Heart of Rome

[CountCanada]

Just listening to this song and I think it is a good love song. At some points it seems like Elvis is yelling and not singing but overall I like the tune. I never skip it.
Your thoughts...

[poormadpeter2]

Elvis is clearly enjoying himself, but it's not a great song, and as you mention he is oversinging it - but it's the end of a long week of recording and probably much of the oversinging was to compensate for a weary voice.

[fn2drive]

A good producer could have coaxed a consistent delicate performance from this substandard ballad. This was an early stop on the highway to bellowing. Elvis had no checks and balances in the studio-this track is a good example of the consequences.

[rlj4ep]

This song has always been a favorite of mine. I love the arrangement, the lyrics, and delivery. Ironically, I just listened to the FTD release of the "Love Letters" album last night. I played this song several times and even enjoy the other takes of this one, especially Take 1.
I suspect that Elvis may be "over singing" this in parts, but I've always thought he was just really pouring as much emotion as he could into this song. As I said, one of my all-time favorite Elvis songs.

rlj

[Rob]

Not a great song, but it is one I always enjoy when I hear it.

[stevelecher]

This is what Fountain Of Love would have sounded like if he'd done it in 70/71.

[Eggrert]

I have a weakness for these sorts of overblown ballads, so needless to say, I love this track. My preferred version is the mix on the 70s box; it has more of a punch than the album version, imo.

[Ciscoking]

I really like this song very much.

[Fabbe]

Not the kind of song I like




Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

[bajo]

Far from beeing a fav of mine. Strange choice for a single imo. But, if I must, I can take the stripped down version on Our Memories Of Elvis FTD. It gave him a chance to "belt out" a little at least.

[drjohncarpenter]

Just listening to this song and I think it is a good love song. At some points it seems like Elvis is yelling and not singing but overall I like the tune. I never skip it.
Your thoughts...

"By request" ... uh-huh.

It's sad that Elvis' best A-side of a very sorry year of single releases missed the top twenty, and the mediocre flip did not help a bit. This is material for Englebert Humperdinck, but in 1971 times had changed as far as studio work, and fast. Would producer Chips Moman have allowed such weak material to even be run down at American in 1969? No way.

Songwriters Kenneth Howard, Geoffrey Stephens, Alan Blaikley had written hits in their time, such as the wonderful "Have I The Right?" by the Honeycombs back in 1964, but Elvis wasn't in line for something that fresh and fun.

Elvis probably revealed his contempt for the song in a profane rehearsal version taped in July 1970. If only that had been used as the B-side a year later, the publicity alone would have been huge.

At this point, probably a lot of fans were wondering what was going on with their favorite artist.

[Ciscoking]

Just listening to this song and I think it is a good love song. At some points it seems like Elvis is yelling and not singing but overall I like the tune. I never skip it.
Your thoughts...

"By request" ... uh-huh.

It's sad that Elvis' best A-side of a very sorry year of single releases missed the top twenty, and the mediocre flip did not help a bit. This is material for Englebert Humperdinck, but in 1971 times had changed as far as studio work, and fast. Would producer Chips Moman have allowed such weak material to even be run down at American in 1969? No way.

Songwriters Kenneth Howard, Geoffrey Stephens, Alan Blaikley had written hits in their time, such as the wonderful "Have I The Right?" by the Honeycombs back in 1964, but Elvis wasn't in line for something that fresh and fun.

Elvis probably revealed his contempt for the song in a profane rehearsal version taped in July 1970. If only that had been used as the B-side a year later, the publicity alone would have been huge.

At this point, probably a lot of fans were wondering what was going on with their favorite artist.

IMO..fans were probably..wondering how great that single was..two excellent songs on one disc..

[Fish]

Just listening to this song and I think it is a good love song. At some points it seems like Elvis is yelling and not singing but overall I like the tune. I never skip it.
Your thoughts...

"By request" ... uh-huh.

It's sad that Elvis' best A-side of a very sorry year of single releases missed the top twenty, and the mediocre flip did not help a bit. This is material for Englebert Humperdinck, but in 1971 times had changed as far as studio work, and fast. Would producer Chips Moman have allowed such weak material to even be run down at American in 1969? No way.

Songwriters Kenneth Howard, Geoffrey Stephens, Alan Blaikley had written hits in their time, such as the wonderful "Have I The Right?" by the Honeycombs back in 1964, but Elvis wasn't in line for something that fresh and fun.

Elvis probably revealed his contempt for the song in a profane rehearsal version taped in July 1970. If only that had been used as the B-side a year later, the publicity alone would have been huge.

At this point, probably a lot of fans were wondering what was going on with their favorite artist.

IMO..fans were probably..wondering how great that single was..two excellent songs on one disc..

If Heart of Rome is excellent.....what unbelievable choices were made for singles...I will never understand. Heart of Rome is a terrible song, from any era, by any singer.

[Juan Luis]

Just listening to this song and I think it is a good love song. At some points it seems like Elvis is yelling and not singing but overall I like the tune. I never skip it.
Your thoughts...

"By request" ... uh-huh.

It's sad that Elvis' best A-side of a very sorry year of single releases missed the top twenty, and the mediocre flip did not help a bit. This is material for Englebert Humperdinck, but in 1971 times had changed as far as studio work, and fast. Would producer Chips Moman have allowed such weak material to even be run down at American in 1969? No way.

Songwriters Kenneth Howard, Geoffrey Stephens, Alan Blaikley had written hits in their time, such as the wonderful "Have I The Right?" by the Honeycombs back in 1964, but Elvis wasn't in line for something that fresh and fun.

Elvis probably revealed his contempt for the song in a profane rehearsal version taped in July 1970. If only that had been used as the B-side a year later, the publicity alone would have been huge.

At this point, probably a lot of fans were wondering what was going on with their favorite artist.

This is tiring.

[elvisjock]

Had anyone in Elvis’ orbit been charged with creative and quality control, they would have taken the twelve strongest album cuts and a couple of hit singles from June 1970 and ditched the rest. With Elvis, less is more almost always applies. But, sadly, I would have never heard This Is Our Dance.

[MRM]

Had anyone in Elvis’ orbit been charged with creative and quality control, they would have taken the twelve strongest album cuts and a couple of hit singles from June 1970 and ditched the rest. With Elvis, less is more almost always applies. But, sadly, I would have never heard This Is Our Dance.

"Heart of Rome" is not among them but Elvis cut well over a dozen quality tracks in June 1970. It was his last highly productive session.

Sometimes, I don't mind "Heart of Rome," though. It's a B side. Elvis was one of the few artists to still manage double-sided hits in the 70s. Usually by that time, the lesser album cuts, instrumentals and oddball singles of most artists would end up as a flip side.

[Dan_T]

A song I enjoyed more as a kid...I don't really enjoy the strained vocal now... I feel the same way now about Rags To Riches.

[drjohncarpenter]

If Heart of Rome is excellent.....what unbelievable choices were made for singles...I will never understand. Heart of Rome is a terrible song, from any era, by any singer.

Some people like crap, some don't. It's always been that way.

By general consensus, though, "Heart of Rome" is a mediocre piece of material from often-underwhelming publisher Freddy Bienstock. Sadly, neither side of the 1971 single gets a mention on the official Elvis page of "Singles":

http://www.elvis.com/music/singles

"I'm Leavin'" only made #36 in Billboard's "Hot 100" and Cash Box's "Top 100," both the same week, 8-21-1971. "Heart of Rome"? MIA, a complete flop.

The three terrible singles that preceded it must have played a huge role in a terrific tune like "I'm Leavin'" being left in the dust.

"I Really Don't Want to Know" / "There Goes My Everything"
"Rags to Riches" / "Where Did They Go, Lord"
"Life" / "Only Believe"

What a sorry half-dozen, not one appropriate for 45 release. Bye-bye American Sound studio, hello RCA Nashville.

[poormadpeter2]

Just listening to this song and I think it is a good love song. At some points it seems like Elvis is yelling and not singing but overall I like the tune. I never skip it.
Your thoughts...

"By request" ... uh-huh.

It's sad that Elvis' best A-side of a very sorry year of single releases missed the top twenty, and the mediocre flip did not help a bit. This is material for Englebert Humperdinck, but in 1971 times had changed as far as studio work, and fast. Would producer Chips Moman have allowed such weak material to even be run down at American in 1969? No way.

Songwriters Kenneth Howard, Geoffrey Stephens, Alan Blaikley had written hits in their time, such as the wonderful "Have I The Right?" by the Honeycombs back in 1964, but Elvis wasn't in line for something that fresh and fun.

Elvis probably revealed his contempt for the song in a profane rehearsal version taped in July 1970. If only that had been used as the B-side a year later, the publicity alone would have been huge.

At this point, probably a lot of fans were wondering what was going on with their favorite artist.

If he had a contempt for the song, he wouldn't have been rehearsing it a month after having recorded it!

[MRM]

If Heart of Rome is excellent.....what unbelievable choices were made for singles...I will never understand. Heart of Rome is a terrible song, from any era, by any singer.

Some people like crap, some don't. It's always been that way.

By general consensus, though, "Heart of Rome" is a mediocre piece of material from often-underwhelming publisher Freddy Bienstock. Sadly, neither side of the 1971 single gets a mention on the official Elvis page of "Singles":

http://www.elvis.com/music/singles

"I'm Leavin'" only made #36 in Billboard's "Hot 100" and Cash Box's "Top 100," both the same week, 8-21-1971. "Heart of Rome"? MIA, a complete flop.

The three terrible singles that preceded it must have played a huge role in a terrific tune like "I'm Leavin'" being left in the dust.

"I Really Don't Want to Know" / "There Goes My Everything"
"Rags to Riches" / "Where Did They Go, Lord"
"Life" / "Only Believe"

What a sorry half-dozen, not one appropriate for 45 release. Bye-bye American Sound studio, hello RCA Nashville.

What song/songs would you have pulled from "Elvis Country" for 45 release, doctor? I always liked "I Really Don't Want to Know." "Rags to Riches" has grown on me, although Elvis' version is not Tony Bennett's. The vocal is strained. "Life" is just lame.

[Delboy]

I think ‘It’s You Baby, You Rock it’, flipped with ‘I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water’ would have made a fine single from ‘Elvis Country’. I also think ‘Stranger on the Crowd’ should have featured somewhere from ‘Elvis That’s the Way it is’. These were original Presley tracks that could have maintained momentum from 1969 and encouraged submission of more original material. I still can’t believe ‘Life’ made it as a single release and who would request ‘Heart of Rome’?

[Juan Luis]

If Heart of Rome is excellent.....what unbelievable choices were made for singles...I will never understand. Heart of Rome is a terrible song, from any era, by any singer.

Some people like crap, some don't. It's always been that way.

By general consensus, though, "Heart of Rome" is a mediocre piece of material from often-underwhelming publisher Freddy Bienstock. Sadly, neither side of the 1971 single gets a mention on the official Elvis page of "Singles":

http://www.elvis.com/music/singles

"I'm Leavin'" only made #36 in Billboard's "Hot 100" and Cash Box's "Top 100," both the same week, 8-21-1971. "Heart of Rome"? MIA, a complete flop.

The three terrible singles that preceded it must have played a huge role in a terrific tune like "I'm Leavin'" being left in the dust.

"I Really Don't Want to Know" / "There Goes My Everything"
"Rags to Riches" / "Where Did They Go, Lord"
"Life" / "Only Believe"

What a sorry half-dozen, not one appropriate for 45 release. Bye-bye American Sound studio, hello RCA Nashville.

[drjohncarpenter]

Some people like crap, some don't. It's always been that way.

By general consensus, though, "Heart of Rome" is a mediocre piece of material from often-underwhelming publisher Freddy Bienstock. Sadly, neither side of the 1971 single gets a mention on the official Elvis page of "Singles":

http://www.elvis.com/music/singles

"I'm Leavin'" only made #36 in Billboard's "Hot 100" and Cash Box's "Top 100," both the same week, 8-21-1971. "Heart of Rome"? MIA, a complete flop.

The three terrible singles that preceded it must have played a huge role in a terrific tune like "I'm Leavin'" being left in the dust.

"I Really Don't Want to Know" / "There Goes My Everything"
"Rags to Riches" / "Where Did They Go, Lord"
"Life" / "Only Believe"

What a sorry half-dozen, not one appropriate for 45 release. Bye-bye American Sound studio, hello RCA Nashville.

What song/songs would you have pulled from "Elvis Country" for 45 release, doctor? I always liked "I Really Don't Want to Know." "Rags to Riches" has grown on me, although Elvis' version is not Tony Bennett's. The vocal is strained. "Life" is just lame.

None of them, as none were single material. Those summer 1970 sessions in Nashville really missed the mark as far as quality commercial songs that could have continued the stellar string of singles created at American Sound in Memphis.

All must share blame for this failure: Felton Jarvis, Presley management and publishers, RCA and Elvis.

[DEH]

the material was strong for the most part but again RCA made the wrong choices for singles,

[sweetangeline]

All must share blame for this failure: Felton Jarvis, Presley management and publishers, RCA and Elvis.

if I might say...that order seems very correct indeed