the song i'm leavin

Its my all time favourite Elvis track. The intro is the finest piece of playing ever.

quite a good song superbly sung by Elvis. His delivery is perfect for the material. should have been a top ten hit. For me, the same is true of Kentucky Rain. A good song superbly sung and yet it stalled in the 20's (in Britain). I thought that was a number one .

quite a good song superbly sung by Elvis. His delivery is perfect for the material. should have been a top ten hit. For me, the same is true of Kentucky Rain. A good song superbly sung and yet it stalled in the 20's (in Britain). I thought that was a number one .

Kentucky Rain is a vastly superior track, in every way.

That should have been a bigger hit.

quite a good song superbly sung by Elvis. His delivery is perfect for the material. should have been a top ten hit. For me, the same is true of Kentucky Rain. A good song superbly sung and yet it stalled in the 20's (in Britain). I thought that was a number one .

Kentucky Rain is a vastly superior track, in every way.

That should have been a bigger hit.

Agreed. Kentucky Rain has a superior vocal, arrangement, melody, lyrical content, and production.

quite a good song superbly sung by Elvis. His delivery is perfect for the material. should have been a top ten hit. For me, the same is true of Kentucky Rain. A good song superbly sung and yet it stalled in the 20's (in Britain). I thought that was a number one .

Kentucky Rain is a vastly superior track, in every way.

That should have been a bigger hit.

Agreed. Kentucky Rain has a superior vocal, arrangement, melody, lyrical content, and production.

Chips and Elvis really worked on that. I don't think Felton pushed Elvis hard enough on this one.

Geoff

Kentucky Rain is a vastly superior track, in every way.

Yes, and there's obviously a good reason why " I'm Leavin' " didn't appear on an LP until 1980's Elvis Aron Presley.
The song was nothing to brag about (and still isn't).

Yes, and there's obviously a good reason why " I'm Leavin' " didn't appear on an LP until 1980's Elvis Aron Presley.
The song was nothing to brag about (and still isn't).

Can't agree with you there.

Most of the songs cut in 1971 ended up on LP within 18 months.

And most are inferior to "I'm Leavin'" in almost every respect.

I do like it, but wish it were tighter, with a less generic arrangement...the instruments are fine, but not spectacular. Well played, but lacking killer fills. Also, it takes too long to get to the tortured vocal...I have never been a fan of the la-la-la part.

Yes, and there's obviously a good reason why " I'm Leavin' " didn't appear on an LP until 1980's Elvis Aron Presley.
The song was nothing to brag about (and still isn't).

Can't agree with you there.

Most of the songs cut in 1971 ended up on LP within 18 months.

And most are inferior to "I'm Leavin'" in almost every respect.

I agree with not agreeing, if that makes sense.
This song and performance are miles ahead of many tracks that made albums.

Kentucky Rain is a vastly superior track, in every way.

Yes, and there's obviously a good reason why " I'm Leavin' " didn't appear on an LP until 1980's Elvis Aron Presley.
The song was nothing to brag about (and still isn't).

I'm Leavin was on the 1974 LP HITS OF THE 70'S

It is one of my favourites since the first time hearing it. I did buy the single in the 70's used and full witch scratches....didn't bother me a bit.!

Elvis sure loved I'm Leavin song! He sang it on stages from July 1971 through December 1975.

An interesting and long(!) interview about Michael Jarrett, who wrote that song, by Arjan Deelen could be found here: http://www.elvisnews.dk/Main.htm Go to "Other Elvis Stuff" and click Michael Jarrett Interview.

Elvis sure loved I'm Leavin song! He sang it on stages from July 1971 through December 1975.

An interesting and long(!) interview about Michael Jarrett, who wrote that song, by Arjan Deelen could be found here: http://www.elvisnews.dk/Main.htm Go to "Other Elvis Stuff" and click Michael Jarrett Interview.

yes he did a fine version in Boston Garden.

I love 'I'm Leavin' one of my favourites. Shame it wasn't a bigger hit but it did reach #23 here in the U.K.
'Kentucky Rain' is another great song that didn't do so well chart wise.

Elvis at his best
Is there any outtakes of this song available?

I did an audio interview , you can find it here.
http://www.elvis2001.net/Michael%20Jarr ... erview.htm

Joe K
www.elvis2001.net

Elvis at his best
Is there any outtakes of this song available?

Yes, there are outtakes; takes 1-3 are here:



Elvis Now (FTD, 2010)
http://home.online.no/~ov-egela/elvisnowftd.html

I did an audio interview , you can find it here.
http://www.elvis2001.net/Michael%20Jarr ... erview.htm

Joe K

Thanks for good interview! It was even stereo! Very interesting!

Kentucky Rain is a vastly superior track, in every way.

Yes, and there's obviously a good reason why " I'm Leavin' " didn't appear on an LP until 1980's Elvis Aron Presley.
The song was nothing to brag about (and still isn't).

I'm Leavin was on the 1974 LP HITS OF THE 70'S

I was speaking of U.S. releases.

I was speaking of U.S. releases.

Check out my reply.

I think it should be one of his best known songs. Personally I find it perfect.

I agree.

Great thread! Funny to see all these very different opinions. One loves it, one almost hates it! Personally it's right there up with Petunia! No, just kidding.....I do like it. In the outtakes I find the drums part very very good. I don't know who that drummer is and if it indeed is really special what this guy is doing, but I never noticed it on the master (maybe because of overdubs or something?). But I do love the drum part on those outtakes!

For years, I only had this song on a 'Reader's Digest' boxset, and I never listened to it. It was only when I went looking for Elvis songs I was unfamiliar with that I stumbled across it..

To my ears, 'I'm Leavin'' is a very believable song the way Elvis sang it. His voice at the time had that wobbly unsure sound to it, which suited some songs, but not all. It suited this. He sounds like his heart is breaking, and considering the nature of the song in question, he couldn't have sung it better IMO.

The powers that be may have considered 'Hey Jude' to be a selling point, and hence include it on 'Elvis Now'.. but I for one can't believe they didn't include 'I'm Leavin' instead..

That way, we had to buy both the singles and the albums.

I detect the hand of Colonel behind this strategy.

Geoff

Its my all time favourite Elvis track. The intro is the finest piece of playing ever.

Finest piece of playing ever?! P-lease?!