The Mystery Train 1.0

A selection of my writings from the original run of The Mystery Train, published online between 2010 and 2014, preserved as part of the site’s early history.

Viva Elvis “Burning Love” video fails to ignite, while Elvis.com makes embarrassing mistake

/ TY / 4 Comments

The official Elvis Presley Enterprises site reports that the folks behind Viva Elvis: The Album have released a new music video for “Burning Love.” Sadly, the Elvis.com news item states, “The video features archival footage of Elvis’ iconic Las Vegas performance.”

Uh, hello official Elvis site? Are you there? That footage is from Elvis’ iconic Aloha From Hawaii performances. You know, the ones that Elvis Presley Enterprises owns and occasionally promotes on DVD? The Aloha From Hawaii concerts took place, oddly enough, in Hawaii. White jumpsuit does not always equal Vegas. E! and other idiotic entertainment sites make this kind of mistake all of the time, but the official Elvis site should know better.

I loved the Viva Elvis album, including this track, so I figured I’d check this video out (“Burning Love” from Viva Elvis: The Album video — YouTube). First of all, it is miles ahead of the horrible video released last month for the otherwise incredible Viva Elvis version of “Suspicious Minds.” At least this “Burning Love” video doesn’t shy away from featuring footage of Elvis singing the song.

The first video, on the other hand, would have you believe that Elvis sang “Suspicious Minds” during the ELVIS (’68 Comeback) special. “Because, like, black leather is just so much cooler than a white jumpsuit,” was their way of thinking, I’m sure. That video mostly stars shadowy images of either 1968 Elvis or, it appears at times, an elvis impersonator dancing around on the screen. At least, that’s what I remember of it. I couldn’t bare to watch that thing twice.

By the way, they could have actually featured “archival footage of Elvis’ iconic Las Vegas performance” of this song. There was a fantastic 1970 version of “Suspicious Minds” filmed in Las Vegas for That’s The Way It Is. Granted, Elvis Presley Enterprises doesn’t own that movie footage (they only own Elvis’ three 1968-1977 television specials), but I’m sure they could have worked something out with Warner Home Video. They cross-promoted and worked together on Warner’s recent Elvis On Tour release, after all.

Though it may represent a switch in the targeted market for Viva Elvis: The Album from newcomers to established fans, I love the fact that this “Burning Love” video actually embraces the jumpsuited Elvis as he appeared in the Aloha concerts. Elvis did not die in 1968 (or, worse, 1958), despite what some would have you believe.

What doesn’t work for me at all, though, is the juxtaposition of Viva Elvis musicians thrown into the Aloha footage. Perhaps it is because I have watched the real Aloha so many times, but there is no illusion established that these people are all playing together on stage. It looks like you are watching two different concerts at once. Maybe that’s one of the problems some fans have with Viva Elvis: The Album. I guess the visual mash-ups bother me more for some reason than the audio ones.

The “Burning Love” video also suffers from a bit of the same problem as “Don’t Be Cruel” on the 2010 version of Elvis On Tour. About halfway through “Burning Love,” the video producers decide to cut to Elvis dramatically taking off his guitar (in reality, from the end of the song). This allows Elvis to move around freely, dance a bit, and interact with the audience. Suddenly, he is back with guitar at the end of the song – and then dramatically removes it again for the song finale. Ugh.

It makes Elvis look silly to apparently do this guitar removal bit twice in this “Burning Love” video – much like hearing Elvis apparently sing his funny “Please let’s forget the past, before I kick your —” line twice for “Don’t Be Cruel” did in the 2010 Elvis On Tour. That’s the problem with the realm of video and audio trickery. Some people do not know how to properly use the toys.

If they just had to show him with the guitar again, why not at least show him putting the guitar back on first? Then, just have him leave the guitar on when the song ended. The footage was there to do both, using elements from “See See Rider.”

The whole thing just seems sloppy, cheap, and rushed. At least it’s better than “Suspicious Minds,” though.

Darlene Love among 2011 inductees to Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame

/ TY

By way of The Second Disc this morning, I learned that Darlene Love will be among the Class of 2011 inductees into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame (Rock Hall Gets It Right — The Second Disc). Love is known for the 1963 recordings “He’s A Rebel” and “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),” among others – including a run of hits with producer Phil Spector.

To Elvis fans, however, she is best known as a member of the Blossoms, the group that provided vocal backing on the ELVIS (’68 Comeback) TV special. Her beautiful solo on “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child” featured prominently in the program, as part of a gospel medley.

Though it was dropped from the original soundtrack release, Love’s “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child” can be heard on the 1998 CD Memories: The ’68 Comeback Special.

In 1969, the Blossoms also recorded backing vocals on “Let Us Pray,” an Elvis song for the movie Change of Habit.

Love also works as an actress, including in the role of Trish Murtaugh for the Lethal Weapon film series. I was a fan of her in those movies for years before I finally realized the connection with the Blossoms and Elvis.

A movie based on Love’s life is currently in the works.

For more information

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Research Source: Elvis Presley: A Life In Music – The Complete Recording Sessions by Ernst Jorgensen, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1998.

More lost Christmas songs

/ TY / 3 Comments

Continuing on from yesterday’s post, I thought of a couple more “lost” Christmas songs by Elvis.

  • 1954’s “Just Because” includes the lines: “You caused me to spend all my money, you laughed and called me ol’ Santa Claus” and “There’ll come a time when ol’ Santa, he won’t pay your bills for you.”
  • 1975’s “Susan When She Tried” includes the line, “And it’s bad in December, when they play those Christmas songs.”

See Thomas’ “The Missing Christmas Song” on Elvis Today, which inspired both posts.

Elvis: The Lost (Christmas) Performances

/ TY

Thomas has been doing a terrific job of covering Christmas this month over on the Elvis Today blog. His post today is about a certain tune from Viva Las Vegas that is considered a Christmas song in Sweden. When Thomas makes up Elvis Christmas compilations, this recording makes the list. Check out “The Missing Christmas Song” to find out more.

Thomas’ post reminded me of another “lost” Christmas song by Elvis. Elvis’ 1968 recording “Stay Away” for the movie Stay Away, Joe was based on the melody “Greensleeves.” Though never recorded by Elvis, the Christmas classic “What Child Is This?” is based on this same melody. Something to think about the next time you listen to “Stay Away.” It’s a Christmas song in disguise.

Softly, As I Leave You (Singer Sherrill Nielsen, 1942-2010)

/ TY / 4 Comments

“Listen to his voice, ladies and gentlemen”

Sad news this morning. Singer Sherrill Nielsen passed away on December 10, reports Elvis Information Network and ElvisMatters. He was 68.

Nielsen first performed with Elvis as a member of the Imperials gospel group on the 1966 album How Great Thou Art. He left the Imperials shortly thereafter, but returned to the Elvis world in 1973 as a member of a new group, Voice. Voice provided backup singing in concert and in the studio, including work on 1975’s Elvis Today album.

Nielsen features prominently on two live recordings released shortly after Elvis’ death. On the 1977 album Elvis In Concert, which compiled songs from two stops on his final tour, Elvis introduces Nielsen and asks him to sing “O Sole Mio” – the original Italian version of “It’s Now Or Never.” As Nielsen sings solo during the June 21, 1977, performance in Rapid City, South Dakota, Elvis playfully gibes him as a “smart aleck” while hitting the high notes. Elvis soon takes over to do a solid version of “It’s Now Or Never.”

Softly, As I Leave You (1978 single)

Softly, As I Leave You (1978 single)

In February 1978, six months after Elvis’ death, RCA released a single from that same concert – a haunting version of “Unchained Melody,” with piano accompaniment by Elvis himself. The flip side of that 45 RPM record was “Softly, As I Leave You,” which includes almost no singing by Elvis. Instead, in this December 13, 1975, recording from a Las Vegas concert, Elvis tells a fictional story about a dying man composing the song as a final letter to his wife. As Elvis delivers the dramatic tale and speaks the lyrics of the song, Nielsen provides the nearly operatic vocals.

They close in harmony together on the final line, “I will leave you there.”

My condolences go out to Nielsen’s family and friends.

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Research Source: Elvis Presley: A Life In Music – The Complete Recording Sessions by Ernst Jorgensen, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1998.

Elvis Sings In The Movies: His 25 Best Movie Songs

/ TY / 3 Comments

“I’ve had people ask me was I gonna sing in the movies. I’m not, I mean as far as I know, ’cause […] I wouldn’t care too much about singing in the movies.”
–Elvis Presley, April 15, 1956
(Source: Elvis Word For Word, by Jerry Osborne, Harmony Books, New York, 2000.)

Despite the fact that Elvis did not plan to sing in his movies, he of course went on to sing in all 33 of them. In fact, 1969’s Charro would be the only film in which his character did not sing on screen – though Elvis still provided the theme song for the credits.

What if Elvis had been able to follow his heart and not sing in the movies? Would his Hollywood career have been as successful? Would he perhaps have been even more successful if allowed to develop as a true actor? We will never know for sure the answers to these questions.

What we do know, however, is that 241 of Elvis’ 710 master recordings were made specifically for movie projects. While losing songs like “Queenie Wahine’s Papaya” from his career catalog would surely not have been detrimental, a fair number of more impressive songs would also be gone.

With that in mind, below is my top 25 list of Elvis’ greatest movie songs.

#1 Can’t Help Falling In Love (1961)
From Blue Hawaii

#2 Jailhouse Rock (1957)
From Jailhouse Rock

#3 Clean Up Your Own Backyard (1968)
From The Trouble With Girls

#4 Baby, I Don’t Care (1957)
From Jailhouse Rock

#5 Let Yourself Go (1967)
From Speedway

#6 All I Needed Was The Rain (1967)
From Stay Away Joe

#7 You Don’t Know Me (1967)
From Clambake

#8 Mean Woman Blues (1957)
From Loving You

#9 Charro (1968)
From Charro

#10 Follow That Dream (1961)
From Follow That Dream

#11 King Of The Whole Wide World (1961)
From Kid Galahad

#12 Viva Las Vegas (1963)
From Viva Las Vegas

#13 Hard Headed Woman (1958)
From King Creole

#14 Got A Lot O’ Livin’ To Do (1957)
From Loving You

#15 Edge Of Reality (1968)
From Live A Little, Love A Little

#16 King Creole (1958)
From King Creole

#17 Anyone (1963)
From Kissin’ Cousins

#18 Bossa Nova Baby (1963)
From Fun In Acapulco

#19 Speedway (1967)
From Speedway

#20 Let Us Pray (1969)
From Change Of Habit

#21 Today, Tomorrow And Forever (1963)
From Viva Las Vegas

#22 No More (1961)
From Blue Hawaii

#23 Rock-A-Hula Baby (1961)
From Blue Hawaii

#24 Ku-u-i-po (1961)
From Blue Hawaii

#25 G.I. Blues (1960)
From G.I. Blues

By the way, because it was a documentary, I left out songs from Elvis-That’s The Way It Is – which certainly would have dominated this list. The above also does not include songs from Tickle Me or “Rubberneckin'” from Change Of Habit because those were re-uses of previously recorded songs. Otherwise, a number of them would have cracked the top 25 as well.

Though it was a cost-saving maneuver for Tickle Me, oddly enough using existing recordings resulted in better songs because it featured selections from Elvis’ non-movie sessions.

Though the movie years resulted in more bad songs than great ones, we still would have missed out on all or most of the above listed songs without them. Beyond this, the power of 1968’s legendary ELVIS (Comeback) TV special would be diminished if that moment had not been about getting back on the track. History cannot be changed, and usually that is for the best.

(Thanks to Alex, whose comment on a previous entry inspired today’s post.)

“They don’t seem like art to me”

/ TY

“They don’t seem like art to me,” is how ElvisBlog’s Phil Arnold inexplicably dismisses the Elvis works of the legendary Andy Warhol in his post today commemorating Flaming Star (50th Anniversary Movie Pictorials: Flaming Star – 1960 — ElvisBlog).

The Warhol works are derived from a publicity photo of Elvis as he appeared in the 1960 film. Warhol’s 1963 piece Triple Elvis is in the collection of the Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts.

I saw it several times as a kid. It is quite stunning in person and very much “art.” I am hoping it will still be on display when the Elvis At 21 Alfred Wertheimer exhibit arrives there late next year.

Of course, there are also people out there who say that Elvis was never a singer, much less an artist, so I suppose Warhol is in good company.

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Flaming Star, one of Elvis’ best movies, was directed by Don Siegel – who went on to direct Clint Eastwood in a number of films, including Dirty Harry. The end of the Eastwood-directed Unforgiven (1992) includes the dedication “To Sergio and Don,” his mentors. “Sergio” is Sergio Leone, who directed Eastwood in what became known as The Man With No Name trilogy, and “Don” is Don Siegel.