2025 in 2025: Day 44

The Complete Elvis Presley Masters: Alternate Masters - Elvis Presley
Just when you thought Elvis had left the building...
Not sure what happened here that these were split, when the others weren't. Also, I had changed the title, but must have missed some sorting option or something, because I expected this in another couple of months. So back to 50s Elvis we go! These are all slightly different to the main versions that I am used to. Then we get movie versions of a bunch of movie songs that had different performances in the movies. I'm making sense! The alternative song called Roustabout is better than the one they ended up using (I'm a Roustabout). I dig the slide guitar in Amazing Grace. After a groovy version of She Thinks I Still Care, we are off to some rehearsals and private recordings. Some of these sound like he is just jamming at home with Charlie Hodge. These jams from the That's The Way It Is rehearsals are a big barrel of fun. And Elvis giving a solo acoustic performance of I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry is the best I have ever heard this song. 
Highlights: One Broken Heart For Sale (Movie Version), It Hurts Me
7/10

Complete Fucker Demos - Whiskeytown
And there I was trying to keep the swearing out of this bLogging... These sound a lot more polished than demos. And are way more rocking than I was expecting; I thought this was going to be some chill alt. country-styled jams, and instead this is 90s college radio rock. Nice to hear Ryan Adams when he sang great! Ah ok, about halfway through it turns in to more what I expected. And then back again? I guess it is a collection of demos or whatever, so the different styles kind of makes sense. Either way, this is good.
Highlights: Win, Comfortable Only at Night, Leave the Lights Off, Tearing Me Up Inside, Breathe
7/10

The Complete James Brown Christmas - James Brown
Bah gawd, I really chose the wrong time of year to do this! This is certainly a different Xmas experience; he isn't just singing the usual Xmas standards or anything - this is all James Brown making soul music and throwing in Xmas lyrics. And typical James Brown instrumental jams? Including one called Believers Shall Enjoy (Non-Believers Shall Suffer). That doesn't exactly sound like the Xmas spirit. Then again, he also spends one 'Xmas song' thanking the listener for coming to his shows. Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud) is included in here? I guess listening to that makes me happier than a kid at Xmas?
Highlights: Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto, Soulful Christmas, Tit for Tat (Ain't No Taking Back), Go Power at Christmas Time, You Know It, Believers Shall Enjoy (Non Believers Shall Suffer), Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud) Pt. 1 & 2
6.5/10

The Complete Million Dollar Quartet - Elvis Presley
I guess I haven't listened to enough Elvis lately? I am still not convinced this really is all four of them; Johnny Cash is nowhere to be heard (vocally) and Elvis kind of comes and goes. And of course they kind of start with some Xmas songs... The highlight of this recording is Elvis giving a review of the Elvis impersonator at the Fats Domino show he went to. And 'Killer' showing how he got that nickname. I do wish they had known what they were doing with Brown Eyed Handsome Man - I'm sure that would have been great if they could have remembered the words. The gospel jams are seriously fantastic. It all runs out of steam after Elvis tries to sell them all on That's When Your Heartaches Begin (which kind of proves Cash is not there, because his baritone voice would be perfect for that song), but it is an enjoyable listen that clearly I ignore way too often!
Highlights: There's No Place Like Home, When the Saints Go Marchin' In, Just a Little Talk With Jesus, Jesus Walked That Lonesome Valley, I Shall Not Be Moved, End of the Road
6/10

Concert: The Cure Live - The Cure
This is one of those live albums where some of the songs are inferior to the studio versions, but then some are actually a little bit cooler or have more attitude or something. Early 80s The Cure was so atmospheric and the drums always sounded very lo-fi, so live everything gives the songs a lot more energy. But then the studio versions have a lot more going on vocally, which is sometimes missing live. The saxamophone on Give Me It sounds like a goose strangling Bobcat Goldthwaite. I think I prefer this version of 10:15 Saturday Night. This is also the only copy of Killing an Arab that I have, since Robert Smith seems intent on erasing it from existence.
Highlights: Charlotte Sometimes, A Forest, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing an Arab
7.5/10

"Albums" listened to so far: 339

2025 in 2025: Day 43

The Complete Elvis Presley Masters - Elvis Presley

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

2025 in 2025: Day 42

The Complete Elvis Presley Masters - Elvis Presley

1961 to 1966

Fun fact: the first 12 songs I am listening to from 1961 (mostly used for the Something for Everybody album) were recorded 64 years ago today! And then it is on to the songs recorded for Blue Hawaii. They are mostly as lame as the movie. Things start to get jumbled up from here, so I might stop talking about what they were recorded for. But needless to say, the songs not recorded for the movies are generally better than the ones that were. That is not to say that all the soundtrack songs were awful; I actually dig the songs for Follow That Dream - and the movie itself. It is hilarious; Elvis plays a complete simpleton and appears to be having a fun time. I'm surprised Elvis hasn't been cancelled for Plantation Rock. And many other things. It Happened at the World's Fair is another one of my favourite Elvis movies - hilarious movie. And a couple of great songs on the soundtrack. Only a couple. One Broken Heart For Sale is actually an awesome song. Who makes a song called Mexico and never once mentions Lucha Libre? 1963 was generally a pretty decent year for The King; some fun singles like Bossa Nova Baby, You're the Devil in Disguise and What'd I Say, and the soundtracks ranged from harmless (Fun in Acapulco) to iconic (Viva Las Vegas). "The eyes of Texas are upon you and you can not get away" is gawdam frightening! I've changed my mind: Barefoot Ballad is genuinely the worst Elvis song on the planet. Or any other planet, ever. Kissin' Cousins is disturbing enough, but Kissin Cousins #2 is even weirder, with lines like "Kissin's allowed because we're proud". Yikes! In 1964 we get It Hurts Me and Little Egypt - both re-recorded and improved greatly for the '68 Comeback Special - and then just 2 soundtracks? I liked Girl Happy, but can barely remember Roustabout. Oh, Do The Clam was also 1964. What an odd single/idea/song/everything. 1965 is simply just soundtracks again; I recall Harum Scarum wasn't as bad a movie as I was led to believe. The soundtrack, however, is very blah. The Frankie and Johnny soundtrack feels more 'big band' style than anything else Elvis has done. It's mostly fine. Spinout may well be my fav Elvis movie soundtrack. But again, I don't really remember the movie, even though I know I have seen it a few times. Might have to watch it again soon. Tomorrow is a Long Time is the longest song by Elvis by far! Until now, very few songs even made it past the 3-minute mark, but this one is 5 1/2 minutes long! Huh, I always thought Love Letters was a 70s song, but here it is in 1966 exactly where it has always been. The soundtrack for Double Trouble is also not bad. I just realised that, of course, I removed all the gospel songs and half the singles from the 60s - since I have them elsewhere - so this 60s section really is about 95% songs from the movies. Which is really making me want to watch all of Elvis' movies again. The songs from Easy Come, Easy Go are pretty funny; lots of love machine talk and ridiculous explanations of yoga. 

Highlights: One Broken Heart for Sale, Return to Sender, Viva Las Vegas, What'd I Say, Kiss Me Quick, Suspicion, It Hurts Me, Little Egypt, Girl Happy

6/10

2025 in 2025: Day 41

The Complete Elvis Presley Masters - Elvis Presley

1957 to 1960

So, this isn't complete any longer; I have removed anything that I have on an actual album or box set. Because trying to search through 800 songs to find something is just impossible, and in those cases I am completely used to the album running order. So I have whittled this down to 488 by also removing the 'Alternate Masters' discs and giving them their own 'album'. So anyways... 1957 was a good year for The King. He recorded a lot of very good songs. It is odd that we haven't had any sort of specific collection for these - it is only 1957 and 1958 from the 50s that aren't on some sort of modern set. I could probably move out these Xmas songs to their own collection at some point, which would make a lot of sense; then I could easily crank up some Elvis on Xmas day each year. After Kiss. And James Brown. Between this and the '68 Comeback Special yesterday, you would think I have heard One Night and Trouble plenty enough for now, but listening to the original studio recordings here is like listening to them fresh. The whole King Creole soundtrack is awesome - one of Elvis' finest performances on film, as well. I absolutely love that main guitar riff on (Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I - one of those riffs where I just have to pick up a guitar and jam along. Once returning from the army, he certainly had a bit of a different sound; gone is that reckless fire and a young rebel, and instead things are a lot tamer and much more pop. But it still mostly has a great groove and his voice is quite improved. Then we hit the soundtrack for G.I. Blues and it all immediately goes downhill; these songs are so uninspired and just cringe. Except for Tonight's All Right For Love - I like that song a lot! The rest of 1960 is a mix of movie songs and random tracks. None of them are particularly interesting. The movie songs work in the movies (and LOGMAN sure does love him some Elvis movies), but they are not anything special on their own. 

Highlights: Got a Lot O' Livin' to Do, All Shook Up, I Beg of You, One Night, Jailhouse Rock, You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care), Santa Claus is Back in Town, Trouble, I Need Your Love Tonight, A Big Hunk O' Love, (Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I, I Got Stung

7/10