I like Nick's description of Elvis' version of Poisoned Rose -
http://allieiswired.com/article/?entryid=948859
(extract)
MR: I have to ask you about your covers, this time out by Tom T. Hall
, Elvis Costello and Jeff West. What went into choosing the covers, especially the Elvis song?
NL: Well, with Elvis' song, it's a song I've always really liked, "Poisoned Rose." It's from his King Of America record. I didn't produce that record, but I always liked the song. It sounded like kind of a Charlie Rich song to me. Then, last year, Elvis and I did a benefit show for a mutual friend of ours, and Elvis had the idea of each of us doing half a dozen of each others' songs. So, I would do six of his songs and he would do six of mine with a pickup band from the Bay area--this was in San Francisco. I thought, "Well, this will be a great opportunity for me to find a way of doing 'Poisoned Rose' in a way that I could actually perform it. His version is sort of histrionic, which I can't really pull off. So, I worked up a version of it that I was quite pleased with, and I thought, "Well, maybe I'll just show it to the musicians that I play with and see if we can't come up with a good version of it." So, we did about three or four takes of it, and the one on the album is the best one I think.
Clearly he's aware of the circumstance of the
KOA recording ; here's Elvis' account of same -
http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB2 ... arl+Palmer
Recording with members of Elvis Presley's band might have seemed daunting or even provcative, However none of this could quite prepare me for the intimidting prospect of our next session.
When T-bone had pencilled these names next to studio dates somewhere over the pacific it had seemed like a brilliant idea. After all the intention had never been to hire off-the-peg "legends" for the hell of it. In fact the first two players through the door were unknown to me; pianist Tom Canning and keyboard player and producer Mitchell Froom who was to play Hammond B-3 on the session. It was the rhythm section that was alarming! On drums: Earl Palmer who, among many other things, had starred on most of the great Little Richard sides. On Bass: Ray Brown who's jazz recording credits could and probably do, fill a book... Gillespie...Parker...Powell...Peterson...Ellington.... You name them. He's played with them. While the introductions were underway T-Bone was musing as to why nobody seemed to be able to achieve the spontaneity that we had heard on a Louis Armstrong/Ella Fitzgerald side playing on the inflight music around the time we were planning this very session. Being the diplomat Earl informed us... "Of course, you know, Ray was Ella's first husband..." and after a beat Ray added "I think I might have played on that session".
"Oh yeah" I was thinking, "and now where going to play this stupid little song I've written".
Actually I think they both might have thought I was out of my mind when I said I didn't give a damn if this record was a hit, so long as it sounded right. This was clearly not the sort of talk they were accustomed to. Still, with Tom and Mitchell quietly taking care of their parts we eventually got the take of "Poisoned Rose". I just had to get my nervous voice under control and catch a first verse where my performance sat right with the Ray's solitary bass accompaniment. Cue the celebration and crack open the Glenlivet!
Nick's version is gloriously loose, the vocal going all over the place , particulary in the finale. Otherwise the album is delightfully seedy , or maybe I'm getting that vibe 'cos I'm reading Le Carre's 'Tinker at the moment - both having a decidedly jaded tone about them.
