I haven´t bought this yet, but I will, because the only song that I don´t care to much here for is The Last Farewell. It wasn´t allways so, when I was younger I prefered the more popular tunes like most people, but especially after I heard The Jungleroom Sessions, I have found myself listenting a lot to the songs from 1976 and I really enjoy them. I am aware that some people will claim that if you say that you like this album, then you are a blind follower of everything Elvis did or sang, and that you are just trying to defend him, and that one day you will also be mature enough to realise that from the glorius sun days his music pretty much got worse and worse with every album. I just feel sorry for those fans, because that meens that they have less different Elvis music to listen to and that is a big price to pay to be mature. But off cause they gain the safty of being backed up by many music historians and The Roling Stones Magasin.
Lex, at the time you might not have realised the sheer outstanding artist he was in the fifties and as a whole. So this one may now be the lesser amongst the so many outstanding ones! Unlike many others.
Thanks for an honest review.
Regardless, a lot of us, loved the original album and will Love this new FTD version, too !
Dreadful release in 1976 and dreadful release now, FTD treatment or not. I like the excuses given by some for liking this LP (soulful, heartfelt, etc) , but really cmon, its awful. Elvis struggles so much its painful. Who besides an Elvis fan could really get into these songs? It tanked pretty much in 1976. One spin tells you why. 1969 seemed as far away as the 50's then.
Looking forward to get my copy. I've always loved this album because it is so different as the other albums our man made. I must say i prefer these songs without the heavy overdubbing but even with the overdubbing its a great album for me. And no... Im not a person who likes everything that Elvis sung or made. I never watch his movies; i cannot stand them except the first 4 and Flaming star (and ofcourse TTWII and On Tour, but for me they are more documentaries then movies). And also some moviesongs will never see my cd-player or Ipod. Sure, not every song is great on this album (I'll never fall in love is in my opinion the weekest, but still enjoyable to listen to). I know our man was in a pretty bad physical and mental state; maybe didnt want to record at all but he's giving the best he could. As i consider "The jungleroom-sessions" as my favourite FTD-album sofar I'm sure this will come very close to the top 3.
If your logic is valid Steve V( or are you Lex writing under another name, because you sound so much alike? LOL) then Blue hawaii should be a better album than Elvis is back, as it sold 5-10 times as much. And Jamie I can be more honest, I could just say that everything Elvis sang was crap.
Reviews are always engines of opinion, and in this regard, I could not disagree with Lex more than I do now. I love this album. To me it has always said, "I'm going to record what I want to"...Elvis at home, singing the songs he liked, and many of them with passion and heartfelt sadness. I hold the same opinion about Moody Blue, though the inclusion of concert material on that release diminished it a bit. But alas, it's all opinion.....so before anyone gets their shorts all bunched in a knot about what just said, please keep that in mind.
I hope Capt_Canary is reading this and comes to present a detailed and knowledgeable view. He's already addressed many criticisms in another thread on this album, exposing so many here, ie Jamie who he showed up as knowing absolutely nothing, so Alanfalk, hopefully it won't be too long. Interesting that an opera singer (Rob Wanders) and the Technical Director of many of the worlds' leading concert halls (Capt_Canary) rate Elvis' performances on this CD. I love I'll Never Fall In Love Again, where is Elvis struggling? I also love Hurt. How anyone who can sing like that can be called 'struggling"! I do not like Danny Boy but I'd never like it whoever sang it. Solitaire like I'll never Fall In Love is truly magnificent. How anyone isn't moved by these performances, well, maybe you don't have the soul to hear Elvis singing from his. As for me, I love this album - before Jat all and talking nonsense - Alanflak, so hopefully, won't be too long.
Let me start confessing that I always loved this album and I will always do so. And, honestly I will not try to persuade any body to love it if he or she is not able to feel the deep emotions in Elvis's voice in e. g. 'Solitaire'. I love 'Danny Boy' and who could not see the 'Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain' through his voice? That is a struggling man and it is painful but not in the sense others might be putting it. Too sad that apparently Elvis had to die for the world to understand how much he was suffering. I actually always preferred this album over "Love Letters From Elvis" that's just to make sure I make myself clear that I do not approve every single album or song just because it is his, but at the end I love Elvis because he was who he was, no matter 50's, 60's or 70's. Surprise, there are songs from the 50's I like less than later songs ... .
BTW: the most successful albums in the 70's were his live albums. So my guess is the RCA marketing department decided to add 'Recorded Live' to achieve better sales figures. Just my 5 cents to that ...
I think it was recorded Live the sound truck was in Back of the house and the music pre=recorded he was the only part of the act that was live while the songs were recorded and edited. they could not get him back into the studio because at this point he had had it with life and health and the problems his fame had brought him/
Ol compared to elvis country this album sucks and I agree that non-fans would not get much from this album, however in the "ELVIS story" it fits in perfectly some highlights and some rubbish but we already knew this. With regards to this package as a whole it is outstanding, the packaging is good and the sound quality is perfect, though the out takes still sound better than the dubbed masters.
I will probably buy this release and I honestly feel this is in the top 10 of Elvis' original LP's. Dreadful, awful, painful??? Soulful and hearfelt are not excuses and are excellent adjectives for Elvis' performances on this LP. I have a tough time understanding people on this site when they are hypercritical of Elvis' singing from this period, yet praise Willie Nelson, Bob Dyan and Bruce Springsteen (talk about painful vocals!). Many of these same people complain about the "bombastic" Elvis ballads from the 70's but find merit in the most bombastic singer of all time, Tom Jones???..."Love Coming Down", "Danny Boy", "Hurt", "For The Heart" (Just try to hold the words dream and high with as much power as Elvis did), "Bitter..." and "Solitaire" showcase tremendous vocals. I do feel he struggles at times with "Never Again" and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", but he still excels in conveying the gut-wrenching words of these songs. Elvis makes you feel the words of these songs like no one else. "The Last Farewell" is solid and really only "Blue Eyes.." is not up to par and that is due more to the rather lackluster arrangement (still a better vocal than Willie Nelson's version, of course Willie really can't sing) Concerning the revisionist history that the LP tanked. The LP actually sold quite well when released. It was his best selling studio LP since "Elvis Now" and it hit #41 on the Billboard LP chart (his highest for a studio LP since "Love Letters") and spent 19 weeks on the charts (much longer than Promised Land - 12 weeks, Good Times - 8, Today - 13 or Raised On Rock - 13). It was #1 for three weeks on the Billboard Country LP Chart. Some may not like the fact that Elvis leaned heavily towards country and/or easy listening for his post Aloha sessions, but he did and he excelled...Just a side note, Allmusic.com gives this LP 3 stars and says it isn't the Elvis LP to start your collection, but overall the review is favorable.
I agree 100% with Deano1. There is not much I can add that he didn't say in his post. I think this is one of Elvis' best albums and one of his most honest albums. This is a very mature album and a very heartfelt album. Hurt, Never Again, Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall, Solitaire, and I'll Never Fall in Love Again are all outstanding performances.
Statistics and knowledge aside, it all boils down to what people like in music or not. So references to whatever knowledgeable members may make are relative attributes to music. As a basically fifies fan I have had quite some time with the later albums altogether. But I must admit to me I think in the balad style ELVIS beats all as to beable get the sentiment across to the listener. Much better than baladeers who are (still) around.
Natha, I fully agree on this one. I do like Tom Jones very much too... but on TJ-fora they call me crazy when I say that TJ is the better singer, but Elvis touches me more. Unfortunately this does not happen with this album (anymore), except maybe the spoken part of Hurt.
Is there anybody out there who has a fanclub-mag review from the 70s about this record? A negative one? I wonder if any fan in the 70s critizised Elvis' singing. I would love to read some quotes about the 'bad' parts. It's a phenomenon that things we loved in the 70s, 80s and 90s now turn unbearable. Suddenly the end of "Never Fall In Love Again", which always struck us, turns into 'sick man struggeling through a song'. Five others joint this opinion and suddenly I think I was an idiot for likeing this howling for 35 years. "Our Memories Of Elvis" was a sensation when it came out. We all were amazed about the "Pure Elvis Sound" on these records. Suddenly it's all terrible? We all were blind but now we see? How comes we are all getting this smart suddenly? 30 years we yelled for better sound. Now we have all songs digital from the master. There's nothing more to argue about the sound and RCA. Now it's hip to start denouncing the man himself. Wasted movie-60s, human wreck in the 70s. He didn't even invent RnR. Others did that before. And wasn't it at least Scotty's guitar that in reality 'Changed The World'? If we continue to tear off everything Elvis made we soon have a website about a 'One Hit Wonder' here. By the way ... believe it or not: He only had one No.1 hit here in germany. So, why such a hype about this redneck-son? lol. So guys, please go back and enjoy the music the way you did back then .. when Elvis was King.
Boxcar your comment is perfect could not have been said any better. I think to some degree Elvis " fans " have become way to spoiled and the true meaning of being a fan has been forgotten. Like you said just enjoy the music that we are lucky enough to have, its never been so good. Whatever is said it all forms part of the Elvis story and nobody can change that.
Boxcar, you are so right! Even after 30 years of being an Elvis fan I still can't hear him struggle on this record ..., and this after my own education in classical music and opera.
I take this album pretty much for what it is. True, when i was younger i was disappointed in the lack of fast songs but later it was the emotional and sentimental aspects of the music that attracted me. I made a cd of the entire moodyblue and boulevard sessions in recording order once. The whole thing does take on a new feel when you listen to it in that way. I think Ernst did once say that Elvis was a sessions man not an an album man and I have to agree in this case.
Boxcar - Here you go, 'From Elvis Monthly #199, Aug 1976. The album is 80& dreariness, it has ten tracks of the rumored 11, the mixing is poor, and the arrangements are about as fresh as Geronimo's corpse. The overall mixing and production are of a standard that defies reasoning. Bergen White should be locked in a basement with his strings & horns and Elvis should run into the arms of Phil Spector who has been wanting to produce him for years. Thanks but no thanks.'
Then there is a track by track review. You asked for it!
I also was disappointed in this album when I first heard it since I thought there were way too many ‘heartbreak’ ballads on it. I only liked ‘For the heart’, ‘Hurt’ and ‘Blue eyes crying in the rain’. Although I will buy it to add to my collection, it is not one of his best albums (in my opinion). It is also sad that he did not put lyrics to the song ‘Fire down below’ that Jerry Sheff had written for him during that Jungle Room Session. You can hear it on Youtube sung by Terry Mike Jeffrey that shows what a hit it could have been! Sadly, Elvis couldn’t be bothered to record it. He only wanted to record ballads and old country songs.
As for the album ‘Moody blue’, Felton Jarvis had no choice but to add live songs since he didn’t’ have enough songs to fill an album. There was another recording session planned in early 1977 but once again, Elvis didn’t want to record anything. A sad end to the ‘King or Rock and Roll’. TCB
SteveV...that wasn't what Boxcar asked for. He said a negative review about his singing, not mixing and arrangements, etc. Elvis' 70's LP"s were criticized immensley for the arrangements used and overuse of horns and strings and that is one of the reasons why the "Our Memories Of Elvis" series was released. Is there anywhere in the Elvis Monthly review that criticizes Elvis' singing? What did the review of each song say? I do want to say that what I meant by Elvis struggling on "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" was not due to health, but rather he really sounds as if he is going to break down on this song. It is truly haunting and while not technically perfect, it is a song that I never skip. "Never Again" is also a song I never skip and his voice is powerful, but again it is not his best vocal technically.
I consider Phil Spector one of the WORST producers of all time! (from an audiophile standpoint. The ONLY album I liked by him was "Plastic Ono Band". This album brought me back to the fold after I abandoned Elvis after buying "Elvis Now" After Elvis 68 TV Special LP, "From Elvis In Memphis" TTWII and "Elvis Country" I was not going to give Elvis another chance of disappointing me (the first time was the movie years) Love Letters was the first inkling, and then by "Elvis Now" I gave up! Well From EP Boulevard gave me a bit of hope again, ironically it was made up of his last two studio sessions ever.
Regarding this album, I am not surprised by the detractors. Some fans can't see past Elvis in decline. What I see and hear is Elvis being honest and pure. His voice is incredibly moving on this album. He invites the listener into the Jungle Room for an evening, and he sings what is on his heart. I cannot detect Elvis struggling on any song. The added orchestration (a very common practice in music throughout the 70's) is intended and it's beautiful. Heartache and sadness are emotions you can run away from or identify with. I guess I am in the latter category, so this album is gem to me.
Deano - It kind of is what boxcar asked for. 'Is there anybody out there who has a fanclub-mag review from the 70s about this record?' Since Elvis Monthly was a fan club publication, that was their take on the record. He then asked if any 'fan' criticized his singing. I have no fan by name, that did that. So basically he asked for 2 different things. Again, they broke it down track by track, while liking his singing on some songs and not on others. Their favorite track was For The Heart.
I just looked on youtube to listen to different versions of Solitare. Carpenters, Andy Williams and Niel Sedaka were the ones I picked and they were all OK versions, but all left me cold. Now if Elvis´version was bad,what should we call the other three ? I really hope you all will go listen to them too and see the different for you self . Now excuse me while I´ll go tell my aunt whos favorite album is Moody Blues and my friend whos crazy about Danny boy, that they are both out of their minds ,and that they only should play that music for unwanted guests.
Elvis as a performer was not as exciting anymore as in the early 70's but his singing was still great. Actually, i do like 8 songs of this album. The only ones that don't do much for me are The Last Farewell and I'll Never Fall In Love Again. To be honest the 50's albums also contain songs that I do not like. On the Loving You album for example, True Love and Hot Dog do not get a lot of spins.
Deano1 & Steve V: read the 'Elvis: The man and his music from June 2000 and the CD review of the Jungleroom Sessions FTD the reviewer gives big wraps for it and funnily enough they're not fans of Elvis in '76 or '77.
Amen, Lefty. I agree with you 100%.
SteveV...I understand that he was asking for a review of the record, but I think he was leaning more to the singing aspect of the LP. I know there were Elvis fans and magazines in the 70's that hated the production values on his LP's, but most never attacked his voice. I am interested in what songs they liked his singing on and which ones they didn't. I do respect much of what you write and you have been a fan since the beginning, but it really stuns me how much you hate this record.
How is the sound on the album? As it is mastered by Vic Anesini, are there major differences to previous releases of it?
By the way, is Hits of the 70´s remastered by Anesini too?
Well, Lex, personally I am not thrilled with Tom Jones and singers like him. Even more, I don't like the music of the sixties and later. Not when I was a young boy and neither do I now. Actually it was that powerful voice of ELVIS that got me interested in other pop styles apart from Rock 'n' Roll. That's why I have a soft place in my heart for those later albums too. (mind you, not all songs of course) I guess I just enjoy the voice (and less the content of the lyrics). My brother was always hammering on the contents of the lyrics, but I emphasize on the voice and the transmitted sentiment (in which ELVIS is was and will always be the Master of them all).
Alanfalk, I fully agree with your observation!
O yeah, before people say that I miss out a lot of other good music, I am very fond of other types of music. It's all a matter of perspective.
What's the talk about Tom Jones? Is he supposed to be a better artist than Elvis? I don't know how he is regarded in other parts of the world, but most people in my circles see him as little more than a lounge lizard. His signature tune, "What's New Pussycat" is often mocked on the radio. The refrain is quite irritating. I checked out a recent video of Sir Tom singing "Mama Told Me Not To Come." He was awful. He looked like cross between a tele-evangelist and Colonel Sanders. He just walked around the stage, eyes bugged out, bleating into the mic. I hope Tom Jones is not the standard by which we measure Elvis. Sure, they were friends and all, but I don't see them in the same league.
I'm a Tom Jones fan and have seen him in concert 3 times and enjoyed them all. He's a very good performer and a good vocalist. But he's no Elvis. Elvis is in a league by himself.
Best singers ? That's personal isn't it...? For me Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, Van Morrisson, Willy DeVille...and I"ll tell you something...sometime it's not all about a good technical voice but about the "feeling" you get with a voice...isn't it ? music and voices are all about "feelings"....
Agree musical tastes are personal but if people want to talk about Tom Jones, this is not the right site!
If we talk about measures of success or vocal range, it is clear that Tom Jones is not in the same league as Elvis. The only other artist that has had to endure mass hysteria as an individual, and had great impact on the music industry and popular culture, probably was Michael Jackson.
Duh! If I want I can spend a complete article on Tom Jones...
Ton, we agree on this one... that's exactly what I said, but some fuses here are so damned short.... they sound like people whose IQ doesn't exceed their age.
Elvis, Neil Diamond, Sinatra, Tom Jones, Engelbert, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and Andy Williams are among my favorites. But Elvis is tops! I agree, and my grandmother used to always say the same thing, that nobody can convey the feeling of a song better than Elvis, be it a fast song, love song, or be it a sad song. That's why I love songs like Bitter They Are and Never Again. From the freedom he expresses in the Sun singles to the sadness he expresses in some of the Jungle Room session songs, Elvis had the gift of coming across sincerely and emotionally. His soul came out in the music. Sinatra is a outstanding phraser of lyrics with a great cadence, Tom Jones can belt out a song like nobody can, Smokey and Marvin are both super smooth and easy, and Andy Williams is one of the best all around singers ever. But none of them can convey a song like Elvis.
Capt_Canary: Thanks for your statements, especially the last 5 lines of it. Perfect - that´s exactly what music and singing is all about. Reading this discussion is a very strange experience. I almost feel like being a teenager again: "Who is the better singer?" What nonsense is this? Engelbert? Tom Jones? Sedaka? Where have some of you been living the last 50 years??? There´s so much talent and great singers out there, so much soul, so much feeling. So Springsteen is a bad singer? David Coverdale? Steve Lee? Billy Joel, to name a few. People, please get real. It doesn´t matter if someone´s got a technically perfect voice and a range of 6 octaves. A singer has to reach the listener and connect with his audience, he has to live a song, put dimension, feelings and meaning to a song. ELVIS had it all.
Why say people need to get real or say that they're stupid for having a contrary opinion? To me, it's fine to take Elvis to task and it's fine to judge the talent of other artists. However, I find it offensive and distasteful to personally go after people that post on this site. If you have to say someone has a low IQ to defend your argument, then you don't have a valid argument to begin with. This site is becoming increasingly combative. I think it is time for me to say goodbye to ElvisNews. There are other comprehensive Elvis websites that do an equally (sometimes better) job.
Lefty.its because the rules are not followed or inforced. I got bored of elvis sites,most have the i know it all,your nothing types,and those that only encourge there antics by having hero worship for them. EP bld is depressing and i have no interest in any more outtakes. Jungle room sessions will do for me.
Lefty, thank you so much! I fully agree with you. I myself was so much surprised that there are people that believe only their arguments are valid arguments and all the rest is coming short and have a low IQ Just Because they simply do not agree with them. Lex, some news for you: I perceive your review of FEPBMT as an absolute shortcome as it is totally one dimensional and it would have deserved better!
More reviews from Loes please ;-)
I agree with Lefty and will be departing, too. Till we meet you again, may God bless you, adios. Fans of Elvis in the 70s (like me) - keep the faith.
MatureElvisFan, you are so right. The rules are not followed. I.e. rule 1 ( dwelling endlessly on Tom Jones or others) rule 3. What is the need to call names, rule 4. most of the time when a person does not like or agree, and of course rule 10.
Interesting though, Loes' review has less of the above. I wish there was more factual information. I don't mind people reacting on the content and show their differences as fans, but let it be without responses putting people down like when not agreeing in liking you are nuts or of low IQ. Stick to the rules please.
Paul, couldn't agree more... but this is better for our income LOL
Sorry guys, since the reactions are far more here, than at my review, I thought you didn't like mine that much: besides, Lex does have a lot more knowledge about masters, dates, takes and mixes than I have. It is not easy to write a review: I have spend 4 hours on mine.... I do have some other things to do in my weekend as well you know!
Lex you gave us a fair, honest and personal review. Nothing wrong or bad with it. "Au contraire". I was one of the many fans that were clearly misguided by the infamous sticker "Recorded Live". I brought this album only in the end of 1983 (it was my 26th Elvis LP but probably my 12th regular release among Candem, compilations, best of and picture discs). I listened to it a lot, but it was never my favorite. It just had no Rock and Roll! It was also my fist contact with Elvis in the 70's. In the next months I would have in my collection Elvis Country”, TTWII, Raised on Rock, Good Times, Promised Land, Today… and I had to conclude that FEPB was Elvis weakest release from the 70’s. This album is a classic because I was Elvis last complete studio session, and not because of the value of the songs and renditions itself, since they are mediocre comparing to the whole Elvis career. I’ll pass on this one not because I dislike the original, but because I pretty sure I won’t stand all those outtakes. Bitter it is and harder it will fall.
Capt, I know you said it before but your quote about changing lives is the best summary of Elvis voice I have ever read. Simply beautiful. I wish I had a hundredth of your technical knowledge of singing and music, but thank God that you're here to defend Elvis in such a magnificent way. Your posts on the other threads are mind blowing.
I will agree to that Lex´ review was personal. If it was honest only Lex know ( there seems to be a shared opinion that if you say something bad about Elvis then you are honest, but if you say something good about/or defend him then you are probably a blind follower- or worse A FAN!! but Remember folks there are also motives for talking bad about part of Elvis music, behavior or close ,such as; showing your critical/objective/independent nature, or maybe you are becoming more fan of others etc. )BUT FAIR !! I don´t think so; not to Elvis who is blamed for not having the best versions of the songs (but good enough to enjoy until friends started to criticise it) and for not singing as good as he had done on other records( but does that meen that it is so bad that visitors will leave?), and not to the fans who like this album as they are indirectly accused of misunderstood loyalty and maybe a lack of critical sense. And to all the fans who think that the only real Elvis was the rock´n roll , I don´t think you could convince Elvis about that if he was alive today.
AmyD, just out of curiosity, are you somehow related, or perhaps having an affair with the Capt?!
Agree with Capt., Tom Jones has no tonal range. But Elvis' range was more like 2.5 octaves at best. He may have occasionaly hit the odd higher note, but he couldn't do anything with them once he'd hit them. Range is about being able to 'sing' a note not just hit it. Roy Orbison was just over 3 octaves. Freddie Mercury was about 4 and Mariah Carey pushed 5.
I don't anything has been said that warrants anyone leaving the site (compare the comments on this site to yahoo, youtube, etc). Lex obviously does not like this LP and probably wasn't the best person to provide a review for the expanded CD version. The IQ remark was unwarranted, but most of us are guilty from time to time of making comments that we later regret. I stand by my love for this LP. No one is going to talk me out of it and if someone has made them not like it (critic, friend, etc) then that is too bad. If they just don't like it, that is their right even though I don't fully understand it.
ELVIS has one of music's greatest vocal ranges and "From Elvis Presley Boulevard" proves he still had it. People are still trying to figure out what ELVIS' true vocal range was. I've read in various articles that he was capable of 2 1/2 to 8 octaves. It really doesn't matter what anyone's opinion is on that subject. What matters is he was a vocal god and anyone that disagrees is denying the truth and they're are not true fans of "THE KING". Like I've said on other articles, if you are one of those types that continues to criticize ELVIS yet continues to praise the Beatles go be a fan of someone else. We, and especially ELVIS, don't need your kind of "telling it like it is". Go, now! Git!
First of all Elvis doesnt need any of us,he doesnt care if he sales anything. I for one dont think my view is anything more than my view. People get worked up over stuff like this? If you want this release then get it,enjoy. Ejf i think we know what is going on with those comments,it happens alot on elvis boards.
Thank you Lex for taking time to review on the FTD. It is not my personal favourite, but contains few songs I like very much. I have no problem with this article being "too personal" - I think if someone claims (s)he can write it better, should do so and not complain all the time - from what I see its kind of nightmare here. I also should admit I liked Loes' review better - it also was a "personal one", but in sort of a new way, beyond the standard "design-content-conclusion" idea. So Loes, thank you very much, especially if it cost you a lot of time!! As for Elvis' vocal range. Somebody wrote it was 2 1/2 to 8 octaves range - it is not true. Grand piano has 7 1/4 actaves, Elvis didn't have wider than the instrument. Few years ago I investigated on the subject by finding both the lowest and the highest notes Elvis could reach. Turned out that the lowest note was "f" of Small octave (last note of live versions of Funny How Time Slips Away: "with... you") and sometimes "e" of the same octave (can be heard during rehearsals for TTWII, but it is so low, he couldn't sing it clean it was more like buzzing sound). As for the highest: He could sing "g" of 2 line octave (end of What Now My Love). The highest was "b flat" of the same octave (like in "Surrender"), but someone has poitned well it was just note he hit, not he could sing it. So it gives us 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 octaves. We should remember - with all respect - that Elvis was just a guy, he wasn't "a god" - there are people who can surpass him in other ways. But what show his genius is that he's been dead for over 30 years and there are few people who can beat him.
I am no musical expert but I once read, I think it was in an article in Elvis Monthly, that Elvis reached the lowest note with the last "home" but one in "Home Is Where The Heart Is." Can anyone confirm this?
Just got this new FTD one in the mail and disappointed indeed ! Very w e a k album and also the outtakes are not great.
Too bad RCA did not include in the original album "Way down+Pledging+She thinks+Moody blue" and keep way down in the drawer for later releases "Never again+Love comin' down" (uggly songs not worthy to be sung by Elvis). Then, this album would have been super and gold soon. Another bad decision... from a label that should have had more respect to Elvis !!!
Pietro, does that also meen that Lex should go record a better album because he criticised the FEPBMT album, come on . What we who criticise this review does, isn´t any different from what Lex does in his review of the album. And I didn´t know that it was an option at all to write a review for this site unless you meen in the comment below, if so I think there already are a few. And Mature, a lot of people actually care about how their legacy will be when they die (I´ve read severel places that Elvis worried about if people would remember him when he was dead).Why And a lot of fanc care for sure about sales, I do it because it among other things is a messure of success and the more success Elvis has the more likely is it that there will be more Elvis-music and concerts and books and festivals and fanclubs also in the future. Or ask youself, why does anyone care about if Manchester united or another sportsteam win? And just to make things clear, I really don´t like this review BUT I LOVE THIS SITE- so thanks LEX and Loesje .
EJF, as for "Home Is Where", for the last wrods "home, home, home, home, home" notes are: e', c', a, g, c', so it is not the lowest, but very close: he could go only 1 step down. But still it is low for him, the "home" sounds warm. Of course the songs I mentioned earlier are not the only one in which he showed his range. But since it is not the topic here, I won't go further (I'm thinking about an article in this matter - should I?).
alanfalk: I didn't want to critisize Lex' review; all I wanted was to say that I got used to the "design-content-conclusion" formula, so Loes' was something different, and as always, anything new gets more attention. Hope this make things clear?
Pietro, my reaction was because of your " I think if someone claims (s)he can write it better, should do so and not complain all the time"-statement. About Elvis voice I would like to quote a songexpert, Lindsay Waters "his voice had an emotionel range from tender whispers to sighs down to shouts , grunts, grumbles and sheer gruffness that could move the listener from calmness and surrender, to fear. His voice can not be measured in octaves, but in decibels, even that misses the problem of how to measure delicate whispers that are hardly audible at all."
Why is it, for a lot of Elvis fans, such a huge problem to respect different opinions about Elvis' songs and music ? Lex doen't like this album, so what ?? If you like it just listen to it and enjoy...nothing more, nothing less...
Ton, that's so true. It is interesting to read how other fans experience certain albums. No need to discussions we had many times before. Like you wrote: you either like it or not. One may want to add a few extra information that might be interesting, but that's all (for me at least). That's why I like the Loes Review. It is from the heart and the sentiment she feels while listening to the songs.
Lex' review is more basic. Indeed, design-content-conclusion and the remarks we are used to. Anyway, that's his style and we should respect that. Honestly dictates to state that Loes had an 'easier' task while there were no outtakes. And mabe there is nothing more to say about this release that I like it, I don't or something in the middle. The rest of the discussion is a repetition of before.
YET . . . The moment çomparing ELVIS to some other singer or group comes in, there is even more intolerance. If one does not agree with that conclusion havoc starts. Re: Lefty's remarks. And personally I feel no need to compare as that only leads to more strife. It is ELVIS that binds us together here. It would be nice if it sticks to that too.
There certainly isn't anything wrong or upsetting about Lex doing a relatively negative review of this album. If any of us were to review every Elvis album, we would each have a negative review or two (4? 7?) Don't ask me to review the Frankie and Johnny album or Harum Scarum or Raised On Rock or Elvis Now for instance.
It is silly to try to find a reviewer that would yield only a positive review of each album. When it gets right down to it, there are only a handful of GREAT Elvis albums. Elvis's greatness has a lot to do with how he could elevate a mediocre song. If only he had access to ANY song he wanted to record, instead of being shackled by his publishing arrangments or the silly movie songs.
My last 2 cents... I don't give a damn what people think of my opinion, I just vent it... that's an advantage of having a site like this. About the setup design - content - conclusion, that's just a thing that we decided on long ago. Sometimes if I feel like it or the material really asks for it - in my opinion of course - I do the content part different too. And for those that disagree... I don't see it as THE truth, but it is MY truth.
Finally... input is always welcome, being it a review or an article on something Elvis-related, we asked a zillion times for it in the past, but only seldom someone came up with something.
Freddy M definitely did not have a 4 octave range and Roy O sang mostly in falsetto so that doesn't quite count either. Elvis was a high flying baritone with exceptionally good high notes. His high b flat sounds very full at tge end of trilogy no problem. I think range wise you could compare him to Dieskau or Thomas Hampson. I guess we get irritated when someone has little vocal knowledge and states things like they are facts. Danny Boy sounds as fresh as 1960. And I think Elvis' health problems are over dramatized. There is no need to name them in this review, because they had no effect on his singing during the sessions at Graceland. By the way I am also an opera singer and voice professor at a well known consevatiory in the Netherlands. The better you get as a singer the more respect one gets for our man.
You can always listen to your Bouke collection of world wide hits, Lex.
Capt_Can, in one point I cannot agree when comparing Elvis's live performances of 1976 and his studio recordings. I fully agree that sadly in most of his concerts he was short breathing and simply tired. You can actually hear how much he was in need of an extended sabbatical. In contrast, during these recordings he sounds much more relaxed and focused.
To the vocal aspects. I had singing lessons (opera) for over 10 years and I agree with Wiebe that the more I studied about singing, interpretation and basic music theory, my admiration even grew bigger and bigger for the vocal arts of Elvis Presley.
I find it irritating that there is a discussion ongoing on how many octaves Elvis coved. Seriously? Who cares? Enrico Caruso was not a natural specialist o the high tenor C, still he is one of the most important and influencial tenors in the history of singing on record. Why? Voice, interpretation and personality!
Sorry to dissapoint the experts. But although Elvis was nearly a 3 octave range (if you count the falsetto high E at the end of Unchained Melody, although as we know it was often the backing singers hitting that note), he was more practically 2.5. The B in Surrender was only achieved by using Ray Walkers technique of 'throwing up' the note. Which brings me back to my point, it's about being able to 'sing' the note, not strain to 'hit' it. Roy Orbison, mostly falsetto? How about the natural voice high G at the end of 'Running Scared'. But it doesn't really matter, I think it was Leonard Cohen who dissmissivley said 'range is for backing singers'.
Trilogy is in C major, so the last ooooon is a bflat a g. All of those notes sound full in most versions with the exception of Hampton and MSG, where his voice cracks. His diaphragm sounds constricted on For The Heart, and Blue Eyes Crying, definitely not on Bitter they are or Moody blue. Maybe occasionally. We can surely say that the high b was part of his range. How about the ending of Rags To Ridges (early morning '77) or Hurt (in Concert). Those notes are resonant and quite free. Amy tenor would be envious. I think his singing is better on these sessions than on the Stax sessions. It's funny how songs have a muscle memory. You can tell by the perfect technique on Danny Boy that he sung this song all his life, thus the controle on the recording.
It's all good. To each his own. Lex has always done an honest, decent job. That's what has brought me back day after day, year after year to the great ElvisNews.com
as i expected, i love my copy of this double cd. Not so much new on this cd, but still a nice look into the jungle-roomsessions. What a wonderful job he does with Danny boy. You feel indeed that the song fits him like a glove.
As Wiebe said also; he has problems with his breathcontrol here and there, specially hearable in Blue eyes crying in the rain, Never again and I'll never fall in love. You hear in the soft passages his voice is fluttering (hovering / floating; I don't know exactly wich english word i have to use here to desribe the dutch word: zweven). That fluttering (hovering / floating) started already in 1971 but it got worse later on. As did the vibrato in his voice got bigger and got sometimes a bit too big. But this is all technical; what really matters is his ability to sing a song, make it his own and makes you feel the emotion and therefore makes you believe he sings it only for you. Not so many singers can do that. Isn't that true?
How I was shocked and happily surprised, when i met a guy, back in the early 90's from the last century, who was as crazy about him as I was (do you remember, Wiebe, hahahaha...).
I don't have this release yet, so I can only refer to the album versions and the Jungle Room sessions. I think the 'fluttering' was a habit rather than a vocal deterioration. Sometimes it even sounds like slack closure of the chords which in I'm Leavin' has a wonderful verfremdungs effect. I think he sometimes used it as a sound. I'm quite convinced he could always go back to full singing, listen to Recorded Live in Memphis. Technically I think he didn't maintain his breath support enough. Giving up the stretch in his diaphragm. Which in live performances was becoming a habit when he would take it easy on some songs. I think in the summer of 76 the vocal unbalance was there because if his intestin problems. We all know how tired and without any energy one gets. Hallo Rob
hello Cap. its interesting what you say about Funny how time slips away. Cause indeed, I know, thats the first song I hear this 'fluttering" and in those years (listen to one year later "I will be true" and "Its still here"; you here it too and "Im so lonesome I could cry" from Aloha). Maybe you can trace it back to the 69 recordings with the laryngitis. I dont know if its a way of singing that Elvis chose to, as Wiebe says. I think it does have a relationship with the downers he took. In some live shows specially in 1974 you dont hear it. Maybe because of the uppers. I agree with Wiebe when he says that he didn't maintain his breath support enough. He just didnt have the energy I guess (because of the downers?) Anyway I love the album and every song on it. Capt I agree about Orbinson. I cannot listen to him much, its so out of tune. But I heard and saw a show from him on tv when he was older and it was on tune; so he probably learned it later on. Nevertheless was it a beautiful voice.
I am a fan of Thomas Allen, great voice and artist. I have no idea if it was on purpose in 71, I just think it gives I'm Leavin' and I Will Be True a great mood. I'm sure later on it was either out if boredom or lack of energy. It's funny how in 77 Elvis can hardly maintain a tone on June 19 in Omaha and one day later he almost sounded like 74. Drugs at this point had a major influence.
Capt. I didn't mean head resonance. Ray Walker of the Jords also taught singing. Ray told the story that Elvis couldn't get the B flat in 'Surrender' and asked Ray for advice. Ray told Elvis to bend over and practice bringing the note from his gut 'as if' he was about to throw up. One thing that puzzles me is why in 76/77 Elvis adopted that awful half Tarzan/half yawn type yell, that we can hear on countless soundboards at the end of 'Hurt' and a few others.
I think we got two things mixed up. Resonance and support. I'm quite sure Thomas Allen uses support when he sings, I don't mean tension, but rather stretch and breath flow. Breath and resonance intertwine. I know there is a point where support and flow don't increase that much and even seem to become less and more 'head resonance' is felt. I think there should always be both chest and head resonance, so the instrument gets taller rather than higher. The lower you sing the more chest, the higher the more head, but also more ring. Actually Ray Walker's advice, the throwing up feeling, is an old opera trick that people still use. Especially the more dramatic voices.
I've been misquoted and I feel I must defend myself. I never said ELVIS was a god, I said he was a vocal god. Big difference! If you're going to quote someone make sure you do it right.
When I mentioned breath support etc I thought we were talking about the 'fluttering', that Rob mentioned. For extremely high notes it's sometimes better to not take a breath at all, to prevent too much pressure. Like I just said at a certain height there is actually less support needed. So basically we agree.
yeh. i think what ray walker meant was the same as what my singingteacher at the conservatorium always told her students. when you sing a high note dont think its a high (therefore difficult) note but think low or think that note on the same level as the one before which is a lower note or as she always said think horizontal instead of vertical. I guess thats what ray walker meant. But there are many ways to Rome, put 5 opera-singers in a room and you have 6 vocal-techniques.
Did I mention that I am a singer as well?
Well Capt seeing as you like to give marks out of ten, I shall join in the spirit and award you 10/10 for name dropping. I am familiar with Thomas Allen. I prefer Bass to Baritone myself and I believe he was once also so inclined. Back to Ray Walker. You say 'apocryphal and no basis in fact', well the story came from Ray Walker, so I can only assume that you think he is lying. You also say you wouldn't let him teach you cat how to sing, fair enough. But the fact is he did coach voice, and he did help Elvis get the B flat in 'Surrender'. I actually quite like his voice, I think he does a very nice job duetting with Elvis on 'Who needs money'. Speaking of cats, I found myself wondering if you yourself were having kittens when you read Wiebe contradict you and say that yes, it was on old opera trick still used by the more dramatic voices. Finally, I can do do without JD Sumner, I much prefer George Younce. Sherrill Neilsen, well it's back to cats, only this time we are strangling them.
I know that the discussion here in not just about this album but still; More than 100 comments for 'Boulevard' and less than 20 for 'Boy from Tupelo'! Just amazing in my mind...
Let's keep on respecting one another here. Capt_Canary, as much as I respect you and your career, you are not a singer. So I don't know if we can trust what you write here after you explain what we talk about here to TA and then putting it in your own words here, without having some technical knowledge. I have yet to meet the first sound engineer to give me vocal advice. The guy with the biggest career here is Elvis, so I guess he is right and we don't have to discuss it. All kidding aside. I also think it's hard to really judge someone's technique from a recording. Elvis had a great technique, that's for sure. And as for Ray Walker, he was a great ensemble singer and maybe not so good at solos. But we can't deny the greatness of the Jordanaires.
Great sound and this time we can read the songs titles and takes numbers on the car cd player while listenning the music, thanks for that. 1 or 2 jungle room pictures would be nice to have in the booklet but i think ftd did a great job, thanks again
Did I mention that I sing? Hello? Is anybody here?
Diotrophes - You may think the Capt 'bitch slapped' me but I dont care. A lot of words in my opinion and one who calls someone an idiot is not worthy of getting me into a further conversation. He didnt like my 'give a crap' statement, fine, maybe the words were too harsh, but it is a known fact EP wasnt much into recording after the marathon 1970 Nashville session (his really last good one) and had to be coaxed into entering a studio. He probably felt the same way he did about recording that he did about making movies after a while. It was a contractual obligation. All biographies on Elvis basically state this as fact and I believe on the Promised Land FTD he said something like 'Ive been a millionaire since I was 21' or something flippy like that to show his contempt for making records. I dont know since I didnt buy it, but this is what I have read. Also, lets not forget him not even showing up to several sessions and leaving the musicians stranded. I stand by my opinion despite multiple takes of Danny Boy!
John804 ,as a singer, which song(s) on the EPB album would you say is best performed, and which one is your favourite ? To dgirl, just because Elvis didn´t like going to the recording studio, that doesn´t meen, that what he recorded when he was there aren´t any good. I have been training weight training for 25 years and some of my best trainings have been on days when I didn´t feel like going, but did anyway. And I will bet you that if we made an eksperiment with non-elvis fans where they listent to Elvis music without any knowlegde about when (or what album) there were from, or what critics had said about them, a lot of movie songs and a lot of post 70 songs would be rated high. The problem, as I see it, is that many Elvis fans have let themselves been influenced too much by what todays music critics says about the different albums, and therefore are buying into a simplistic and revisionistic wiew on these. Just try to read what actually was said about albums like G.I. Blues, Blue Hawai and Fun In Acapulco when they first was released, and ask youself why they still sell so much, and then compare that to todays music critics view on them. Sometimes it is like some fans are afraid of what other people think about them,if they admit to liking an "uncool" number, and then the safe bet is to say that they love all the blues and sun music he recorded.
Wiebe, the Captain has said several time he is not a singer, he also said he isn't a sound engineer, he's an acoustics expert and he explained what the difference is. I know for a fact he is visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music. Are you? I doubt it but perhaps you are. I was actually surprised when my friend told me it was obvious who he is - as he's her professor! I don't think The Royal Academy employs peopl , especially their consulting technical director, who don't know what they're talking about, do you? Nor the Royal Opera House or any of the other major venues where he is a Director. I have been advised he is THE global expert in his field of expertise., someone who is an absolute expert on sound reproduction, performing and music.
Good point, Alanfalk. There are days when I do not feel like going to work but are very productive and delivering good quality once I am there. Especially in the later 70's Elvis was often not feeling good and it is no surprise that he had to push himself to go on tour or go into the studio, but once he was there, I believe that he did his very best. I have also let friends hear songs from periods that are supposedly not cool and they loved it. Just think about Bossa nova baby, I've got a feeling in my body but also songs like How great thou art.
Not sure what you try to achieve Diotrophes?
alanfalk: I like "Song of the Shrimp" how uncool is that?
Me too kink56, hardly ever skip it. Great melody, great voice.
I'm an seventies fan, and i am glad to see some good reviews from people who truly understand were they talking about.
Capt- You said "I'll never fall in love again" was speeded.I have the original vinyl and a Technics SL1210, but playing with the pitch doesn't do any good,so are you sure? (This song is also a fav of mine). Alanfalk-I also do weight training so i do know what you mean,once there you give all.
This discussion is getting rediculous. Let's get back to Elvis. I think we all said what we had to say, and I hope it was informative. I'm sorry I called Capt_Canary a sound engineer. We as singers get very excited when it comes to talking about technique, because there's so much BS out there. People always tend to think they know about singing technique. I have two sisters that play the violin (professionaly) I've seen and heard them play all of my life, yet I don't know anything about the technique. I could hear if it's not in tune or the sound is of, but I would not know how to correct that technically.
How about the wonderful overtones and resonant sound on "I'm never gonna"( fall in love)..
Having the CD now I find the most annoying thing is that Ernst again killed all studio-atmosphere. He still thinks the most important thing for a collector's release is not it's collector's value but the fact that it has to sound sterile and the tracklisting and song-sequence is similar to an official release. Where is the banter? Where's the atmosphere?
This has surprisingly turned into a great thread once you wade through it. It reminds me of why I liked the site years ago. Its also great to discover that people at the top of their musical professions are elvis fans! ( PS I'm a secret song of the shrimp fan too !)
I didn't realize that this web site was for Capt. Canary and his rantings. This site is becoming ridiculous. Give it a rest. Elvis Presley's last 2 official albums to include this fiasco were a sad epitaph to a rather amazing span of recorded music. No matter how you cut it, if it wasn't for Elvis, there wouldn't be rock 'n roll and all that came after him. He took the black mans blues and made it palpable for the majority. A legacy if ever there was. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I guess most of us know the old adage, opinions are like axx holes... everyone has one. The guy is long dead and buried. Give it a rest.
Message to alanfalk: I love the whole album, "FROM ELVIS PRESLEY BOULEVARD", and never skip any song. People have been hearing about how great the Beatles are for so long they've been brainwashed into believing they are beyond criticism but those same people believe ELVIS is ripe for the picking. Personally, I found much of the Beatles music depressing and boring. I loved when my mother would play her singles and albums on the weekends but I dreaded it when she played the Beatles. "FROM ELVIS PRESLEY BOULEVARD" was filled with great songs and the album did reach number one.
Boxcar,its because ernst doesnt know what he is doing and he doesnt care what you think of the releases.
Ernst knows exactly what he is doing and he cares about fan`s opinions but stupid (sorry for the harsh word) comments like this don`t have to be taken care of..
John804, I agree with you on the fact that ELVIS has been the target of all sorts of criticism, while still alive and all those decades that he has passed away. And you mention the beatles, well I liked some of their early work but later on most of it is boring. Mind you all, that is my opinion: I hate the song ELVIS also recorded HeyJude - one of the worst songs he recorded. Even during his life time I witnessed a constant flow of criticism, while to my ears the current music of that time was horrible. So it is all a matter of taste. So one should not criticise, just say one likes or dislikes. No one has the right to speak lowly about another person (or a suggested lack of entjousiasm). Who are we to judge. We don't really know what happened in a persons mind after all.
Capt_Canary really makes this site. Lex puts in all the hard work on the design and running but by miles the best content is anything Capt_Canary writes. Cruiser621 you must be crazy!
Shandy, it is true that the discussion CaptCanary has been involved in was interesting, but I must admit also a bit too much for me. At one point one has to know when to stop too. That is also a sign of intelligence.
Diotrophes, you are right, in some way we are friends since we both like Elvis and like Capt Canary will defend him everytime someone says something unfounded and stupid about our man. The Ray Walker advice is in many books on opera singing. For instance the book ' Four voices of men' by Jerome Hynes, one of the greatest bass baritones at the Met. I really don't care what people think of me, I just want to give my opinion in a respectful way. I don't know why people have to get so excited over agreeing or not agreeing with Capt Canary.
Let's start a Captain Canary fan club with Diotrophes as president...
Start one,are you telling me we dont have a capt canary fan club?
Well someone get on that.
I like how its ok for someone to put others down all in the name of defending there man (Elvis)no further evidence needed as to why fans of elvis are thought to be nuts.
Diotrophes You are 100% right regarding the Captain, I really hope he will continue commenting on and defending Elvis. Regarding the critic of Elvis, I think this quote from Billboard is fitting "Elvis voice´ ,always better than the critics admitted......" said after the MSG-shows in 72. I also think that Elvis music often is put down because his albums seldom were concept albums where all the songs were made to fit together. This I think is unjust, Elvis took one song at a time (as do I ), and I think his view were, that if there were 10-12 good songs, and they were put on one album, then this was a great album, this I agree with . To John804, I agree 100% with you regarding your view on the Beatles/Elvis discussion, I have 10 of their Albums, but they don´t get played much, they just don´t give me that great feeling that Elvis´ music does. About the album I like/love all the songs except The Last Farewell. And Ciscoking, I really hope that you will let Ernest know that we are many who are greatful for everything he has done for us elvis fans,and if there was a medal for being a great Elvis fan, he should be one of the first to recieve it. (and thanks to you to for helping him out now)
Diotrophes, the 'puke technique' or 'vomitare la voce' as the Italians call it is exactly for that, the top range, according to the people that teach that technique.
Capt judging by your last reply, my comment about your name dropping seems to have touched a nerve. Why else I wonder would choose to tell me you 'are at the very top of your career' (whatever that means, could you have meant 'profession'). And you wonder where I am with mine and the nature of it. Why do you ask buddy, are you hoping to trump me. Whilst you may feel that posting your CV somehow validates your points, I feel no such compulsion. In fact I can think of nothing more vulgar. You'll be telling me how much you earn next. Diotrophes you do take this stuff seriously buddy, chill out.
MatureElvisfan75, perhaps you would like to present evidence of where The Captain has put anyone down? What he did was proved certain people were making-up stuff to look impressive - which the Captain proved was indeed an invention and fantasy. Dgirl wouldn't let it go, she went on and on, until she ended up looking ridiculous. Maybe not quite as ridiculous as Jamie though! Jamie tried ridiculing his examples of blues guitarists to compare Scotty Moore against, not understanding anything he was actually saying, nor understanding the context, which The Captain then proved, but he was Jamie who attacked him, mistakenly. As Diotrophes said about Dgirl being out of her depth, Jamie was miles out of it. So perhaps, as I said, you can show me one example where he has put someone down on the basis of an opinion rather than invention.
Mike E, you're making yourself look foolish. Where is the 'hitting of the nerve' exactly? Where? There's none. As Capt_Canary himself said, the reference to namedropping was a joke on the basis few people would ever have heard of the names he quoted. I think the subtlety passed you by. As for top of my career, maybe he meant profession, maybe he didn't. Only he knows, but I'm think he deliberately used career as he has many professions. If you actually try thinking then it might be a bit more obvious sometimes. Even if he did mean profession, it may have been a slip - he's stated here many times, he writes his posts on his Ipad and phone - and everyone makes mistakes on those, especially how long and frequent his posts are sometimes. He even said he doesn't proof read what he's written and why should it, it's an informal internet forum. Get a life dude. Time to give up if you have to look for a typo.
Hi Shandy. You gave so many options there you met yourself coming back. Dry your eyes.
MikeE, what options? I never gave any options, so do you want me to start criticising how you use words? Options are to do with choice. There was no choice as I clearly said only Capt_Canary knows what he meant. How on earth anyone who writes in cliches like that can criticise someone else's writing. Unbelievable. As, I said, thinking might occasionally be beneficial for you.
Elvis career was interesting and impressive, I do not know about others on this site and really do not care. Anyone has actually listened to this CD and can tell what the master rough (re)mixes are like at the end? Thanks.
Wiebe, please could you clarify something for me as you appear to be contradicting yourself. You have stated several times that Elvis could easily sing B Flat, so why would anyone have to teach him how to sing it. According to the Captain Elvis' range was E2-C5, surely, anyone who can sing C5 does not need to to taught how to sing a B flat? Or am I missing something? Also could someone explain how the vomiting thing is even supposed to work if you have to sing a full song before you even reach the note it's supposed to help you on. Surely that would change the whole tone of the voice throughout the song?
I think I saw that interview with Ray Walker, I don't remember him saying anything about bending over. Anyway Elvis hardly had a high c, he tried a few times on America. I don't think I ever said a high b was easy for Elvis. And one high b can be harder than the other high b, for instance the vowel has a big influence on that. The gagging or pre vomiting gesture makes the cricoid tilt. When the cricoid tilts connection is made with the head register, the amount of head register increases as you go up. Other methods tell you to look sad, and call the tilt opera quality. You can tilt in any range of tge voice. It makes the tone more mellow. I guess the vomiting thing also creates more space and keeps the lyrinx in a lower position.
Wiebe thank for your reply. However what you said previously was "We can surely say that the high b was part of his range". You have also given lots of examples, which Capt_Canary added to where Elvis sings B Flat. I'm left very confused. by your posts but I'm sorry it might just be my misunderstanding.
For the record, I don't teach the vomiting technique, I just said it's an OLD opera technique. I use mostly the sad facial expression, or the 'dissappointed mafioso', I made that one up. Anyway you want to leave the stomach area alone, try and keep that area flexible and support from the lowest abdominal muscles. Will give a nice free tone. Amazing that Elvis did all this by instinct. He also lifted his cheeks to keep the soft palate up and brought his tongue forward while singing top notes
Amy, when someone can sing a top note and sustain it and it's a reasonably free tone you can say it's part of the vocal range. Doesn't mean it's easy. There is also a thing called tessitura. Every voice type has it's tessitura. It's the range of the voice that the voice 'likes to sing in'. Normally the melody will move within that tessitura and once in a while you go beyond it for dynamic/ dramatic purposes. Like in Surrender Elvis hits that b only once, but makes a highlight of the song.
I'll tell you a funny story. I was vomiting and singing this evening. I had an orchestra stage rehearsal of Carmen and I got food poisoning. Fortunately they didn't notice. But I can tell you this: Vomiting does not help your singing.
Diotrophes and Wiebe thank you very much. You guys really should get along great! Obviously both experts but not sure if you were agreeing or disagreeing! Perhaps it doesn't matter! This site certainly seems to have a lot of singing experts! All of whom I note really appreciate and like at least some of the Graceland sessions. Strange that when so many people, who aren't singing experts, dismiss them as rubbish. Again, thank you.
You are right there I said cricoid where i wanted to say thyroid. Can't blame a sick man that's puking all night. Anyway your analysis is based in EVTS and methods that are based on that. I find them interesting, but it seems like religion. I've seen the videos of the research. I have yet to find an opera singer that sings like the one they were filming and analysing. It would have been much more interesting to film a guy like Robbert Merril. I like some of the exercises, and how you isolate different muscle movements, but it definitely has it's shortcomings. Most people I meet that studied EVTS sing with too much pressure, they anchor and anchor but were never told about the old fashioned breath support. 'The breath will follow when the right tone is produced' well it will after you know about breath support. The different 'voices' you describe are only used in this method, most methods use different divisions. I guess I'm more old school. Basic training before you start using a box of tricks.
Dio, I was writing during your last post. Peace. I guess we paint a picture in our head of what the others are like. Maybe we should arrange an Elvisnews.com meeting once. So we can meet and talk without any misunderstanding.
I hope you didn't think I was actually trying to vomit and sing. Anyway lots of great singers used the pre-vomit technique. So as we respect EVTS, I think we should respect any other technique , especially if it seems to have worked. I'm not going to tell Jerome Hines he was wrong(also because he's dead). I think any technique when taught wrong will not help.
We we're replying at the same time again. Thanks for positive reply. Would love to get together if our schedules allow. I don't know if we're all in Europe.
I so agree. I'm glad to have some people on here that can tackle the BS that some people say about Elvis. I have some good friends in London, so for London is fine, as we can get there cheap with ez or Ryan. One last thingy about the v subject before we close it. I don't think it's meant to do anything with the stomach, it's more about laryngal position that one feels in the back of the mouth. I think it's mostly to get to that powerful Verdi upper range (for baritones)
guys you forget one important thing about this discussion of elvis getting his high b flat. In the 70's his voice was obviously more powerfull than in the early sixties. In those early sixties he was just in his twenties. The male 9alo female) voice is on its top more or less (depends a bit of the voice-type) around the 40. so its not strange that elvis had more problems with singing a high b flat in 1960 then in 1977. But I wont say that elvis' range was till the high c. He, as wiebe sais, tried it a few times in america, but it was not really useable. Anyway for a bariton he had an unbelievable range. He definately was a bariton-martin as we call that kind of baritons.
Another aspect what made elvis' singing so interesting is the fact that he was able to sing a line with the rythm as if you would speak that line; so not strictly the value of the notes that are written but more the natural flow as if you would speak that line. Therefore it sounds more natural therefore its more recognizable for the listeners ears therefore its more touching. Compare in this matter for example Green green grass of home. Although Tom Jones has (still has) a great voice, it doesnt touch that much as elvis' version. Elvis was (by instinct) a master in this.
by the way Diostrophes, if you are in amsterdam we sure can meet, together with Wiebe. That would be an interesting meeting. and take Captain with you :-)!
Now there's another interesting discussion, Elvis' voice type. I personally think Elvis had more dramatic and legato quality than a Martin. But then it's hard to judge from recordings. Call a baritone a Martin and he's gonna be disappointed. I remember Jose van Dam's wife telling me that they told him he was a Martin when he was young. He said 'he'll no' and trained himself into the bass baritone that he became. I guess you talk about the Martin range. Some people think a Martin is actually a lazy tenor and others think it's more a way of singing, like Souzay when he sung Lied.
To me Elvis had the richest baritone in febr 70 also when it comes to overtones. And also June and august 70, but at some instances he started taking it easy, like on The Wonder If You (10-13-1970). But then you've lost that lovin feelin blows you away. It's funny how thin he sings on Burnin Love and in 73/74 he's back on the rich color. Then in 75/76/77 he seems to rely more on twang and nasality. So I agree, I think he sometimes made the choice. Listen to the bridge in Tryin to get to you in 74 and 77, you'll notice the difference.
Maybe it's interesting to look at the Ed Sullivan shows, they seem to have been recorded with an overhead mike. If a guy can carry over a full band and backing vocals, he'd have to have quite a voice.
i agree that elvis' voice is a bit too dark for a bariton-martin and his low register is too rich for it. but yeah you want to label it and than that label comes close. And i dont think there is something wrong with being a bariton-martin. I'm not (im a bas-bariton) but i wish i had these easy highnotes like elvis had.
About the How Great Thou Art-sessions. For me its obvious that elvis wanted to sound like a bass (always a dream of him to be the bass-singer in a gospel-quartet). Therefore he sounds so much darker then 2 years before when he recorded things like Memphis Tennessee and Ask me. You hear that he is colouring his voice dark in the HGTA-sessions. One year later its lighter again, with songs like suppose and you dont know me. So that was an artistic choice he made.
I wouldnot call him a dramatic bass from the years 1973 on. then I would rather say dramatic-bariton.
i had to think of Andy Williams, another wonderful vocalist with an amazing reach, but his voice was obvious lighter and more tenorlike, but wow... that man could sing in the 60's and 70's.
Wasn't 76 the time when Elvis had a twisted colon. That should mess up your energy and breathing. I think the breathing problem came and went. When you listen to My Way in Long Beach in april 76, it almost sounds like the Aloha version. Other days, like the Hampton show, he doesn't sound like himself. I was shocked when I first heard it. This was the first SB of a 76 show that ever came out, so some people say Elvis coulnt sing in 76. Of course we have some great shows from 76. Especially during the summer it was obvious that he had major health problems. I also think that some of the keys he sang in during the Jungleroom sessions were high, and it seems he hadn't rehearsed some of them vocally. If you listen to Danny Boy, you can tell muscle memory from the 60 ies take over, when he sang this song a lot in private. I always imagine he sings that song to me and I shed a little tear. Of course when he was healthier he would have nailed those high breathing songs like that. If you listen to Mojo Working, that's quite a warm up. I also think when Elvis was healthier he would sing a lot more in private, thus keeping the voice in shape. Once you start marking like he sometimes did on stage, you're sending mixed messages to your muscles and voice. And it's actually more tiring for your voice than singing out.
it was funny to hear that elvis tried Danny boy first in D then he says its not high enough i like to do it in E and after cracking up the high gsharp says i like to do it in C. its a funny moment. He probably didnt like the D-key. But i think the only time he sang it live it was in D. wasnt it Wiebe?
On the record it's in C, fits like a glove. In Tuscon 76 he did it in D, where he just made it, but you can hear him lose his power here and there. Anyway Elvis' voice to me is addicting, I have to hear it now and then. Also his wonderful personality comes through in his singing. I collect footage, because it's great to see the man making music with so much love. To have that come across so naturally and selfles is very rare.
I prefer listening to the likes of Tom Waits, Howling Wolf, Neil Young, Bob Dylan or Lightnin' Hopkins than to so called wonderful but boring vocalists à la Andy Williams, Johnny Matthis, Tony Bennett and Rob Wanders. Anyway, I think nobody on this site ever questioned Elvis' ability as a singer on this album. For me it's one of his better of the seventies but I never liked to listen to it, mostly because of the depressing nature of the material and the declining quality of his voice (due to health problems as the Undisputable One mentioned somewhere on this thread).
thank you bluesboy. I'm flattered to be mentioned in one row with Andy Williams, Johnny Matthis and Tony Bennett. Its ok you dont like it, everybody its own, but you made my day :-)
oh some of the one you mentioned (Howling wolf, Bob Dylan) i like them also a lot. they are fantastic!
Yay! Capt_Canary is back!!!!
Love your comment about communicative genius, Capt_Canary. That is why I love Elvis because he really gives you that special feeling, throughout his career indeed. The technical discussion is beyond me, but nice that you have found each other here!
I don't know why people have to explain why they don't like someone else's taste.
I fully agree with you Wiebe. there's a lot of negativity around
Just read the Capt's very moving (well it certainly moved me) Mission Staement '.........by people who seem to have their own agenda based upon intrinsic flaws in their personslity and life......'. How right he is, whoever those people he is refering to are, they better be warned. This is a guy not just at 'the very top of his career' but a bit of a psychologist to boot. For my final contribution to this discussion may I just add that I also enjoy the 'Song of shrimp'.
100% in agreement Diotrophes. Besides MikeE (naming yourself after a character in an Elvis film. Sad!) What Capt_Canary actually said was "What I will always try to do based upon knowledge, insight and experience is rebut the preposterous allegations, condemnations and inventions against Elvis by people who seem to have their own agenda based upon intrinsic flaws in their personality and life". I don't think you understood the context, you need to read some of the other discussion threads, including the one running when I joined this site. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but some of the criticism of Elvis is not opinion but bizarre unsubstantiated abuse and as Capt_Canary proved and continues to prove, it was and is, based upon a spectrum of being badly informed to simply lies by people trying to make they look good. If that is a "mission", then I am glad he has it as his and I sincerely hope he does for a very long time to come. Many people are here to learn, and I have learnt more from him in the past month than I have in years of reading books about Elvis. In all honesty, without him, this site, despite all the fantastic work Lex puts in to it, wouldn’t be worth visiting anywhere near as much.
This is interesting. John Lennon compared himself to Jesus. I think it's more appropriate to compare Elvis to any religion or prophet. Here's a man that touched to many people. And those people start fighting against each other about who knows or loves him best. I'm not religious, but I think we could all use a bit more of inner Jesus, (like Elvis).
There's a nice review on this album on the Elvis Australia site. I have to say it's exactly what I think and feel.
I understand your point, Dio. And I find it really nice to have a genuinly intersting discussion because of people like you and Captain Canary. But let's focus on what positive contributions we can make, and tackle any BS with knowledge that we can bring to the table, without getting too personal. Even if the less fortunate out there do get personal. By the way I have a great duo album by Tony Benett and Bill Evans. Very nice and intemate album, might change your view on the man, Captain. One name nobody mentioned and I think had a big influence on Elvis is the very early Dean Martin. Not the drunk crooner he later became. Furthermore I think the safest bet on Elvis' voice type is that of a lyric baritone.
Brilliant post about The Captain Diotrophes. There is one reason I visit this site and that is The Captain, quite strange really as much of the finer detail of what he says is lost on me, as I simply don't have the understanding. But he also writes poetically with such style. His is my very favourite quote on Elvis eve,r not just on this site or any internet site but ever, period. It wasn't technical, he didn't use some of his long words. It was this:
"The basis of Elvis' ineffable genius is not his three octave voice, the technical genius of his voice is in it's centre of gravity but far more than that, it's his ability to 'live' rather than just sing a song, the ability to move, for the listener to empathise with and feel the agony and pain (or joy) in a performance. In short, it's the ability in the three minutes or so of a song to change someone's life. And no one could change lives like Elvis Presley". Absolutely beautiful.
WOW Captain. Awesome but did you get out of bed the wrong side today, LOL! Somehow I doubt the guy wrote the review for someone like you with such an amazing knowledge and understanding of music. You sure do have high standards :) Do you mind if I send you a private message, as I would really like to have a better understanding of your point about cash management economics and how that affected the structure of the music industry. I am in my final year of studying BSc Economics and Management and I would really like to do my MSc next year and that would be a brilliant topic for my thesis!
Capt would you agree that Elvis was a sessions artist then ? Ernst described him that way and I personally think he is. I listen to his tracks in session order and find they kind of flow better if that makes sense .
So this has turned into the Capt's fan base website has it? He doesnt speak for all people, not me , and I'm sure others. When I read 'There is one reason I visit this site and that is The Captain', I gotta say enough is enough! I thought the reason for visiting was Elvis. Guess I'm wrong. Adios.
SteveV, maybe it´s because opinions are not just opinions, some are better than others, the Captain (and others) know a thing or two about how professionals rate a performance and a voice, while a lot of others sounds like they are just buying into a to generalizing view (ex. all the 70´stof were bad, all the movie music were substandard, etc. etc.),and sometimes it sounds like people criticise Elvis, just to show that they can think for themselves and that they are not fanatics. I think That is why a lot of people here like it when people who work in the music field say (in an intelligent way) what a lot of us feel ( that elvis sang beautiful throughout his entire career, and that he deserves more credit than most people give him, also for albums like EPB).
Exactly AlanFalk, perfectly said. I think SteveV deliberately misunderstood what I meant. I obviously visit the site as I'm an Elvis fan but what pulls me here more than all the other Elvis sites around is The Captain. He always gives me a new perspective and new ways of understanding about Elvis and his voice. I have bought more Elvis albums in the two months I've been on this site since than I have in the past two or three years combined, 20 Follow That Dream albums, all down down to The Captain.
Awww come on SteveV its just a discussion. Its great when someone can change my opinion and make me see something in a new way I never saw before. I realise now how important elvis' vocal technique was and how it was affected by his illness and how that in turn afected his desire and ability to record. In some ways its kind of obvious now I see it but the Capt has explained it in a very informative way. Many of yours and others posts are informative too and very honest. Its why i come here. Lets cut each other some slack.
Why all this huss about this record!? Perhaps this record is a bit overproduced, and the sadest. But the songs are all right. Hurt, one of best balllads ever!
And who the he.. is Captain '(America)'?? ;-/
I find it amusing that some on here who used to get away with murder are now getting their comeuppance. You know who you are and I'm laughing my butt off.
I have just been reading all the posts here through again and there is one I need to react to; Kink56 you write that there are only a handfull of great Elvis albums. And this, I think, is wrong (I take it that you meen 5-6 albums at the most, and that you by great meen something like 90-100% 4-5 stars songs) here am my suggestion to which albums are great; Elvis Presley, Elvis, Elvis christmas album, King Creole, His Hand in Mine, Elvis is Back, Something for Everybody, How Great Thou Art, From Elvis in Memphis, Elvis country, Back in Memphis, That´s the way it is, Good Times = 13 great albums IMHO. As you see, I didn´t count any live albums ( unless TTWII is counted as such), and no compliance albums ( gold 1-4, sun sessions). I think that on top of this we can add a lot of good albums (lets say with at least 70% songs worth 3.5 or more stars), like the EPB-album. what do you ( or any other on this site) think ?
And this rounds up posts to 200! Is this a record? :D
Alanfalk, I think great depends on whether you are saying the albums are his very best work by using the word, "great". As I have said before, "Elvis Is Back", "Elvis Presley", "From Elvis In Memphis", "That's The Way It Is" and "Elvis Country" are in a class by themselves (IMHO). "How Great Thou Art", "The Wonderful World Of Christmas", "His Hand In Mine", "Something For Everybody", "King Creole", "From EP Blvd" and "G.I. Blues" are very close to that level, but fall a tad short. "Good Times" only has 10 songs and a couple of them are weak ("She Wears My Ring", "Spanish Eyes", "If That Isn't Love") in my opinion and nowhere close to the LP's I listed above. Let me say, I love almost all of Elvis' music and would rather listen to him than anyone else... All the technical stuff is fine to discuss, but of no interest to me. Who cares if you are a singer, an acoustic engineer or an accordian player? Somehow I think Elvis would have said the same thing and he would probably laugh at us for the conversations we have on a myriad of subjects concerning his music (he would probably take issue with those that didn't appreciate the Jordinaires or JD Sumner before he cared a lick about what we said about his music and voice). He wasn't a classically trained singer and he did not have a formal musical background. His character in "Jailhouse Rock" said it perectly, "Lady, I don't know what in the hell you're talkin' about". Can we quit worrying about "one-upping" each other and thinking that if we add our two cents the legacy of Elvis will glow brighter or dimmer because of it? Elvis transcends my opinion, Capt Canary's or anyone else's...SteveV you will be sorely missed by a lot of us if you leave this site... In closing, as much as I love this LP, it took a few days of Elvis' life in Feb '76 to record. He couldn't even remember what songs were on the album when he was in concert in June of '76. It obviously was not a great labor of love for him, but rather the fulfillment of a contract. To analyze it and Elvis' voice like has been done here is nonsense.
Diotpophes better hope he never actually meets the Capt in person. Because if he does he will surely wet himself.
Maybe it's time to zoom out a bit fellows. He's been dead for 35 years. We don't have to attack those who don't agree and proof they're idiots. Let's keep this site alive. It's THE site for me to check Elvisnews and I thank the people behind it. Maybe it's an idea to have a forum section where registered members can have their discussions, so the main site can stay nice and clean.
Well,..Well.. It's good to have a debat. Even as long as this, no problem at all. Perhaps we should have a Quick Poll about this FTD album, is it good or not. I bet you a whole lot whould vote. I guss 88/12 to Elvis :-)
This debat shows a lot is still is going on in the Elvis world. And THAT is very positive/fantastic.
Always E!
Like to follow the debate and different views, although Diotrophes is an annoying factor, to put it mildly.
Diotrophes is obviously an expert on singing, as his posts prove. Even Wiebe was wrong and Diotrophes put him right about the technicalities of singing. All he has done is defended The Captain against ridiculous jealousy by people who have contributed nothing, not that he really needs defending. He (Diotrophes) is right though. It is amazing that, what I assume is a grown man, would respond with second guessing how Elvis would think and behave, when he and everyone here has no idea at all. How is that an argument or a point of view? Deano1 why not enter into a debate with the Captain on the merits of the Jordainaires? Surely a much better route? The Captain said they were 99% dreadful, now maybe you can prove otherwise, so perhaps you could start with a detailed technical description of their individual and assemble singing, highlighting why you think they're so good, for the Captain to respond to. No, I didn't think so, you and we all know, he would humiliate you. Yet, you think it's right to criticise him when you have nothing to support your argument, well, other, of course, that Elvis would take issue with someone not liking them.
Hang on a minute guys, you are missing the point. All DeanoI pointed out was that 'Elvis' obviously appreciated The Jords and JD. Now there can be no argument there, Elvis obviously did appreciate them. I sometimes wonder if Elvis just had terrible taste. What else could explain his admiration for JD Sumner and Sherrill Neilsen.
This is all getting a bit sad.
Like i said, it's good to see some possitive views from people who think they are at the top of their career,stating that his singin' is good till the end.(i agree with that,because i love the 70's Elvis)
But some seem obsessed by the Capt.
I appreciate Deano1 and SteveV reactions more than what i read the last say 150 other reactions below me.
And i agree with Deano1, he did love JD,Jordanaires and Sherill and he didn't remember what was on the EPB album a few months later,no doubt about that.
Ahh...Diotrophes, AmyD, and Weibe..where does one start? You are all three so brilliant and of course you know you are because you agree with 99% of what Captain Canary says (oh I forgot the enlightening back and forth over "vomiting" up a note). MikeE, who can obviously read and I am not sure I can say the same for the Feathered Three, re-stated what I said. Elvis appreciated (loved) the Jords and JD. So I guess, the Captain is right and Elvis is wrong. I did not state how I felt about the Jords in my post, but rather how Elvis felt about them. He was the one who did not know what he was doing by letting them sing with him for so many years. He was wrong to ask to JD Sumner and the Stamps to tour with him. He was wrong to say he was honored to share JD's stage. Why was he wrong? Capt Canary, Dio and AmyD (well she really never says anything except to parrot the Capt) say so. Dio...you really showed your lack of class with your balls comment and even your lack of understanding English by putting words in quotes that weren't used. Let's look at the facts. Elvis was often amused by his fanatics' behavior ("never ceases to amaze me", laughing at the squeals on the '68 TV special, etc.). Elvis did not promote EP Blvd while in concert (as I said before he couldn't even remember what songs were on the LP). Yes, he did sing "Hurt" a lot but usually referred to it as his latest single not from an LP (like he did "And I Love You So" and "Fairytale" from "Elvis Today". So a conversation that has taken more days than the recording session did, is a bit excessive, over-the-top and your area of expertise..nonsense. I did not even mean it in a negative tone, but the fact you took it that way speaks volumes about your self-esteem. I am sure if he was able to come in my house and see his likeness everywhere, he would be amused (probably down-right scared!) I also find it very odd that you and your flock attack dgirl, steveV, myself and anyone else who has a negative word to say about Elvis, except for the one man who is most critical of this LP..Lex? Why is that?...I would much rather be a guy like Vince Everett, who enjoys music and does it his way then the stuff-shirted, psuedo-intellectuals that were at the party. They remind me of some of the people on this site...Dio, don't hide behind comments of "What has been a trained singer got to do with anything" (see quotes used correctly). You obviously are (or want us to believe you are) so your opinion matters more. Your "expertise" on singing is everything rock and roll and popluar music is not.
After I wrote my last entry...I noticed something very odd...Shandy, AmyD and Diotrophes all become members of Elvisnews in the months of Sept and Oct of this year. Now isn't it odd that Shandy was happy the captain was back if he (Shandy) wasn't here previously? Has the Capt created other names so he can pretend to be people who support his views? None of the people created real profiles (no real name, fav movie, fav LP, etc).
It is obvious that Elvis loved JD Summer and the Jords. To pick up on your own style of argumentation, I am most interested to hear how Capt his career compares to Elvis his career and impact on popular music. And besides, you really don't need any education at all to know whether you like what you hear or not.
That is strange indeed... We'd better inform the CIA...
In-A-Flash, I so agree with you. One doesn't need an education to like something. An education doesn't make your taste more valid than others'. The fact that some people wrote off the Jordanaires, didn't make those educated people more credible to me. They may sound a bit old fashioned to today's standards, but listen to the live recordings. Dispite all the screaming from the audience, were they ever off? I don't think so. This is before we had inears or even any monitors. Besides they blended so well.
In A Flash and Wiebe, as for beauty (it's in the eye of the beholder) so goes music. You either like it or not. I never understood why ELVIS liked Voice or Sherril Neilson, but that was his prerogative. I like his music.
The discussion below was interesting to a point. I have no expertise on judging the validity of the arguments. Obviously a number of new members/names found eachother in it. As they also did on another discussion. Fine. I hope this will not be repeated, though. Whatever, it all boils down to our personal sentiment and preference.
Re: this album (that's what it is all about) - one way or another ELVIS managed through his voice to make me like this album. He transmits the sentiment involved so perfectly well that even this old rocker likes this one.
My goodness Captain. I really like hearing your own views and insights, but not how you claim they are the absolute truth, and fiercely attack anyone who raises a question or has a different opinion.
I think that me really being The Captain would come as a bit of a shock to my boyfriend! Of course, I'm not. As for not completing my profile, why should I? Most people haven't! Surely, if anyone was to invent aliases, they would indeed complete all the profile information to differentiate them as much as possible. What you said makes no sense. Deano1, like The Captain, I too, and I'm sure Shandy and Diotrophes will look forward to the apology.
Agree with you again In-A-Flash. Anyway tell me what's wrong with TTAF. The only one that has intonation problems in that recording is Ann Margret, which shows you how hard it is to sing background. The best way to judge a vocal ensemble is by checking their unison parts, because as easy als it may seem, it's one of the hardest things to get right. Listen to their unison parts in Don't be Cruel or Are You Lonesome Tonight or any of the other songs. I don't have to prove how great they are, I think they did. In those days no recording was ever as pitch perfect as today. They were all recorded at the same time. Have you ever noticed how flat Elvis is on Can't Help Falling In Love?
Just a comment from a long-time reader rather than a writer on this board:
It's sad to see that the discussion about the album has turned into offenses between a small group of people. This was definitely not the original intention of this site. No reason to turn this into a verbal battleground.
Coming back to the album:
Besides all discussion about singing techniques and so on - for me, a song/an album works if it touches me. And so do most of the songs on this album. No one of us was there when decisions were taken which songs shall be recorded. To me, Elvis picked the songs that probably reflected his state of mind at that time the best and despite all the overdubs it sounds coherent in its entirity. That doesn't make it my favourite album, but it is better made up that "snippet albums" like "Elvis Now".
Remember - in the first instance we are here because we are Elvis fans (which one cane be in so many ways).
C'mon Captain talking about morons and people embarrassing themselves is not nice. My point is that there is no need to write out some technical essay why you like a song or an artist. There is also no need to question people's intelligence, just because they do or do not like certain songs or artists, or because they do not change their opinion based on technical arguments. That's it. For example, I very much like Are You Lonesome Tonight and I do not like I'll Never Fall in Love Again. Whether your technical analysis would confirm this view or not, would be irrelevant for me.
Captain you do state your opinion like fact. By saying that I'm wrong. I think you are wrong. It's not a fact, it's my opninion. You don't know what it takes to sing solo or ensemble, because you are not a singer. You have never tried to find your way to a harmony or timing with a group of singers. I'm sorry to say, but i find it hard to take someone's opinion as a fact that things of Elvis as a dramatic bass(did you hear him dig for that A in Love Me during the Alternate Aloha) and things the vomiting technique has anything to do with the stomach. Saying that the stuff you say is a fact is a non discussion, because most of what you say is subjective.
Hi Captain, I do recognize that other people are also not nice at times, but it is much more interesting to follow the debate here if people are nice! I cannot play any music instrument neither have any education in music, so I do find hearing your views interesting. I am also not concerned with you questioning Elvis his judgment. It is just that you play the card that your view is right till proven wrong. Why not have genuine interest in for example the views of Wiebe instead of stating that he is wrong? Even if you think he is, you can give your views without making this statement. It is not nice, also not asking people how successful their career is, which you have done before. That's all, otherwise I do think you can and do bring a lot of interesting views and insights to this site.
Listen to the movie version and you will find almost the entire first verse about a quarter tone flat.
Listen to the movie version and you will find almost the entire first verse about a quarter tone flat.
You've just proved my point. Try and Google the pre vomiting technique and get informed. I don't care who you think i am, you only seem to be able to go cheap and try to write people off that don't agree with you in a rediculously aggressive manner. Try to be open like i am and try to admit you can also be wrong or make a mistake like all of us humans
Deano1, If great meens His best albums, then that would also meen that if Elvis had recorded one last album which was better than the 5 you mentioned, then he would suddenly go from having 5 great albums to only have one ! That is why I suggested to make a more objective way to deside which albums were great. Regarding judging an album by how long it took to record it, I think that is very wrong, because then albums like Elvis is bask, Something for Everybody and others should also be bad, if you are inspired or have prepared the songs in advanced, then you could record the album faster than othervise. In my oppinion Elvis had at least 13 great albums ( I don´t understand why a lot of people seems to think that his Gospel albums are less great than his secular ones, what is it that makes an album like How Great Thou Art less great than TTWII or EIB ?). I wonder how many people would pick the EIBor Elvis country as one of his 5 best if they didn´t know that they were regarded so today .
Did you get informed Captain? Now Google for 'dramatic bass' and get informed again. There i proved you were wrong, a fact wow! Am i happy, no. I'm not here to prove anyone wrong, but to share my love for Elvis.
What an interesting discussion...In 1976 Elvis didn't want to go in the studio anymore to record new songs. At that time his health was bad by using a lot of drugs over the years. Besides he wasn't selling records anymore. Punk and disco took over and Elvis was "just" a legend who only did Live shows who were from a mediocre quality to say the least...At that time Elvis' career was almost over; hard to say but it is true in my opinion..So his voice wasn't good during those 76 Memphis sessions and his motivation was low..Many Elvis fans just refuse to admit that maybe from 1973 on things were getting worse around Elvis, healthwise and careerwise (is that good English ?) :) We have to keep in mind that he was only 42 years old when he died ! In some way he just couldn't make a switch to another career move or change his tracklist in Live shows, change his clothing on stage, change his image, etc...Maybe he lost the will to make changes in his life, we'll never know...He was "caught in a trap"....that's sad for a man with so much talent and at such a young age...
Out of all the 240 posts on this top, Ton Bruins hits the nail right on the head. This was exactly where Elvis' career was in 1976. Bravo Ton (and Lex). Steve V (if still visiting) I also have the Elvis Monthly that reviewed this LP. Not pleasant to say the least.
I'm sorry Dio, but I was getting a little uncomfortable with Captain's attitude. Here's a part of Jerome Hine's book Four voices of man: "Another way of discribing the sensation in the throat when singing high notes is to think of what is commonly called the "gagging" position..... One night in 1947, Angelo Casamassa, my dresser at the Old Met, came into my dressing room as I was leaning over the sink. He said, "That reminds me of Titta Ruffo. Every night, when I came into his dressing room, he was at the sink throwing up". Ruffo is considered my many to be the greates baritone of all time. Was suffering from cronic nerves, or was he doing this on purpose to get the gagging sensation for his high notes?"
you are right Dio it's hard to find it. Maybe vomitare la voce will do the trick?
My iphone is giving me different hits than my PC
If you guys would give your view on what Elvis his best 10 studio recordings are and why, that could be of interest to lots of readers here. It is getting somewhat technical... feel free to continue but this may be nice side topic in the meanwhile.
Dio, would agree if I said my technical approach is more a classical one and yours is more for modern singing like, pop, jazz or musical?
In-A-Flash. For me the most important is the admosphere Elvis created and how the song communicates, not so much technical merit. I've been in many studios, but don't know a thing about recording techniques, the Captain woud be your man there. My taste is the less is more. So a lot of first takes i like better than the later more dictated versions. For instance Bridge Over Troubled Water. Take 1 is very intimate and less dramatic. I like I'm Leavin' a lot, because of the same reason. I like Anything that's part of you, the crescendo in the bridge gives me shiffers. I'll think of the rest of the list now.
The puking technique is for giving more body or power. It is usually in the upper reaches of one's register where this technique is needed most. It cannot expand your range, but it can give better tone and force at the limits of your vocal range. I cannot push you from Bflat to C, but it can make your C sound as full has your Bflat. There is a difference between "vocalising" a certain note and really singing it. This techique helps one to fully sing a note they can normally reach, but maybe are struggling with the tonal quality, or power.
Maybe vomiting technique would be better described as "heaving" ?
Deano, yes, spot on: "Elvis Is Back", "Elvis Presley", "From Elvis In Memphis", "That's The Way It Is" and "Elvis Country" and I would add both "His Hand In Mine" and "How Great Thou Art" as the GREAT Elvis albums, compilations aside. I also love and have all of Elvis' albums. But he made a handful of GREAT albums. As usual, his voice and style elevated hundreds of mediocre songs to a much higher level. I mean I do not think Tom Jones could have pulled of "Song of the Shrimp"!
Our Man's voice touched me, from the very beginning untill the very end, and it will touch me as long as I live. It's what I feel in and what it does to my heart when I listen to him that counts and all the rest is of absolutely no importance to me. Always El.
And King Creole is not a great album because ?
On the greatest albums that Elvis made, I really liked the ones that were recorded as such. The two Christmas albums and the three Gospel albums. I think Elvis Country was created afterwards but also is amongst the great albums. There were three pivotal recording sessions that produced amazing albums like "Elvis Presley", "Elvis is back!" and "From Elvis In Memphis". I would put in the same category or very close "Elvis" and "King Creole", "Something For Everybody", "Back In Memphis" and "That's the way it is". Maybe I am generous but that would count up to 14 really great studio albums.
I love the King Creole album. Maybe it is great! But my comment did not mean there is a strict demarcation, and there are absolutes. This is not based on fact, but opinion. What I am saying is he made a LOT of albums and only a small percentage of them would fall in the "great" catagory. Elvis' greatness was not because of the quality of his albums, but it was because the quality of his performance, style and voice. Imagine his career if he was not chained by the "publishing" deal, and could record any song he wanted to without this consideration.
As for singing style, changes, periods. His voice changed throughout his career. Most people could hear a song they never heard before and place it withing 2-3 years of when it was recorded, not only due to style but also due to vocal tone or timbre. Although I like the EPB album, and really dig a Hurt, Danny Boy, etc, I still think his voice started to become less appealing to me (in general) after the 1970 Nashville Marathon sessions. That is just my opinion. I really do not like the quality of his voice, on the very next major session of May 71 or any since. But even all of those 1971-1976 sessions have some fantastic gems embedded within. I just generally prefer his voice prior to 1971.
His rock voice like on the original recordings of Hound Dog, Jaihouse Rock and even King of the Whole Wide World, are unmatched in the world. NO ONE, can sing like that! Not James Brown, Little Richard or anybody! My two favorites of all time are the original recordings of Mystery Train and My Baby Left Me.
But for some reason, I really do not like the sound on the 2nd album "Elvis" there is a rough, graininess to his voice that sounds irritating to me. Something that is not as apparent in his 1957 sessions, and certainly not in his first recordings for RCA in 1956. I do not know how to describe it. Maybe it is the microphone, or the engineering?
And I agree with the Capt on background singers (as well as ALL musicians) HAVE to be in tune, on pitch, in key! A lead singer has leeway, expression to move around, but NOTHING is more offensive than a background singer or a chorus being off. It is funny how Elvis immediately reacted to a guitarist or a bass player hitting a wrong note. They did not even have to be playing out of key, but simply using an alternate chord that still fit the tune and he would remark.
But I do not recall Elvis commenting on any of the Jordanaires' awful off key performances during the session tapes and it amazes me what was acceptable as master takes totally ignoring the Jordanaires' off key performances. Music is not like an Olympic performance, a few errors on the gymnastic floor routine can still win a gold medal, but one sour note on a record kinda screws the pooch.
Just how many recordings did the Jordanaires ruin with their so called poor intonation?
I was going to respond to the Capts comments about moi. But then I saw a few posts later that he had gone into name-drop meltdown, and I thought better of it. Because nothing I could say would be half as funny as that (at this rate he's gonna have to start putting them in alphabetical order).
Wiebe, you may have been called a........ 'piss poor professor'........... But I think you are actually the voice of reason here.
One thing I do agree with the Capt on, Elvis did have terrible taste (at least I'm guessin thats what he meant by 'Elvis liked lots of people who had no talent whatsoever').
The tragic point here is SteveV's Sept 13th. post. That's a shame because we are loosing the most knowledgeable & without question probably the smartest Elvis person on this site. I guess this site is no longer a viable outlet for this thoughtful & sensitive man. This & the fact he overpaid a dollar for his latest purchase d of K Cups must have pushed him over the edge. I hope he reconsiders as I will miss his many insightful comments.
Amen to your comment about SteveV...kink56, I agree with you totally on his 2nd LP. I like it, but his choice of songs and even couple of his performances are lacking in my opinion...As far as taking on Capt concerning a debate over the Jordanaires. I wish that he and his alter egos, sycophants, whatever they are would read before responding. My point is that his argument would have been with Elvis not me. Yes, the Jords are not a welcome additon to Today, Tomorrow and Forever, but I wouldn't use that as a reason to discount them anymore than I would "Barefoot Ballad" to discount Elvis. Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Horton, Ferlin Husky, Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette, Kenny Rogers, Sawyer Brown, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dolly Parton, Red Foley, Jim Reeves, Willie Nelson and George Jones, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, Connie Francis, Johnny Hallyday and Julie Andrews also performed with the Jordinaires. I will take any or these people's opinions of a good vocal group over the Capt...Yes Capt, I am fully aware of other uses of parantheses (not commas, but you knew that "genius"). My point was that what he put in parantheses was not what I said or even the essence of what I said...I have been contacted by others who think you are davrid under a new name and AmyD is SuzieB under a new name. It is very odd that three people came on the site within weeks of each other that do nothing but parrot and cheerlead for you. Like I said they are either aliases of a deranged man or sycophants who share a single brain. Either is sad. Maybe you should re-read your posts and find all the people you owe apologies to before expecting one from anyone else. You may think the discussion was good before MikeE and I joined it, but as for me and several other people. we thought it was good site until you decided to "enlighten" us.
By now everyone owns an apology to everyone! To get your mind and energy to a question that I would find more interesting, what do you consider Elvis his best ten vocal performances in the studio? My favorite periods are 60-62 and 69-71 as far as studio recordings are concerned and most interested if these are indeed peak periods from technical point as well.
You know where i think Elvis' voice seems in a good place. During the Paradise Hawaiian Style sessions. Except for a little knoedel here and there, the voice really opens up. Listen to the outtakes of Hawaii USA. Sounds almost like a classical singer.
Of course the song material is not of high standard. Otherwise I think a lot of the songs on the Captain's list appeal to me, as well. The great minimalistic Stand By Me is a true gem. I also like You Don't Know Me from the same period. Jailhouse Rock and A Big Hunk O' Love come to mind. So Glad You're Mine, Lawdy Miss Clawdy...
Off topic (or am I). Just got my copy yesterday. My highlights were both numbers from the alternate single, The Last Farewell (composite takes) & Blue Eyes....(take 4). Other highs were Elvis on helium during take 1 of I'll Never Fall In Love Again pity he didn't do the same on take 3 and the same for Danny Boy on take 7, what standouts they would've been. Pity there was no room for the rehearsal on Hurt. If I was Ernst I would've spliced the spoken part from another take to do away with the profanity.
Capt & Deano1: guys this is really getting ugly! a drawn out debate on Elvis professionally maybe painstaking reading but at least it still resembles intelligence and I have alot of respect for both your views especially Deano1's as they reflect my views too especially those of Elvis' final years. It's a crying shame that you're now outdoing each other in gutter-sniping. We don't need this ruling the roost in this space
Deano1: BTW re your comment on Elvis not knowing what was on this album because it wasn't his greatest labour of love, rather IMO I don't think Elvis regularly listened to his albums like us fans & collectors do for entertainment value.
Thanks for sharing your views Capt and Wiebe. Good to hear that "Beginner's Luck" and "Tender Feeling" are also a joy to listen to for trained ears as they are amongst my favorite movie ballads together with "Please don't stop loving me" and "Sand castles". The latter is such an unrecognized beauty, at least for me. May I ask how you would evaluate a performance like "I'll hold you in my heart"?
Yes, Diotrophes , it is very sad that people like DeanoI can offer nothing constructive then ignorantly attack those who do have something worthwhile to say. I am sure though the Captain can take care of himself. "By the way", Captain, thank you again for sharing your knowledge with me and putting me in touch with you know who. Amazing.
I find your list of songs very interesting. I don't understand your point about 'Blue Suede Shoes' though. Could you please explain it? I am very surprised by some of the songs you included. I know from your other posts, you think "Merry Christmas Baby", How Great Thou Art' and "Anything That's Part Of You" are three of Elvis' very best performances. I think you said "MCB" is arguably the greatest performance ever in popular music, something like that anyway! It is especially interesting as today I heard the new version by Rod Stewart. Any thoughts on this? On your list, you have some obscure film songs and an obscure gospel song, well obscure compared to the better known ones. Why have you included these in particular? Nothing from 1969 which I find really interesting as well. And none of the really huge hits from the 50s such as Hound Dog, Heartbreak Hotel, All Shook Up and Jailhouse Rock.
I, for one, thought Deano's post was spot on.
Hmmm, since Frankie and Johnny is by far my LEAST liked Elvis album (I love "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" however) I will have to make a point of going back to listen to "Beginner's Luck". I love the jazz on King Creole, but I hate the oldtime or ragtime influence on Frankie and Johnny. I do not like clarinets, or the jazz Woody Allen likes to use in his recent movies, and, dare I day it. I am not a fan of D'Jango. I am more of a Blue Note label and ECM label jazz fan. Also Davis and Coltrane etc. I even like The Bad Plus and Medeski, Martin and Wood.
We always called them quotation marks and I realized that after I sent the message that I used the wrong word for them. I can admit a mistake, unlike others or one (depends on who they really are). You and your posse are the ones that call people names, use terms like bit## slapped and then want to say how smart you are and how much knowledge you have. Does it bother you in the least that people who looked forward to coming on this site don't want to come on here because of YOU!?!? Dazman, you are right and I am sorry to stoop to their level. My biggest problem with the internet are people who had behind fake names, make outlandish statements and hurl insults. My profiles show my name, email address and other information. When I post to yahoo or any other site, I do so under my name or have a profile that shows who I am. If you can't put your name to what you say, then you are a coward.... Dio (I hate Dolly Parton and I still put more creedence in her than your beloved Capt), AmyD and Shandy....what have you added to the conversation? Oh capt, you are so smart, Yeah, capt you are back!, Captain, captain, captain, capt, you bi*(% slapped that person, way to go capt, I love you capt, captn, you tricked us!...what does that add? Sycophants was probably the wrong word. The Capt would have to be an influential for that word to be correct...Sorry Wiebe, I used your name in my earlier rant. I included you in error.
Thanks Captain, most interesting. "Jailhouse Rock" and "One Night" are my favorite performances, closely followed by "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "How great thou art". I also love the recording sessions from the period 69-71 very much though, what would you consider the best recordings from this period except for Merry Christmas Baby? I'm also interested to hear your views on Elvis his voice during the NBC TV Special? It sounded so raw (if that is the right expression), even on the ballads, especially when you compare it with studio recordings in the same year, for example Stay away.
Speaking of Blue Suede Shoes, I know I am in the vast minority, but I prefer the GI Blues version over the 1956 version.
I have never noticed a internet forum that did NOT have name calling and bullying, harassing, stalking etc going on. Many time in REAL LIFE, one may have an opportunity to avoid certain types of people, or at least limit contact with them. However if you want to participate on the internet, you now are exposed to the whole wide world's worth of people who you would rather not. But even so, there is a LOT to be learned, somethings maybe one would rather not learn, but there it is.
I have said that Elvis' performances on '56 Hound Dog,'57 Jailhouse Rock and even '61 King of the Whole Wide World, is unsurpassed, even unique in all the world, of all time. NO ONE can sing rock n roll like that, not even James Brown or Little Richard. There are other examples too, but those three are pretty good examples of what I am talking about. Mean Woman Blues is another, and so on.
Getting somewhat intrigued now by "Blue Suede Shoes" indeed, which I like very much but for me personally would not rank amongst his greatest recordings. What is the story behind this?
Understand your point on internet behavior kink56 and like your postings very much by the way, but as an Elvis fan base we can do our best to keep things clean. Elvis moves me and I think all of us, and he comes across as a gentle soul. I do not like to see Elvis sites becoming battle areas instead of places where we share good memories and great music.
I think this particular thread is both the most revealing AND the most techically informative I have been involved in. It is a classic! One thing I find refreshing about the Capt (isn't he a Major yet?) is his experience actually INCREASES his appreciation for Elvis. It is very vindicating to me that he brings the information that so many classically trained singers dig Elvis. All my life (first hear Elvis while I was in the womb in 1955) I have had to defend and justify Elvis to my contemporaries. I was bullied and beat up in school for liking Elvis. People STILL scoff at me for admitting to being a fan.
I have always known his voice is special but my pleadings have fallen on deaf ears, for only a deaf person cannot recogize Elvis' talent!
Great exchange indeed. I am most interested to hear your views on Elvis his voice during the recording of the NBC TV Special, as it sounded very different from studio recordings just in the months before.
I think his voice on 68 TV Special is fantastic. And I was thrilled to hear his going into his early 60s style a bit with "ARe You Lonsome Tonight" when the "One NIght With Elvis" was release later. However, the TV studio fidelity marrs the whole affair. It SOUNDS like a TV show, and the quality sucks. And the sitdown section has Charlie Hodge's annoying cackle throughout. Man, that guy needed to tone down his pandering laughter!
As for the Memphis sessions, the one thing I do not like is the quality and the amount of echo added to Elvis' vocals. I am not a fan of echo, I prefer a dry recording, but I am in the minority there I think. Natural room abience is great, (if the room sounds good) but added echo is one thing I wish they never had on ANY Elvis record.
Interesting quote from Ernst in his book "A Life In Music" regarding I'll Never Fall In Love Again".
"...The English Star had sighed, moaned, purred, and belted his way through the song, in the manner that delighted his fans while turning the stomachs of nonfollowers." (like the Capt and I) "Elvis, though, could no longer compete. It wasn't so much power as tonality that he'd lost, and while he seemed to be trying as hard as he could, it was clear that he could neither hit the notes nor convey the feeling."
Well, I really rather LIKE Elvis' version of the song, shortcomings aside. It has HEART.
Captain, I did mean the Jordanaires remark. I couln't explain why you put Blue Suède Shoes on your list other than that it was well sung. I'm not good at explaining rock & rol or pop music context, because as much as I appreciate pop music I don't know enough about it. Otherwise I don't rely on Google as I quoted from a book, but since I didn't think you had any literature on bel canto singing I checked if there were explanations for you on Google, being the nice guy that I am. I would love to work with any of the great names you named, by all means set it up.
Oh, yes I TOTALLY agree! And Unchained Melody brings goose bumps and tears to me. Especially the video featured in The Great Performances. Man, here he is months from death, and pouring out pure emotion. What soul, what a soul. It is a shame that Felton saw fit to sweeten the single version with overdubbs, it only diluted the performance. Tom Jones has always elicted nothing but distain from me, from day one.
Agree with you on the tonality remark as it is a vague one. What Elvis often did when he ran out of breath support he slurred the note up at the end of it, thus making it (seem) in tune.
Yep, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and others aped that style on Blue Suede Shoes.
Wiebe, agree on 'Paradise Hawaiian Style'. I think that album has Elvis sounding his most natural with almost no affectation (especially the beautiful 'This is my heaven'). I have a theory that when Elvis was bored (PHS) or weary (EPB) his natural voice came to the fore. For example the phrasing on the first couple of lines of 'Love coming down' is uderstated to the point of perfection. In contrast 68 (Special) and 69 (Memphis) are full to the brim with affectation, and I feel suffer as a result.
Best songs, for me Elvis was at his absolute peak between 60 and 62/3. So most of the material from that period. I too also enjoy 'Tender Feelin' and especially 'Please don't stop loving me' . This has been fun. Capt, not a man to keep his powder dry, in the end almost demanding 'debate me' 'debate me' somebody please 'debate me'. Dio's posts are always worth a laugh. It doesn't matter what he says because everyone just ignores him. He could always try typing in capitols.
Must do this again sometime.
I like the Sun Sessions and the Jungleroom sessions !!! Elvis should of recorded I love you because and Blue Moon in the Jungleroom in 1976 ~
Lex or to whoever is running this site, who is policing this space? This record exchange is progressing from ugly to out of control. This collective lack of intelligence by those accusing each other of the same thing (lest I be misunderstood for taking sides, I won't mention names but you should all know who you all are) is in clear violation of guidelines 1,4 &10 if you take them seriously enough. I remember one time regularly seeing posts that were removed with the reasons given. Now I just can't believe that every post is now appearing unmonitored. It's little wonder some of the intelligent contributors have left for these reasons.
Dazman, sorry, we do have a life next to Elvis(News). In between all ramblin (of which we could delete for about 70% because it is not related to the article) I tried to find the really out of line remarks... resulting in a ban and a lot of deletions.
To all others: the report abuse button is there with a reason, please use it if necessary! If we are alerted we can take action quicker.
Sorry, typo, "hats off" of course. And btw: Dazman, well done ! Now let's exchange our opinions without calling names and prove we all are civilized people. Steve and Lefty : time to come back guys ! So much good meaning members, Dgirl, Steve, Oldscudder, Natha,Lefty, TonyC, the Capt, (yes, the Capt.!),Dazman,MikeE, Kink56, In-a-flash, Deano1, Wiebe, alanfalk, Japio, Marco, Jamie, Rob Wanders.... there are many, many more but the list would be too long, so my apologies if I forget to mention a lot of others. And don't think I'm writing this to look good. At 72 the largest part of my life is gone, but there is one thing I have learned : life is way too short to spend time on quarreling, arguing, disputing....... Christmas is in sight.... (see what I mean ?) To all of you : enjoy Our Man's musc, whether you're a fan of his 50s , 60s or 70s period, just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy..... and respect someone else's opinion(s). Always El.
Well said benny Scott (and well done Dazman and Lex),I had totally forgotten about the abuse button myself, now lets hope this is the beginning of a more clean debate. I do know from myself though that it is easy to get upset and be a little more harsh in my comments than I meen to, ( I have read that it can be caused by a lack of eye contact among other things). I must say though, that I have learned a lot from this and the last month treads, and I would therefor like to thank everyone for participateing in the debates . To get back on subject, I would be real interested in hearing about peoples favorite song or outtake from any of the jungleroom sessions songs, I´m especially found of "I´ts Easy for you", "For the Heart", "Way Down", "Moody Blue" and "Love Comming Down" they are all 5 stars songs in my book.
Let's us have a Quick poll/vote on about this album! I don't like when someones oppionion is deleted. What did they say Wrong..?! It's like a kind of censur! Now I hope that they wont erased me for this comment!!
It's a nice album but absolut not the best 70' album. Well...
Hi alanfalk, to be honest, I like 'em all with one exception : The Last Farewell. Not because of Elvis's voice, but it was such a huge succes for Roger Whittaker, here in my country you could hear it on the radio several times a day during a long time, and in the end I couldn't stand it anymore, too much is too much.Nothing against Roger Wittaker of course. It's not a bad song either imo, but I guess I heard the original version too much. Personally I hear sadness, emotion, grief in Our Man's voice during this sessions. He was tired and felt sick I think, and maybe, just maybe he would have preferred not to record due to the way he felt, but my God, how he poored his heart out once he started! That was, is and will always be the greatness of The King. Just my opinion, no one has to agree with me, to each his own !
Master Fatman : it was not a matter of censorship ! It was really necessary and Lex took a very good decision. Apperently you missed something, but no harm done, and of course your postings will not be deleted, why should they, they just are OK. Always El.
Thanks, it's nice to know. The last farewell is very good on memories of Elvis, Vol.3, whitout all the dubing! And the record is a lot 'over produced'. (Sorry about the BAD spelling!)
Here are the votes from Munich (Germany) for this Album : Top 3 songs are "Solitaire"-"Never Again"-"Love Coming Down" and "Bitter..." The songs I dont like too much are : "For the Heart" and "Danny Boy" ... next votes pls !
alanfalk...I love a lot of the song from the Graceland sessions, but my favorite is "Way Down". It just has a different feeling than almost anything else he recorded. Even with the cryptic line "the medicene within me, no doctor could prescribe" and the eerie overall tone of the song, I rate it as one of Elvis' best singles. Elvis went out, the way he entered the music world making a record that did not sound like anything else on the radio. I also really like "Love Coming Down", Danny Boy" and "Pledging My Love". I like "The Last Farewell" and I like it much better than Roger WhitTaker's version, but I can understand in countrys where it was a already a big hit, that you may have already tired of the song. It was a hit in the U.S., but just inside the top 20, so we did not hear it as much in this country.
Hi Deano1, yes love the song "Way Down" indeed and also its B-side "Pledging my love". From this particular album my favorite songs are "Hurt", "Blue eyes crying in the rain" and "Bitter they are harder they fall". I do not play "I'll never fall in love again" a lot. I do appreciate this may be great performance, but the song is just too sad, too much pain, for me.
I give "From Elvis Presley Boulevard" a zillion stars.
The same for "Never again" by the way, too sad, too definitive in its lyrics. On its own, one could call it brilliant that it almost makes you feel uncomfortable. I have the same with "Pieces of my life". Adore the song, but find it almost too sad to listen to often. "And the one I miss most of all is you, and you know who". Shivers down my spine.
In-a-flash...I agree with you on "Never Again" and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again"...He sounds close to tears singing Never Again and although I love the track, it is not easy to listen to when you are in a good mood...Capt, I know we have had words, but why would you rate "Danny Boy" so low? I love Elvis' vocals on this one. Also, you included "He'll Have To Go" as being on EP Blvd, so what in your opinion is the third song on the worst list for the LP. I do like "Solitaire" and I like "It's Easy For You", but I don't like arrangement or production.
The arrangement and production of "It's Easy For You", not "Solitaire" is the one I don't like. "Soliatire" is outstanding in every aspect.
Top songs from EPB are 'Love coming down' one of my all time favorite Elvis songs. As I said earlier his phrasing is so understated it's sublime. 'Danny Boy' the last chance we get to hear the naked studio Elvis, just voice and piano. 'I'll never fall in love again' although I must admit I prefer the undubbed master version. Likewise the undubbed master of 'Solataire' is a relavation. And finally 'Bitter' and 'Easy' two great songs. The worst songs are 'Blue eyes' which is awful and 'For the heart' which should have been so much better.
mmm... Teddy bear as his favourite song. I wonder why? But i agree fully with him (A. Lloyd Webber) about It's easy for you. the undubbed track is one of the best elvisrecordings ever and the overdubbed version was so bad (sounded like elvis was singing through a telephone). i didnt know they wrote this song specially for him. Thats really nice :-)
Hi Captain, really interested to hear why you do not like "Hurt". I enjoy this song, also the spoken part, and Elvis sang it a lot in concert during 76/77. "For the heart" and "Danny boy" are not amongst my favorites of this album either. "Love coming down" is haunting beautiful indeed.
Just remembered 'Easy' is from Moody blue. Anyway great song. 'He'll have to go' is awful. Everything that Jim Reeves did right Elvis did wrong. 'Pledging' (like 'For the heart') should have been better. But 'She thinks' is one of my favorites, when I first heard it all those years ago I remember being dissapointed in Elvis' wobbly vibrato. But now I can appreciate the performance for what it was. Similar to 'Danny Boy' a naked (in a different way) vocal by Elvis. Also the version of 'Unchained' (overdubbed and all) is about the best we have I think (and it might even be him hitting the last note!).
Capt, I figured you meant the undubbed version of IEFO. Elvis' vocals are perfect on this track, but as you stated the original LP's overdubs are horrible. It sounds like the backing is competing with Elvis instead of supporting him. We agree on this one...I also wanted to apologize for our back-and-forth and my part in it. You do seem to have a lot of knowledge that I admit I don't have when it comes to music. In my comments from 11/15, I was not trying to upset anyone. I agree that Elvis' voice should be discussed, but it could be done in a respectful manner (which I did not do in some of my later postings). It is great to know that Elvis' voice has respect in all musical communities and among professionals....Concerning the Jordanaires, all I can go on is my opinion and I like them on 95% of Elvis' recordings. They have earned a lot of respect from other singers and I was just taken back by your view of them. It is funny that you mentioned them on TT&F. I was listening to this song on my car stereo about three weeks ago and couldn't get over how overbearing they were at the end of the song. I didn't remember them sounding like that on the "C'mon Everybody" LP that I first heard it on. Isn't it funny that two people who really love the EP Blvd LP could get this upset when discussing it. Anyhow, Godspeed and I hope as men and lovers of Elvis we can put this behind us.
'Hurt' is a dissapointment. When one thinks of how Elvis used to be able to handle a spoken bridge ('Lonesome tonight' and 'I'm yours'), he was now reduced to a breathless growl. His lack of breath is betrayed by his being unable to fully pronounce the word 'so' at the end of the bridge. Spoliled also (worse on the undubbed) by his final utterance which sounds like he intended to form a word but ended up with somthing like a banshee wail. In contrast the EIC version is great, compared with other live versions Elvis clearly keeps himself in check, and is easily the best version we have I think.
So now the Capt is also deleted, that is a loss IMO, and then just when it seemed that things were getting better, but it is Lex´ site and the Capt was a little harsh at times, and rules are rules, but I wont forget the great lessions he gave us and the intelligent views he shared on Elvis as a singer (Capt if you are reading this, Thank you for that !). Now reading through this entire debate again I think it is just to sum it up like this: 1) 7 out of 10 like/love the EPB-album. 2) 8 out of 10 don´t like Tom Jones ( or at least don´t think he is in Elvis´ league at all). 3) A great album could be made from the Jungleroom Sessions if you put these songs on it (I have been counting votes and comments for and against the different songs) : Bitter they are, Harder they Fall, Love Coming Down, Solitare, It´s Easy For You (undubbed), Way Down, She Thinks I still Care (maybe the slow version), Never Again, Moody Blue, Hurt (maybe live from EIC) and Unchained Melody (also live). Maybe more songs should be in the undubbed version ?
Capt is deleted? Why? Although we disagreed it was all tongue in cheek (it's only Elvis for Gods sake).
Just a few thoughts. People have different opinions. These should be tolerated & there should not be personal attacks. First & foremost this is an Elvis site. I think comments should be directly connected to the Elvis topic. It's not necessary for anybody on this site to bring up their credentials. NO one is better than the next person. The easiest thing to do is if you do not like someone on this site just ignore them. Remember this fiasco happened before. Lets hope it does not happen again in the future. I just had a hernia operation but was compelled to post this.I for one give Kudos to Lex for doing the right thing. Bravo.
I'm also sorry to hear that Capt . You were very informative.
Why, oh why did they erase what I wrote?! What did I wrote, that not was ok?? I wrote something about a quick poll idea. And some nice words about the record. I'm just a membre. And I don't write much on this site - and then I found out that you deleted it, that's not ok! Hope it was a mistake... '-/ By the Way it's fine FTD record. But to many sad songs on the same record. Hurt is fantastic, Never again, and The last farewell is great to. Always E
Hi Master Fatman. Your postings have NOT been deleted at all ! Just check all the reactions of November 19 and you'll find yours are still there . Always El.
I finally got my copy of this album. I'm very pleased. The sound quality is top notch, and the "Alternate Album" section shows me just how crisp and clear Elvis sounded on each take. The booklet is quite interesting. There is a drawing made by the Colonel showing what he wanted the album cover to look like (Graceland to the left, Elvis to the right). His artistic rendering of Elvis is quite bizarre. It could have passed for a drawing by Picasso. The notes are equally interesting. I always wondered what Elvis looked like wearing that Denver Police uniform. Now I know, and I know why he was wearing it. Very interesting stuff.
Cleaned up the backyard. I am pleased as it is interesting different opinions as long as it is according to the guidelines. And to notice the return of several valued members of this site. I am still not usre whether or not to buy this one, as I have to be selective in my purchases these days. So it is valuable to me to read responses of those who did buy this FTD. Let me state that for me this album reflects quite well the phase in ELVIS' life, apat from the fact that he was a master in putting the right touch into his songs.
Natha, I'm absolutely sure you can trust Lefty's statement for a 100%. Have to wait untill tomorrow before I get my copy, but I'm already convinced this is a release worthwhile to buy, if one liked the original release, and I did. Always El.
265 comments so far and still raising. If one didn't know better, it looks like the Elvis album everybody love to hate. I never had anything against this US Country #1 album. Actually I liked the original LP album and still do. After The Jungle Room Sessions FTD it was brought out for new spins. Now it is a FTD release on it's own. If you liked the original, if you like The Jingle Room Sessions, which obviously some fans do, then you're gonna like this one too. All it is about when listening to Elvis is: "Feel". Not least, the sound on this release is outstanding!
!00 % agree with Bajo, I just got mine yesterday (together with The Wonderful World Of Christmas FTD release) and It is a beautiful release, with really great pictures in the booklet and the outtakes are fantastic, especially The Last Farewell (the only song that I don´t normally like), Danny Boy and Love Comming Down have good/interesting outtakes that I never have heard before. I have really tried to listen carefully to try to find out why some people call this a bad album and/or depressing, but I still don´t get it (and I guess that the country audience that took this album to the #1 spot on the country hit list didn´t either), the songs are beautiful and heartfelt performed and Elvis doesn´t sound in a depressed mood in the studio banter you can hear in between the songs (if people are refering to the lyric, then that would meen that they don´t like songs like Always on My Mind, Seperate Ways and Don´t cry Daddy, just to name a few, as well, or what ?
Through some trades, i now have extras of these, if anyone in usa still needs this title. Shop elvis is still out of this title.
Another BAD marketing release ! Forgot to add: X-rated version Hurt ! Great ! More outtakes were available...but Ernst did not include those....he has NO idea about building commercial successes and listen to fans ! Back to Fjords boy !
I prefer the bootleg releases of 3 CDs with better versions (redone & enhanced !!) and do not buy again this FTD one ! Bad commercial decision....new products should always have new or extra materials...like other songs that FTD simply forgot (or worse: ommitted on purpose...!!!?) with outtakes that were recorded the same dates in the same sessions. The same goes for the upcoming new digipack of From Elvis in Memphis or Moody bleue which I will not buy neither. ! No rip-off here,Ernst . Not with this one, mate.
Fjords and skiing in DENMARK, maybe you should take a piece of advise yourself, go learn a little geography . And please try to realize that your argument does't get any better just because you write it several times (not even if you write under 5 different names).
