Category Archives: Elvis Presley

Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Great albums, List, Stax, The Band, Van Morrison

The 5 Best box sets and reissues of 2013

January 5, 2014 Hallgeir 23 Comments

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I am one of those old guys that still buy physical copies of art (albums). I say it is because I need it to play in the car, but that’s really just an excuse. I love the sensation of unpacking a new album, the feel, the artwork, the printed lyrics, the smell, hell, the whole package!

When the record companies have sold me all the classic albums, they release them again, with better sound, with more songs and bonus features, I don’t feel cheated, I feel blessed. I love archival music stuff, and long to hear studio outtakes, live takes and alternative versions of songs.

It has been a good year for music archivists, and my favorite reissues/archival releases this year are:

1. Bob Dylan – Another Self Portrait (1969-1971) The Bootleg Series Vol.10

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This is from my post right after I bought the box set:

I have now had a few days listening to the new Bootleg series 10 deluxe box set. It is very interesting, and it is actually rather good. I am one of those few that kind of liked the original album, so I expected to like Another Self Portrait. I was not expecting that I would like it as much as I do.

That said, there are two things that stand out however. The first is the demo version of When I Paint My Masterpiece, it knocked me out. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

But the best of the release is the full Isle of Wight performance with The Band, and I really did not expect that!

– Hallgeir Olsen (Johannasvisions.com)

When I paint my masterpiece – Demo:

A fantastic historical document!

2. The Band – Live at the Academy of Music 1971

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A 4-CD/1-DVD box set chronicles Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel’s 1971 concerts at New York’s Academy of Music, featuring arrangements by New Orleans great Allen Toussaint.

One of the best live albums in rock history got the deluxe treatment, and yes, it got even better. Rock of Ages had 18 wonderful tracks, this upgrade has 56(!) tracks with The Band (and Bob Dylan) at their very peak. 56 best takes of songs from four evenings in 1971 (including the New-Years eve show in its entirety). I have played Rock of Ages so much I thought that nothing could surprise me, but this set did. The sound, the packaging, the liner notes and the pictures, everything is top-notch.

Life is a Carnival (Live, 1971):

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Elvis Presley, Great albums, Music Calendar

Today: Elvis Presley released “Elvis (NBC TV Special)” in 1968, 45 years ago

November 22, 2013 Egil 1 Comment

I want everyone to know what I can really do
~Elvis Presley (to producer Bob Finkel)

Elvis delivered an incredible performance throughout the television special. His vocal performances were loose and gutsy…
~John Bush (allmusic.com)

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Elvis Presley, Music Calendar

Today: Elvis Presley released “Suspicious Minds” in 1969, 44 years ago

August 26, 2013 Egil 1 Comment

We’re caught in a trap
I can’t walk out
Because I love you too much baby

–

Recorded between four and seven in the morning, during the landmark Memphis session that helped return the King to his throne, “Suspicious Minds” — the final Number One single of his lifetime — is Presley’s masterpiece: He sings so intensely through the fade-out that his band returns for another minute of the tear-stained chorus.
~rollingstone.com

Together with “Mystery Train” this is my fav Elvis song (although not this version).

Suspicious Minds:

From Wikipedia:

B-side	You’ll Think Of Me
Released	August 26, 1969
Format	45 rpm record
Recorded	January 23, 1969
Genre	Soul, pop
Length	4:22 (3:28)
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Mark James
Producer	Chips Moman and Felton Jarvis

“Suspicious Minds” is a song written by American songwriter Mark James. After James’ recording failed commercially, the song was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman, becoming a number one song in 1969, and one of the most notable hits of Presley’s career. “Suspicious Minds” was widely regarded as the single that returned Presley’s career success, following ’68 Comeback Special. It was his seventeenth and last number-one single in the United States. Rolling Stone later ranked it #91 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Background

Elvis Presley’s recordings in American Sound Studio were a direct consequence to ’68 Comeback Special, that interested Chips Moman in produce recordings to the new style of Presley, making his comeback to the Memphis musical scene, by recording rock,gospel, country, rhythm & blues and soul. George Klein, local Memphis dj & close friend of Elvis’ suggested he record at the studio.

American Sound Studio session

“Suspicious Minds” was a product of January 23, 1969 session, that took place between 4 am and 7 am. It took eight takes to produce the final song that was later overdubbed by Presley the same night. Also in the same were recorded “I’ll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms)”, “Without Love (There Is Nothing)”, and “I’ll Be There”. on August 7, was again overdubbed to stereo and mono in Las Vegas, where the final master was produced. The song is noted for its change of Rhythm, in the Bridge section, from 4/4 to a slower 6/8 and back again to the faster 4/4 rhythm. The first verse repeats over and over again, until it completely fades out, it features a bass guitar, organ, strings, trumpets, trombones, and drums. Session producer Felton Jarvis made the unusual decision to add a premature fade-out to the song starting at 3:36, mirroring the way Presley used to perform it in his live Las Vegas stage act. The fadeout lasts for about 15 seconds before fading back in, conveying a message of relationship in the song. Future Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux sang backing vocals on the track.

Best version (alt.take7 – “Platinum – A Life In Music”):

Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds Live That’s The Way It Is 1970:

Live 1973 – Aloha Hawaii:

Album of the day – Suspicious Minds: The Memphis 1969 Anthology (1999):

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Other August 26:

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Elvis Presley, Memphis, Music Calendar, Rock'n Roll

Today: Elvis Presley released “That’s All Right” in 1954 – 59 years ago

July 19, 2013 Egil 1 Comment

In 2004, Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right Mama” and Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” both celebrated their 50th anniversaries. Rolling Stone Magazine felt that Presley’s song was the first rock and roll recording. At the time Presley recorded the song, Big Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle & Roll”, later covered by Haley, was already at the top of the Billboard R&B charts. The Guardian felt that while there were rock’n’roll records before Presley’s, his recording was the moment when all the strands came together in “perfect embodiment”. (wikipedia)

“A lot of people seem to think I started this business, but rock ‘n’ roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that kind of music like colored people. Let’s face it; I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that. But I always liked that kind of music.”
~Elvis Presley

Wikipedia:

B-side	“Blue Moon of Kentucky”
Released	19 July 1954
Format	7″ single
Recorded	5 July 1954
Genre	Rockabilly
Length	1:57
Label	Sun
Writer(s)	Arthur Crudup
Producer	Sam Phillips

“That’s All Right” is the name of the first commercial single released by Elvis Presley, written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup. Presley’s version was recorded on 5 July 1954, and released on 19 July 1954 with “Blue Moon of Kentucky” as the B-side. It is #112 on the 2004 Rolling Stone magazine list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.

Arthur Crudup – That’s All Right (original version):

The song was written by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, and originally recorded by him in Chicago on 6 September 1946, as “That’s All Right”. It was released as a single on RCA Victor 20-2205, but was less successful than some of Crudup’s previous recordings. In early March 1949, the song was re-released under the title, “That’s All Right, Mama” (RCA Victor 50-0000), which was issued as RCA’s first rhythm and blues record on their new 45 rpm single format, on bright orange vinyl.

Elvis Presley’s version was recorded in July 1954, and released with “Blue Moon of Kentucky” as the B-side. Its catalogue number was Sun 209. The label reads “That’s All Right” (omitting “Mama” from the original title), and names the performers as Elvis Presley,Scotty and Bill. Arthur Crudup was credited as the composer on the label of Presley’s single, but Crudup had to wait until the 1960s when he received an estimated $60,000 in back royalties. Crudup used lines in his song that had been present in earlier blues recordings, including Blind Lemon Jefferson’s 1926 song That Black Snake Moan”.

Live @ NBC Studio’s 1968:

During an uneventful recording session at Sun Studios on the evening of July 5, 1954, Presley, Moore, and Black were taking a break between recordings when Presley started fooling around with an up-tempo version of Arthur Crudup’s song “That’s All Right, Mama”. Black began joining in on his upright bass, and soon they were joined by Moore on guitar. Producer Sam Phillips, taken aback by this sudden upbeat atmosphere, asked the three of them to start again so he could record it.

Black’s bass and guitars from Presley and Moore provided the instrumentation. The recording contains no drums or additional instruments. The song was produced in the style of a “live” recording (all parts performed at once and recorded on a single track). The following evening the trio recorded “Blue Moon of Kentucky” in a similar style, and it was selected as the B-side to “That’s All Right”.

Upon finishing the recording session, according to Scotty Moore, Bill Black remarked, “Damn. Get that on the radio and they’ll run us out of town.”

Sam Phillips gave copies of the record to local disc jockeys Dewey Phillips (no relation) of WHBQ, Uncle Richard of WMPS, and Sleepy Eyed John Lepley of WHHM. On July 7, 1954, Dewey Phillips played “That’s All Right” on his popular radio show “Red, Hot & Blue”.

Interest in the record was so intense that Dewey reportedly played the record 14 times and received over 40 telephone calls. Presley was persuaded to go to the station for an on-air interview that night.

“That’s All Right” was officially released on July 19, 1954, and sold around 20,000 copies. This number was not enough to chart nationally, but the single reached number four on the local Memphis charts.

Live – That’s The Way It Is (1970):

Album of the day – Sunrise:

Other July 19:

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Elvis Presley

The best songs: If I Can dream – Elvis Presley

June 17, 2013 Hallgeir

If_I_Can_Dream_Cover

“If I Can Dream” is a song made famous by Elvis Presley, written by Walter Earl Brown and notable for its direct quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was recorded by Presley in June 1968, two months after King’s assassination. The recording was first released to the public as the finale of Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special.

Although the song is not technically gospel music, Presley performed the song with the intensity and intonations of southern gospel. It has since appeared on various Presley gospel and/or inspirational compilations

Music, for me is all about feelings, about emotions. I Like Elvis but I never thought he could give me chills up my spine, literally. I’ve never, ever heard a better interpretation of a song. It is unbelievable!

Elvis is often regarded as a joke, yes, really. It is so fuckin’ frustrating, when you “have seen the light”, there have never been a better interpreter of songs. He is “black” to the soul, he has the Appalachian white trash country in his spine. He combines his experiences into a way of delivering songs that are out of this world!

Never bettered, ever!

It’s astonishing seeing him after the take, just stopping and asking for another take. It looks so rehearsed, so rigid, until we see that its really a live take, a live moment! It’s incredible, and it’s art on the highest level.

Leather clad performance:

This is just as valuable to me as Munch’s Scream, Picasso’s Guernica or Bob Dylan’s Simple twist of faith.

– Hallgeir

PS: That Celine Dionne version is shit!

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