Review: Elvis Presley - The Complete '68 Comeback Special 40th Anniversary Edition

Label: RCA

Released: August 5, 2008

The story of Elvis' 1968 comeback special is well known. By that time, the music that Elvis, not begot, but certainly laid the groundwork for, had passed him by. While Elvis was busy making silly movies like Blue Hawaii and Harem Scarum, rock and roll was broadening its horizons and beginning to take itself a bit more seriously in light of the self-empowerment of a generation involved in the civil rights and anti-war movements. Naive teen sentiments embodied in songs like "Hound Dog" or "Heartbreak Hotel" seemed ridiculous in light of the turbulent times. Quite simply, rock and roll was evolving into rock while the King was off following someone else's lame muse.

In this environment, Elvis returns to perform four sets on two dates in front a small audience at NBC's Burbank studios. There was absolutely no chance for him to recover the raw edginess he had on "That's Alright Mama," even with the return of Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana. Times had changed and so had Elvis. Nonetheless, his performance is loose and free. Elvis is light and agile and lacks the self-consciousness that he would have had if he really was a has-been. Oddly enough, he was nervous about performing live after a seven year lay-off, but he told executive producer Bob Finkel, "I want everyone to know what I can really do." And that is exactly what he did. Against the odds, Elvis was on fire. Perhaps that adversity is just what he needed.

In addition to the original album with which most everyone is well-acquainted, this package includes the full shows from which the TV special was culled and the rehearsals. It's really the rehearsals that make this set. You can hear that the King is hungry again. You can hear how confident and loose he is. This isn't the same guy who was forced in embarrassing roles in bad movies, this is just an older version of the guy who took a love of C&W, R&B and gospel and mixed it with his raw, though somewhat naive, sexuality and changed the face of popular music. It's evident on the original album. It's evident in the full shows. But nowhere is it more clear than in the free-wheeling rehearsals. Elvis and his band stumble through "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and despite the stuttering performance, they just sound great. Rock n roll was never about perfection and that's demonstrated here as well as anywhere.

This is not the Elvis that made young girls scream (although he surely made plenty of middle-aged women scream), but it's a farther cry from the Elvis that died with so much bacon fat and prescription drugs in his system that he couldn't even sustain a bowel movement. In 1968, even if only briefly, he was the King.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 9/10
Overall: 8/10

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Watts - One Below the All Time Low

Label: Self-released; buy it at CD Baby or Not Lame

Released: September 4, 2007

Watts took their name from the drummer of perhaps the most over-rated rock band in history. However, the part of the Stones that they tap into is that of the band in its hungry 60s prime, not the bloated dinosaur of the last 35 years. And the Stones aren't the only band that Boston's Watts channels. Occasionally, they stray into the catchy punk territory of the Descendents, but most often, they hit up the Replacements, not just in sound, but on a deeper level as well. One Below the All Time Low might not live up to the Replacements very best work, but it's certainly on par with the 'Mats album cuts and that's not half bad. Most importantly, they play that down-to-earth rock n roll that resonates in our hearts. This isn't an album of optimism or cynicism, but one about that place where we all live, not romanticized, just reality in all its gritty here-and-now glory.

Rating: 7/10

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Van Morrison "Best of" out November 6th

From the press release:

THE ONLY CAREER-SPANNING VAN MORRISON "BEST OF" ALBUM AVAILABLE; OUT NOVEMBER 6TH

(Los Angeles, CA) - More than 40 years since bursting out of Belfast with Them, Van Morrison continues to make great music, continues to tour the world, and continues to inspire and engage new generations of fans and artists alike.

Here on Still On Top - The Greatest Hits (Hip-O/Ume) are 21 classic tracks that chronicle Van's incredible journey so far; all remaining true to his mantra "it's always been about soul."

Featuring selections spanning his work from 1964 to 2005, Still On Top - The Greatest Hits is the definitive collection of Van's original recordings. There are musical milestones from five decades of prolific recording, including - for the first time on a Greatest Hits collection - his powerful songs from the 90s and the new millennium. Among the gems included are 1995's "Days Like This," an alternative version of 1997's "Healing Game" and an already-classic from 2005, "Stranded."

Still On Top - The Greatest Hits moves seamlessly across the genres, reflecting a career which began in the 60s with the hat-trick of "Here Comes The Night," "Gloria" and "Brown-Eyed Girl" and has not faltered since. Highlights from the Seventies include "Domino," "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)," and "Warm Love." Among those selected from the Eighties are the romantic ballad "Someone Like You" (one of many Van songs borrowed by the big screen, in this case for Bridget Jones's Diary) and the glorious "Have I Told You Lately?."

Review: Elvis Presley - Viva Las Vegas

Label: Sony BMG

Released: July 31, 2007

With a title like Viva Las Vegas, I suspect many people's expectations are very low, associating this with the lounge lizard Elvis. However, that turns out to be an off-base assumption. The truth is this album captures Elvis during his second-wind. True, the young, hungry singer from the days before the Army and the movies is gone, but he still had an awful lot of performance left in him and these 16 tracks, all but one recorded live between 1970 and 1972, find his great voice backed by a much bigger sound.

It does get a little over the top at times, foreshadowing the fat bloated days soon to come. "Release Me" and "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" both take a step or so over the line and I can't imagine why the limply patriotic "An American Trilogy" ever appealed to anyone (even the anti-anti-establishment Elvis fans of the sixties), but most of the album shows that Elvis could still pull off a fine and moving performance. The bands backing him generally show a lot of vigor, especially considering that they're just Vegas house bands. It really shows the power that Elvis still commanded.

If you're expecting the Elvis whose arteries were clogged with bacon fat, just waiting for a bout of constipation to stop his heart, you're in for a real surprise. While this isn't the Elvis of 1956, its energy is closer to those days than to what he'd become a few short years later as drugs and obesity took their toll.

Rating: 7/10