i need somebody to lean on

[david57]

During the movie a day marathon on encore one of the films I wacthed ( that i have not seen in a while) was Viva las Vegas and when this song came on I forgot how much I love this song, in my opinion this is one of the most under rated songs from the movie years

..

[promiseland]

An excellent song vocally perfect.
IIRC one of Jimmycools favorites.

[drjohncarpenter]

It's one of the finest of Elvis' 1960s soundtrack recordings. A+!

[stevelecher]

It's one of the finest of Elvis' 1960s soundtrack recordings. A+!

Kind of like the title track, Doc. Appreciation for these songs just keeps growing through the years. It's a good song and a spectacular performance from EP. I just love it!

When I was a 12 year old kid in 1965, I thought it was the most boring song on my new EP. Funny how time and maturity changes some of our impressions.

[InheritTheWind]

During the movie a day marathon on encore one of the films I wacthed ( that i have not seen in a while) was Viva las Vegas and when this song came on I forgot how much I love this song, in my opinion this is one of the most under rated songs from the movie years

..

A beautiful song and a beautiful performance by Elvis. Peter Guralnick wrote a nice post on his blog about Elvis' incredible performance; it was the subject of this nice thread that was posted by JamesVRoy:

http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=74405&p=1120328#p1119937

[greystoke]

This is such a simple, but lovely song, which Elvis sung quite beautifully. The lilting melancholia of his vocal suits the yearning lyric just perfectly. And with a most apt piano-led accompaniment. Personally, I feel as though there's a bit too much echo in the recording, but that's not a major gripe. It's always a joy to hear Elvis sing with such a deft touch -- especially in contrast to the heavy-handed approach that would mark much of his later work.

[stevelecher]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

[Blue River]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Yes.

If he wanted to there's a lot more that Elvis could've done.

[InheritTheWind]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Early 1970, perhaps. (Consider his version of "It's Now or Never" on February 23rd 1970.) By 1972 his voice had deteriorated drastically, in my opinion. From March 1971 on it was all a quivering voice or Tarzan vocals...

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[Winston]

The walk through the hotel lounge with this interior-monologue-song is such a beautiful scene in this great movie. "Not only does he sing better - at least more audibly - but the tunes continue to improve." (New York Times) Elvis has done many good songs in Hollywood. Not all are bad.

[stevelecher]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Yes.

If he wanted to there's a lot more that Elvis could've done.

I look at the two Love Letters and kind of doubt it. The song would have been quite different as early as 1966, IMO.

[Alexander]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Yes. Always On My Mind, For Ol' Times Sake and Lovin' Arms to name some are superior in my book. Great tune though.

[luckyjackson1]

Yeah, me too!

Where's Rob when I need him?

[stevelecher]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Yes. Always On My Mind, For Ol' Times Sake and Lovin' Arms to name some are superior in my book. Great tune though.

Wow, Alexander. The three songs you mention have none of the delicacy in the vocals that are present in I Need Somebody To Lean On. I love Always On My Mind but the vocal is way different than Elvis' 1963 stylings.

[terbon4]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Yes. Always On My Mind, For Ol' Times Sake and Lovin' Arms to name some are superior in my book. Great tune though.

I would say the piano songs--It's Still Here and I Will Be True--are more in the vein of INSTLO than these tracks (although I do enjoy these three very much).

If he had taken care of himself, E could have done anything he wanted to for a very long time.

T

[greystoke]

Almost, from The Trouble With Girls, has a similar mood to that of I Need Somebody to Lean On, and finds Elvis singing with some of the same vocal inflections. Particularly in his upper range, where that beautiful, lilting tone comes into effect. This is also present in Mine and Suppose, but neither, I feel, possess the same charm as I Need Somebody to Lean On or Almost. It's Still Here and I Will Be True are more intense and less self-contained than I Need Somebody to Lean On, whilst, I find I Will Be True to be quite clumsy, despite its introspective nature. Elvis's second version of You Don't Know Me is another fine example of an introspective lyric, with Elvis singing in a restrained, gentle manner that evokes the perfect balance of mood, feeling and understanding of the words. A superb arrangement also helps here. And this, surely, was a song Elvis cared about, connected with and wanted to perform/record to the best of his abilities. I think he done just that.

[JimmyCool]

An excellent song vocally perfect.
IIRC one of Jimmycools favorites.

That's correct!
One of my favorite songs, still sounds fresh after almost 50 years...

[iplayastrat]

One of my favorite songs, still sounds fresh after almost 50 years...

You and me both brother.

[ian]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Early 1970, perhaps. (Consider his version of "It's Now or Never" on February 23rd 1970.) By 1972 his voice had deteriorated drastically, in my opinion. From March 1971 on it was all a quivering voice or Tarzan vocals...

..

[ian]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Yes. Always On My Mind, For Ol' Times Sake and Lovin' Arms to name some are superior in my book. Great tune though.

I would say the piano songs--It's Still Here and I Will Be True--are more in the vein of INSTLO than these tracks (although I do enjoy these three very much).

If he had taken care of himself, E could have done anything he wanted to for a very long time.

T

He did have uncontrollable health problems, you do realize that don't you?

[ian]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Yes. Always On My Mind, For Ol' Times Sake and Lovin' Arms to name some are superior in my book. Great tune though.

Young and Beautiful from 1972!

[Blue River]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Yes.
If he wanted to there's a lot more that Elvis could've done.

I look at the two Love Letters and kind of doubt it.

But he wasn't trying to do "Love Letters" the same way in 1970 as he did in '66.

If he had wanted to record some songs in the early '70s the same way he did in the early-to-mid '60s I believe he could've done it.

[stevelecher]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

Yes.
If he wanted to there's a lot more that Elvis could've done.

I look at the two Love Letters and kind of doubt it.

But he wasn't trying to do "Love Letters" the same way in 1970 as he did in '66.

If he had wanted to record some songs in the early '70s the same way he did in the early-to-mid '60s I believe he could've done it.

I don't think so. His voice was much huskier and lower. I think Love Letters is a great representation of how different his voice became and how he had to modify his ballad style. I can't believe he liked his heavy handed 1970 version of the song.

Ian, I've come to the conclusion you're putting us on. Some pretty good stuff you've been writing lately.

[FRENCHGUY]

Elvis' rendition of INSTLO is pure magic.
It always reminds of Sinatra's fantastic One For The Road version with Bill Miller at the piano. They both belong to the "torch songs" category and are both enhanced by the very imaginative and rich piano parts.
Compare the master with the only alternate version we have: take 7 has a very flat piano part and the song loses much of his "in the wee small hours of the morning" touch.
Btw, piano player Calvin Jackson shows in the master playing how important the arrangement of a song is.
Although his magnificent early sixties voice "has left the building" in the 70's, Elvis is surely still touching when he sings I'll take you home again Kathleen or It's still here. But his piano playing is rather poor. These songs could have been so much better with David Briggs at the keyboards...

[drjohncarpenter]

If he wanted to, could Elvis achieve this same vocal in 1972? 1970?

If Ann-Margret was his girlfriend? Yes.