Around the Elvis web in 80 seconds

/ TY

Today, I want to point you over to some great posts that I’ve recently found around the web.

The Elvis Shuffle, Revisited. A couple of months ago, I told you about the incredible, thought-provoking Elvis essays that have been cropping up lately at The Sheila Variations blog. Well, those high-quality Elvis posts have continued. For example, here is an excerpt from Elvis Shuffle: Notes Taken By Hand On Flight to Chicago:

“‘Solitaire’ – ‘A loonely man’. Who could imagine that the jiggly boy in 1955 could sing like this? No wonder people still have a hard time taking EP whole. They still feel the need to break him down, piece him apart, make him manageable, palatable. He is neither.”

He Touched Me (FTD, 2011)Elvis was focused during the He Touched Me session. Elvis biographer Peter Guralnick would have us believe that Elvis’ attention was wandering during this session, but the new FTD release seems to tell otherwise. Over on Elvis Today Blog, Thomas Melin has posted a well-written review of the FTD Classic Album version of He Touched Me, Elvis’ 1971 gospel album that earned him his second Grammy.

A daily blog on everything Elvis Presley. Finally, I want to mention Elvis Day By Day, a news blog that has been tracking events in the Elvis world since January 2010. As someone who struggles to get a half dozen decent blog posts up a month, I can tell you that trying to compile a daily news blog is much tougher than it looks. It’s not a challenge I would want to take on, I’ll say that. Elvis Day By Day does a fantastic job of compiling news from various sources, doing a service to Elvis fans by giving us a quick, at a glance view of what is going on each day. Highly recommended.

15 thoughts on “Around the Elvis web in 80 seconds”

  1. Thanks for the update, Troy. I follow all of these blogs regularily because of the insightful posts. Good stuff all the way through. But sometimes I miss one like the one about the “He Touched Me” sessions.

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    • Thank, Joe. I’m planning to check that thread out as soon as I can. FECC moves so fast sometimes, I can’t always keep up. Great site, though, as I’ve mentioned before.

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  4. I have argued elsewhere that the seventies phase of Elvis music cannot be dismissed. But we do Elvis nor anyone else any favours by suggesting that Solitaire is a great record. His singing on the phrase ‘lonely man’ is good but the record overall is dire. Elvis was much better than this and capable of much more than what happened during his weaker moments.

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    • I respect your opinion, Howard, but I can’t say I agree on this particular instance. I enjoy “Solitaire” and think it’s a fine performance. I’d rate it as 4 out of 5 stars. I consider the From Elvis Presley Boulevard album to be one of the best of his career. The only 2-star performances on it, for me, are “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” and “The Last Farewell.” Everything else is 4 stars or above. Thanks for the perspective, though. Always good to see other opinions.

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      • Well, we are all different. I do not like the Boulevard album although I do think, perhaps controversially, that Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain is underrated. You should read Treat me Nice. Plenty for you to challenge. Really enjoy this web site. One of the best.

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        • I’m finishing up fall semester at school right now, but Treat Me Nice is on my list as a must-read during winter break. I’m sure it’ll give me a post idea or two as well. Thanks for the nice comments about the site.

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  6. ‘Finishing up fall semester right now’. As you mention elsewhere you were writing 20 years ago I assume you are in there educating. Great to know we have thoughtful Elvis fans working in the American education system.

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