Girl Happy

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

...

Have a nice day!

You too! . Bye for now .

[drjohncarpenter]

...

Don't forget, it was you who chose to address a question I put to someone else.

You can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Have a nice day!

You too!

Oh, thank you. Glad you have learned something today.

[emjel]

Hi there!! .

...

Have a nice day!

You too! . Bye for now .

You still haven't bothered to answer my questions that I put to you yet.

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

...

Have a nice day!

You too! . Bye for now .

You still haven't bothered to answer my questions that I put to you yet.

You can keep waiting if you want.... . Bye for now .

[emjel]

Hi there!! .

...

Have a nice day!

You too! . Bye for now .

You still haven't bothered to answer my questions that I put to you yet.

You can keep waiting if you want.... . Bye for now .

No that's okay. Truth be known, I'm not bothered really. No doubt you'd put some fancy silly spin on the answers anyway.

[goldbelt]

Amid the histrionics and condescension that proliferate his posts on the topic here, emjel has finally tabled an actual example, Do Not Disturb, for further discussion.

The session tapes that survive from these soundtrack sessions reveal an Elvis frequently angry and embarrassed; after twenty-four takes of a song called “Do Not Disturb,” he chattered like a machine gun"

And it's a good example to dig a little deeper on as it is from the same Girl Happy sessions as Do The Clam, from the much derided (by a small number of members) soundtrack output of 1965. The very period where Elvis was, supposedly, ridiculing and angry at the material he was being given to record and not wanting to be in the studio.

The FTD edition of Girl Happy has furnished collectors with takes 24, 25, 26, 27, 35 and 36 (the master), complete with some enlightening studio chat.

So were these 36 takes recorded by an artist disinterested, even angry at the material? Was he ridiculing the material along the way? No, quite the opposite actually, as is revealed by the outtakes.

So much to unpack here. Apparently, most of the takes for "Do Not Disturb" are false starts only. This shows the difficulty in recording it.

The difficulty in recording it came from his trouble mastering the complex phrasing, as I already explained in my post - might help if you listen to what you are commenting on first. It's all there on the recording.

Or, just read the part of my reply which explains that. You know, the substantive part of my reply you failed to include in your silly little selective quote and reply games.

"So much to unpack here" - then he ignores the detailed evaluation and substance of my reply and unpacks nothing.

As for false starts, many are long false starts, which means he sang until the point he stumbled on the complex phrasing. Just as he does on take 24 (at 1minute 35 seconds into the song) and take 26 (at 2 minutes 28 seconds).

(Thanks to Keith's website for the track duration timings)

[poormadpeter2]

Amid the histrionics and condescension that proliferate his posts on the topic here, emjel has finally tabled an actual example, Do Not Disturb, for further discussion.

The session tapes that survive from these soundtrack sessions reveal an Elvis frequently angry and embarrassed; after twenty-four takes of a song called “Do Not Disturb,” he chattered like a machine gun"

And it's a good example to dig a little deeper on as it is from the same Girl Happy sessions as Do The Clam, from the much derided (by a small number of members) soundtrack output of 1965. The very period where Elvis was, supposedly, ridiculing and angry at the material he was being given to record and not wanting to be in the studio.

The FTD edition of Girl Happy has furnished collectors with takes 24, 25, 26, 27, 35 and 36 (the master), complete with some enlightening studio chat.

So were these 36 takes recorded by an artist disinterested, even angry at the material? Was he ridiculing the material along the way? No, quite the opposite actually, as is revealed by the outtakes.

So much to unpack here. Apparently, most of the takes for "Do Not Disturb" are false starts only. This shows the difficulty in recording it. The music was not only substandard, but also nearly impossible to deliver.

And for whatever "friendly" asides between the few outtakes available for review, the frustration is loud and clear on emjel's quoted statement. What is more enlightening, though, is the fact that Elvis bolted from the session that Thursday evening right after "Do Not Disturb," leaving two songs on the ledger. The band remained to cut the rhythm tracks. The next evening, Presley did not show up at all. This was only the second time he'd done something like this, ever. Again, the band cut rhythm tracks so the booking was not a complete disaster. Coincidentally, it was an MGM session in the first example, and not coincidentally it was because Presley was incredibly angry at the process, just like for "Girl Happy."

The singer would return to Radio Recorders the following Monday to complete the soundtrack, but his behavior spoke volumes. It's all there in the actual recording session history, and therein lies the importance of knowing the historical record. Those who do understand why. Those who, fifty-plus years on, continue to make excuses for his mid-sixties slide, clearly do not.

But, be assured, they will carry on.

So you are trying to tell us that in the somewhere in the session notes it says "Elvis left because he was angry?" If that isn't the case, how do you know why he left and why he never returned. What you are providing is nothing more than hearsay. There is no proof whatsoever for his motives for leaving - even if he was angry, we don't know if it was because of the material he was recording. It's all guesswork.

What's more you are giving mixed messages about the point you are trying to make. Let's say Elvis did leave because he hated the material...he came back again to finish it, so he couldn't have hated it that much.

[musiclover1979]

All right!
I'll jump right into the beehive.

This thread is very interesting and these kind of heated discussions makes this forum a great place to visit (seriously).

Here's some facts which I want to believe because they're from the excellent / great book by Bill Bram: Elvis Frame by Frame (2008):

Unfortunately, there's no chapter on Girl Happy but there's some very interesting info regarding Elvis' likes and dislikes:

p. 333: Appendix 2 Roustabout - Highlights from the Movie Files:

p. 342:
Memo to Martin Davis; From Paul Nathan; Dated 07/03/64...
..."Selected quote:
"Elvis saw the picture recently and told me it is the best picture he ever made ... He is not given to praise and his comment if ever, is 'it's pretty good' or 'it's OK'."

p. 343: Appendix 3 Easy Come, Easy Go - Highlights from the Movie Files:

p. 345:
Memo to Bill Stinson (Sound Department); From Hal Wallis; Dated 07/14/66

Excerpts:

"Colonel Tom Parker told me that Elvis is disenchanted with Radio Recorders and that on his current picture they did the pre-recording at the Metro Studio Sound Stage. We will therefore plan to record Elvis' next picture at the studio here."

According to Bill [on the same page] the Colonel was referring to the Double Trouble soundtrack which was done at MGM


I have more like this if you want. With apologies to Bill Bram. But his book is sold out; and I feel this is very constructive regarding the discussion at hand.

[musiclover1979]

OK, Bill Bram's book is the best I've ever read on Elvis' films & here's another one:

Appendix 3 Easy Come, Easy Go (continued):

From p. 350:

Memo to Hal Wallis; From Paul Nathan; Dated 09/21/66

... MAIN TITLE.... "EASY COME, EASY GO"

First choice by Presley: The one by Wayne and Weisman. With New lyrics.

Second choice: by Giant, Baum and Kaye ...

[note by me: Elvis' preferred song was chosen].

From p. 351:

SING, YOU CHILDREN! SPOT....AT SYMINGTON HOUSE

1. Sing, You Children! By Nelson & Burch.
2. Saved, by Leiber & Stoller (Elvis prefers this one, we don't. Feel it better elsewhere) ...

From p. 352-353:

Memo to Hal Wallis; From Paul Nathan; Dated 10/12/66

Excerpts:

"According to Red (Elvis' musical advisor), Elvis now likes the song, 'Stop, You're Wrong Again,' better than any song in the entire score."

"Red said Elvis keeps singing it at home all the time and realizes he could do more with it than any of the others." ...


These facts say a lot about Elvis I'd say...

[ForeverElvis]

The "Girl Happy" FTD releases in 2003 and 2009 were handled by professional mastering engineers. They would have made note if more than just the title track was sped up before release. As for Elvis' voice, he sounds just as skittish on, for example, the tracks cut for "Easy Come, Easy Go." One suspects his embarrassment and desire to get it done and get it over with was a factor in this sound.

My understanding is as follows:

1) If certain masters were sped up, they appear sped up on master reel - professional mastering engineers had access to those.
2) We know how Girl Happy sounded like before tampering with it because we have several outtakes.
3) We don't have outtakes of Wolf Call, so we can't compare.

That's why I believe Wolf Call (and Startin' Tonight) were sped up, although we may not have a proof.

How can you say you believe in that when there is no documentation to back that up or outtakes to make a comparison.

I would say that he is making a "critical assumption", he and we may not have access to documentation that indicates one way or the other but when you take into account all that we do know it is within reason to come to this conclusion. Documentation is not always accessible to everyone, or even exists all the time. "critical assumption" is a business process technique.

[poormadpeter2]

The "Girl Happy" FTD releases in 2003 and 2009 were handled by professional mastering engineers. They would have made note if more than just the title track was sped up before release. As for Elvis' voice, he sounds just as skittish on, for example, the tracks cut for "Easy Come, Easy Go." One suspects his embarrassment and desire to get it done and get it over with was a factor in this sound.

My understanding is as follows:

1) If certain masters were sped up, they appear sped up on master reel - professional mastering engineers had access to those.
2) We know how Girl Happy sounded like before tampering with it because we have several outtakes.
3) We don't have outtakes of Wolf Call, so we can't compare.

That's why I believe Wolf Call (and Startin' Tonight) were sped up, although we may not have a proof.

How can you say you believe in that when there is no documentation to back that up or outtakes to make a comparison.

I would say that he is making a "critical assumption", he and we may not have access to documentation that indicates one way or the other but when you take into account all that we do know it is within reason to come to this conclusion. Documentation is not always accessible to everyone, or even exists all the time. "critical assumption" is a business process technique.

Purely on listening, I would be very surprising if Startin' Tonight wasn't speeded up - which is a good thing, as it means it's over quicker!

[Fabbe]

..

I think this is well staged: the photography, camera movements, lightings, how the players interacts, the role of eye contact while doing other things, facial expressions ,how they move in the room (the part on the sofa filmed from above works really well) how the song matches the scene


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

[musiclover1979]

I'm with you Fabbe.
The song is no masterpiece on record, but it has a unique tempo / rhythm in the Elvis catalogue.

The scene is beautifully filmed and follows through on everything in the song.

The song is situational and fits the scene in the movie.

[jetblack]

Now that is funny.

Over the years you have corrected posts or deleted them to cover your mistakes. They are available for all to see elsewhere.

Here's a thought: I invite any member of this forum to contact admin and ask if this is true. They will be told it is not.

And pigs have landed on the moon too.

Andy

[emjel]

Now that is funny.

Over the years you have corrected posts or deleted them to cover your mistakes. They are available for all to see elsewhere.

Here's a thought: I invite any member of this forum to contact admin and ask if this is true. They will be told it is not.

And pigs have landed on the moon too.

Andy

But have you picked up the gauntlet and accepted the challenge.

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Now that is funny.

Over the years you have corrected posts or deleted them to cover your mistakes. They are available for all to see elsewhere.

Here's a thought: I invite any member of this forum to contact admin and ask if this is true. They will be told it is not.

And pigs have landed on the moon too.

Andy

. Bye for now .

[jetblack]

But have you picked up the gauntlet and accepted the challenge.

I picked this one up if that helps.



Andy

[colonel snow]

OK, Bill Bram's book is the best I've ever read on Elvis' films & here's another one:

Appendix 3 Easy Come, Easy Go (continued):

From p. 350:

Memo to Hal Wallis; From Paul Nathan; Dated 09/21/66

... MAIN TITLE.... "EASY COME, EASY GO"

First choice by Presley: The one by Wayne and Weisman. With New lyrics.

Second choice: by Giant, Baum and Kaye ...

[note by me: Elvis' preferred song was chosen].

From p. 351:

SING, YOU CHILDREN! SPOT....AT SYMINGTON HOUSE

1. Sing, You Children! By Nelson & Burch.
2. Saved, by Leiber & Stoller (Elvis prefers this one, we don't. Feel it better elsewhere) ...

From p. 352-353:

Memo to Hal Wallis; From Paul Nathan; Dated 10/12/66

Excerpts:

"According to Red (Elvis' musical advisor), Elvis now likes the song, 'Stop, You're Wrong Again,' better than any song in the entire score."

"Red said Elvis keeps singing it at home all the time and realizes he could do more with it than any of the others." ...


These facts say a lot about Elvis I'd say...

It declares "first choice" on the demo version of Easy come easy go; another version written by Gerald Nelson was rejected too.

colonel snow

[musiclover1979]

So, I assume you own the book colonel?
Thanks for the info I appreciate it

If you do, you can see there's some lengthy memos and lots of other stuff in that book. There's among other things a list of possible song choices for the movie on p. 350-351.

I wasn't going to quote everything, but highlight some interesting bits.

Here's some interesting quotes from p. 347, 348, 349:
Appendix 3 - Easy Come, Easy Go [even more info]:

... Memo to Tom Diskin; From Hal Wallis; Dated 09/12/66

Excerpts:

We have now had from the music company fifty-five demo records an in our opinion these break down as follows:

Forty-three are just not good at all. ... [!!!! ]

[A list of songs with suggestions follows and comments from Wallis on which ones he prefer].

... Inasmuch as I understand that Elvis has received copies of all fifty-five demos ... I Think it would be advantageous if you were to give me a reaction from Elvis as to the foregoing. If there were any of the above songs that he does not like we and the music company should know it now so that they may put additional efforts to get more songs. Also, if there are any of our forty-three rejects that Elvis particularly likes I should know about them as well so that we may replay them and reconsider them...

[It seems like Hal Wallis was open to suggestions and took a big part in choosing songs and scenes for a movie like "Easy Come, Easy Go". I wish we had memos and details like these for Girl Happy ]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also,

I'm very grateful that someone "liked" / appreciated my post.

Did you like it Doc?

Understand this: I'm not getting into the dirt throwing in this forum. Remember: "When the sh*t hits the fan...".

I appreciate all the different views from all the big contributers her like poormadpeter, emjel, goldbelt, the Doc & Fabbe this makes it the most interesting thread here at the moment (to me). Not to say anything bad about the great thread by poormadpeter: "Roustabout: Another Lost Song?".

And, Doc, your topics are also well informed and very well written. But, sometimes we'll have to agree to disagree,

I myself love topics on the movies and the soundtrack songs.

I'm still a big Elvis fan and movie fan...

Sincerely,

Even B.

[emjel]

But have you picked up the gauntlet and accepted the challenge.

I picked this one up if that helps.



Andy

Well does it help you that's the important thing. And is he trying to shoot the moon.

[musiclover1979]

Jetblack [Jet Harris, first bass player of The Shadows ],

The Gauntlet (1977) is a fun, unbelievable, pop corn action movie.

Just like many of the Elvis films which are fun, unbelievable pop corn music comedy movies, he! he!

[colonel snow]

So, I assume you own the book colonel?
Thanks for the info I appreciate it

If you do, you can see there's some lengthy memos and lots of other stuff in that book. There's among other things a list of possible song choices for the movie on p. 350-351.

I wasn't going to quote everything, but highlight some interesting bits.

Here's some interesting quotes from p. 347, 348, 349:
Appendix 3 - Easy Come, Easy Go [even more info]:

... Memo to Tom Diskin; From Hal Wallis; Dated 09/12/66

Excerpts:

We have now had from the music company fifty-five demo records an in our opinion these break down as follows:

Forty-three are just not good at all. ... [!!!! ]

[A list of songs with suggestions follows and comments from Wallis on which ones he prefer].

... Inasmuch as I understand that Elvis has received copies of all fifty-five demos ... I Think it would be advantageous if you were to give me a reaction from Elvis as to the foregoing. If there were any of the above songs that he does not like we and the music company should know it now so that they may put additional efforts to get more songs. Also, if there are any of our forty-three rejects that Elvis particularly likes I should know about them as well so that we may replay them and reconsider them...

[It seems like Hal Wallis was open to suggestions and took a big part in choosing songs and scenes for a movie like "Easy Come, Easy Go". I wish we had memos and details like these for Girl Happy ]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also,

I'm very grateful that someone "liked" / appreciated my post.

Did you like it Doc?

Understand this: I'm not getting into the dirt throwing in this forum. Remember: "When the sh*t hits the fan...".

I appreciate all the different views from all the big contributers her like poormadpeter, emjel, goldbelt, the Doc & Fabbe this makes it the most interesting thread here at the moment (to me). Not to say anything bad about the great thread by poormadpeter: "Roustabout: Another Lost Song?".

And, Doc, your topics are also well informed and very well written. But, sometimes we'll have to agree to disagree,

I myself love topics on the movies and the soundtrack songs.

I'm still a big Elvis fan and movie fan...

Sincerely,

Even B.

I don't have this book but it's very interesting to read about these (rejected) demos.

colonel snow

[emjel]

Jetblack [Jet Harris, first bass player of The Shadows ],

The Gauntlet (1977) is a fun, unbelievable, pop corn action movie.

Just like many of the Elvis films which are fun, unbelievable pop corn music comedy movies, he! he!

Jet Black. If I remember correctly, that was the second single by The Drifters before they changed their name to The Shadows and then came the classic Apache.

[skatterbrane]

XTC fairly recently released a "phase corrected" version of their Skylarking album. Many fans are clamoring for Paul McCartney's Ram to have its phase problems corrected. It would be nice to have a speed corrected version of Girl Happy come out as well.

[jetblack]

Jet Black. If I remember correctly, that was the second single by The Drifters before they changed their name to The Shadows and then came the classic Apache.

Released also on Cliff's classic debut LP (1959) as recorded live at Abbey Road studios.



Andy