rhythm sides, which resulted in a somewhat monotonous, ‘samey’ sound. I have re-arranged the material to give it better balance. As a result, the outstanding quality of these songs is now apparent.
11 Following the Dream 1961
01 Follow That Dream 02 Steppin' Out Of Line (Movie Version) 03 What A Wonderful Life 04 A Whistling Tune 05 No More 06 Can't Help Falling In Love 07 Blue Hawaii 08 King Of The Whole Wide World 09 I Got Lucky 10 Angel 11 Rock-A-Hula Baby 14 Hawaiian Sunset 15 Home Is Where The Heart Is 16 Hawaiian Wedding Song
omitted: Moonlight Swim; Riding The Rainbow; Ku-U-I-Po; Can't Help Falling In Love (Movie Version)
These selections are all from three movies, ‘Blue Hawaii,’ ‘Follow that Dream,’ and ‘Kid Galahad.’ It must be conceded that the derivation of three or so of the songs from ‘Blue Hawaii’ is hard to conceal. Other than that, though, these are a strong collection of songs in their own right, most of which could easily have found a place on an Elvis studio album. We could call it a concept album.
12 Pot Luck 1962
01 Good Luck Charm 02 Gonna Get Back Home Somehow 03 She's Not You 04 Night Rider 05 Anything That's Part Of You 06 (Such An) Easy Question 07 I Met Her Today 08 Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello 09 Suspicion 10 Something Blue 11 You'll Be Gone 12 For The Millionth And The Last Time 13 Fountain Of Love 14 Just For Old Time Sake
The ‘Pot Luck’ album with the singles and the odd leftover added. For some reason, Elvis was never quite happy with ‘I Met Her Today,’ so the track was left off the album. Elvis was getting slick in the studio, with ‘Pot Luck’ characterised by the trademark Nashville style. The songs are good in the main, but it is the addition of the singles which really light the fire here. This is a perfect statement of pre-Beatle Elvis pop.
13 The Fun of the Fair 1962
01 One Broken Heart For Sale 02 Bossa Nova Baby 03 They Remind Me Too Much Of You 04 I Don't Want To 05 Guadalajara 06 Return To Sender 07 Where Do You Come From 08 I'm Falling In Love Tonight 09 I Don't Wanna Be Tied 10 A World Of Our Own 11 Earth Boy 12 You Can't Say No In Acapulco 13 Mexico 14 Girls! Girls! Girls!
omitted: We'll Be Together; A Boy Like Me, A Girl Like You; Because Of Love
This selection combines material from three films, ‘It Happened at the World’s Fair,’ ‘Fun in Acapulco,’ and ‘Girls! Girls! Girls!’ There are some incredibly catchy pop numbers here, some tender ballads, and some effortless pop. It may not be ground-breaking, but it is incredibly entertaining.
14 For the Asking 1963-64
01 (It's A) Long Lonely Highway 02 Slowly But Surely 03 Witchcraft 04 Blue River 05 It Hurts Me 06 Love Me Tonight 07 Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers 08 Memphis Tennessee 09 (You're The) Devil In Disguise 10 Please Don't Drag That String Around 11 Ask Me 12 What Now, What Next, Where To 13 Never Ending 14 Tomorrow Night 1965 Overdubb
This is the ‘Lost Album’ of material recorded in 1963 and 1964 but scattered as B-sides and ‘bonus’ songs on soundtrack albums. This should have been the successor to ‘Elvis is Back,’ ‘Something for Everybody,’ and ‘Pot Luck.’ The material is strong, raunchier in places than ‘Pot Luck,’ with ‘Long Lonely Highway’ and ‘Devil in Disguise’ pointing in the direction of ‘Guitar Man’ in 1967. As it was, the 63-64 material was issued sporadically over the years, hence its being known as the ‘lost album.’ After 1962’s ‘Pot Luck,’ Elvis was not to release an album of secular studio material until 1969, which is a crime.
15 Viva Elvis 1964
01 Viva Las Vegas 02 C'mon Everybody 03 Night Life 04 If You Think I Don't Need You 05 I Need Somebody To Lean On 06 Today, Tomorrow And Forever 07 What'd I Say 08 Kissin' Cousins 09 Kissin Cousins no 2 10 Tender Feeling 11 Little Egypt 12 It's a Wonderful World 13 You’re the Boss 14 There's gold in the mountains 15 Puppet On A String 16 Do not Disturb 17 Once is Enough 18 Big Love, Big Heartache
omitted: Cross My Heart And Hope To Die; Hard Knocks; One Boy, Two Little Girls; There's a Brand New Day on the Horizon
This selection integrates material from four films boasting rather substantial soundtracks, ‘Viva Las Vegas,’ ‘Kissin’ Cousins,’ ‘Roustabout,’ and ‘Girl Happy.’ The latter three films are packed with film fodder, songs designed to move scenes on and with little independent life. Remove those tracks and the qualities of a number of those that remain do start to shine. A number of the tracks have an independent life.
16 Paradise Close and Far 1965
01 My Desert Serenade 02 Go East - Young Man 03 Mirage 04 Kismet 05 So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) 06 Sand castles (take 1) 07 Frankie And Johnny 08 Please Don't Stop Loving Me 09 Beginner's Luck 10 Hard Luck (Take 3 - Vocal Overdub take 5) 11 What Every Woman Lives For 12 This Is My Heaven 13 Stop where you are 14 Sand Castles
These selections are from three movies, ‘Harum Scarum,’ ‘Paradise Hawaiian Style,’ and ‘Frankie and Johnny.’ The quality of these soundtracks was not high and few of the songs have a life independent of the film. A selection of fourteen tracks is rather generous for this material. The drop in quality is noticeable. Critics would say that only one selection from ‘Go East - Young Man,’ ‘Mirage,’ and ‘Kismet’ is justified, whilst two versions of ‘Sand Castles’ is excessive and ‘Stop where you are’ is not very good. That would reduce the selection to a stronger ten, but still not very strong.
17 California Holiday 1966
01 Spinout 02 All That I Am 03 Stop, Look And Listen 04 Am I Ready 05 Could I Fall In Love 06 Double Trouble 07 City By Night 08 Easy Come, Easy Go 09 I'll Take Love 10 Sing You Children 11 She's A Machine 12 Your Time Hasn't Come Yet, Baby 13 How Can You Lose What You Never Had (Take 2) 14 A House That Has Everything
These selections come from four movies, ‘California Holiday,’ ‘Double Trouble,’ ‘Easy Come, Easy Go,’ and ‘Clambake.’ Stripped of the dross and songs which had suffered in poor company actually sound quite good. There is nothing particularly outstanding here, and there is much pastiche, but the ballads definitely have their qualities. Compared to the musical developments in the sixties, this is pretty average fair, with Elvis punching well below his weight. But it is listenable.
18 Tomorrow is a Long Time 1966
01 Tomorrow Is A Long Time 02 Run On 03 Where Could I Go But To The Lord 04 Down In The Alley 05 Love Letters 06 Somebody Bigger Than You And I 07 Indescribably Blue 08 So High 09 Fools Fall In Love 10 If Every Day Was Like Christmas 11 Come What May 12 In the Garden 13 Stand By Me 14 I'll Remember You 15 Where No One Stands Alone 16 How Great Thou Art
This is a stellar list of songs. These songs derive from the ‘How Great Thou Art’ gospel sessions. Elvis took the opportunity to record some quality ballads, revisit his R&B roots, and sing some Dylan. The result is a set of songs which are infinitely superior to the material Elvis was recording in films.
19 Goin' Home 1967
01 Let Yourself Go 02 Guitar Man 03 Too Much Monkey Business 04 All I Needed Was the Rain 05 You Don't Know Me 06 Just Call Me Lonesome 07 Big Boss Man 08 Hi-Heel Sneakers 09 Mine 10 You'll Never Walk Alone 11 U.S. Male 12 Suppose (Alt. take) 13 Singing Tree 14 Stay Away 15 We Call On Him 16 Going Home
These are a selection of recordings from 1967 and early 1968. Elvis has an acoustic country/blues rock theme going on with a number of these songs. He also records some country ballads and classy piano ballads and does an immense version of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’ It is evident that these recordings constitute an attempt by Elvis to get back on terms with his talent, anticipating the recordings of 1969.
20 '68 Special
01 Trouble-guitar Man 02 Heartbreak Hotel 03 Hound Dog 04 All Shook Up 05 Cant Help Falling In Love 06 Jailhouse Rock 07 Love Me Tender 08 That's All Right 09 Are You Lonesome Tonight- 10 Baby What Do You Want Me To Do 11 Blue Suede Shoes 12 Baby, What You Want Me To Do 13 Lawdy Miss Clawdy 14 Trouble 15 Gospel Medley- Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child-Where Could I Go But To The Lord-Up Above 16 Trying To Get To You 17 One Night 18 Baby, What You Want Me To Do 19 Blue Suede Shoes 20 One Night 21 Love Me 22 Trying To Get To You 23 Blue Christmas 24 Tiger Man 25 When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again 26 Memories 27 A Little Less Conversation 28 When It Rains, It Really Pours 29 Road Medley- Nothingville-Big Boss Man-Let Yourself Go-It Hurts Me-Guitar Man-Little Egypt-Trouble 30 If I Can Dream
There really is no substitute for listening to all the shows and rehearsals that went into the making of the ’68 Special. Selection here focuses on those tracks where Elvis really does stop trying out and lays it all on the line.
21 Change of Habit 1969
01 Change Of Habit 02 A Little Less Conversation 03 Clean Up Your Own Back Yard 04 Edge Of Reality 05 Almost In Love 06 Almost 07 Let's Forget About The Stars 08 Let's Be Friends 09 Wonderful World 10 Charro! 11 Let Us Pray 12 Swing Down Sweet Chariot 13 Have a Happy 14 Rubberneckin’ 15 Memories 16 If I Can Dream
I was tempted to combine half a dozen or so tracks from the ’68 Special with the soundtrack material from 1969 to develop the ‘change of habit’ theme. Changes were definitely afoot in Elvis’ career. In the end, I retained just the two tracks, ‘Memories’ and ‘If I Can Dream,’ which fit the mood. These tracks represent the end of Elvis’ movie career, and they make for quite an interestingly mature and contemporary selection. I think there are some genuine classics-awaiting-discovery here. True, ‘A Little Less Conversation’ was resurrected in 2001 to become a global #1 smash hit. I always thought ‘Clean Up Your Own Backyard” was the song that would one day find fame. ‘Change of Habit’ is another super song, whilst ‘Let’s Be Friends’ and ‘Let’s Forget About the Stars’ are simply beautiful. ‘Almost in Love’ is Elvis attempting some sultry Sinatra style romantic balladry and doing it very well. It bombed as a single but could easily have been a huge hit. Maybe one day.
22 Elvis in Memphis 1969
01 Wearin' That Loved On Look 02 Long Black Limousine 03 I'm Movin' On 04 Gentle On My Mind 05 Don't Cry Daddy 06 In The Ghetto 07 Inherit The Wind 08 My Little Friend 09 You'll Think Of Me 10 A Little Bit Of Green 11 Suspicious Minds 12 Rubberneckin' 13 I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms) 14 I'll Be There 15 Without Love (There Is Nothing) 16 Mama Liked The Roses
With the American Sound material I have tended to go with the chronological order of the recordings rather than select around the ‘Elvis in Memphis’ and ‘Back in Memphis’ releases. These selections all derive from the January 1969 sessions, roughly following the order of recording with odd exceptions (‘Suspicious Minds’ was the final song to be recorded, but merits earlier presentation. ‘Mama Liked the Roses’ makes for a nice close).
23 Back in Memphis 1969
01 Stranger In My Own Home Town 02 Only The Strong Survive 03 And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind 04 Power Of My Love 05 After Loving You 06 Kentucky Rain 07 True Love Travels On A Gravel Road 08 If I'm A Fool (For Loving You) 09 Who Am I? 10 It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin' 11 Any Day Now 12 The Fair Is Moving On
This is a selection of tracks from the February sessions at American Sound studios 1969. I always rather liked the fact that the simple gospel of ‘Who Am I?’ was the last track recorded at these historical sessions.
24 That's The Way It Is 1970
01 Love Letters 02 Twenty Days And Twenty Nights 03 How The Web Was Woven 04 Patch It Up 05 Mary In The Morning 06 You Don't Have To Say You Love Me 07 Rags To Riches 08 I'll Never Know 09 Just Pretend 10 I've Lost You 11 The Sound Of Your Cry 12 Stranger In The Crowd 13 The Next Step Is Love 14 Bridge Over Troubled Water
This is Elvis emerging as the mature balladeer, the singer of romantic, superbly orchestrated, songs. The ‘That’s the Way It Is’ album mixed studio recordings with live recordings. These tracks are all studio recordings. I omitted ‘Only Believe’ to make for an even 14 tracks.
25 Elvis Country 1970
01 I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago 02 Snowbird 03 Tomorrow Never Comes 04 Funny How Time Slips Away 05 I Really Don't Want To Know 06 Little Cabin on the Hill 07 Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On 08 If I Were You 09 Got My Mojo Working-Keep Your Hands Off Of It 10 There Goes My Everything 11 It's Your Baby, You Rock It 12 The Fool 13 Faded Love 14 Where Did They Go, Lord 15 I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water 16 Make the World Go Away
omitted: When I'm Over You; It Ain't No Big Thing (But It's Growing); Cindy, Cindy [Alternate Take 1]; A Hundred Years From Now
That these ‘country’ tracks were recorded at the same marathon Nashville session of June 4-8 indicates just how arbitrary classification can be with respect to the catalogue of Elvis Presley. My original list extended to twenty tracks, with the loose versions of ‘Cindy, Cindy’ and ‘A Hundred Years From Now’ attempting to capture something of the spontaneity of the session. I would strongly recommend the undubbed versions of these tracks.
26 On Stage 1970
01 See See Rider 02 Proud Mary 03 Release Me 04 The Wonder Of You 05 Polk Salad Annie 06 Little Sister-Get Back 07 Words 08 Sweet Caroline 09 Something 10 True Love Travels On A Gravel Road 11 I Can't Stop Loving You 12 Make The World Go Away 13 Walk A Mile In My Shoes 14 Don't Cry Daddy 15 In The Ghetto 16 Suspicious Minds 17 Let It Be Me
The ‘On Stage’ album of 1970 contained only songs never previously recorded by Elvis, including performances so outstanding that Elvis made the songs his own. Here, I have added some more songs in a similar vein from 1970 plus live versions of songs recorded a year earlier at American Sound.
27 That's Way It Is Live 1970
01 That's All Right 02 I Got A Woman 03 Mystery Train-Tiger Man 04 I Just Can't Help Believin' 05 Twenty Days & Twenty Nights 06 Mary In The Morning 07 Patch It Up 08 You Don't Have To Say You Love Me 09 There Goes My Everything 10 You've Lost That Loving Feeling 11 I've Lost You 12 Just Pretend 13 Stranger In The Crowd 14 The Next Step Is Love 15 Bridge Over Troubled Water 16 Kentucky Rain 17 Suspicious Minds 18 Can't Help Falling In Love
This is a selection of live performances themed in accordance with the ‘That’s the Way It Is’ album and movie. The result is a document which captures Elvis’ glorious triumph as a live performer in 1970.
28 Elvis Now 1971 I
01 We Can Make The Morning 02 Early Mornin' Rain 03 I'm Leavin' 04 Bosom Of Abraham 05 Help Me Make It Through The Night 06 Until It's Time For You To Go 07 I Will Be True 08 Merry Christmas Baby 09 If I Get Home on Christmas Day 10 Lead Me, Guide Me 11 Amazing Grace 12 I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen 13 I'll Be Home On Christmas Day
1971 saw Elvis record a series of great singles, material spread over two studio albums, a Grammy award winning gospel album and a Christmas album. The gospel and Christmas albums are really self-contained documents that should be heard as intended. That said, both contain bluesy, folky material that easily blends with the folk turn of the secular material. Breaking up and blending the material in this way also adds variety and change of pace. The ‘Elvis Now’ album of 1971 itself contained a couple of gospel tracks, similarly ‘Elvis Fool,’ which also suffered from too many tracks of too similar and too ‘down’ a quality. The truth is that Elvis was an artist whose remarkable multiplicity in music was hard to capture in album releases and which was often, even usually, sabotaged by being made to fit a release schedule. I have broken the material up into two selections on the same theme – the holy and the profane again, songs of yearning, songs of experience.
29 Elvis Now II 1971
01 It's Only Love 02 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 03 (That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me 04 I, John 05 I'll Be Home on Christmas Day 06 It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You) 07 It's Still Here 08 A Thing Called Love 09 Put Your Hand In The Hand 10 Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees 11 My Way 12 I Shall Be Released 13 Don't Think Twice, It's All Right [Jam Edit]
The hot gospellers and bluesy Christmas songs fit the secular material nicely indeed. Add a touch of Dylan, and just how remarkable these recordings from 1971 are becomes apparent. Broken up over two albums of secular material and two albums of gospel and Christmas material, the songs fail to punch their considerable weight.
30 Fool 1972
01 Fool 02 Never Been To Spain 03 Burning Love 04 Steamroller Blues 05 Always On My Mind 06 It's Over 07 It's A Matter Of Time 08 Polk Salad Annie 09 For The Good Times 10 The Impossible Dream 11 Separate Ways 12 You Gave Me A Mountain 13 Love Me, Love the Life I Lead 14 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry 15 Where Do I Go From Here 16 What Now My Love 17 An American Trilogy 18 Welcome To My World 19 I'll Remember You
The material for the ‘Fool’ album was recorded between March 1971 and March 1972, although the album was released only in July 1973. By that time Elvis had scored two enormous live triumphs, first at the record-breaking Madison Square Gardens concerts (1972) and the Aloha via Hawaii via Satellite (January 1973). Some genius issued the ‘Fool’ album with an image of Elvis from the Hawaii concert on the cover, even though the material bore no connection with the concert. There were plans to release the recordings made immediately after the Hawaii concert, but these were shelved. A live recording of one of the Madison Square Gardens concerts was released as was a double album of the Hawaii concert. To give an idea of who Elvis was in this period I have combined studio and live selections in the manner of the ‘That’s the Way It Is’ album of 1970. There are recordings of new material in the live concerts, as well as outstanding performances of already released material, that deserve to be extracted and heard alongside Elvis’ new studio material.
31 Stax Good Times 1973
01 Promised Land 02 Raised On Rock 03 Loving Arms 04 It's Midnight 05 I Got A Feelin' In My Body 06 If That Isn't Love 07 I've Got A Thing About You Baby 08 For Ol' Times Sake [alt. take] 09 You Asked Me To 10 My Boy 11 If You Talk In Your Sleep 12 There's A Honky Tonk Angel (Who Will Take Me Back In) 13 Talk About The Good Times 14 Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues
Elvis’ decision to record at Stax studios in 1973 is something of a missed opportunity or overlooked achievement, depending on which way you look at it. On paper, the recording sessions at the home of Memphis soul seemed to promise something as immense as the recordings at American Sound in 1969. That didn’t quite happen. The first sessions in the summer of 1973 were something of a disappointment, with Elvis being somewhat uninterested. The December sessions, though, were excellent. I have split the material into two, selecting the stronger tracks here, and gathering together the more country or easy listening material for a second selection. Three albums were issued from the Stax material, each of uneven quality and meeting with general indifference. I maintain that these fourteen selections make for a very strong album which could, and certainly should, have made a big impact at the time.
32 Stax Soul Country 1973
01 Take Good Care Of Her 02 For Ol' Times Sake 03 Find Out What's Happening 04 If You Don't Come Back [alt. take 3] 05 I Miss You 06 Help Me 07 Spanish Eyes 08 Are You Sincere? 09 She Wears My Ring 10 Just A Little Bit 11 Mr. Songman 12 Love Song Of The Year 13 Your Love's Been A Long Time Coming 14 Thinking About You
Country songs and easy listening, with some nice ballads. ‘Are You Sincere?’ is Elvis revisiting ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ whilst ‘I Miss You’ is a rather lovely song. ‘Spanish Eyes’ is a marvellous song, too. It’s very much the second pick of the Stax ’73 material, but not bad at all.
33 Today 1975
01 T-R-O-U-B-L-E 02 And I Love You So 03 Susan When She Tried 04 Shake a Hand 05 Why Me Lord- (Live) 06 How Great Thou Art 07 Pieces of My Life 08 Tiger Man [Jam] 09 Fairytale 10 I Can Help 11 My Baby Left Me (Live) 12 Let Me Be There (Live) 13 Bringin' It Back 14 The Twelfth Of Never [Rehearsal] 15 Green, Green Grass of Home 16 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry [Private Recording]
The ‘Today’ album of 1975 was something of a let-down, with Elvis seemingly running short on ideas and material. In the main, the tracks are Elvis recording very familiar recent pop and country hits by others. There were high hopes for ‘T-R-O-U-B-L-E’ as a single, and rightly so because it is a cracking rocker. But there were a lot of maudlin country songs alongside the overly familiar material. The previous year had seen the release of yet another live album, Elvis as recorded in Memphis, which also met with indifference. I’ve selected some excellent performances from Memphis 1974 as well as some very interesting unreleased material, the funky ‘Tiger Man’ jam, the ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ private recording and the heart-rendingly beautiful rehearsal of ‘The Twelfth of Never.’ I thought the Memphis live album a rather joyous celebration and the ‘Today’ album somewhat average. My selection makes things a lot more interesting.
34 From Elvis Presley Boulevard 1976
01 Hurt 02 Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain 03 The Last Farewell 04 For The Heart 05 Danny Boy 06 Love Coming Down 07 Solitare 08 Way Down 09 Pledging My Love 10 Moody Blue 11 She Thinks I Still Care 12 It's Easy For You 13 I'll Never Fall In Love Again 14 He'll Have To Go 15 Unchained Melody 16 How Great Thou Art
And now the end is here. To the end, Elvis Presley’s career was blighted by too much product. As any strategist knows, if you want to be effective you must concentrate force. The release of Elvis’ music in the seventies gave the impression of an artist in continuous decline. Instead of exercising quality control, selecting and promoting the best material, there was an idiotic release schedule. Elvis was contracted to releasing three albums a year. In addition to this there were also compilations and budget albums and re-releases coming out. The actual Elvis as he was, as a contemporary artist, was effectively competing against himself. Worse, his latest efforts were being issued en masse and padded out. By 1976 Elvis couldn’t be tempted to the studio to record. Rather than let Elvis recover his strength, purpose, and direction, RCA sent mobile studios to his home in Graceland to capture anything he might deign to sing into a microphone. The song titles alone revealed something of Elvis’ desperate mood. But some quality tracks were recorded. Rather than select the best for one album, RCA issued two decidedly average albums, again giving the impression of an artist who was finished. ‘From Elvis Presley Boulevard’ contained too many tracks of the same kind, to create an effect that was depressingly maudlin. ‘Moody Blue,’ which was to prove Elvis’ final album before his death, was a travesty, rounding up the remainders of the Graceland recordings padded out with live material, including a track from the 1974 Memphis live album as well as a version of ‘Little Darlin’ which Elvis himself ridiculed as a bit of fluff. The saving grace was the towering, Heaven and Earth shattering, performance of ‘Unchained Melody.’ I have selected the best of the Graceland sessions, retained ‘Unchained Melody’ and closed with a version of ‘How Great Thou Art’ from the ‘Elvis in Concert’ album of 1977 which Elvis sings so powerfully that you can believe that he can see the Gates of Heaven opening to him.