A Few Thoughts on Mr. Potato Head Elvis Presley

/ TY

Come on Elvis Presley Enterprises, I know you can do so much better than this: Mr. Potato Head Elvis Presley Figures to Launch in August of 2010.

It’ll just be another way for people to ridicule Elvis. These may work and be fun for characters from fictional universes like Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but not as supposed collectibles of a deceased superstar. These kinds of products do not protect his legacy.

By the way, that is a horrible-looking Elvis impersonator in the promotional image. On the other hand, if you’d simply called it a Mr. Potato Head Elvis Impersonator figure, then I’d be fine with it. And, like all other impersonator-related news, I’d ignore it.

Who buys this stuff?

Elvis On Tour to Hit US Theaters on July 29

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Elvis On Tour (1972)

Elvis On Tour (1972)

All right, I am admittedly very feverish at the moment, so perhaps this is all a fever-induced dream. If so, I apologize. However, the AMC and Fandango movie ticket sites are reporting that Elvis On Tour: A 75th Anniversary Celebration will hit US theaters on July 29. Blu-ray and DVD releases of the film are still scheduled for August 3.

Back when the deluxe edition of the ’68 Comeback Special was coming out a few years ago, a similar exhibit for an expanded version of the ’68 special hit theaters. As someone who was too young to have seen Elvis in concert, let me tell you how incredible of an experience that was for me.

I’m looking forward to the same for Elvis On Tour! If you’re an Elvis fan at all and this shows anywhere near your area, I encourage you to go see it. I’ll post more details once I know them, and hopefully my fever will be gone by then and I’ll be able to do a better job than this.

[Update 6/12/2010: I’ve updated the Fandango and AMC links above, as both web locations slightly changed since last weekend. I was able to successfully order Elvis On Tour: 75th Anniversary Celebration tickets on the Fandango link so be sure to try them out to see if the event will play in your area. Sadly, there has still been no official announcement on this from Elvis.com despite the fact that tickets are already on sale. I suppose they are too busy promoting the potato head.]

[Update 6/18/2010: Elvis.com finally made it official today. See follow-up story for ticket links.]

How Great Thou Art up next for FTD Classic Album Series

/ TY

Hey folks,

I’m more than a little under the weather, so I won’t be able to do a real post this week. I did want to mention FTD’s next Classic Album release, the Grammy-winning How Great Thou Art.

As well as the May 1966 sessions that made up the original album, there will also be bonus tracks drawn from June 1966 and September 1967. Definitely will make for an interesting release.

It will be available internationally later this month, usually about a month later for the US.

I hope to be back next week. I have lots of post ideas, just no energy to do them up right.

Perfection, Remixed: Applying the Rules of Elvis to Beyoncé

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Beyoncé Knowles live on stage in Las Vegas, 2009

Beyoncé Knowles live on stage in Las Vegas, 2009

So, I recently bought Above And Beyoncé: Dance Mixes, which features remixes of songs from Beyoncé Knowles’ I Am… Sasha Fierce album.

I’m a Beyoncé fan, but my initial reaction to playing the remixes through a couple of times was disappointment.

The dance rhythms became repetitive and the whole listening experience was tiring by the end. Besides, the original versions were better, so why bother?

However, I stuck them on my iPod anyway and they became part of my normal shuffle rotation. I soon found what I should have realized all along: The remixes were much better out of context.

In other words, a remix of “Sweet Dreams” can sound incredible when you’ve not just heard six other remixes right in front of it.

Why should I have realized this? Because I realized the same thing about Elvis Presley remixes years ago. Elvis remixes date back to 1980’s Guitar Man LP. It featured new background tracks for the following songs:

  • Guitar Man/What’d I Say
  • After Loving You
  • Too Much Monkey Business
  • Just Call Me Lonesome
  • Lovin’ Arms
  • You Asked Me To
  • Clean Up Your Own Back Yard
  • She Thinks I Still Care
  • I’m Movin’ On

Though the “Guitar Man/What’d I Say” single hit #1 on the Country chart in 1981, it became fashionable over the years to hate this album for daring to alter the original versions.

In 2000, FTD apologetically re-released the above songs on CD, along with others from the same remix sessions. The sarcastically-titled Too Much Monkey Business entered my CD collection as soon as it became available. The previously unreleased remixes from that album were:

  • Burning Love
  • I’ll Be There
  • I’ll Hold You In My Heart
  • In The Ghetto
  • Long Black Limousine
  • Only The Strong Survive
  • Hey Jude
  • Kentucky Rain
  • If You Talk In Your Sleep
  • Blue Suede Shoes

Between Guitar Man and Too Much Monkey Business, were any of the remixes better than the originals? Probably not, though there may have actually been one or two contenders (“Clean Up Your Own Back Yard” comes to mind).

Why do they have to be better, though? The fact that they are different and sound “new” is what makes them fun. They do not replace the originals, but stand beside them as another interpretation. You see, I already knew this about Elvis remixes. I just didn’t think at first to apply that line of reasoning to Beyoncé as well.

2002’s “A Little Less Conversation” remix by JXL brought Elvis back to the top of the charts for the first time since, well, Guitar Man! To this day, the JXL remix gets tons of airplay in various media.

I loved the Elvis vs. JXL “A Little Less Conversation,” as well as its follow-up, 2003’s Paul Oakenfold “Rubberneckin'” remix. An alternate remix of “Rubberneckin'” by Jason Nevins from that same time period is also fantastic.

In 2008, DJ Spankox remixed Elvis songs for an entire remix album, Elvis vs. Spankox Re:Versions. Rather than taking relatively obscure songs like “A Little Less Conversation,” Spankox took a bolder approach and went after some of Elvis’ better-known songs, including some of the original Sun masters. Since then, he’s even released a sequel album of additional remixes.

Much like Above And Beyoncé, listening to Too Much Monkey Business or Elvis vs. Spankox Re:Versions as albums in their entireties is really not that enjoyable.

Take the remixes out of that context, though, mix them in with your other music, and suddenly remixes of “Lovin’ Arms” or “Too Much” can sound incredibly fresh. Just don’t play all of your remixes back to back.

* * *

A lot of you are already familiar with the Elvis Today blog, but if you haven’t already done so, be sure to read Thomas’ recent reviews of the book Elvis: Still Taking Care of Business and the Sony Legacy CD On Stage. As usual, Thomas is spot-on in his analysis.

Looking Back at Elvis’ Benefit Concert in Hawaii

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Elvis was nervous at the start of the show, but the screaming audience has since calmed his fears. Truth is, he learned to use his nervous energy to his advantage on stage years ago. Despite all that has changed in his life, the fuel that powers him continues to be his fans.

This concert is a little different from most of the others, though. This time, he is in Hawaii to raise money for a cause that is very important to him. Colonel has worked out most of the details, of course, including talks with NBC to have the concert aired on TV.

A few songs in now, Elvis glances at his hastily scribbled list to see what is up next. It turns out to be one of his favorites, one sure to get a reaction from the crowd. “Treat me like a fool,” he begins and is met with more yells of approval. He still knows his audience, no matter what anybody says.

After introducing the band and backup singers, it is time for another song. He first heard this Drifters number back in 1954, but didn’t get to record it until he was out of the Army. “It was a night, ooh what a night it was, it really was such a night,” he sings into the microphone.

This time, the audience is a little quiet at first. They don’t know this one as well. No problem, Elvis throws a little leg into it and is instantly rewarded with more cheers. Secretly, he is glad Colonel’s deal fell through and those NBC cameras aren’t here after all. No need to tone this show down.

The year is 1961, and Elvis is in Hawaii to help raise money for the USS Arizona memorial. Just over seven months from now will mark the twentieth anniversary of the December 7, 1941, Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the United States into the middle of World War II.

That attack sunk the mighty Arizona, forever entombing over 1,000 officers and crew below the water in the battleship. Yet, a memorial commission established in 1949 is still having trouble finding the money to start construction on a proper tribute to the fallen.

* * *

Though NBC ended up not filming the show, fortunately at least the audio was captured and preserved for us to still hear today. It appears on the 1980 “Silver” boxed set Elvis Aron Presley, which received a CD release in 1998. The sound quality is not great, but it is certainly listenable.

I pulled this set out for the first time in years yesterday and loved hearing this top-notch and exciting concert. It also reminded me that quite some time ago I had set aside a related book for later reading. As is often the case, by the time “later” came, I had forgotten about it.

Elvis In Hawaii by Jerry Hopkins (author of Elvis: A Biography and Elvis: The Final Years) is an oversized book filled with text and photos about Elvis’ various excursions to Hawaii, including this 1961 concert. One of the cool pieces of memorabilia in the book is Elvis’ handwritten set list for the show, which helped inspire today’s post. Interestingly, he originally planned to sing “Doin’ The Best I Can,” a 1960 album cut from G.I. Blues, before scratching it out and replacing it with his 1956 hit “Don’t Be Cruel.”

Of course, Elvis would return to Hawaii a number of times after this show, including the 1973 cancer fund benefit for which the television cameras of NBC and the world were present, Aloha From Hawaii. Only two songs appear in both his 1961 and 1973 benefit concerts in Hawaii. Can you name them?

USS Arizona Memorial in 2006

USS Arizona Memorial in 2006

The 1961 USS Arizona benefit raised over $50,000 for the memorial as well as turned a spotlight on the issue to encourage contributions from others, including the US Congress. On Memorial Day 1962, the memorial was finally dedicated.

Though no one knew it at the time, the show also marked Elvis’ last live appearance for over seven years until the studio audience tapings of the 1968 ELVIS television special and his full-fledged 1969 Las Vegas shows. Instead, for better or worse, most of the rest of his 1960s career would focus on making movies.

* * *

Elvis knows he could stay on all night and they would stay, but the show is winding down now. He won’t be leaving Hawaii yet, though.

In just a couple of days, he has to start filming a new movie, Blue Hawaii. Though Mr. Wallis once told him it was to be a “drama,” Elvis is no longer so sure of that after reading the script and recording over a dozen songs for the soundtrack back in Hollywood just a few days ago.

Being on stage in Hawaii is a lot better than that stuffy recording studio. “We’d like to do a spiritual song for you, ladies and gentlemen, from our religious album called His Hand In Mine,” he says. “It goes something like this.”

He launches into “Swing Down, Sweet Chariot.” For that moment on stage, all is right in his world.

Education, Elvis Style (Part 2)

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Read Education, Elvis Style – Part 1

Back in the early 1990s, while finishing up high school, I spent all of the gift money I received for graduation on three Elvis items. My way of thinking was, what better way to further my education?

Here are some of the things I’ve learned from those items.

Elvis Today CD

  • About Elvis: Just because the record company actually bothered to print the lyrics in the liner notes of an Elvis CD doesn’t mean they always used the right words.
  • About life: Hold on to the most important pieces of your life, or they may soon be gone.

ELVIS: His Life From A to Z book

  • About Elvis: His favorite board games were Monopoly and Scrabble. He played Monopoly with the Beatles when they met in 1965.
  • About life: If an entire 620-page encyclopedia can be devoted to your life, you’ve hit the big time.

ELVIS: The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll-The Complete 50s Masters 5-CD set

  • About Elvis: He played electric bass on 1957’s “Baby, I Don’t Care.”
  • About life: Life can change at a moment’s notice, sometimes due to our actions (paying to record a demonstration record) and other times due to circumstances beyond our control (being drafted into the US Army).

No need to send me any gifts now, though, folks. My graduation from studying Elvis and life won’t be for some while, I hope.

Education, Elvis Style (Part 1)

/ TY

At this time of year in the United States, high school and university graduations are taking place. It is customary to send friends and family members gifts once they reach this milestone. Particularly for high school grads, these gifts often come in the form of money – intended for use in further education.

I graduated from high school in the early 1990s and sure enough, in the last few months of my senior year, checks from various friends and family members arrived in the mail. At the time, I was still working on obtaining my first summer job. When it came to money, I basically had none.

That had never stopped me from spending time browsing record stores, though. I can remember drooling over two Elvis CD releases in particular that had been out for about a year by that time: ELVIS: The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Complete 50s Masters and Elvis Today.

The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, of course, was the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed 5-CD boxed set that collected his 1950s material together in a coherent fashion for the first time. I can remember just staring at the track listings on the back of the box, marveling over the song titles.

Cover of 1992 Elvis Today CD

Elvis Today was the CD debut of a 1975 album previously available only on vinyl. Since RCA had inexplicably deleted the original album from its catalog, I had been trying to track it down for years before the CD release. I only had three of the songs on it and wanted desperately to hear the others.

Both releases were part of RCA/BMG’s “Elvis In The 90s” series, which had the mission of bringing all of his master recordings to the CD format.

As I dutifully wrote out thank you notes for the gracious graduation gifts people had sent me, a plan began formulating in my head. Sure, I was starting university classes in a few months, but what did I need for that right now? I had a better idea.

Soon enough, I was at the record store and spent most of my graduation money on The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and Elvis Today. I had just enough left over to buy a reference book I had also been eyeing up for some time: ELVIS: His Life From A to Z by Fred L. Worth and Steve D. Tamerius.

People had sent money for me to further my education, and that was exactly what I intended to do.

To be continued. . . .