Elvis In The 90s

Review – ELVIS DOUBLE FEATURES: HARUM SCARUM/GIRL HAPPY [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 18 when I wrote this review back in 1993 for The Elvis Beat #5, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Elvis Double Features: Harum Scarum/Girl Happy (RCA), recorded by Elvis Presley, June-July 1964 (Girl Happy), Radio Recorders Studio (Hollywood), and February 1965 (Harum Scarum), RCA Studios (Nashville). Released: 1993 (CD).

Elvis Double Features: Harum Scarum/Girl Happy is definitely the worst of the four Elvis Double Features CDs released so far . Of the 22 songs, there is only one that is above-average, “So Close, Yet So Far,” which is featured on the Harum Scarum portion and whose title could also sum up the songs from that movie.

Despite the excellent backing music on Harum Scarum, the lyrics of the songs are so awful that the efforts are wasted.

Girl Happy contains only typical movie songs, with the highlights being the title song itself and “Puppet On A String.”

The Elvis Double Features series does have some redeeming values for collectors.

Each of the songs sounds great, in  the sense that in most cases the sound is very clear, on a level comparable to ELVIS: The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Complete 50s Masters.

Each CD also comes with a nice booklet containing a brief history of his film career, information about the two movies featured on the CD as well as data on the recording sessions for the soundtracks. Several photos from the films, other miscellaneous information, and a complete listing of Elvis’ 33 films round out each booklet.

So, despite the mediocre material, the Elvis Double Features series is well-produced so far.

RCA plans to release the remainder of Elvis’ 1960s film music in this format, but let us hope that this is not their top priority when so many other excellent and certainly more deserving Elvis songs are awaiting CD release.

Songs:

  1. “Harem Holiday”
  2. “My Desert Serenade”
  3. “Go East Young Man”
  4. “Mirage”
  5. “Kismet”
  6. “Shake That Tambourine”
  7. “Hey Little Girl”
  8. “Golden Coins”
  9. “So Close, Yet So Far”
  10. “Animal Instinct”
  11. “Wisdom Of The Ages”
  12. “Girl Happy”
  13. “Spring Fever”
  14. “Fort Lauderdale Chamber Of Commerce”
  15. “Startin’ Tonight”
  16. “Wolf Call”
  17. “Do Not Disturb”
  18. “Cross My Heart And Hope To Die”
  19. “The Meanest Girl In Town”
  20. “Do The Clam”
  21. “Puppet On A String”
  22. “I’ve Got To Find My Baby”

Rating: 3.5 out of 10

Review – ELVIS DOUBLE FEATURES: VIVA LAS VEGAS/ROUSTABOUT [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 18 when I wrote this review back in 1993 for The Elvis Beat #5, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Elvis Double Features: Viva Las Vegas/Roustabout (RCA), recorded by Elvis Presley, July 1963 (Viva Las Vegas) and February & March 1964 (Roustabout), Radio Recorders Studio (Hollywood). Released: 1993 (CD).

Elvis Double Features: Viva Las Vegas/Roustabout is the best of the four Elvis Double Features CDs released so far and the only one of those fans should consider purchasing unless they are planning to have every Elvis song on CD in their collection.

The strength of this album is due to the Viva Las Vegas tracks. This movie was the best of Elvis’ “formula” movies. Despite what critics seem to think, Elvis did make about a dozen movies did not fit the “Elvis formula.”

Most of the Viva Las Vegas songs are not the corny ones that comprise many of his other 1960s soundtracks. Best of all on the album is the title song itself, “Viva Las Vegas,” which is one of his all-time best movie songs.

Also of note is “C’mon Everybody” and Elvis’ version of “What’d I Say.” The album also features two duets with Ann-Margret, Elvis’ co-star in the film, which are mediocre in quality.

Roustabout contains several average songs, which means they are above-average compared to most other Elvis movie songs, and the surprisingly good song “Hard Knocks” that had previously only appeared on the original album.

Songs:

  1. “Viva Las Vegas”
  2. “If You Think I Don’t Need You”
  3. “I Need Somebody To Lean On”
  4. “You’re The Boss” (with Ann-Margret)
  5. “What’d I Say”
  6. “Do The Vega”
  7. “C’mon Everybody”
  8. “The Lady Loves Me” (with Ann-Margret)
  9. “Night Life”
  10. “Today, Tomorrow And Forever”
  11. “The Yellow Rose Of Texas/The Eyes Of Texas”
  12. “Santa Lucia”
  13. “Roustabout”
  14. “Little Egypt”
  15. “Poison Ivy League”
  16. “Hard Knocks”
  17. “It’s A Wonderful World”
  18. “Big Love, Big Heartache”
  19. “One Track Heart”
  20. “It’s Carnival Time”
  21. “Carny Town”
  22. “There’s A Brand New Day On The Horizon”
  23. “Wheels On My Heels”

Rating: 5 out of 10

Review – ELVIS DOUBLE FEATURES: IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD’S FAIR/FUN IN ACAPULCO [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 18 when I wrote this review back in 1993 for The Elvis Beat #5, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Elvis Double Features: It Happened At The World’s Fair/Fun In Acapulco (RCA), recorded by Elvis Presley, September 1962 (It Happened At The World’s Fair) and January & February 1963 (Fun In Acapulco), Radio Recorders Studio (Hollywood). Released: 1993 (CD).

The Elvis Double Features: It Happened At The World’s Fair/Fun In Acapulco CD contains 11 songs from each movie.

“They Remind Me Too Much Of You” is the only notable song from It Happened At The World’s Fair, with the possible exception of “One Broken Heart For Sale,” which is only an average song but when compared to the other seems better than it actually is.

The Fun In Acapulco soundtrack is slightly better, due mainly to the strength of one notable song, “Bossa Nova Baby,” and the unique Latin-flavored rhythms featured on the selections.

Songs:

  1. “Beyond The Bend”
  2. “Relax”
  3. “Take Me To The Fair”
  4. “They Remind Me Too Much Of You”
  5. “One Broken Heart For Sale” (Film Version)
  6. “I’m Falling In Love Tonight”
  7. “Cotton Candy Land”
  8. “A World Of Our Own”
  9. “How Would You Like To Be”
  10. “Happy Ending”
  11. “One Broken Heart For Sale”
  12. “Fun In Acapulco”
  13. “Vino, Dinero Y Amor”
  14. “Mexico”
  15. “El Toro”
  16. “Marguerita”
  17. “The Bullfighter Was A Lady”
  18. “No Room To Rhumba In A Sports Car”
  19. “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here”
  20. “Bossa Nova Baby”
  21. “You Can’t Say No In Acapulco”
  22. “Guadalajara”

Rating: 4 out of 10

Review – ELVIS DOUBLE FEATURES: KID GALAHAD/GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS! [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 18 when I wrote this review back in 1993 for The Elvis Beat #5, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Elvis Double Features: Kid Galahad/Girls! Girls! Girls! (RCA), recorded by Elvis Presley, October 1961 (Kid Galahad) and March 1962 (Girls! Girls! Girls!), Radio Recorders Studio (Hollywood). Released: 1993 (CD).

RCA continues its effort to release every Elvis song on CD with the commencement of the Elvis Double Features series, which covers Elvis’ film songs from the 1960s.

Unfortunately, those songs were, with only a few exceptions, the weakest releases of his career. The Elvis Double Features CDs are designed to fill in the gaps left on the new ELVIS: From Nashville To Memphis – The Essential 60s Masters I boxed set, which will not contain music from his movies.

Six of the 23 songs on this first disc are from one of Elvis’ better 1960s movies, Kid Galahad, in which Elvis appeared as a boxer. Although the Kid Galahad soundtrack is slightly superior to the Girls! Girls! Girls! songs which make up the remaining selections on this album, there are actually only two above-average songs from this movie – “I Got Lucky” and the excellent “King Of The Whole Wide World,” featuring the complete Boots Randolph sax solo. The other four Kid Galahad songs are typical and boring movie songs.

Seventeen songs from Girls! Girls! Girls! appear on this album, leaving one to wonder how there was time for any spoken dialogue in the movie. Actually, there are a few songs worth listening to in this portion: “Girls! Girls! Girls!,” “Where Do You Come From,” “Return To Sender,” and “Thanks To The Rolling Sea.”

Only two of the others hold any promise – “Because Of Love” and “Plantation Rock.” The rest can be forgotten.

Songs:

  1. “King Of The Whole Wide World”
  2. “This Is Living”
  3. “Riding The Rainbow”
  4. “Home Is Where The Heart Is”
  5. “I Got Lucky”
  6. “A Whistling Tune”
  7. “Girls! Girls! Girls!”
  8. “I Don’t Wanna Be Tied”
  9. “Where Do You Come From”
  10. “I Don’t Want To”
  11. “We’ll Be Together”
  12. “A Boy Like Me, A Girl Like You”
  13. “Earth Boy”
  14. “Return To Sender”
  15. “Because Of Love”
  16. “Thanks To The Rolling Sea”
  17. “Song Of The Shrimp”
  18. “The Walls Have Ears”
  19. “We’re Coming In Loaded”
  20. “Mama”
  21. “Plantation Rock”
  22. “Dainty Little Moonbeams”
  23. “Girls! Girls! Girls!” (End Title Version)

Rating: 4 out of 10

Review: THAT’S THE WAY IT IS CD [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 18 when I wrote this review back in 1993 for The Elvis Beat #5, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

That’s The Way It Is (RCA), recorded by Elvis Presley, produced by Felton Jarvis. Recorded June 1970, RCA Studios (Nashville) and August 1970, International Hotel (Las Vegas). Released: December 1970. Re-released: 1993 (CD).

That’s The Way It Is continued Elvis’ string of awesome studio work which had started at the Memphis sessions in January 1969. It is definitely one of the most outstanding albums of his career.

Over half of the twelve songs on the album were recorded in June 1970 at RCA’s Nashville studios, a recording session which eventually yielded the bulk of the songs on three albums.

The rest of the songs were taken from his Summer 1970 Las Vegas engagement, which was filmed for the documentary Elvis: That’s The Way It Is.

All twelve songs on the album are so great that favorites cannot even be chosen. Elvis does his own distinct versions of several previously recorded songs of other artists which far exceed the originals – “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” for example.

Fans of this album should also obtain the videos Elvis: That’s The Way It Is, which contains all of the songs in one form or another, and Elvis: The Lost Performances, which features excellent live versions of “Twenty Days And Twenty Nights” and “Just Pretend.”

Songs:

  1. “I Just Can’t Help Believin'”
  2. “Twenty Days And Twenty Nights”
  3. “How The Web Was Woven”
  4. “Patch It Up”
  5. “Mary In The Morning”
  6. “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”
  7. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”
  8. “I’ve Lost You”
  9. “Just Pretend”
  10. “Stranger In The Crowd”
  11. “The Next Step Is Love”
  12. “Bridge Over Troubled Water”

Rating: 10 out of 10

New 70s Elvis CDs released [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 18 when I wrote this piece back in 1993 for The Elvis Beat #5, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

The latest additions to RCA’s “Elvis In The 90s” series have arrived at record stores. The new trio, available separately, consists of:

  • That’s The Way It Is
  • Elvis Country
  • Elvis Now

All three of the albums were originally released in the 1970s, but they have been digitally remastered and released on CD for the first time.

Only days away is the year’s biggest Elvis release, ELVIS: From Nashville To Memphis – The Essential 60s Masters I. Reviews of the three new 1970s CDs appear elsewhere in this newsletter.

Review: AS RECORDED AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN CD [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 18 when I wrote this review back in 1993 for The Elvis Beat #4, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

As Recorded At Madison Square Garden (RCA), recorded by Elvis Presley, produced by Felton Jarvis. Recorded June 10, 1972, Madison Square Garden (New York). Released: June 1972. Re-released: 1992 (CD).

As Recorded At Madison Square Garden was Elvis’ first live album to consist of one complete concert, instead of songs excerpted from several different shows. This was also his first live album not recorded at the Las Vegas International Hotel. The result is a front row seat for the listener to hear Elvis in concert at Madison Square Garden.

From the rumblings of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) that opens the album to the announcement that Elvis has left the building that closes it, listeners are taken on a journey back to 1972 to witness Elvis at his near best.

He performs his standard hits (as usual a little different than previous versions) and a variety of new songs as well, the best of which is “The Impossible Dream.”

Songs:

  1. “Also Sprach Zarathustra”
  2. “That’s All Right”
  3. “Proud Mary”
  4. “Never Been To Spain”
  5. “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”
  6. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”
  7. “Polk Salad Annie”
  8. “Love Me”
  9. “All Shook Up”
  10. “Heartbreak Hotel”
  11. “Teddy Bear/Don’t Be Cruel”
  12. “Love Me Tender”
  13. “The Impossible Dream”
  14. “Introductions By Elvis”
  15. “Hound Dog”
  16. “Suspicious Minds”
  17. “For The Good Times”
  18. “American Trilogy”
  19. “Funny How Time Slips Away”
  20. “I Can’t Stop Loving You”
  21. “Can’t Help Falling In Love”
  22. “End Theme”

Rating: 8.5 out of 10