The planets have alligned and Mrs Booms departure for a long weekend with her friends has co-incided with my downloading of hours and hours of live Elvis material from the currrent veritable orgy of Elvis Live on DAD. So armed with a full fridge of beer and the before mentioned hours of live material I will attempt on this thread to string together a few coherent sentences covering the higlights of the live material for your general entertainment (or otherwise). Please feel free to join in!
First up is EC and Steve live at the Fillmore in San Fransisco 96, pushing the ATUB record.
Highlights so far have been Temptation - and its intro concerning its lyrical inspiration from EC's attendance of a Bruce Springsteen concert - complete with a lovely Springsteen like "talking and piano" intro, beautiful re-arrangement and the as yet unrealesed God Give Me Strength, getting a rousing reception. Fantastic sound quality. A lovely Distorted Angel and Alison/Tracks of My Tears/Tears of A Clown/ Clown Time is Over and a great Detectives make this a must have. I Want To Vanish makes a perfect ending to a wonderful show. Thanks to Mr Steve. Why EC has never released an official live record is beyond me.
P.S
For full effect switch the telly to TCM and enjoy the film noir visuals of men in hats and suits standing in the shadows and waving guns!!
The Live Elvis Long Weekend
The Live Elvis Long Weekend
echos myron like a siren
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
Next up is Elvis Costello
"On the Road Again"
June 16, 1999
Massey Hall
Toronto,Ontario,
Just top class all the way thru - from the great versions of Toledo, Whats Her Name Today, Baby Plays Around, its just wonderful versions of wonderful songs in wonderful hi fi !!!!
Things really take off with Radio Sweetheart/ Jackie Wilson complete with Van like monologue and the dreaded audience participation.
"When you walk across the room, makes my heart go boom boom boom!"
"On the Road Again"
June 16, 1999
Massey Hall
Toronto,Ontario,
Just top class all the way thru - from the great versions of Toledo, Whats Her Name Today, Baby Plays Around, its just wonderful versions of wonderful songs in wonderful hi fi !!!!
Things really take off with Radio Sweetheart/ Jackie Wilson complete with Van like monologue and the dreaded audience participation.
"When you walk across the room, makes my heart go boom boom boom!"
echos myron like a siren
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
Accidents Will Happen contains a very nice "24 Hours to Tulsa" coda. I always loved Gene Pitneys voice. This is a great version of AWH.
echos myron like a siren
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
The Alison segue into In The Darkest Place is just something else.
"Chicks were born to give you fever, be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade"
"Chicks were born to give you fever, be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade"
echos myron like a siren
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
I Stand Accused
Recorded in Bethlehem PA ("We followed a star and we got here")1979 - Starts with an amped up and an obviously very topical I Stand Accused , as this was recorded a few weeks after "the incident" , and it shows. Accused quickly runs into a punchy Goon Squad and Two Little Hitlers. It takes me a while to even recognise B Movie - its played in a faster more Armed Forces style minus the soul stylings of the then yet to be recorded Get Happy. Olivers Army and Girls Talk are both fast and furious and the lead guitar figure of Chelsea starts wired and egged on by Steves keyboards ends up going insane. Green Shirt leads into a great Oppurtunity , one of my all time favourite songs, again in a more pop style. Its interesting to hear the Get Happy songs before their soulification for the record, when they were still brand spanking new.An extended Tiny Steps is followed by a great The Beat , which really cranks and shows the Attractions at their best. Its hard not to read significance into the lyrics of these songs given "the incident" , "I'll do anything to confuse the enemy". The Blockheads The Roadette Song is next and then the keyboard heavy version of High Fidelity.
Accidents Will Happen (indeed again). An 8 minute epic Detectives is great to hear, played while it was still fresh, and features nice interplay between everyone and features some very heavy heavy BASS from the much maligned Mr Thomas. A sped up Big Boys is next, then Elvis insults the audience for a while before they play a seriously great Radio Radio and say goodnight.
Encores are a truly frenzied Pump It Up, again great to hear played fresh, without a squeeze box or any naff audience participation in sight and a wonderful You Belong To Me. Elvis and the Attractions at a definite peak.
Recorded in Bethlehem PA ("We followed a star and we got here")1979 - Starts with an amped up and an obviously very topical I Stand Accused , as this was recorded a few weeks after "the incident" , and it shows. Accused quickly runs into a punchy Goon Squad and Two Little Hitlers. It takes me a while to even recognise B Movie - its played in a faster more Armed Forces style minus the soul stylings of the then yet to be recorded Get Happy. Olivers Army and Girls Talk are both fast and furious and the lead guitar figure of Chelsea starts wired and egged on by Steves keyboards ends up going insane. Green Shirt leads into a great Oppurtunity , one of my all time favourite songs, again in a more pop style. Its interesting to hear the Get Happy songs before their soulification for the record, when they were still brand spanking new.An extended Tiny Steps is followed by a great The Beat , which really cranks and shows the Attractions at their best. Its hard not to read significance into the lyrics of these songs given "the incident" , "I'll do anything to confuse the enemy". The Blockheads The Roadette Song is next and then the keyboard heavy version of High Fidelity.
Accidents Will Happen (indeed again). An 8 minute epic Detectives is great to hear, played while it was still fresh, and features nice interplay between everyone and features some very heavy heavy BASS from the much maligned Mr Thomas. A sped up Big Boys is next, then Elvis insults the audience for a while before they play a seriously great Radio Radio and say goodnight.
Encores are a truly frenzied Pump It Up, again great to hear played fresh, without a squeeze box or any naff audience participation in sight and a wonderful You Belong To Me. Elvis and the Attractions at a definite peak.
echos myron like a siren
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
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King Hoarse
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:32 pm
- Location: Malmö, Sweden
Aging Gracefully & I Stand Accused were among the first of my many Elvis boots (circa 70?) and are both still among my favorites for opposite reasons.
Slooowly downloading On the Road Again as we type, and am sure it's great. The '99 tour was really amazing. I have yet to hear a halfhearted gig. (Is that the Veronica arrangement that starts out in a minor key, btw? I love that.)
Slooowly downloading On the Road Again as we type, and am sure it's great. The '99 tour was really amazing. I have yet to hear a halfhearted gig. (Is that the Veronica arrangement that starts out in a minor key, btw? I love that.)
What this world needs is more silly men.
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King Hoarse
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:32 pm
- Location: Malmö, Sweden
Halfhearted as in going through the motions, playing only safe songs/crowdpleasers, etc.
It sounds as if C&N's hearts were in it through all the gigs I've seen and heard from the '99 tour, which is a rarity even for Elvis. The occasional off night is bound to creep up on every tour, but I don't know any from '99.
For example, the emotive singing seemed to be built on genuine emotion on this particular duo tour, not just a vocal mannerism and desire to show off, as had sometimes been the case on solo/duo shows during the years before (Thanks a lot, Burt!) or a desperation to put a poorly received song across, which later plagued some of the North material in similar settings (Thanks a lot, Diana!).
It sounds as if C&N's hearts were in it through all the gigs I've seen and heard from the '99 tour, which is a rarity even for Elvis. The occasional off night is bound to creep up on every tour, but I don't know any from '99.
For example, the emotive singing seemed to be built on genuine emotion on this particular duo tour, not just a vocal mannerism and desire to show off, as had sometimes been the case on solo/duo shows during the years before (Thanks a lot, Burt!) or a desperation to put a poorly received song across, which later plagued some of the North material in similar settings (Thanks a lot, Diana!).
What this world needs is more silly men.