What happened to Elvis after 1977 is described in the films “People in Black” and Bubba Ho-Tep, which is why it is not an example of a more talented story than about his life before 1977 in a fresh hand-made choreographer Luhrmann. But there are films in the galaxy starring Presley. Once pretending to be a Ford conveyor belt, Hollywood stamped thirty-one of them (!!!) a grand in just thirteen years. Most of these semi-artistic products were missed only by the lazy, and connoisseurs of “Dudes” are not at all aware of this side of the King’s career.
Biographers and critics disdainfully discard the soundtracks of his films, preferring to discuss numbered albums. Indeed, the on-line production of soundtracks did not involve the thoughtful and often innovative approach with which Elvis and his colleagues worked on the songs of the early period. However, losing out to Presley’s traditional longplays, are these soundtracks really that bad on their own? Let’s look at the example of a single Spinout (Weekend in California).
It’s grass, acid, and 1966. After the musical timelessness of the beginning of the decade, American youth are in captivity of the British invasion, all these shaggy Beatles are releasing their “revolvers” with “cream”. Anton Sandor LaVey announces the creation of the church of Satan, perhaps contrasting this act with the XXIII Congress of the CPSU, but it is not the blasphemer Antoshka who is being thrown into prison, but the entertainer Kesha Kesey, an expert on cuckoo nests. Simply put, life is bubbling with the fury of a burst sewer, anticipating the Summer of Love. But fashion trends are transitory, according to Tom Parker, who has conservative stability in his pocket: a $500,000 contract with MGM and 50% of the fees for each film featuring his “golden boy.”
“Spinout” is Elvis Presley’s third hour-and-a-half video clip in a year, and RCA is releasing a traditional accompanying recording with nine numbers from the film and three extras. The list of Elvis’ accompanists of that time should inspire experts with near-religious awe, one has only to read it.:
The Musicians of Elvis Presley
Scotty Moore – guitar. A person involved in the creation of the Presley sound no less than Presley himself;
Tommy Tedesco – guitar. Session musician with The Beach Boys, the Everly brothers, Nancy and Frank Sinatra, and many others;
Tiny Timbrell – guitar. A session musician who played both pop swing with Rosemary Clooney and country music with Marty Robbins;
Bob Moore – bass. Joined Elvis at the first sessions for RCA in 1956. His double bass can also be heard in Roger Miller’s legendary King Of The Road, in compositions by Patsy Cline, Connie Francis, Roy Orbison, etc.;
Dominic Joseph Fontana – drums, percussion. The King’s drummer since 1955. Doesn’t need any comments;
Buddy Harman – drums, percussion. Together with Bob Moore, he was a regular participant in the sessions of Patsy Cline for Decca until her death. His other clients include Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and other Willie Nelsons.
Floyd Kramer – keys. Like Jerry Lee Lewis, he is a native of Louisiana and a self-sufficient solo artist. He graced the repertoire of Don Gibson, Brenda Lee et cetera with his playing. His distinctive piano is heard in “Heartbreak Hotel”, Presley’s first million-dollar hit;
Boots Randolph – saxophone. A brilliant musician, whose “Yakety Sax” was the only bright moment in the Benny Hill show. He was friends and worked closely with Chet Atkins;
The Jordanaires – backing vocals. The permanent foundation for the King’s voice from 1956 to 1972.
Could such an amazing line-up record stupid songs? Of course, if the cinema situation required it. But could they do it badly? Nonsense. These fighters wielded the tools better than all the English gangs combined. Well, how stupid is the material in the Spinout soundtrack? Let’s dig deeper.
Spinout Soundtrack (1966)
Stop, Look And Listen by Joy Byers (It Hurts Me, C’mon Everybody in her collection of songs for Elvis Presley) was already released the day before by Bill Haley and Rick Nelson. This version tramples the previous ones into oblivion, immediately stating who the real fatal Caesar is here. Carousing and unbridledness from the first fraction. The disadvantage of the recording is that the instruments are too much pushed into the background, as a sign of mammonic pop, here and further.
Adam And Evil was written by the Weiss-Starr duo, far from the last in this list of New York Jews who provided Elvis with compositions for his cinematic ordeals. A playful account of the Fall with a harem saxophone and the peals of the Lord’s wrath depicted on the volumes. An undeservedly ignored masterpiece.
All That I Am is a delightful bossa nova with gentle Timbrel guitar notes. It was released on the B-side of the album’s title and only single. Tepper-Bennett (Brodsky, from Brooklyn Brodsky), who initially provided song clips for Tony Bennett (Benedetto) and Dean Martin (Crocetti), our hero was already serenaded with 43 serenades.
Never Say Yes is a Diddley beat that would do credit to many performers, but for Elvis it’s just seeds. Although Brooklyn’s (we warned you) Pomus (Felder)-Schumann songwriters have already distinguished themselves with their truly magnificent His Latest Flame with the same rhythmic basis, not to mention Little Sister and Suspicion.
Am I Ready is another Tepper-Bennett elegy, this time arranged in the key of Can’t Help Falling In Love.
Beach Shack is an endearing callipso with its frivolity. In the choruses, rock and roll seems ready to break loose. Giant (Zimmerman)-Baum-Kay managed to become famous for the broken Devil In Disguise.
Spinout in the USSR would be called a shake. A couple of years later, Presley would develop a funky manner in A Little Less Conversation, but there was also enough hidden and by no means platonic aggression. The names Wiseman-Fuller-Wayne (Weinberg) can be found in almost all of Presley’s filmography.
Smorgasbord means “buffet” and in this context screams about sexism, chauvinism and toxic masculinity. From the era when James Bond was Sean Connery. She is able to exorcise demons from feminists and feminism from demons. Send complaints to Tepper and Bennett.
I’ll Be Back – a natural nugget. A rockabilly shuffle in which Elvis shakes his alpha male all over Ivanovskaya while the guitarist exerts maximum overload. Wiseman and Wayne had no idea that the musicians would be so distracted on this number.
Tomorrow Is A Long Time is the only song by Bob Dylan (from the Minnesota Zimmermans) recorded by Elvis before 1977 and the longest – 5 minutes 24 seconds. She wasn’t included in the movie or featured on the single. Dylan himself admits that this is one of the best interpretations of his stuff in the history of interpreting his stuff.
Down In The Alley is another addition to the nine songs from the movie. The original was released in 1957 by The Clovers, one of the most famous Black vocal groups of its time. Judging by the intensity of the passions, Presley and the guys were having fun with this swinging blues, preparing for the recording of I’ll Be Back. Hearing this, BB King might have turned white for a moment.
I’ll Remember You is a mystical barcarole in the spirit of Roy Orbison, accompanied by a female witch choir. The author, Kui Lee, an ethnic Hawaiian, died in December of the same year and, I think, left satisfied.There is also an approach to sound: there is a balance between voice and accompaniment, unlike the music for the film.
Modern moviegoers discovered “Weekend in California” after its release on DVD. Due to the blatant mediocrity of the production and script, the film was considered a parody of the young comedies of those years. Which does not detract from the musical merits of the Spinout record. Happy Birthday, King, we know you’re grinning at us among the stars.
