If I Can Dream

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, RCA/BMG released an Elvis Presley single titled America The Beautiful, to raise proceeds to benefit the American Red Cross Liberty Disaster Relief Fund. In addition to the songs "If I Can Dream," "America The Beautiful" and "Amazing Grace," it included a video track of "If I Can Dream" taken from Elvis' '68 Comeback Special.

I remember buying the single, listening to it and then viewing the video clip. It was an emotional moment. Today, on the day marking the 10th anniversary of the attacks, I pulled out the single and played it again. It just felt like the right thing to do. And watching Elvis perform "If I Can Dream," the lyrics took on a whole new meaning, just as they did 10 years ago.



If I Can Dream
(W. Earl Brown)

There must be lights burning brighter somewhere
Got to be birds flying higher in a sky more blue
If I can dream of a better land
Where all my brothers walk hand in hand
Tell me why, oh why, oh why can't my dream come true
Oh why

There must be peace and understanding sometime
Strong winds of promise that will blow away
the doubt and fear
If I can dream of a warmer sun
Where hope keeps shining on everyone
Tell me why, oh why, oh why won't that sun appear

We're lost in a cloud
With too much rain
We're trapped in a world
That's troubled with pain
But as long as a man
Has the strength to dream
He can redeem his soul and fly

Deep in my heart there's a tremblin' question
Still I am sure that the answer, answer's gonna come somehow
Out there in the dark, there's a beckoning candle, yeah
And while I can think, while I can talk
While I can stand, while I can walk
While I can dream, please let my dream
Come true, ohhhhh, right now
Let it come true right now
Oh yeah

Charro! It Just Wasn't Different Enough

Earlier this week I sat down to watch Elvis' 29th film Charro! The reason for this was an article in the latest issue of the Elvis The Man And His Music magazine, titled "Charro! What Went Wrong?"

According to the writer, Gerry McLafferty, this dramatic western didn't work due to the following reasons:

• The actors Elvis was working with were much better in, for example, Flaming Star.
• Charro! suffered badly from sloppy editing and continuity goofs.
• The final script was a very uneven, disjointed piece, full of patchy dialogue.
• The original script had considerably more violence and nudity that was toned down.

As the end-credits rolled I had to agree. When it came to acting, Solomon Sturges, for example, who played the younger brother of Elvis' antagonist Vince Hackett, gave an exaggerated performance, to say the least.

As for goofs, in one scene I watched a disarmed Elvis riding his horse without his shotgun behind the saddle, in the next the shotgun was there. And during the final shoot-out the canon was falling from the wagon to the ground upside down, then in the next scene it was rolling downhill the correct way up.

And yes, the violence was minimal and the scene having Ina Balin emerge from a bath (filmed from behind) was missing.  Another reflection I made, that Gerry McLafferty didn't mention, was that the film could have used a couple of more extras. When Elvis entered the town of Rio Seco on horseback, it seemed almost empty. Surely more than some ten or twenty people must have lived there.

That said, I have to agree with McLafferty's opinion that Elvis' best moment in the film is the scene following the branding of his neck. He did convey "horrific pain and anguish" and the branding itself was violently realistic. And the music score, composed by Hugo Montenegro, was used effectively throughout the film.

Also, Elvis really looked the part of a tough gunfighter. It was indeed "A Different Kind of Role, A Different Kind of Man," as the promotion of Charro! read. But like Gerry McLafferty points out in his excellent article, "it just wasn't different enough."

Audio For A King: The Microphone Encyclopedia?

When the 500 page book Fashion For A King was announced in July this summer, I put it on my Christmas wish list. Produced for FTD by Pål Granlund of the Norwegian fan club Flaming Star, it focuses on Elvis' stage suits from 1969 to 1977, and comes with two live CD's from 1974 and 1975. But having read two reviews of the book this week, it's off my wish list.

Both reviewers looked forward to it but ended up equally disappointed. Here's an example of what Bryan Gruzska has to say in his guest blog "Fashion For A King doesn't fit diehard fan" over at The Mystery Train Elvis Blog:

The text was bland and repetitive and followed exactly the same format in each section: Elvis’ tour lasted from this date to this date, he wore XYZ jumpsuits during the tour and he had Y band members with him. While the descriptions of which jumpsuits were worn on what dates were sadly lacking, oddly, the authors saw fit to inject commentary within the descriptions about Elvis’ health, state of mind, girlfriends or spending habits, often in the form of generalizations.

In the latest issue of the Elvis The Man And His Music magazine, reviewer Fr. Conor Stainton-Polland shares the same opinion, pointing out that the book "is weak in detail" and that "the same phraseology is used for each suit description." He's also irritated that the text it full om textual errors, for example that "which" is spelled "witch" throughout the book.

Just as Bryan Gruzska, Fr. Conor Stanton-Polland thinks it's odd that the microphones used on each tour are described in such great detail, in fact in a much more orderly way than the jumpsuits! In his review he gives an example, ironically stating that the mics seemed to be ornamental:

Elvis wore several different types of microphones [...] The microphone used was AKG D-224 E with blue tape (white tape on the microphone on the microphone stand first two songs (page 278).

In the end, the only thing that seems to save Fashion For A King from a complete disaster, are the two accompanying soundboard CD's (July 1, 1974, Omaha Nebraska and December 14, 1975, Las Vegas Hilton). But with a price tag of over $100 US, of course it's not nearly enough. I for one will wait until the two concerts are re-released without the book. After all, that has happened several times before.

Looking back at a summer with three disappointing additions to the FTD catalog (the two others being Stage Rehearsal and Amarillo '77) I'm glad the next couple releases will include He Touched Me and 48 Hours To Memphis.

PS: Thanks for lending me the title to this post, Troy!

Why No On Tour Shows?

In the letter section - Shout It Out!- of the September issue of the Elvis The Man And His Music magazine that I received this week, a fan from New Zealand asks if anybody knows why FTD has never released any of the concerts from April 1972 that were recorded for Elvis on Tour. Apparently the editor knows how to get in touch with Ernst Jorgensen because he received the following answer:

FTD has been holding back on the three unreleased live shows from Elvis On Tour in order to include them on a release to coincide with whatever Warner Brothers might want to do with the unreleased footage from this project. As you know, Elvis On Tour was released on DVD in its original form, and we felt that this wasn't really the opportunity. I'm sure we will release these performances eventually, but at this time we don't have them scheduled. We have more than enough other great material to work with.

I have to admit I have difficulties understanding Ernst Jorgensen's line of reasoning. It took ages until Warner Brothers decided to release Elvis On Tour on DVD, and when it finally happened, combined with a special presentation of the movie at theaters across the United States, Ernst Jorgensen didn't feel that was "really the opportunity?!" Amazing.

A while back Troy Y. over at The Mystery Train Elvis Blog wrote a post titled "Hey Sony, isn't it about time for an Elvis on Tour boxed set?" In it, he expressed his hopes that the 40th anniversary of Elvis On Tour in 2012 will capture Sony’s imagination, and that it deserves a 3 CD treatment on the main label featuring the three unreleased concerts from the movie, together with an Elvis On Tour: The Rehearsals – Volume II on the FTD label.

I think that's an excellent idea, but admit I would be equally happy if the three shows were released as a box set by FTD. But I don't hold my breath, especially after reading Ernst Jorgensen's answer. If he's waiting for Warner Brothers to release unreleased footage from Elvis On Tour, I think he's in for a long wait. And that means the fans will be too, when it comes to the three concerts (from April 9, 10 and 14, respectively) being released officially on CD, be it on the FTD or the Sony main label. Such a shame.

From Blog To Television

Fellow blogger Troy Y. over at The Mystery Train Elvis Blog made an impulsive decision about two weeks ago that led to him being on television talking about an upcoming Elvis release.

What Troy did was take a chance and e-mail various local news media in Richmond (where he lives) when FTD announced that their September release 48 Hours To Memphis (featuring Elvis' performance from March 18, 1974 at the Richmond Coliseum).was a multi-track rather than the expected soundboard.

Later the same day a reporter from WTVR CBS 6 contacted him. Troy went over the basics of the release, but turned down an interview, as he couldn't have a camera crew visiting him at work. But the reporter, being persistent (as reporters usually are, I know, I've been one) called back the next day and asked if Troy would do an interview after all. So, at his lunch break he went over to the studio and did the interview.

As Troy himself explains at the For Elvis CD Collectors forum, "The reporter was great to deal with and very enthusiastic throughout the whole thing. Overall, I was happy with how it turned out and felt it presented a positive view on Elvis."

I agree, I enjoyed watching it and felt that Troy was taking care of business. Hopefully, Ernst Jorgensen has seen it as well. It's not every day an FTD album gets promoted on television. How about sending Troy a free copy of 48 Hours To Memphis, Ernst?

Elvis at the Coliseum live in concert to be released (WTVR website)

Christmas Blues

This week I wished that I could travel back in time, setting the date to the evening of September 7, 1957. The location was a given: Radio Recorders in Hollywood. This is what would take place, had it been possible:

Standing by the Christmas tree that producer Steve Sholes has arranged to have in the studio, I'll glance into the mix room and see Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller at work, asked to come up with something not sounding like a Christmas standard.

A short while later I'll notice the songwriting duo emerge and approach Elvis. Running through the song with Stoller at the piano and Leiber singing in his hoarse way, Elvis smiles approvingly and says, "Okay, let's make it."

He then knocks the song off in seven takes, singing about Santa arriving in a big black Cadillac instead of a reindeer, in that tough bluesy way. It's the highlight of the whole time travel trip. And, judging by the smiles on their faces, it's a great moment for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller as well. 

This post is dedicated to Jerry Leiber who passed away earlier this week, on August 22.

To My Surprise!

Having returned from my one week holiday in a Danish cottage where I had no way to access the Internet, I immediately sat down in front of the computer to get an update about what had been going on in the Elvis World.

One news item stood out from all the rest, the announcement made by Ernst Jorgensen during Elvis Week in Memphis that the upcoming FTD September release 48 Hours To Memphis is, in fact, a multi-track recording of the concert in Richmond, Virginia, on March 18, 1974.

As Troy Y. writes in his post "Elvis Shocker: 1974 Richmond concert is a muti-track recording" at The Mystery Train Elvis Blog, many questions abound:

Did RCA record Richmond as preparation for that Memphis concert album? Or did RCA originally conceive the album as a tour compilation? How did RCA seemingly lose this multi-track recording and any record that it ever existed?

In the booklet accompanying the FTD release of Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis (featuring the last concert of the tour in Memphis on March 20), there is a reprint of an article in The Commercial Appeal on March 21, 1974, titled "Elvis' final taped for release in June." In it the reporter writes, among other things, that:

Elvis said he turned down requests from other cities on his current tour to record in order to save the recording show for his hometown fans [...] Presley and Felton Jarvis, his record producer, said there was some discussion aobut his recording at the Houston Astrodome and other cities.

My guess is that it will remain a mystery why the concert in Richmond was nevertheless recorded. Not that it matter that much. What does is that the fans will get to hear a second professionally recorded Elvis concert from the same tour. The last time something like that happened was when RCA/BMG released An Afternoon In The Garden in 1997. So be sure to enjoy this release!