Customer Reviews

Essential Elvis Vol. 4: A Hundred Years From Now

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The perfect complement to the "official" recordings, particularly the warts and all versions of "Got my Mojo Working", "Whole Lot-ta Shakin' Goin" On" and "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water". Of special interest is the opening track, "I Didn't Make It On Playing Guitar", a previously unreleased instrumental jam. Most of the tracks were culled from the marathon June 1970 sessions which supplied several albums and singles.

IF YOU LISTEN CARFULLY TO THIS CD YOU WILL NOTICE A NUMBER OF WORD CHANGES THAT SHOW UP ON HERE AND NOT ON THE ALBUMS LISTEN CAREFULLY TO THE OUTTAKES AND ENJOY THE GOLDEN VOICE AND SONGS NOT ON ANY CD AVAILABLE. AND AS A 35 YEAR COLLECTOR, I HAVE A FEW OF HIS RECORDINGS AND HIS FIRST SONG ON HERE IS NOT ANYWHERE TO BE FOUND

It's unlikely you've heard some of these rare, second/third take recordings before. These subtlely different recordings are a real treat! Also represented here is the seldom featured "Nashville" sound that Elvis so enjoyed.

Most of the tracks on Volume 4 are better in their originally released versions, including the stuff that ended up on "Elvis Country" with overdubbed horns. Unlike Volume 5, which shows EP in a very loose and funky mood, the tracks here just sound...professional. The one exception is the undubbed "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with just Elvis, piano, bass, and drums. In this fan's opinion, this is the single greatest recorded moment of EP's entire career, and when he sings "I'm on your side", you'll know everthing the boy from tupelo was all about.

Elvis' "up" mood pervades every second of sound on the specialty collection of outtakes and alternates. By the middle of 1970, he was undeniably back...reinvented and rejuvenated. I must confess I missed some of the lighthearted nonsense from the films - from those "lazy" '60s - but now it was serious time for Elvis. He was back on track; he just have felt very fulfilled that his decision to get back to serious recording and live shows was one of the best of his life.

Perhaps the real turnaround was 1968, specifically, the 1968 "Comeback Special" on TV. During the rehearsals he told the Producer he would never gain do a movie or song he did not "believe in". Well, two years later, there is no discomfort felt during these sessions, which produced mainly album cuts, but very powerful ones.

To me, the most exciting effort is the bluegrass number, unreleased until this CD, "A Hundred Years From Now", with Elvis on guitar (or I'll eat my hat). Another presumptive unplanned muse was "Little Cabin Home On The Hill", which shown brightly on the excellent "Elvis Country" album. My choice would have been "Hundred".

We have long, undubbed versions here, and as great as it is to hear the man even *laugh* or *cuss*, we can hear why the engineers were right to edit and overlay. Talkin' about, "..Muddy Water", "...Mojo Working", and "...Lotta Shakin'...". Elvis digs in with great energy and interest but the longer takes are mostly for deep fans and those involved with the recording.

There are two thoroughly contemporary sides, "It's Only Love" and "Patch It Up", which capture a vibrancy missing even from the magnificence of the "From Elvis In Memphis" - Elvis isn't out to prove he can still do it - he's *done it* and now is confidently making hit records, again. There is no sustained soft crooning anywhere on this session. Seems that technique was now a thing of the past.

Yes, the watchword is enthusiasm here, that special Elvis enthusiasm, which dispels any frowning response to some overblown big ballad mediocrities like "You Don't Have To Say You Love", "Where Did They Go, Lord", "Just Pretend", and "Until It's Time For You To Go". (I was there on June 9, 1972 at Madison Square Garden when Elvis broke into the latter middle-of-the-roader and felt a little frustrated - why not "I Need Your Love Tonight"? Yeah, I know.... Well, the chick next to me didn't seem to care if Elvis recited his driver's license).

As one Amazon Reviewer said, however, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (minus sixteen orchestras and overdubbed audience) is really astonishing. Even the fans wondered if all that sound was actually covering vocals shortcomings, but no...Presley nails this one. Tom Jones, get back.

I have been looking for this album for a long time. I heard it a few times from friends, but never owned it myself. It's definitely not true that IPoding, or home taping is the same thing; it is not. I WANT this album! The track "I Didn't Make It on Playin' Guitar" is Elvis's wry sense of humor and his odd, self-deprecating way of striking back at all those who dissed him in life about this or that. Everything they said he "couldn't do" - he did, and there's plenty of evidence, but it just wasn't like him to strike back. So here, only the guitar is miked, and the singing is not very audible, and he's singing "I Didn't Make it On Playin' Guitar." Well, certainly, we know he made on playing guitar in 1968, on the Black Leather "sit-down" sessions, because we can see it. It shocked a lot of people at the time. I'm glad I was too young at the time to be "shocked." Oddly, an accident - a broken pinky sometime before he returned from the service, actually gave him an extra "tool" with which to play that weird sort of hybrid style that he displays in '68 and at other times. He played the famous bass line on "Baby, I Don't Care" from the "Jailhouse Rock" sessions, and he was a wonderfully emotive pianist. There are photos of him jamming on drums with Boots Randolph just for kicks. I don't think I've left anything significant out. I couldn't believe a commentator who once said, "he was a better musician than he needed to be." Which is ridiculous. Since music is not a necessary public service, every musician is "better" than they "need" to be! Just another diss, and they'll always keep coming, no matter what people hear, because they come with closed minds or ears. They don't WANT him to be good at anything except singing, for some reason, and here, he shows us that he knew that. And it must have hurt. His contract double-deal (at least double) with RCA-Hill&Range actually made it prohibitive for him to write songs, so we'll never know the truth of any of it. Here, at least, in a loose setting, we hear him making sounds, because to Elvis, music did not exist in discrete "songs" but in a long continuum of sounds. It's called the folk process, and he did it as well as the best of 'em. Plus, he could sing anyone under the table, and he knew it. People in the business respected him, until he lost his way, personally. And maybe that's what matters most.
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I really enjoyed the "stripped down" nature of this CD, which gives the songs a looser, less slick feel than the versions that were eventually released. Elvis is in a fun, playful mood and the humor shines through in the outtakes. The best track, in my opinion, is this release's version of Patch It Up. Without the excess horns, backing vocals, and studio "polish," this version grabs the listener.

This CD features unreleased takes of songs that were mostly recorded in June of 1970, with a few tracks recorded up to a year later. This was a definite high point in Elvis' recording career. Elvis was in great voice at the time, and is clearly having fun most of the time. A lot of these alternate takes sound "sloppier" than the master takes, but that just adds to their charm. If you are a fan of Elvis' work in the 1970s, you should get this CD.

Don't think, just buy this CD! Before I bought this CD I liked most hits of Elvis that I heard on the radio, but not enough to buy a CD. Then I heard this CD, I borrowed it for a couple of days before I knew I had to buy it myself. And I certainly don't regret it. My personal favourite is no. 5 (a real tear-jerker).

I love my purchase. I listen to this CD everyday. I'm very pleased with my order and would recomend this Cd to others