Unable to yet find a Rolling Stone review of Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Essential 70s Masters, the 70s box, the magazine does continue to display a healthy look at Presley's later output, as evidenced in this excellent 2003 review of That's The Way It Is as one of "The Greatest Albums Ever Made"!
"Magnificent," writes critic Tom Nawrocki. "Presley's most grown-up collection of songs," he insists. Not too shabby!
Rolling Stone 925 - Jun 26, 2003
Note also at the bottom of the review:
Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Essential 70s Masters, with a FIVE star rating!
It seems clear Rolling Stone is anything but down on the "70s Elvis."
Enjoy!
. Dr. John Carpenter, M.D. Stop, look and listen, baby <<--->> that's my philosophy!
not a bad review, but not sure anyone at the time thought Elvis show in August 1970 had become a self parody, so the author loses some credibility. He says how good I Just Can't Help Believing, and You've Lost That Loving Feeling are, when it was recorded during the same run of shows he then says were a self parody.
He's right about the more mature nature of the song lyrics, something that followed on from Memphis the year earlier, and it's an album I've always loved, never more so than with the glorious FTD classic album release.
Thanks for taking the time to post Doc
Last edited by DarrylMac on Thu Jul 08, 2010 12:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
It is clear that the era between 1968 (ELVIS - NBC TV SPECIAL) and 1971 (ELVIS COUNTRY) keeps surprising many reviewers - including people from RS - that do not expect to listen to a passionate and focused performer, both on stage and in the studio.
Doesn't Rolling Stone know that the Essential 70's Masters boxset was a disaster? The producers left off loads of stunning masters and had the nerve to issue rarities in their place. That is a one-star release at best.
Doc, thanks for posting the review. A high-quality Elvis release no doubt. Not sure if it should go down as "one of the greatest albums ever made," but it is nice to see some appreciation for one of Elvis' finer 70's efforts.
midnightx wrote:Doesn't Rolling Stone know that the Essential 70's Masters boxset was a disaster? The producers left off loads of stunning masters and had the nerve to issue rarities in their place. That is a one-star release at best.
Doc, thanks for posting the review. A high-quality Elvis release no doubt. Not sure if it should go down as "one of the greatest albums ever made," but it is nice to see some appreciation for one of Elvis' finer 70's efforts.
I have never given much credence to Rolling stone magazine, and rightly so.
Great find! I wonder if this LP will get a Legacy Edition release. Technically the 2000 3CD release is a Legacy Edition in a ways but it is long out of print and certainly the advancement in audio quality on Elvis Presley releases since then would warrant a new version to sit alongside "From Elvis in Memphis" and "On Stage".
Interesting error regarding "The Wonder of You", which was released months prior to "That's The Way It Is".
DarrylMac wrote:not a bad review, but not sure anyone at the time thought Elvis show in August 1970 had become a self parody, so the author loses some credibility.
Not really. The author specifically uses "Hound Dog" as his example. I suspect the author is referring to Elvis' treatment of his own original hits on stage. Even "Suspicious Minds", still a showstopper and performed very well, has sped up by this engagement. His 50s hits are not performed with the same passion as a year earlier - they're better than how they would transform over the next couple of years but clearly don't get the same effort given the 'outside' material Elvis invests himself into such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water" for example.
DarrylMac wrote:He says how good I Just Can't Help Believing, and You've Lost That Loving Feeling are, when it was recorded during the same run of shows he then says were a self parody.
His comments are spot-on. He is speaking of the 50s hits, which Elvis for the most part was already throwing away.
None of these August 1970 performances come close to matching what the world heard in 1956:
Love Me Tender
Hound Dog
Heartbreak Hotel
Don't Be Cruel
Love Me
There is nothing "beautifully shaded" in these renditions.
Those five, four of which were #1 hits in 1956, may be heard as examples of self-parody, or simply not caring.
. Dr. John Carpenter, M.D. Stop, look and listen, baby <<--->> that's my philosophy!
Spot on John!
Those are the greatest wonders of Elvis coming back to a new "life" as an arist, imo! Still, beyond all those, he managed to create a "new Elvis". The leap from the comeback in '68 and onwards to the "Vegas" Elvis! He did it as we know, but still a great wonder within me! He actually did it and remained as for as long he himself let it go! The end is still too sad!
"If you love me let me know, if you don't, ....move it!"
KiwiAlan wrote:Elvis seemed very fond of A Big Hunk Of Love and gave it far better treatment than his other 50's material.
Anyone know a particular reason why.
I mean I wonder why this one over Mean Woman Blues or Hard Headed Woman for example.
"Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" also got a decent treatment in the 70s, as did "Trying To Get To You". I suspect Elvis just preferred this material over his 'King of Rock 'n' Roll' hits, the more rhythm and blues oriented material.
DarrylMac wrote:He says how good I Just Can't Help Believing, and You've Lost That Loving Feeling are, when it was recorded during the same run of shows he then says were a self parody.
His comments are spot-on. He is speaking of the 50s hits, which Elvis for the most part was already throwing away.
I'm sure he did mean that, but it does read as a blanket dismissal of the live disc, as there is no positive example to balance the negative. We are talking about the August 12th, 1970 Midnight Show here, which deserves a little better than a throwaway comment about self parody. A casual reader would certainly assume the show isn't worth hearing.
Still, his obvious enthusiasm about the original album is very welcome and a little surprising, particularly as it receives the same star rating as From Elvis in Memphis!
Matthew wrote:Great find! I wonder if this LP will get a Legacy Edition release. Technically the 2000 3CD release is a Legacy Edition in a ways but it is long out of print and certainly the advancement in audio quality on Elvis Presley releases since then would warrant a new version to sit alongside "From Elvis in Memphis" and "On Stage".
Interesting error regarding "The Wonder of You", which was released months prior to "That's The Way It Is".
Actually, I find that the FTD classic album series edition of That's The Way It Is is more of a true Legacy Edition in terms of content. Its content design reminds me of The Byrd's Legacy Edition of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.
Thank you for that encouraging but slightly strange review. It is extremely heartening to see Elvis's 70s work praised in RS, even if the praise makes one pause---TTWII is a good album, but hardly one of the greatest ever made (and not even the greatest made by Elvis). And while the songs are indeed grown-up they're also somewhat MOR, and their arrangements lack the intricacy of the '69 material. The complaints about the live show are also strange, since the live disc contains a very good concert, even if the oldies aren't as performed as well as in '69. And all that kissing takes place during "Love Me Tender," not "Hound Dog"!
When I first heard the album after buying it in 1975 right after watching the movie on television, I was slightly dissapointed, but I grew to love it.
The reason was, I would have assumed that the album was a live album, just as the movie was live.
I think it should have been a double album with one disc being live and the other studio.
I think RCA really missed the boat here, but they would have taken heat if they had just copied the very format that
they had done the year before with From Memphis to Vegas.
ekenee wrote: I have never given much credence to Rolling stone magazine, and rightly so.
Nah. Actually, no. But thanks.
?? Thanks for what?
Just because they like this Elvis item doesn't make them any better.
You should read some of the utter drek, ie. crap, that they just rave on about.
So in this case, Elvis is not in good company.
ekenee wrote:When I first heard the album after buying it in 1975 right after watching the movie on television, I was slightly dissapointed, but I grew to love it. The reason was, I would have assumed that the album was a live album, just as the movie was live.
That sums it up for me too. However, I was never disappointed in the album itself. I do remember when that first track started playing thinking that I'd sit back and enjoy a live album. I soon realized that it was not the case. I played the hell out of that thing though.
Fun, fun look at us run going nowhere special really fast...........
