Unchained Melody

Anything about Elvis
More than 100 Million visitors can't be wrong

Moderators: Moderator5, Moderator3, FECC-Moderator, Site Mechanic

Post Reply

User avatar

Topic author
latebloomer
Posts: 724
Registered for: 12 years 3 months
Location: Kentucky, USA
Has thanked: 5177 times
Been thanked: 436 times

Unchained Melody

#1202841

Post by latebloomer »

Not my day! I thought I had posted this question, but can't find it, so, if it's a duplicate, my apologies:

Can anyone list the several dates and places that Elvis sang "Unchained Melody"? I know it was on "Moody Blue", but did he record it in a studio? If so, where and when, please?

I've looked for answers myself, but remain a few performances short of the full list, I think. If you can help, I will be very grateful.

Many thanks,


latebloomer

Elvis Presley was an explorer of vast new landscapes of dream and illusion. He was a man who refused to be told that the best of his dreams would not come true, who refused to be defined by anyone else's perceptions. This is the goal of democracy, the journey on which every American hero sets out. That Elvis made so much of the journey on his own is reason enough to remember him with the honor and love we reserve for the bravest among us. Such men made the only maps we can trust.
--- Dave Marsh in Elvis.

User avatar

drjohncarpenter
Posts: 107019
Registered for: 20 years 11 months
Location: United States of America
Has thanked: 11700 times
Been thanked: 33635 times
Age: 89

Re: Unchained Melody

#1202875

Post by drjohncarpenter »

latebloomer wrote:Not my day! I thought I had posted this question, but can't find it, so, if it's a duplicate, my apologies:

Can anyone list the several dates and places that Elvis sang "Unchained Melody"? I know it was on "Moody Blue", but did he record it in a studio? If so, where and when, please?

I've looked for answers myself, but remain a few performances short of the full list, I think. If you can help, I will be very grateful.

Many thanks,
To the best of my knowledge, Elvis sang "Unchained Melody" on stage a little more than a dozen times in the last year of his life. Not sure which is best, perhaps the performance on 12-31 1976. Here are the shows I know about:

1976 (five)
December 27
December 28
December 29
December 30
December 31


1977 (eleven)
February 12
February 16
February 17
February 20
April 24
--> this performance overdubbed and issued on Moody Blue, then later without overdubs
May 27
May 29
June 02
June 20
June 21
--> this performance issued posthumously with overdubs, then later without overdubs
June 25


---

There are no known studio recordings of "Unchained Melody," but apparently there are 1960s home demos of Elvis singing this classic ballad, although not one has surfaced. It would be a thrill if someone unleashed even one for us to enjoy. He was in better health in this period, so just imagine how powerful the rendition might be!


.
Dr. John Carpenter, M.D.
Stop, look and listen, baby <<--->> that's my philosophy!


Matthew

Re: Unchained Melody

#1202930

Post by Matthew »

Where has the June 21st performance been issued without overdubs? The version on Great Performances still has a piano overdub on it.




stevelecher
Posts: 7378
Registered for: 20 years 10 months
Has thanked: 756 times
Been thanked: 1403 times

Re: Unchained Melody

#1202938

Post by stevelecher »

Matthew wrote:Where has the June 21st performance been issued without overdubs? The version on Great Performances still has a piano overdub on it.
That's the best we have, so far.



User avatar

drjohncarpenter
Posts: 107019
Registered for: 20 years 11 months
Location: United States of America
Has thanked: 11700 times
Been thanked: 33635 times
Age: 89

Re: Unchained Melody

#1202953

Post by drjohncarpenter »

stevelecher wrote:
Matthew wrote:Where has the June 21st performance been issued without overdubs? The version on Great Performances still has a piano overdub on it.
That's the best we have, so far.
I hear Elvis' piano work for most of the recording, with some overdubs by someone else at the finale.

The recent Gravelroad release of the June 21 performance on The CBS Concert Recordings is currently the best place to hear the finale as is.

Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLeD2-1Xex0&t=134m02s


.
Dr. John Carpenter, M.D.
Stop, look and listen, baby <<--->> that's my philosophy!


Matthew

Re: Unchained Melody

#1202973

Post by Matthew »

drjohncarpenter wrote:I hear Elvis' piano work for most of the recording, with some overdubs by someone else at the finale.

The recent Gravelroad release of the June 21 performance on The CBS Concert Recordings is currently the best place to hear the finale as is.

Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLeD2-1Xex0&t=134m02s
Based on that I'd wager most (if not all) of Elvis' piano is replaced on the version we have on Great Performances, which would make a lot of sense for consistency of tone on the piano sound. The dub is similar, but not the same as Elvis' playing on that YouTube link, right from the first verse - and obviously is trying to mimic Elvis' playing for much of it. Listening carefully side by side there are different key strokes and subtle flourishes. An example is around the word "touch" in the first verse and more obviously after "lonely time" in the same verse.



User avatar

drjohncarpenter
Posts: 107019
Registered for: 20 years 11 months
Location: United States of America
Has thanked: 11700 times
Been thanked: 33635 times
Age: 89

Re: Unchained Melody

#1203203

Post by drjohncarpenter »

Matthew wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:I hear Elvis' piano work for most of the recording, with some overdubs by someone else at the finale.

The recent Gravelroad release of the June 21 performance on The CBS Concert Recordings is currently the best place to hear the finale as is.

Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLeD2-1Xex0&t=134m02s
Based on that I'd wager most (if not all) of Elvis' piano is replaced on the version we have on Great Performances, which would make a lot of sense for consistency of tone on the piano sound. The dub is similar, but not the same as Elvis' playing on that YouTube link, right from the first verse - and obviously is trying to mimic Elvis' playing for much of it. Listening carefully side by side there are different key strokes and subtle flourishes. An example is around the word "touch" in the first verse and more obviously after "lonely time" in the same verse.
It's clear they could not erase Elvis' piano performance, it's captured by his vocal mic.


.
Dr. John Carpenter, M.D.
Stop, look and listen, baby <<--->> that's my philosophy!

User avatar

mike edwards66
Posts: 5729
Registered for: 11 years 11 months
Been thanked: 1600 times

Re: Unchained Melody

#1203231

Post by mike edwards66 »

.
Last edited by mike edwards66 on Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.


>>>


some people say i done all right for a girl . . . oh yeah yeah

User avatar

drjohncarpenter
Posts: 107019
Registered for: 20 years 11 months
Location: United States of America
Has thanked: 11700 times
Been thanked: 33635 times
Age: 89

Re: Unchained Melody

#1203239

Post by drjohncarpenter »

mike edwards66 wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:Not sure which is best, perhaps the performance on 12-31 1976.
These things are obviously subjective. For me the most listenable version is the 'Moody Blue' overdubbed one. And if I'm not mistaken, that one does feature Elvis' falsetto (as opposed to Sherrill's) ...
No, Nielsen sung his falsetto "cover" for Elvis during the show taped on 4-24-1977.


.
Dr. John Carpenter, M.D.
Stop, look and listen, baby <<--->> that's my philosophy!

User avatar

mike edwards66
Posts: 5729
Registered for: 11 years 11 months
Been thanked: 1600 times

Re: Unchained Melody

#1203243

Post by mike edwards66 »

.
Last edited by mike edwards66 on Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.


>>>


some people say i done all right for a girl . . . oh yeah yeah


stevelecher
Posts: 7378
Registered for: 20 years 10 months
Has thanked: 756 times
Been thanked: 1403 times

Re: Unchained Melody

#1203245

Post by stevelecher »

More correctly, I believe, is Elvis hit the falsetto note momentarily and then Nielsen held the note for him during the big crescendo.



User avatar

Topic author
latebloomer
Posts: 724
Registered for: 12 years 3 months
Location: Kentucky, USA
Has thanked: 5177 times
Been thanked: 436 times

Re: Unchained Melody

#1207732

Post by latebloomer »

Folks, thank you all. My apologies for taking so long to read all of your comments; we've been a bit under siege :smt120 at our house this month.

As usual, you've com up with the answers, furnished other sources, then discussed the elements of the various performances and rcordings so that I know a lot more than I did when I asked in the first place, especally about how Elvis handled that particular piece of music. As usual, you're amazing!

I'm certain I haven't heard all of the recordings of 'Unchained Melody", but one things stands out during each of those I have heard: I can almost feel the tension in his audiences. He was not well for some of '76 and most of '77, and that was a most ambitious song for any singer to undertake, especially while accompanying himself on the piano. At Ann Arbor, I think the silence was from absolute rapture; at many of the other performances, I think the audience must have been holding their collective breath, literally willing him to get through the song successfully. True, some of the performaces are pure gold, some are simply miraculous (considering Elvis' general state of health), but all are stunning. He simply had no equal.

I agree, we wuz robbed; too bad he never did a recording of that gorgeous song in the '60s.

Again, thanks, everyone!!


latebloomer

Elvis Presley was an explorer of vast new landscapes of dream and illusion. He was a man who refused to be told that the best of his dreams would not come true, who refused to be defined by anyone else's perceptions. This is the goal of democracy, the journey on which every American hero sets out. That Elvis made so much of the journey on his own is reason enough to remember him with the honor and love we reserve for the bravest among us. Such men made the only maps we can trust.
--- Dave Marsh in Elvis.
Post Reply