The best live version of Hound Dog...

Just found this... sounds like an overdubbed version on the import "We Just Stumbled Upon It"

http://www.zshare.net/audio/75762660b6f8a4f2/

Take Mick Jagger, Neil Diamond or Paul McCartney............all in their late 60's and giving full justice to their 60's material fifty years on!

Compare that to Elvis rushing through lousy versions of Hound Dog, Don't Be Cruel or Teddy Bear at the age of age 40 less than 20 years of first recordings.

It's no excuse to say he was tired of singing them..........how many times has Jagger sung Satisfaction without making a mockery of it

Just consider McCartneys energy on the NY shows.

Or Cliff Richards superb "oldies" tracks as recorded for the Reunion tour.

I don't blame Elvis for loathing the obligation of performing his 50's gold, particularly with the amount of frequency (sometimes twice a night for an entire month) he was committed to perform. Diamond, Jagger, and McCartney have all gone through extended periods where they don't perform. After a two year layoff from road work, perhaps it is easier to find some inspiration and enjoyment tackling an old standard to reward the audience with. Elvis was in a very different situation. Had he survived the 70's and casino work, had a change in career direction, was able to take significant breaks between touring commitments -- maybe he would have felt more compelled to inject some energy and effort into his 50's gold (like he did in '68 and '69, and at times in '70).

For me it's a toss up between these 2 versions.

Polk Salad Annie FTD.

And the reason i think this is one of the best is because the way Elvis delivers it very powerfull and he also throws in the extra lyrics he never does live.


The other version comes from that's the way it is show

Live in las vegas disc 2 amazing and the band is on fire and very tight

The version found on Polk Salad Annie is still a quasi-toss-away rendition. Yes, it is kind of a treat hearing an additional verse, but really, the outcome is very much the same. Still, Elvis in February 1970 is enjoyable, even when he isn't completely focused.

The responses on the past two pages underscore my earlier point about how most fans today just cannot or will not accept that the 50s Elvis generally did his 50s gold far better than a generation later.

I don't blame Elvis for loathing the obligation of performing his 50's gold, particularly with the amount of frequency (sometimes twice a night for an entire month) he was committed to perform.

Plus, by the 1970s I don't think Elvis thought songs like "Hound Dog" were particularly good. Judging by his onstage comments during that decade, he seems to have thought of "Hound Dog" as little more than bubblegum juvenalia. The number of times he comments sarcastically on the song's supposed depth suggests that he thought he'd outgrown such material, and in a certain sense he did, but much of the "mature" stuff he was given was MOR pap, while the genuinely mature material proved hard to come by, given Elvis's passivity, his tragic flaw.

The responses on the past two pages underscore my earlier point about how most fans today just cannot or will not accept that the 50s Elvis generally did his 50s gold far better than a generation later.

I certainly like Elvis in the 70s but if someone seriously suggests a rather routine 70s version (even the one on Polk Salad Annie FTD) is the best he did, I find that rather shocking. Back in the 80s it was not cool to like the 70s Elvis but now the 50s Elvis seems to be completely ignored. It is like saying "I do like Rembrandt, but not his Nightwatch-periode" or "Yes I do like Beethoven, but he was not that great in 1804-1808 when he wrote his 5th Symphony..."

In 1968, for the most part, Elvis performed his ’50s gold better than he did in the ’50s.

The 1970-1972 versions of "That’s All Right" are better than the ’50s versions. Back then, he did the song as a rockabilly tune. In 1970, he did it as pure rock ’n’ roll. The 1972 Vegas master of "A Big Hunk o’ Love" is great, and in many ways the equal of the 1958 studio recording. Same goes for the 1970 version of "Long Tall Sally".

While the 1969, 1970, and 1972 (Vegas master only) versions of "Hound Dog" are amazing, they are no patch on the best 1956 versions.

Elvis did his ’50s gold well in the ’70s, until he lost interest. The part after the comma must be read again, as that is the key element.

The responses on the past two pages underscore my earlier point about how most fans today just cannot or will not accept that the 50s Elvis generally did his 50s gold far better than a generation later.

I certainly like Elvis in the 70s but if someone seriously suggests a rather routine 70s version (even the one on Polk Salad Annie FTD) is the best he did, I find that rather shocking. Back in the 80s it was not cool to like the 70s Elvis but now the 50s Elvis seems to be completely ignored. It is like saying "I do like Rembrandt, but not his Nightwatch-periode" or "Yes I do like Beethoven, but he was not that great in 1804-1808 when he wrote his 5th Symphony..."

Spot-on, Alexander.

In 1968, for the most part, Elvis performed his ’50s gold better than he did in the ’50s.

So authoritative, and yet so wrong.

Elvis didn't do a whole lot of the "50s gold" in 1968, but in no way does he eclipse the original 1956-57 recordings of these #1 hits:

Don't Be Cruel
All Shook Up
Heartbreak Hotel
Hound Dog
Jailhouse Rock
Love Me Tender

The vocals are terrific, the arrangements, less so.

The 1970-1972 versions of "That’s All Right" are better than the ’50s versions. Back then, he did the song as a rockabilly tune. In 1970, he did it as pure rock ’n’ roll. The 1972 Vegas master of "A Big Hunk o’ Love" is great, and in many ways the equal of the 1958 studio recording. Same goes for the 1970 version of "Long Tall Sally".

0-for-3, Ken.

How utterly ridiculous to claim the perfection of Sun 209 is outdone by any 70s version.

While the 1969, 1970, and 1972 (Vegas master only) versions of "Hound Dog" are amazing, they are no patch on the best 1956 versions.

None are "amazing," but at least you got that last bit right.

The 1968 "Hound Dog" is a medley toss-away, much like the 1957 Ed Sullivan version. I agree on "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Don’t Be Cruel". Not so sure about "All Shook Up". It’s got a rough element to it, a rawness that is missing in ’57. Both versions are excellent, though.

"Love Me Tender", vocally, is better in ’68. I don’t care about the arrangement. "Jailhouse Rock" is at least equally good in ’68. I’m not sure, but I think I prefer it over the original.

"Love Me", "Trying to Get to You", "One Night", "Blue Christmas" (probably), "Blue Suede Shoes" (maybe), and possibly "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" are other versions that Elvis bettered in ’68.

"That’s All Right" is a totally different song in ’54 and in 1970. The former is rockabilly, the latter rock ’n’ roll. The original recording is wonderful, but it totally rocks in 1970, 1971, and 1972. I think most people would prefer the early ’70s version.

You’d better rethink that "score", John, because I’m in the lead, and you’re not.

"That’s All Right" is a totally different song in ’54 and in 1970. The former is rockabilly, the latter rock ’n’ roll.

I think one of the finest versions of That's all Right is also on the The First Live Recordings album I referred to. It is from a 1955 (August 20, I assume) Hayride concert. It is so much more layered and smooth than the powerful in-your-face-versions Elvis did from 1968 on. It is a recording that really tells us a story here:

1. It shows us in seconds just how great a performer he must have been, from very early on fooling around with the audience
2. After two false starts and a silly conversation with a fan "What? What's the matter with you" we hear Elvis take off
3. The performance still is Hillybilly style but you can hear Elvis search for more agression, in some phrases, especially around the word 'mama' he puts in the effort that later became the style he became famous for: rock 'n' roll. His voice is searching but he does not break through yet...
4. Same for the arrangement: Elvis Scotty, Bill and DJ are searching, there's something cooking over there and you will hear various styles and rhythms in the tune
5. In the background you can hear the noisy crowd adding another demension with some crazy fan doing background vocals. Unintended this fans vocals just suits the song perfectly - it illustrates both the magic and madness

Of course in the end it is all a matter of taste, but That's all Right wasn't just smashing rock 'n' roll nor was Hound Dog. The latter being a lean, mean, screaming, teasing blues song drowning in deep dark pool of nastyness. You can hear exactly that on the December 20, 1956 version or on the Milton Berle version. In the 50s he used each and every one of those layers while in 1968 to late 1970 he made steaming hot rock 'n' roll out of it. Both are very, very enjoyable. But...

Ken, you are right, Elvis kept developing the songs until he got bored with them. But... in general I would say that the original songs performed in his signature periode (the 50s) are vocally and musically more complex, more layered and more interesting than the latter versions being more onedimensional.

Last edited by Alexander on Thu May 06, 2010 2:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Elvis' non-soundtrack original 50s masters were never bettered by any subsequent live versions IMO.

And most of his soundtrack stuff wasn't, either.................

You’d better rethink that "score", John, because I’m in the lead ...

Don't stop believin', Ken!

5. In the background you can hear the noisy crowd adding another demension with some crazy fan doing background vocals. Unintended this fans vocals just suits the song perfectly - it illustrates both the magic and madness ...

IIRC, that's Bill Black's voice. He was a wild man on stage in 1955.

... the original songs performed in his signature periode (the 50s) are vocally and musically more complex, more layered and more interesting than the latter versions being more onedimensional.

Again, totally spot-on, Alexander. You are in the lead!

I don't blame Elvis for loathing the obligation of performing his 50's gold, particularly with the amount of frequency (sometimes twice a night for an entire month) he was committed to perform.

Plus, by the 1970s I don't think Elvis thought songs like "Hound Dog" were particularly good. Judging by his onstage comments during that decade, he seems to have thought of "Hound Dog" as little more than bubblegum juvenalia. The number of times he comments sarcastically on the song's supposed depth suggests that he thought he'd outgrown such material, and in a certain sense he did, but much of the "mature" stuff he was given was MOR pap, while the genuinely mature material proved hard to come by, given Elvis's passivity, his tragic flaw.

True. However, I doubt his opinion about the material changed that much from 1968 or even 1969 when he put forth effort, focus, and even passion towards the material. Within a couple of years, he loathed some of those tunes and clearly had no respect for the material.

Elvis' non-soundtrack original 50s masters were never bettered by any subsequent live versions IMO.

I would make a small exception for "One Night" and "Trying to Get To You."

Elvis' non-soundtrack original 50s masters were never bettered by any subsequent live versions IMO.

I would make a small exception for "One Night" and "Trying to Get To You."

He made some passable live versions of those two, it's true, but he didn't quite top the studio masters, IMO !

Elvis' non-soundtrack original 50s masters were never bettered by any subsequent live versions IMO.

I would make a small exception for "One Night" and "Trying to Get To You."

He made some passable live versions of those two, it's true, but he didn't quite top the studio masters, IMO !

His work from the '68 Comeback Special comes very close. From from being passable....

Elvis' non-soundtrack original 50s masters were never bettered by any subsequent live versions IMO.

I would make a small exception for "One Night" and "Trying to Get To You."

He made some passable live versions of those two, it's true, but he didn't quite top the studio masters, IMO !

I believe the 68 sit down versions of those two, along with Lawdy Miss Clawdy are the definitive versions. Sloppily played, but the vocals are incredible. The change of key (down from F to E) works wonders on "Trying to Get to You".

He made some passable live versions of those two, it's true, but he didn't quite top the studio masters, IMO !

I believe the 68 sit down versions of those two, along with Lawdy Miss Clawdy are the definitive versions.
Sloppily played, but the vocals are incredible.
The change of key (down from F to E) works wonders on "Trying to Get to You".

For me, the only version of a song from the '68 show that possibly surpasses the original 50s master is Love Me Tender.

And the original master of that had problems of its own !

I agree that the '68 Comeback Special version of Love Me Tender surpasses the 50's master. Incredible vocal work to say the least.

Elvis' non-soundtrack original 50s masters were never bettered by any subsequent live versions IMO.

I would make a small exception for "One Night" and "Trying to Get To You."

Oh, almost everything he did in the small combo jams is out of this world great.

But the songs in question, as cited by me, do not measure up to their 1956-57 releases. This is due in no small part to the "modernized" arrangements.

In the small combo jams, Elvis took the reins of the music himself, and the results are likely the greatest rock 'n' roll ever taped.

The 1968 "Hound Dog" is a medley toss-away, much like the 1957 Ed Sullivan version. I agree on "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Don’t Be Cruel". Not so sure about "All Shook Up". It’s got a rough element to it, a rawness that is missing in ’57. Both versions are excellent, though.

Ken you do realize that All Shook Up was the number one song of the year in 1957?

Doc:

As much love as you have for sit down versions of One Night, Lawdy, and Tryin' To Get To You, and I love them too, they still do not equal the 50's versions. One Night is one of the great, great Elvis records and the Sun Tryin' to Get To You just can't be beat.

Sorry Ken, but your assertions about That's All Right from '70-72 or Jailhouse Rock from 1968 coming anywhere close to the originals may be the most shocking comments I've seen on this board. However, as Doc said, two pages of talk about versions of Hound Dog from 1970 comparing to 1956 versions proves how undervalued Elvis' truly stunning 1950's legacy can be even to some of his biggest fans, who contribute to these pages.

Steve Lecher

Sorry Ken, but your assertions about That's All Right from '70-72 or Jailhouse Rock from 1968 coming anywhere close to the originals may be the most shocking comments I've seen on this board. However, as Doc said, two pages of talk about versions of Hound Dog from 1970 comparing to 1956 versions proves how undervalued Elvis' truly stunning 1950's legacy can be even to some of his biggest fans, who contribute to these pages.

Steve Lecher

Agreed X 1000.