Archives

A collection of my Elvis and Elvis-adjacent writings outside The Mystery Train.

REVIEW: The Christmas TV Companion book [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

The Christmas TV Companion:
A Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials, & Outrageous Oddities
1701 Press, softcover
Release date: November 10, 2009
Author: Joanna Wilson

The Christmas TV CompanionI cover many subjects here on The Film Frontier. Beyond key ones like Star Trek, Star Wars, Superman, and Elvis Presley, I also give love to, among others, The Twilight Zone, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and Charles Schulz’ Peanuts gang from time-to-time. I like to think this is a rather eclectic combination not soon to be found anywhere else.

To some degree, however, all of these topics and more are covered in The Christmas TV Companion by Joanna Wilson. (Fair warning to Superman fans: the associated reference is just an “also appeared in” credit for Margot Kidder on one page.) The book’s main revelation to me is demonstrating a common thread among all of these topics I previously thought were so diverse: Christmas.

The Christmas TV Companion takes readers on a journey through some of pop-culture’s best and worst Christmas moments. Hold on tight for this ride from the traditional to the blasphemous and every point in between.

Core sections of the book are Macabre, Sci-Fi, Variety, Animation, and Dark. With dozens, perhaps hundreds of productions referenced, Wilson is obviously well-versed on her topic. When reading books like this, I fact check by looking at what the writer states about topics on which I am knowledgeable. Wilson’s Elvis, Star Trek, and Star Wars references are all correct – which leads me to trust her on the multitude of other topics covered.

While some shows warrant a line or two, 1978’s infamous Star Wars Holiday Special (is it possible to write the name of that special without including “infamous” in front?) merits five pages of coverage, including a photo of Harvey Korman and Bea Arthur from the show. The special was actually my first exposure to Star Wars, as a three-year-old. I remember very little of it, as I likely fell asleep – which is probably a good thing.

One of my favorite features of this book is the “Make Your Own Marathon” concept. We geeks have been doing this for years, and Wilson’s suggestions add new and creative elements to setting up such marathons. A Star Trek-themed marathon and an Elvis-themed marathon are among the several she provides. She also includes tips on creating your own based on a subject of your choice.

Fellow Trekkies, I can hear you asking, “The only Christmas scene was in Star Trek Generations. How can you have a Star Trek Christmas marathon?” I will not reveal all, but I will throw you a clue as to how these marathons of loose associations work: A certain Star Trek: The Next Generation actor has also appeared as Ebenezer Scrooge.

The Elvis marathon mentions the 1968 ELVIS television special, which aired during the holidays that year, as well as several other Christmas TV shows that have included Elvis in some fashion. An unfortunate omission was Perry White (Lane Smith)’s appearance as “Santa Elvis” in the 1994 “Season’s Greedings” episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Superman even pulls Santa Elvis’ sleigh to deliver toys to orphans. Written by series star Dean Cain, it is one of my favorite episodes of the series.

Very little else is left out, though, and the variety that serves as this book’s strength may also leave your head spinning at times. The Christmas TV Companion works best as a fun reference to thumb through, rather than something to read cover-to-cover. You probably want to keep this book near a computer or notepad, too, as you will find yourself wanting to seek out certain specials or look up more about some topics.

For instance, one of my favorite Christmas songs is “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” I had no idea until reading this book that the song’s original lyrics were actually quite depressing and changed at the last moment for its first appearance in the Judy Garland movie Meet Me In St. Louis. Curious about the original lyrics? You can find them here. You can bet I will start keeping an eye out for Carol for Another Christmas, Rod Serling’s take on A Christmas Carol that aired in 1964, too.

I must give credit to 1701 Press for including an index. A book like this demands one. A couple of recent Elvis books by other publishers lack indexes, and I was beginning to think they were going out of style.

If you are a Christmas special addict like me, you will be glad to know that Wilson’s current project (of which this book is actually derived) is a “comprehensive encyclopedia of Christmas on TV,” due out next year.

With about 135 pages of content outside of the thorough index, it would be easy to underestimate The Christmas TV Companion. Do not let this book’s seemingly short length fool you, though. Each page is full of information. Often Wilson even covers the margins with more trivia on the various productions, performers, or creative types mentioned. Whether by design or fortuitous accident, The Christmas TV Companion appears just small enough to make a perfect stocking stuffer.

The Christmas TV Companion goes on sale Tuesday. It is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Overall Experience: 9 (out of 10)

(1701 Press provided a review copy of this book free-of-charge.)

Blu Dreams: How Michael Jackson’s This Is It could help Elvis fans [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

Many fellow Elvis fans seem to have tired of all of the recent comparisons with Michael Jackson. However, they should take notice of one Michael Jackson project. Filmed just days before Jackson’s death in June, This Is It opens in theaters and IMAX later this month.

Assembled from over a hundred hours of footage, the documentary captures rehearsals and other behind-the-scenes moments for Jackson’s concert engagement that ultimately was not to be. If This Is It turns out to be a big success, Jackson’s fans can expect to see even more of that footage in sequels or at least in an expanded version on Blu-ray with lots of bonus material.

Why should we Elvis fans care about this? Success for This Is It may well lead someone at Warner Home Video to finally wake up and remember that they are sitting on dozens of hours of valuable behind-the-scenes, rehearsal, and concert footage of another singer known as “The King.”

In 1970, MGM’s cameras filmed several rehearsals and concerts for his Elvis Summer Festival engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. Released in November of that year, the resulting Elvis: That’s The Way It Is documentary was grand and captured Elvis in his prime–but left dozens of hours on the cutting room floor.

In 1972, MGM’s cameras rolled again, this time for Elvis On Tour, capturing rehearsals, behind-the-scenes, and concerts in March and April. The film went on to win a Golden Globe, the only Elvis movie so honored. Again, dozens of hours of footage were filmed but not used.

Since that time, we have seen a bit of these outtakes. In 1992, Warner released Elvis: The Lost Performances, an incredible one-hour VHS video that included outtakes from both films. In 2001, Warner released a new edit of That’s The Way It Is, containing so many outtakes and changes as to actually be a different film than the original. Though both were compelling, these projects were just the tip of the Elvis documentary iceberg.

Though both versions of That’s The Way It Is are available, Elvis On Tour and The Lost Performances never received DVD releases. Maybe we are unable to go back in time just yet, but Elvis fans should at least be able to experience these historic films and outtakes.

First off, the original versions of Elvis: That’s The Way It Is and Elvis On Tour should be fully restored in high definition and digital sound and released on Blu-ray (as well as DVD for those fans who have not yet upgraded), with top-notch bonus features.

Why stop there? Next, Warner should choose whichever That’s The Way It Is and Elvis On Tour concerts are most complete (not all were filmed in their entirety) and release them as separate, all-new concert experiences. Do not tag them as Elvis On Tour or That’s The Way It Is re-edits, just make completely new projects and leave the original documentaries to stand alone as accounts from the time. Most important, do not over-edit these concerts. Use Elvis’ original setlist and flow as much as possible.

Imagine if a That’s The Way It Is concert was given a full-fledged theatrical release, with an Elvis marketing blitz unheard of since his death. Just think about watching one of the That’s The Way It Is concerts on an IMAX screen.

Sure, theatrical and IMAX releases are long-stretches, but I think at least Blu-ray releases for Elvis: That’s The Way It Is and Elvis On Tour are real possibilities if Michael Jackson’s This Is It takes off.

A fan can dream, can’t he?

Guest Post: Elvis Super 8 Film Festival [The Film Frontier blog]

/ Guest Conductor

First of all, I’d like to thank Ty for giving me an invitation to guest blog here on The Film Frontier. As I’m both an Elvis fan and a movie buff, I thought I’d try to combine those two topics in my post.

As you might know, Elvis Week, where fans from around the world gather in Memphis to celebrate their idol’s life and career, has just ended. Among the many activities a film fest was held on August 11, where a couple of the King’s movies were screened in a real cinema. Reading about it made me think about an old idea of mine for an Elvis film festival.

I got the idea a couple of years ago when I bought some Elvis movies on Tradera, which is kind of a Swedish Ebay. Now, I’m not talking about VHS or DVD copies, but of Super 8 sound and color films.

The films in question are G.I. Blues, Blue Hawaii, Fun In Acapulco, Girls! Girls! Girls! and Roustabout. Each one consists of 375 feet of film and has a running time of about 18 minutes.
The reason I bought them in the first place is that I’m a sentimental guy, I guess. When I was a kid I had my own Super 8 movie camera (just like Elvis!) and I loved to make films, and also to buy home movies (both cartoons and feature films) and watch them with the help of my faithful super 8 projector.

I remember being fascinated by how the distributors of the super 8 movies could manage to edit down a full-length feature film like Son Of Frankenstein into a film with a running time of approximately four minutes, and somehow managed to keep the plot intact.

Thinking a bit more about it now, I realise how spoiled we are nowadays with the DVD format featuring the complete movie in perfect quality, as well as a lot of extra material. Back in the 60’s, 70’s and even the early 80’s people had to make do with four, ten or perhaps twenty minutes of super 8 film, sometimes without sound.

Now, here is my idea of a film festival: As my brother is a big fan of Elvis too, the plan is to invite him, buy a lot of Cheez Doodles that we both love, and screen my five super 8 Elvis movies. It might not be the biggest audience you’ve heard of, but it will be an attentive and appreciative one, of that I’m sure.

There’s just one problem. The reason why this festival hasn’t taken place so far and why I haven’t even watched any of my Elvis super 8 movies yet is because my projector can’t play sound. And watching an Elvis movie where you can’t hear the King singing just isn’t a very interesting concept, is it?

So now is the time to put forth an effort to find a super 8 projector with that capability so I can render my Elvis Super 8 Film Festival possible. Maybe I can find one on Tradera or Ebay. Then my brother and I can finally find out if the plot is intact on my Elvis super 8 movies. Given the not too complicated stories, and the fact that they run for about 18 minutes each, it probably is.

PS: All you sci-fi fans are invited too. You know why? Together with the five Elvis movies the seller threw in a super 8 edit of Star Wars lasting about 10 minutes. And it’s both in colour and with sound.

/Thomas, Elvis Today

Some final thoughts on an Elvis weekend [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

Yesterday marked the 32nd anniversary of Elvis passing away. I was out most of the day, but I did make a point of observing it by listening to FTD’s All Shook Up (August 26, 1969, Midnight Show, Las Vegas) and watching Sit-down Show #2 (June 27, 1968, 8 PM, Burbank) from ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special-Deluxe Edition DVD.

One of my favorite little segments from that sit-down show gave me an idea for a future post. After the first couple songs of the show, Elvis mentions on a whim that they should have had audience members fill out cards to ask him questions.

Though I can only imagine what some of those questions would have been (“Elvis, will you kiss me?” “Elvis, will you please buy me a Lincoln?” “Elvis, what’s your secret with women?”), I think this would have been a great concept.

Elvis’ buddy, Charlie Hodge, unfortunately dismisses it. He quickly moves Elvis on by saying, “I’ve got a question . . . what’re you going to sing next?” and then prods him into starting “That’s All Right.”

To my knowledge, Elvis never executed his answering fan questions concept during his shows over the next nine years. I have heard of shows with a “request box” where people could ask that he perform certain songs, but that’s not quite the same thing. I wish he had tried this a couple of times (and maybe he did, who knows, there were well over a thousand shows).

So, if you could ask Elvis one question, what would it be? I’ll have to think about that one for awhile. So, for now, I’ll just say, “To Be Continued. . . .”

Read some great news over on Elvis Today that the Elvis Collectors label, Follow That Dream Records, is not dead! With no new releases announced lately, I was beginning to share Thomas’ concern that the end was near for FTD after ten years.

Turns out that there are three more albums in the Classic Albums series currently in the works. Meanwhile, the next release will contain rehearsals from August 1974. As someone who does not buy bootleg material, I’m glad FTD is getting around to releasing official versions of material like this. I’m also glad that I won’t have to wait until the Twelfth of Never to buy more FTD releases.

An iPod Elvis music marathon [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

Today at work, I was at my desk the entire day messing around with a number of small projects. Not being constantly pulled into meetings for a change afforded me the luxury of listening to my iPod most of the day.

With Sunday marking the 32nd anniversary of his death, I decided that today’s music selections would be nothing but Elvis. I’ve loaded about 500 Elvis songs on my iPod so far, so I put them on shuffle, sat back, and enjoyed. Oh, and I did some work, too. Really. . . .

The shuffled list, just a random sampling of songs, turned out to be a wonderful listening experience. In a span of just a few hours, I heard a wide variety of music from nearly every phase of the man’s career.

Now that I’m home, I went back and pulled the list of most recently played songs off my iPod. Below is my iPod Elvis music marathon.

  1. “Speedway” (1967)
  2. “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (1954)
  3. “If I Were You” (1970)
  4. “Suspicious Minds” (Single Version-1969)
  5. “Little Darlin'” (Live-1977)
  6. “US Male” (1968)
  7. “I Can Help” (1975)
  8. “Blueberry Hill” (1957)
  9. “Woman Without Love” (1975)
  10. “I Need Your Love Tonight” (1958)
  11. “Ain’t That Loving You, Baby” (1958)
  12. “Paralyzed” (1956)
  13. “Indescribably Blue” (1966)
  14. “Baby, Let’s Play House” (1955)
  15. “Suspicious Minds” (Live-1969) [Elvis In Person (2008 FTD Edition, Disc 2)]
  16. “Don’t Be Cruel” (Radio Edit Remix-2008)
  17. “Rip It Up” (1956)
  18. “Long Tall Sally” (1956)
  19. “Moody Blue” (1976)
  20. “That’s All Right” (1954)
  21. “Blue Suede Shoes” (Live-1968) [Burbank ’68]
  22. “Susan When She Tried” (1975)
  23. “Blue Suede Shoes” (Live-1968) [Memories, Disc 2]
  24. “Don’t Cry Daddy” (Single Version-1969)
  25. “Baby, I Don’t Care” (1957)
  26. “The Fair Is Moving On” (Single Version-1969)
  27. “Just Call Me Lonesome” (1967)
  28. “Help Me Make It Through The Night” (Rehearsal-1972) [Elvis On Tour: The Rehearsals]
  29. “Pocketful Of Rainbows” (1960)
  30. “From A Jack To A King” (1969)
  31. “How Great Thou Art” (1966)
  32. “I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine” (1954)
  33. “Witchcraft” (1963)
  34. “Pledging My Love” (1976)
  35. “Hi-Heel Sneakers” (1967)
  36. “My Wish Came True” (1957)
  37. “Put The Blame On Me” (1961)
  38. “Love Me Tender” (Live-1968) [ELVIS-TV Special]
  39. “Suspicious Minds” (Live-1970) [That’s The Way It Is (2000 Special Edition)]
  40. “After Loving You” (Alternate-1969) [Suspicious Minds]
  41. “Love Me” (Live-1970) [That’s The Way It Is (2000 Special Edition)]
  42. “Shake, Rattle & Roll” (1956)
  43. “There Goes My Everything” (Alternate-1970) [Great Country Songs]
  44. “Clean Up Your Own Backyard” (Alternate-1968) [Double Features]
  45. “She Thinks I Still Care” (Alternate-1976) [Walk A Mile In My Shoes]
  46. “Starting Today” (1961)
  47. “Hawaiian Wedding Song” (Remake-1973) [Mahalo From Elvis]
  48. “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues” (Alternate-1973) [Rhythm & Country]
  49. “Suspicion” (1962)
  50. “The Wonder Of You” (Live-1970)
  51. “Sentimental Me” (1961)
  52. “Where Did They Go” (1970)
  53. “Lawdy, Miss Clawdy” (1956)
  54. “Bossa Nova Baby” (1963)
  55. “It’s Easy For You” (1976)
  56. “Charro” (1968)
  57. “Patch It Up” (Alternate-1970) [A Hundred Years From Now]
  58. “Love Letters” (1966)
  59. “Pledging My Love” (Alternate-1976) [A Life In Music]
  60. “It’s A Sin” (1961)
  61. “Funny How Time Slips Away” (Live-1969) [Today, Tomorrow & Forever]
  62. “Power Of My Love” (Alternate-1969) [A Life In Music]
  63. “All Shook Up” (1957)
  64. “I’m Counting On You” (1956)
  65. “Stuck On You” (1960)
  66. “Too Much” (Remix-2008)
  67. “You Gave Me A Mountain” (Live-1972) [Walk A Mile In My Shoes]
  68. “For The Good Times” (1972)
  69. “Working On The Building” (1960)
  70. “That’s All Right” (Remix-2008)
  71. “Give Me The Right” (1961)
  72. “Santa Lucia” (1963)
  73. “An American Trilogy” (Live-1973) [The Alternate Aloha]
  74. “Power Of My Love” (1969)
  75. “Wearin’ That Loved On Look” (1969)
  76. “There’s Always Me” (1961)
  77. “Heartbreak Hotel” (Live-1968) [Memories, Disc 2]
  78. “Sand Castles” (1965)
  79. “Never Been To Spain” (Live-1972) [An Afternoon In The Garden]
  80. “I Feel So Bad” (1961)
  81. “Patch It Up” (Live-1970) [One Night In Vegas]

You’d think 80 Elvis songs would be enough, right? Not exactly. During my commute and even while I’ve been sitting here back home on the computer, I’ve been playing FTD’s Nevada Nights 2-CD set. It features a couple of fantastic concerts from August 1974. It’s too bad they weren’t recorded in a more formal way than just the rather dry soundboards.

So that’s another 40 or so Elvis songs I’ve listened to today, in addition to the above. Today was a great day, mostly because of the soundtrack.

Elvis, wherever you are, thank you.

REVIEW: From Elvis In Memphis CD Set (2009 Legacy Edition)

/ TY

From Elvis In Memphis CD set (Sony Legacy, 2009)

Elvis takes it home

“Take it home, son, take it home,” Elvis proclaims near the end of his 1968 Comeback Special. Just a few weeks after the special aired, Elvis did just that. He had not formally recorded in his adopted hometown of Memphis since his last session for Sun in 1955.

By January 1969, the musical landscape had changed, the entire world had changed, and even Elvis had changed. The 20-year-old kid who last recorded in Memphis as he was on the verge of becoming an unrivaled superstar was now a 34-year-old husband and father looking to continue pounding his way out of a creative slump.

Was the success of the ’68 Special a fluke, or was Elvis truly back on the track? His January and February 1969 sessions at the American Sound Studio in Memphis would help answer that question.

Outside of the hit singles, I first heard most of these songs when my brother gave me The Memphis Record double LP set as a Christmas gift back in 1988. It collects 23 of the best tracks from the sessions, including all of the songs from the original From Elvis In Memphis album.

As an Elvis fan, The Memphis Record changed my life. As I said, I was already familiar with “Suspicious Minds,” “In The Ghetto,” and the other hits, but I remember being blown away right off the bat by “Stranger In My Own Home Town,” “Power Of My Love,” “Any Day Now,” and “After Loving You,” to name just a few.

How had I not heard these songs before? Why wasn’t the radio playing these constantly? Unlike most of the kids my age back then and their favorite music fads, I knew at that moment I was going to be an Elvis fan for the rest of my life.

As I typed those words, I have just realized that I am now 34-years-old, like Elvis during these Memphis sessions. Since I first played The Memphis Record back in 1988, the musical landscape has changed, the entire world has changed, and I have changed. I hear the words to some of these songs differently than I did as a 13-year-old. Yet, here I am, still listening to Elvis. Despite all the change, Elvis is still here.

In the early 1990s, I switched over to the CD format and eventually picked up The Memphis Record on CD and complimented it with Back In Memphis to get some of the remaining songs from the session—which I found I didn’t like as much. Even the Back In Memphis songs I was familiar with sounded “muffled” to me.

In 1993, RCA treated the Elvis world to From Nashville To Memphis: The Complete 60s Masters I, a five-disc set that included all of his non-movie and non-gospel studio master recordings from the 1960s, including the complete 1969 Memphis sessions. While this was probably the most authentic sound to date at the time (I only found out later that the mixes on The Memphis Record were slightly altered to sound more contemporary), I remember being just a touch disappointed by the 1969 Memphis sound again for some of the tracks.

For the thirtieth anniversary of the Memphis sessions, RCA released Suspicious Minds: The 1969 Memphis Anthology in 1999. The sound was improved over 1994, but still muffled and lacking to me at times. I figured that it was the best we were ever going to have, though, and I was content with it.

When I first heard about the Legacy Edition of From Elvis In Memphis, now upgraded to include Back In Memphis and all of the other songs from the sessions, I was not planning to buy it. As much as I loved them, I had bought these songs countless times over. Then, a new press release announced that From Elvis In Memphis—Legacy Edition was going to include the original mono versions of all of the singles.

There, Sony/RCA had hooked me. At first, I planned only to purchase the ten individual mono singles online as legal downloads. However, I realized that just for three or four dollars more, I could buy the entire set of 36 songs by just purchasing the CD in a store (buying Elvis music in an actual store: “it’s been a long time, baby”). I probably wouldn’t need all of those other songs, but at least the packaging looked nice.

I played the mono singles first on Disc 2, and once I heard the quality of their sound, I could hardly wait to go back to Disc 1 and play From Elvis In Memphis proper. I don’t know what Sony/RCA did differently this time, but they finally got rid of that sort of muffled sound some of the Memphis tracks had before. Crystal clear. I’m loving this release! What a great surprise!

Yet, I’m sure this won’t be the last time I buy these songs. Sony’s Follow That Dream Elvis collectors label will undoubtedly release both From Elvis In Memphis and Back In Memphis as part of their Classic Album series in the coming years. The whole world will probably have changed by then, but I’ll still be listening to Elvis.

Songs: 10 (out of 10)

Audio & Mix Quality: 10

Liner Notes: 5

Cover Art: 10

Packaging: 10

Overall Experience: 10

Elvis conquers Vegas: 40 years since the return of the King [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

Forty years ago tonight, only eleven days after astronaut Neil Armstrong took his famous “one small step” on the moon, Elvis Presley took his own giant leap.

On that July 31st night in 1969, the singer stepped onto the stage of the International Hotel in Las Vegas and began proving once and for all that he was the greatest and most dynamic performer the world will ever know.

His “comeback” after years of making movies had actually started the year before, with his highly rated and critically acclaimed ELVIS TV special. He rode the tide of that success into his first Memphis recording sessions in nearly 15 years, resulting in smash hits “Suspicious Minds,” “In The Ghetto,” and “Don’t Cry, Daddy.”

Elvis was on top again, and his Vegas engagement was another crown jewel. With two shows a night, seven days a week, for four weeks, the concerts represented his first live appearances in nearly nine years, outside of four studio audience shows for his TV special.

RCA started recording the Vegas shows on August 21, capturing eleven complete concerts in all that summer. Some of the best tracks were selected for an album, Elvis In Person. More recently, several of the shows have been released in full:

  • August 21 Midnight Show on 2007’s Elvis: Viva Las Vegas (Limited Edition) Disc 2
  • August 22 Dinner Show on 2008’s Elvis In Person (FTD Edition) Disc 2
  • August 23 MS on 2003’s Elvis At The International
  • August 24 DS on 2001’s Live In Las Vegas Disc 1
  • August 26 MS on 2005’s All Shook Up

These recordings are some of Elvis’ best available concerts. To commemorate the fortieth anniversary of this engagement, author Ken Sharp (Writing for the King) next month is releasing ELVIS: Vegas ’69, a 200-page hardcover book examining the concert series in text and photos.