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Post by WildStyle on Jun 30, 2022 13:06:48 GMT
I've been wanting to create an Elvis thread for ages and I guess now is as good a time as any.
I'll start with one of my favourite performances. 'Trying To Get To You' from the sit down section of the 68 comeback special. For context, this performance came at a time when Elvis was seen as a washed up relic of the 50's. Thanks to Col Tom Parker he'd spent the better part of the 60's making formulaic Hollywood movie after formulaic Hollywood movie, and singing crappy soundtrack songs which didn't show off the real Elvis. He still had a large following and was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood but he was written off by serious music fans. This was his first appearance in front of a live audience since 1961. Laying down some pure rhythm and blues with unbridled passion. The real Elvis had finally returned.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2022 19:06:28 GMT
I've been wanting to create an Elvis thread for ages and I guess now is as good a time as any. I'll start with one of my favourite performances. 'Trying To Get To You' from the sit down section of the 68 comeback special. For context, this performance came at a time when Elvis was seen as a washed up relic of the 50's. Thanks to Col Tom Parker he'd spent the better part of the 60's making formulaic Hollywood movie after formulaic Hollywood movie, and singing crappy soundtrack songs which didn't show off the real Elvis. He still had a large following and was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood but he was written off by serious music fans. This was his first appearance in front of a live audience since 1961. Laying down some pure rhythm and blues with unbridled passion. The real Elvis had finally returned. Oh wow wow wow jesus almighty that was perfection! I honestly think I'm pregnant after that
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Post by Michaels Lover on Jun 30, 2022 19:53:07 GMT
Love the 68 comeback show! But then again, there isn't anything elvis that i don't love
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Post by Michaels Lover on Jun 30, 2022 21:02:44 GMT
I've been wanting to create an Elvis thread for ages and I guess now is as good a time as any. I'll start with one of my favourite performances. 'Trying To Get To You' from the sit down section of the 68 comeback special. For context, this performance came at a time when Elvis was seen as a washed up relic of the 50's. Thanks to Col Tom Parker he'd spent the better part of the 60's making formulaic Hollywood movie after formulaic Hollywood movie, and singing crappy soundtrack songs which didn't show off the real Elvis. He still had a large following and was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood but he was written off by serious music fans. This was his first appearance in front of a live audience since 1961. Laying down some pure rhythm and blues with unbridled passion. The real Elvis had finally returned. Oh wow wow wow jesus almighty that was perfection! I honestly think I'm pregnant after that You should see the stand up show parts!
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Post by HIStoric on Jul 1, 2022 10:44:44 GMT
I’ve been a fan of Elvis for a while now, maybe since I was a teen. Not hardcore, but I like a number of his songs and I find him an interesting person. I think the first time I heard him was when JXL’s remix of A Little Less Conversation blew up and hit #1 all over the world in the early 2000s, though it’s a very faint memory. The next time I consciously remember hearing him was when Indiana Jones 4 came out, which opens with Hound Dog, one of my favourite Elvis songs to this day. It’s a great driving song.
Speaking of favourites, I was at a party back in May and a girl there was wearing an Elvis T-shirt and we briefly talked about him. Yknow I asked her what her favourite songs were (I can’t remember what she said, I was a little cooked 😂 but I don’t think they were his biggest hits), and when she asked mine I realise I don’t think I have a specific favourite song by him. I quickly opened up my Elvis playlist on the phone but couldn’t figure out which, so I just said Hound Dog. I cringed a bit though because it felt like someone being like “I’m a fan of Michael Jackson! I like a good bit of his stuff” “Nice, what’s your favourite song?” “Thriller!”. Not that there’s anything wrong with Thriller being your favourite song by MJ of course, but I think realistically if you say that to a hardcore fan they’ll assume you don’t know much of his work because hardcore fans rarely say Thriller is their favourite MJ song. And that’s how I felt telling this big Elvis fan my favourite song was Hound Dog when I had a very reasonably sized playlist to show I had gone past the surface somewhat lol.
50s Elvis is my favourite Elvis period though. He was just so rebellious and cool, he looked effortlessly badass too. Whereas once he left the army he got pretty heavy into gospel there for a bit (not my cup of tea) and all those cookie cutter movies that ruined his image for a good while there. Thankfully he gave the Colonel the middle finger and had a comeback with that special some years later, and I do quite like a few songs that came out around that time.
I also quite like those orchestral albums his Estate did back in the 10s. Burning Love, It’s Now or Never, Fever (fr. Michael Bublé), If I Can Dream are some songs that were really, really rendered beautifully on those albums.
Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED Talk. I’ve been on a bit of an Elvis thing since I saw the new biopic last weekend, so here’s a cool clip of him jamming Little Sister and Get Back that I found earlier this week.
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Post by HIStoric on Jul 1, 2022 10:48:16 GMT
Also everyone goes on about the British Royal Family, but imagine if MJ and Lisa Marie actually stayed together and had a kid? A kid who’s father was the King of Pop and their grandfather was the King of Rock’n’Roll!! Now THAT would be music royalty!
…I wouldn’t want to imagine the pressures on that kid if they wanted to get into music though yeesh. It’s bad enough for children who has one famous musician parent haha.
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Post by Michaels Lover on Jul 1, 2022 10:56:49 GMT
I’ve been a fan of Elvis for a while now, maybe since I was a teen. Not hardcore, but I like a number of his songs and I find him an interesting person. I think the first time I heard him was when JXL’s remix of A Little Less Conversation blew up and hit #1 all over the world in the early 2000s, though it’s a very faint memory. The next time I consciously remember hearing him was when Indiana Jones 4 came out, which opens with Hound Dog, one of my favourite Elvis songs to this day. It’s a great driving song. Speaking of favourites, I was at a party back in May and a girl there was wearing an Elvis T-shirt and we briefly talked about him. Yknow I asked her what her favourite songs were (I can’t remember what she said, I was a little cooked 😂 but I don’t think they were his biggest hits), and when she asked mine I realise I don’t think I have a specific favourite song by him. I quickly opened up my Elvis playlist on the phone but couldn’t figure out which, so I just said Hound Dog. I cringed a bit though because it felt like someone being like “I’m a fan of Michael Jackson! I like a good bit of his stuff” “Nice, what’s your favourite song?” “Thriller!”. Not that there’s anything wrong with Thriller being your favourite song by MJ of course, but I think realistically if you say that to a hardcore fan they’ll assume you don’t know much of his work because hardcore fans rarely say Thriller is their favourite MJ song. And that’s how I felt telling this big Elvis fan my favourite song was Hound Dog when I had a very reasonably sized playlist to show I had gone past the surface somewhat lol. 50s Elvis is my favourite Elvis period though. He was just so rebellious and cool, he looked effortlessly badass too. Whereas once he left the army he got pretty heavy into gospel there for a bit (not my cup of tea) and all those cookie cutter movies that ruined his image for a good while there. Thankfully he gave the Colonel the middle finger and had a comeback with that special some years later, and I do quite like a few songs that came out around that time. I also quite like those orchestral albums his Estate did back in the 10s. Burning Love, It’s Now or Never, Fever (fr. Michael Bublé), If I Can Dream are some songs that were really, really rendered beautifully on those albums. Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED Talk. I’ve been on a bit of an Elvis thing since I saw the new biopic last weekend, so here’s a cool clip of him jamming Little Sister and Get Back that I found earlier this week. That clip is from That's The Way It Is. One of my favorite Elvis dvd's, highly recommend it
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Post by SoCav on Jul 1, 2022 11:06:47 GMT
It's a great clip. That's from the July 29 rehearsal which is available in full. The clip here is also cut down, the uncut jam goes on for 5+ minutes. He performed it live on the August 12 midnight show which innuendo mentioned in the other thread, but I think the rehearsal performance is a lot better. In general I tend to prefer rehearsals and uncut studio recordings, because as great as his showmanship was (and I also really enjoy that), I think his raw artistry and musicality comes out more in these moments. It's a bit comparable to MJ, who focused more on theatrics live than I personally enjoy (obviously to a much larger degree than Elvis still). The '68 comeback special sitdown shows are the perfect example to show that Elvis did not need all of that. You saw that in his later years too, when things were not going well - the sometimes very few highlights of those shows were always the moments where he was not the showman but simply allowed himself to be swept up by the music. It's a pity that he seemed so keenly aware of that in '68, but subsequently got lost in the jumpsuits and Vegas hysteria. I can relate to what you are saying about finding it difficult to pick a favorite song (or album for that matter). I too have that with Elvis. Wildstyle mentioned the 1969 American Sound sessions in the other thread and I would probably pick them as the strongest overall (and From Elvis in Memphis probably the strongest record) but it's hard to choose. Personally I am most into Elvis in the early years of his comeback. In part that's because I enjoy 60s/70s music more than just traditional rock & roll. It's also because I think the TCB band was fantastic. But it has to do with Elvis himself too - I think that it was Elvis' peak as a performer (not in terms of impact, but in terms of skills, showmanship and the total package). 1969 is perfect to me in particular, because he has the more mature voice and range (which I find way more enjoyable than his early vocals) but still sings with that gritty rock voice, which he pretty much dropped after that. That year to me is like the perfect hybrid between early and later Elvis.
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Post by Michaels Lover on Jul 1, 2022 11:11:30 GMT
My favorite Elvis song is An American Trilogy. I saw the TCB band and Sweet Inspirations live in a concert called Aloha From Denmark, which was a concert where they played all the songs from the Aloha concert, and then they had famous danish singers singing the songs. And when that song came on, I cried my eyes on
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Post by SoCav on Jul 1, 2022 11:12:46 GMT
My favorite Elvis song is An American Trilogy. I saw the TCB band and Sweet Inspirations live in a concert called Aloha From Denmark, which was a concert where they played all the songs from the Aloha concert, and then they had famous danish singers singing the songs. And when that song came on, I cried my eyes on Great track and he almost always delivered it passionately. I have seen the TCB band perform too, but it was to Elvis acapella tracks from various eras. What a pleasure to get the chance to see them so many years down the line, though.
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Post by HIStoric on Jul 1, 2022 11:17:16 GMT
It's a great clip. That's from the July 29 rehearsal which is available in full. The clip here is also cut down, the uncut jam goes on for 5+ minutes. He performed it live on the August 12 midnight show which innuendo mentioned in the other thread, but I think the rehearsal performance is a lot better. Yeah, I thought so too actually! I instantly looked it up on Spotify and played both the rehearsal and actual live version, and I preferred the rehearsal so that’s what went into my playlist. Also good to know his band was called TCB/Taking Care of Business. I noticed the TCB in the Elvis biopic branding and wondered what it was, wondering if it was some expression he used a lot or the name of his company. But nope, turns out it’s his band haha. In general I tend to prefer rehearsals and uncut studio recordings, because as great as his showmanship was (and I also really enjoy that), I think his raw artistry and musicality comes out more in these moments. It's a bit comparable to MJ, who focused a bit more on theatrics live than I personally enjoy (obviously to a much larger degree than Elvis still). Don’t know if I can generalise my opinion to the degree you say here, I think because there are live performances I prefer more, and then there are rehearsals I prefer more. It varies a bit. But what you said about Michael got me thinking about that one show where he performed Earth Song. I think the Brunei show? Anyway, he’s out there all by himself, standing in white and his microphone is live. No longer lip syncing, he starts clapping and singing “Tell me what about it! Tell me what about us!”. And it’s just so simple, so raw, so powerful. It’s really moving, and I think it’s safe to say it’s by far my favourite moment of any HIStory show. Man, what a moment! I enjoy the theatrics, but sometimes simplicity can be king.
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Elvis
Jul 1, 2022 11:24:19 GMT
Post by Michaels Lover on Jul 1, 2022 11:24:19 GMT
My favorite Elvis song is An American Trilogy. I saw the TCB band and Sweet Inspirations live in a concert called Aloha From Denmark, which was a concert where they played all the songs from the Aloha concert, and then they had famous danish singers singing the songs. And when that song came on, I cried my eyes on Great track and he almost always delivered it passionately. I have seen the TCB band perform too, but it was to Elvis acapella tracks from various eras. What a pleasure to get the chance to see them so many years down the line, though. It sure is! I feel lucky to have seen them
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Post by WildStyle on Jul 1, 2022 13:00:36 GMT
Oh wow wow wow jesus almighty that was perfection! I honestly think I'm pregnant after that You should see the stand up show parts!
He certainly was on fire and re-invigorated here, but I must say I wasn't a fan of the medley and the new arrangements of those 50's songs with the corny (IMO) orchestration. He does do probably the best ever version of Love Me Tender during the stand up shows though.
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Elvis
Jul 1, 2022 19:38:44 GMT
Post by Michaels Lover on Jul 1, 2022 19:38:44 GMT
You should see the stand up show parts!
He certainly was on fire and re-invigorated here, but I must say I wasn't a fan of the medley and the new arrangements of those 50's songs with the corny (IMO) orchestration. He does do probably the best ever version of Love Me Tender during the stand up shows though. Oh. Well, I like the medley
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Post by SoCav on Jul 2, 2022 15:35:57 GMT
He certainly was on fire and re-invigorated here, but I must say I wasn't a fan of the medley and the new arrangements of those 50's songs with the corny (IMO) orchestration. He does do probably the best ever version of Love Me Tender during the stand up shows though. Yeah I'm with you there. Elvis is in great form there, but the arrangements are so cheesy in places, it's a bit distracting for me too. Just imagine he'd already had the TCB band backing him instead... wow. Still, I really enjoy some parts of the stand-up shows. The interaction with the crowd is great. I also like the Trouble/Guitar Man portion at the end, mainly because of the cool delivery of Trouble and the extra verse on Guitar Man ("well I've come a long way from the car wash...") which felt really appropriate for the special. Oh, and while it's not from the stand-up shows, I always wish he'd recorded a longer version of Nothingville - that's a great bluesy track that had lots of potential. Don’t know if I can generalise my opinion to the degree you say here, I think because there are live performances I prefer more, and then there are rehearsals I prefer more. It varies a bit. But what you said about Michael got me thinking about that one show where he performed Earth Song. I think the Brunei show? Anyway, he’s out there all by himself, standing in white and his microphone is live. No longer lip syncing, he starts clapping and singing “Tell me what about it! Tell me what about us!”. And it’s just so simple, so raw, so powerful. It’s really moving, and I think it’s safe to say it’s by far my favourite moment of any HIStory show. Man, what a moment! I enjoy the theatrics, but sometimes simplicity can be king. Oh yeah, that moment from the Royal Concert, it's great. I'm not a huge fan of the theatrics anyway, but performers like Michael and Elvis were so amazing that it feels like even more of a shame when they rely on it - they so do not need it! It's in their more spontaneous moments that their raw talent and charisma really shines the most. It's for that same reason that Human Nature was the highlight of This Is It for me, and why I loved moments like at the 2003 BET Awards, where MJ (probably not wanting to refuse his idol JB) cut loose for a few seconds. It's the same with Elvis when he really gets into a song or really feels it during rehearsals.
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