1967 to 1977
Clambake... yeah... these songs are... songs? Maybe? Confidence is just bad, I can't even pretend anything else. The soundtrack for Speedway is better. Marginally. Crazy that someone heard this version of Guitar Man and thought 'this needs to be the central song to the 68 special!'; it isn't bad, but it certainly doesn't match the version recorded for the '68 Comeback Special. Anyways, I think we are done with soundtracks now. I have a few different versions of Elvis doing Too Much Monkey Business - they all are quite different - and this version has some pretty funky acoustic guitar and really subtle drums. It's pretty groovy. Clean Up Your Own Back Yard is about people being hypocrites telling other people how to live when they are doing the bad things - the irony of The King singing that is not lost on me. We hit 1969 for the brief tracks on here; I have these in some form as part of the From Elvis in Memphis reissue, but they are the mono masters there and I should have full stereo versions of Suspicious Minds and Kentucky Rain at all times. Strangely, I never got around to getting the On Stage reissue, so that pops in here. I can always take some 1970 live Elvis in Vegas fun. Interesting they abandoned the chronological order for the recording date and put this album in original tracklisting instead. I have not really listened to this album much, but I do enjoy that some of the songs have quite slower tempos to how they were performed on That's The Way It Is. I am yet to pick up the From Elvis in Nashville box set (despite having the follow up set, Back in Nashville), so from here we move on to the legendary first Nashville sessions. Well, except for the gospel recordings (I have those in a separate set as well). I'm not as in love with these as Elvis world would demand I be; they're okay, but mostly very country and I'm not the biggest country fan. It's fine, but I prefer rockin' Elvis. Or just straight up ballad Elvis. Or gospel Elvis. Huh, I guess I didn't remove the Back in Nashville tracks, because I am now Back in Nashville? Perhaps because these are the original masters and that set is all the overdubs removed. Interesting. I should put them on back to back and see which I prefer. But not right now, I still have about 20,000 other songs to listen to... like Elvis singing Christmas songs. The cowbell in Burning Love is life. I've finally made it to 1976, when Elvis is far from his physical peak. But his voice is more powerful than ever. I love the massive harmonies in Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall. This is a reminder I need to get that Jungle Room compilation so I can separate out all his final recordings and enjoy those outtakes as well. FUN FACT: the final live masters were recorded on my birthday... just 3 years before I was born. And because nothing is ever easy with me, these are all followed by bonus live masters. I'm guessing these weren't included in the main section because they are rarites than anything; some are poor quality (and I'm pretty sure a few of them are in the Boy From Tupelo set), some are different renditions not found elsewhere, and then there is the "laughing version" of Are You Lonesome Tonight, in which Elvis just breaks in to hysterics and derails the entire performance. I love that for him. The overdubbed version of Unchained Melody is certainly much cheesier than the original performance found on the main set (and recorded as a pre-birthday present to me!).
Highlights: Suspicious Minds, Kentucky Rain, Walk A Mile in My Shoes, Just Pretend, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, Where Did They Go Lord, Whole Lot-ta Shakin' Goin' On, Burning Love, Always On My Mind, Way Down
"Albums" listened to so far: 334
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