I admit to being very envious of you guy's that have visited Graceland and Sun Studios, along with other stories of Elvis. For me, he has always stood above all others for his vocal ability and creative control of the music they all made. Some great clarification above on his vocal range, thanks for that :-). I get pretty defensive when people, usually young uns here in England dismiss him for how he became towards the end with little or no attempt to understand how and why he became the world biggest and first real superstar. And when I read that he was a fair singer, well lets just leave that til we meet eh? Elvis Presley will not be surpassed, that I can promise you..
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The Sun Sessions and the 50's Masters box are well worth having. Some of the stuff from the 60's is good, but it's scattered around different collections. The 60's Masters, for instance, does not have the movie music or his gospel stuff. A cheaper way to go is The Top Ten Hits (meaning, his singles that made the Top Ten List), a 2-CD set. The Number One Hits is a good CD but leaves off too many good songs that didn't quite hit #1. A combo of The Sun Sessions and The Top Ten Hits is easy on the pocketbook and surprisingly complete. |
I found that a lot of musicians appreciate Elvis. Even jazz musicians have found inspiration in his music. One of the more recent albums that pays tribute to Elvis is Paul Berner Band . ’’The Road to Memphis’’ album is a purely instrumental album with reed man Michael Moore playing the lead. The songs are telling the story of Elvis and Colonel Parker, here is an except from the liner notes, Paul Berners masterpiece ’’The Road to Memphis, The Devil and Elvis Presley’’ is the Soundtrack to the movie that still has to be made. A movie about Elvis, focusing on the saga of a country boy becoming a king, a movie that find Elvis standing on the same cross road where blues singer Robert Johnson had been standing some 30 years before. And there, on that crossroad, ’en route to Memphis, the devil in the form of colonel Tom Parker appears and buys Elvis’ soul in exchange for fame and wealth. But on the other hand when one listens to track 6; ’’The Colonel ’’ another more complex picture of Tom Parker emerges, that of a man in pain and remorse. Was he the Devil? Just before the melody enters you hear small squeaks from dried monkey hands and a voodoo priest blowing smoke, trying in vain to undo the whole deal. Then Parker, Michael Moore’s clarinet, ’’sings his song’’. A song about the illegal immigrant Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, changing his identity and becoming Tom Parker, going from the old world to the new, from rags to riches, from laborer to kingmaker. Maybe Parker too had been standing on that crossroad. Maybe Parker by bringing Elvis to fame, was trying for a new deal with the Devil.... Elvis in exchange for his own soul. source http://www.soundliaison.com/ the download is very well recorded too, highly recommended. |
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