"Little Egypt"

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Juan Luis

"Little Egypt"

Post by Juan Luis »

(Subtitled "Ying-Yang"), I love this sassy and fun Leiber & Stoller number from "Roustabout" film and tiltle of the soundtrack album . Recorded by Elvis on March 2,1964, with Dave Wiechman engineering and assisting the production. Another Novelty number first recorded by The Coasters that Elvis performs in a rather straight fashion. For this cover, the comedy of the song comes out better in my opinion, for it is not found in Elvis' reading and tone of his voice, contrasting sharply The Coasters' original. In my opinion, one of the best tracks of this Elvis Presley chart topping album! In fact, good enough to be revisited (Road Medley), in Steve Binder's produced 1968 television special, "ELVIS".
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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by drjohncarpenter »

The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace. Along with a tougher arrangement, Elvis showed all the fire the song deserved, and delivered a magnificent performance. It was no longer a "novelty song."


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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by minkahed »

I've never been crazy about this song, especially from the " Roustabout" soundtrack, but the version from the '68 Comeback Special is killer.


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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by colonel snow »

Another version was recorded in 1964 and released in summer 1964 by British group Downliner's sect (Columbia DB 7347).


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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by drjohncarpenter »

colonel snow wrote:Another version was recorded in 1964 and released in summer 1964 by British group Downliner's sect (Columbia DB 7347).


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It seems there were few covers of "Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)" after the Coasters top twenty r&b hit in 1961. This cover by the Downliners Sect did not stir any known chart. Amazingly, the group is still active today:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downliners_Sect


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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by stevelecher »

Roustabout did feature mostly unremarkable songs but Elvis was still elevating the best of them with his lovely voice. All of side one, Wheels On My Heels, and Brand New Day On The Horizon all seem like more than they are because of the artist.

This is an FTD I will buy just to have I'm A Roustabout on the album along with the other songs on one collection.

I think Little Egypt is tremendous on Roustabout. What a great voice!




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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by fn2drive »

drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace. Along with a tougher arrangement, Elvis showed all the fire the song deserved, and delivered a magnificent performance. It was no longer a "novelty song."
Youre 68 special comments are spot on. I have a soft spot for parts of the movie soundtrack and indeed the film. Perhaps it is Elvis paired with a real actor like Barbara Stanwyck. But Other than 68, this song never did much for me. And again we see the genius of Steve Binder collaborating with Elvis to deliver the goods. Amazing how Elvis bettered his best when working with really creative people vs hacks and hangers on.


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Topic author
Juan Luis

Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by Juan Luis »

fn2drive wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace. Along with a tougher arrangement, Elvis showed all the fire the song deserved, and delivered a magnificent performance. It was no longer a "novelty song."
Youre 68 special comments are spot on. I have a soft spot for parts of the movie soundtrack and indeed the film. Perhaps it is Elvis paired with a real actor like Barbara Stanwyck. But Other than 68, this song never did much for me. And again we see the genius of Steve Binder collaborating with Elvis to deliver the goods. Amazing how Elvis bettered his best when working with really creative people vs hacks and hangers on.
You're pushing it, again.




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r&b

Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by r&b »

minkahed wrote:I've never been crazy about this song, especially from the " Roustabout" soundtrack, but the version from the '68 Comeback Special is killer.
I agree with that totally. One of the weaker Leiber/Stoller efforts and very much a novelty song especially when heard by The Coasters. Elvis does a better job with it in 1964 and as mentioned kills it in 68. Even the weaker Leiber/Stoller stuff was better than most if not all of this soundtrack. A ridiculously short LP even by Elvis standards. I was beginning to feel cheated by the quality of Elvis albums in both material and length. Luckily I had B#@%(*&S '65 and some Sinatra to dig into and ease the pain .




Topic author
Juan Luis

Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by Juan Luis »

r&b wrote:
minkahed wrote:I've never been crazy about this song, especially from the " Roustabout" soundtrack, but the version from the '68 Comeback Special is killer.
I agree with that totally. One of the weaker Leiber/Stoller efforts and very much a novelty song especially when heard by The Coasters. Elvis does a better job with it in 1964 and as mentioned kills it in 68. Even the weaker Leiber/Stoller stuff was better than most if not all of this soundtrack. A ridiculously short LP even by Elvis standards. I was beginning to feel cheated by the quality of Elvis albums in both material and length. Luckily I had B#@%(*&S '65 and some Sinatra to dig into and ease the pain .
A #1 album. Call it what you like. A failure it wasn't.




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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by Davelee »

Juan Luis wrote:
fn2drive wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace. Along with a tougher arrangement, Elvis showed all the fire the song deserved, and delivered a magnificent performance. It was no longer a "novelty song."
Youre 68 special comments are spot on. I have a soft spot for parts of the movie soundtrack and indeed the film. Perhaps it is Elvis paired with a real actor like Barbara Stanwyck. But Other than 68, this song never did much for me. And again we see the genius of Steve Binder collaborating with Elvis to deliver the goods. Amazing how Elvis bettered his best when working with really creative people vs hacks and hangers on.
You're pushing it, again.
Not really! Telling it like it is that's not a problem with me.




Topic author
Juan Luis

Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by Juan Luis »

Davelee wrote:
Juan Luis wrote:
fn2drive wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace. Along with a tougher arrangement, Elvis showed all the fire the song deserved, and delivered a magnificent performance. It was no longer a "novelty song."
Youre 68 special comments are spot on. I have a soft spot for parts of the movie soundtrack and indeed the film. Perhaps it is Elvis paired with a real actor like Barbara Stanwyck. But Other than 68, this song never did much for me. And again we see the genius of Steve Binder collaborating with Elvis to deliver the goods. Amazing how Elvis bettered his best when working with really creative people vs hacks and hangers on.
You're pushing it, again.
Not really! Telling it like it is that's not a problem with me.
And you sir, don't push it either. On topic, or move on. Thank you.




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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by brian »

I actually like the movie version better than the 68 special version. Elvis showed the Coasters how it's done.




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Juan Luis

Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by Juan Luis »

I don't like to compare any song that's within a medley to the finished whole product. I wouldn't pull out "Trouble" out of the medley and compare it with original 1958 track. Although the 1958 track is miles better, so it wouldn't need comparison! LOL..




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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by Deleted User 1099 »

I don't care if it's the 1964 movie version or the 1968 comeback version, "Little Egypt" rocks no matter what. A great song in the right throat.



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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by TINML »

A song that never did much for me 64 or 68 version) but I love the film and most of the soundtrack.


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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by poormadpeter2 »

drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace.
Much more occurred here than just dropping the bridge, A careful listen reveals that it wasn't just that the bridge was dropped, but the 2nd and 3rd verse as well. All that is performed is the opening verse. What's more, the focus of the song also changes from singer to audience, and from the past to the present. It's no longer the singer telling a story of the past ("I went and bought myself a ticket") but an invitation to experience Little Egypt yourself in the present ("come on and buy yourself a ticket"). This continues in the second line and the rest of the verse, which is sung with the wording changed from past to present tense throughout.

Quite why anyone bothered going to all that trouble is anybody's guess. Just because it was 1968 and the comeback special doesn't mean it was anything special, and it's not. The Road medley might have its moments, but it is also complete overblown nonsense. Nothingville is intriguing but lacking substance, but then song after song is wrecked by ridiculously over-the-top orchestrations and a production that veers from the self-indulgent (Let Yourself Go) to the ludicrous (It Hurts Me, Big Boss Man) that obliterates any sensitivity that It Hurts Me had, or any grit that Big Boss Man had (as examples), in the studio. And it was THIS kind of attempt at the "variety format" that Binder would make his career out of - not attempting to repeat the success of the live segments of the show - and thus demonstrating that the Elvis/Binder partnership was a one-off, right place/right time thing that would have likely failed had they worked together again. Little Egypt makes no sense within the apparent storyline of that production number, and one has to wonder what purpose it is meant to serve other than to fill a gap, lead into Trouble, and get Elvis wearing a nice jacket.

Returning to Roustabout, Little Egypt works rather well in the space of the film itself. It's nicely staged and there's also a nice, if basic, use of widescreen in order to show both the action of the story being acted out and Elvis "narrating" at the side of the (rather large for a carny) stage. As such, the number manages to avoid the awkwardness of many of Elvis's "on stage" performances in many of his films. Sure, the entire thing is fluff, but that's entirely the point of both the film and the number itself. And, of course, it was also well received. Howard Thompson, who just a few years later was obliterating Elvis films in his reviews, now calmly told readers of the NYT in the opening line of his review that "there are worse things than an Elvis Presley movie - far worse."

As for the album, the songs certainly aren't as dire a batch as people are making out. The biggest problem appears to be that all of them are too short and don't seem to have fully-fledged arrangements. While often for the movie the song would have its instrumental and vocal recap of the final section removed to keep the pace moving along, this time around those sections weren't even recorded for the record release in the first place. And that's a shame, as there are some attractive and some fun songs on the album. Poison Ivy League has a surprisingly spiky lyric and tracks such as Hard Knocks, Wheels on my Heels and One Track Heart could easily have been developed into something more substantial than a brief run-through, in one case lasting just 81 seconds. What the soundtrack also lacked was a real ballad. Big Love Big Heartache just doesn't quite fit into ballad territory, and so Roustabout sits alongside Fun in Acapulco as the only two soundtrack albums without a pretty ballad included in the main part of the running order.



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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by promiseland »

poormadpeter2 wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace.
Much more occurred here than just dropping the bridge, A careful listen reveals that it wasn't just that the bridge was dropped, but the 2nd and 3rd verse as well. All that is performed is the opening verse. What's more, the focus of the song also changes from singer to audience, and from the past to the present. It's no longer the singer telling a story of the past ("I went and bought myself a ticket") but an invitation to experience Little Egypt yourself in the present ("come on and buy yourself a ticket"). This continues in the second line and the rest of the verse, which is sung with the wording changed from past to present tense throughout.

Quite why anyone bothered going to all that trouble is anybody's guess. Just because it was 1968 and the comeback special doesn't mean it was anything special, and it's not. The Road medley might have its moments, but it is also complete overblown nonsense. Nothingville is intriguing but lacking substance, but then song after song is wrecked by ridiculously over-the-top orchestrations and a production that veers from the self-indulgent (Let Yourself Go) to the ludicrous (It Hurts Me, Big Boss Man) that obliterates any sensitivity that It Hurts Me had, or any grit that Big Boss Man had (as examples), in the studio. And it was THIS kind of attempt at the "variety format" that Binder would make his career out of - not attempting to repeat the success of the live segments of the show - and thus demonstrating that the Elvis/Binder partnership was a one-off, right place/right time thing that would have likely failed had they worked together again. Little Egypt makes no sense within the apparent storyline of that production number, and one has to wonder what purpose it is meant to serve other than to fill a gap, lead into Trouble, and get Elvis wearing a nice jacket.

Returning to Roustabout, Little Egypt works rather well in the space of the film itself. It's nicely staged and there's also a nice, if basic, use of widescreen in order to show both the action of the story being acted out and Elvis "narrating" at the side of the (rather large for a carny) stage. As such, the number manages to avoid the awkwardness of many of Elvis's "on stage" performances in many of his films. Sure, the entire thing is fluff, but that's entirely the point of both the film and the number itself. And, of course, it was also well received. Howard Thompson, who just a few years later was obliterating Elvis films in his reviews, now calmly told readers of the NYT in the opening line of his review that "there are worse things than an Elvis Presley movie - far worse."

As for the album, the songs certainly aren't as dire a batch as people are making out. The biggest problem appears to be that all of them are too short and don't seem to have fully-fledged arrangements. While often for the movie the song would have its instrumental and vocal recap of the final section removed to keep the pace moving along, this time around those sections weren't even recorded for the record release in the first place. And that's a shame, as there are some attractive and some fun songs on the album. Poison Ivy League has a surprisingly spiky lyric and tracks such as Hard Knocks, Wheels on my Heels and One Track Heart could easily have been developed into something more substantial than a brief run-through, in one case lasting just 81 seconds. What the soundtrack also lacked was a real ballad. Big Love Big Heartache just doesn't quite fit into ballad territory, and so Roustabout sits alongside Fun in Acapulco as the only two soundtrack albums without a pretty ballad included in the main part of the running order.
Very true and nicely explained here.




Topic author
Juan Luis

Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by Juan Luis »

poormadpeter2 wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace.
Much more occurred here than just dropping the bridge, A careful listen reveals that it wasn't just that the bridge was dropped, but the 2nd and 3rd verse as well. All that is performed is the opening verse. What's more, the focus of the song also changes from singer to audience, and from the past to the present. It's no longer the singer telling a story of the past ("I went and bought myself a ticket") but an invitation to experience Little Egypt yourself in the present ("come on and buy yourself a ticket"). This continues in the second line and the rest of the verse, which is sung with the wording changed from past to present tense throughout.

Quite why anyone bothered going to all that trouble is anybody's guess. Just because it was 1968 and the comeback special doesn't mean it was anything special, and it's not. The Road medley might have its moments, but it is also complete overblown nonsense. Nothingville is intriguing but lacking substance, but then song after song is wrecked by ridiculously over-the-top orchestrations and a production that veers from the self-indulgent (Let Yourself Go) to the ludicrous (It Hurts Me, Big Boss Man) that obliterates any sensitivity that It Hurts Me had, or any grit that Big Boss Man had (as examples), in the studio. And it was THIS kind of attempt at the "variety format" that Binder would make his career out of - not attempting to repeat the success of the live segments of the show - and thus demonstrating that the Elvis/Binder partnership was a one-off, right place/right time thing that would have likely failed had they worked together again. Little Egypt makes no sense within the apparent storyline of that production number, and one has to wonder what purpose it is meant to serve other than to fill a gap, lead into Trouble, and get Elvis wearing a nice jacket.

Returning to Roustabout, Little Egypt works rather well in the space of the film itself. It's nicely staged and there's also a nice, if basic, use of widescreen in order to show both the action of the story being acted out and Elvis "narrating" at the side of the (rather large for a carny) stage. As such, the number manages to avoid the awkwardness of many of Elvis's "on stage" performances in many of his films. Sure, the entire thing is fluff, but that's entirely the point of both the film and the number itself. And, of course, it was also well received. Howard Thompson, who just a few years later was obliterating Elvis films in his reviews, now calmly told readers of the NYT in the opening line of his review that "there are worse things than an Elvis Presley movie - far worse."

As for the album, the songs certainly aren't as dire a batch as people are making out. The biggest problem appears to be that all of them are too short and don't seem to have fully-fledged arrangements. While often for the movie the song would have its instrumental and vocal recap of the final section removed to keep the pace moving along, this time around those sections weren't even recorded for the record release in the first place. And that's a shame, as there are some attractive and some fun songs on the album. Poison Ivy League has a surprisingly spiky lyric and tracks such as Hard Knocks, Wheels on my Heels and One Track Heart could easily have been developed into something more substantial than a brief run-through, in one case lasting just 81 seconds. What the soundtrack also lacked was a real ballad. Big Love Big Heartache just doesn't quite fit into ballad territory, and so Roustabout sits alongside Fun in Acapulco as the only two soundtrack albums without a pretty ballad included in the main part of the running order.
A post that made starting the thread, worthwhile. Thank you. And thanks everyone for participating.



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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by promiseland »

Juan Luis wrote:
poormadpeter2 wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace.
Much more occurred here than just dropping the bridge, A careful listen reveals that it wasn't just that the bridge was dropped, but the 2nd and 3rd verse as well. All that is performed is the opening verse. What's more, the focus of the song also changes from singer to audience, and from the past to the present. It's no longer the singer telling a story of the past ("I went and bought myself a ticket") but an invitation to experience Little Egypt yourself in the present ("come on and buy yourself a ticket"). This continues in the second line and the rest of the verse, which is sung with the wording changed from past to present tense throughout.

Quite why anyone bothered going to all that trouble is anybody's guess. Just because it was 1968 and the comeback special doesn't mean it was anything special, and it's not. The Road medley might have its moments, but it is also complete overblown nonsense. Nothingville is intriguing but lacking substance, but then song after song is wrecked by ridiculously over-the-top orchestrations and a production that veers from the self-indulgent (Let Yourself Go) to the ludicrous (It Hurts Me, Big Boss Man) that obliterates any sensitivity that It Hurts Me had, or any grit that Big Boss Man had (as examples), in the studio. And it was THIS kind of attempt at the "variety format" that Binder would make his career out of - not attempting to repeat the success of the live segments of the show - and thus demonstrating that the Elvis/Binder partnership was a one-off, right place/right time thing that would have likely failed had they worked together again. Little Egypt makes no sense within the apparent storyline of that production number, and one has to wonder what purpose it is meant to serve other than to fill a gap, lead into Trouble, and get Elvis wearing a nice jacket.

Returning to Roustabout, Little Egypt works rather well in the space of the film itself. It's nicely staged and there's also a nice, if basic, use of widescreen in order to show both the action of the story being acted out and Elvis "narrating" at the side of the (rather large for a carny) stage. As such, the number manages to avoid the awkwardness of many of Elvis's "on stage" performances in many of his films. Sure, the entire thing is fluff, but that's entirely the point of both the film and the number itself. And, of course, it was also well received. Howard Thompson, who just a few years later was obliterating Elvis films in his reviews, now calmly told readers of the NYT in the opening line of his review that "there are worse things than an Elvis Presley movie - far worse."

As for the album, the songs certainly aren't as dire a batch as people are making out. The biggest problem appears to be that all of them are too short and don't seem to have fully-fledged arrangements. While often for the movie the song would have its instrumental and vocal recap of the final section removed to keep the pace moving along, this time around those sections weren't even recorded for the record release in the first place. And that's a shame, as there are some attractive and some fun songs on the album. Poison Ivy League has a surprisingly spiky lyric and tracks such as Hard Knocks, Wheels on my Heels and One Track Heart could easily have been developed into something more substantial than a brief run-through, in one case lasting just 81 seconds. What the soundtrack also lacked was a real ballad. Big Love Big Heartache just doesn't quite fit into ballad territory, and so Roustabout sits alongside Fun in Acapulco as the only two soundtrack albums without a pretty ballad included in the main part of the running order.
A post that made starting the thread, worthwhile. Thank you. And thanks everyone for participating.
I agree I actually enjoyed reading that. Best review so far for this 1964 LP.



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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by drjohncarpenter »

fn2drive wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace. Along with a tougher arrangement, Elvis showed all the fire the song deserved, and delivered a magnificent performance. It was no longer a "novelty song."
Youre 68 special comments are spot on. I have a soft spot for parts of the movie soundtrack and indeed the film. Perhaps it is Elvis paired with a real actor like Barbara Stanwyck. But Other than 68, this song never did much for me. And again we see the genius of Steve Binder collaborating with Elvis to deliver the goods. Amazing how Elvis bettered his best when working with really creative people vs hacks and hangers on.
I completely agree. Elvis needed to be pushed. In 1964, the soundtrack material for "Roustabout" was nothing to get excited about. The original title track showed some spark but was never used, and the only thing left was the Coasters cover. Paramount studios must have liked them Coasters covers, eh?

In 1968, Steve Binder and Bones Howe brought out the fire that had been kept in lockdown for years, and the performance of "Little Egypt" is one to remember. After Binder, very few were able to do this.

Although "Little Egypt" was slotted as part of a production number called the "Road Medley," it stood on its own, much as other numbers used for that sequence. Even without singing all the verses, it ran nearly as long as the 1964 soundtrack recording. As noted, the most significant move for this later rendition was dropping the bridge, and just letting Presley dig into the verse and chorus. And so he did. The result was Elvis created menace, and eliminated novelty.

Interestingly, when taping "Little Egypt" for the 1968 soundtrack album, it was done mostly on its own, like the other medley pieces. Presley essayed just a bit of "Guitar Man" before launching into the Leiber and Stoller number. Binder and Howe later assembled the songs in post-production. The same thing was done for the videotaping a week later, only this time Elvis' live vocals went from "Little Egypt" into just a bit of "Trouble."

http://www.elvisrecordings.com/s680620.htm#68_3_song9
http://www.elvisrecordings.com/s680630.htm#68_5_song8



r&b wrote:
minkahed wrote:I've never been crazy about this song, especially from the " Roustabout" soundtrack, but the version from the '68 Comeback Special is killer.
I agree with that totally. One of the weaker Leiber/Stoller efforts and very much a novelty song especially when heard by The Coasters. Elvis does a better job with it in 1964 and as mentioned kills it in 68. Even the weaker Leiber/Stoller stuff was better than most if not all of this soundtrack. A ridiculously short LP even by Elvis standards. I was beginning to feel cheated by the quality of Elvis albums in both material and length. Luckily I had B#@%(*&S '65 and some Sinatra to dig into and ease the pain .
Your view certainly mirrors the feeling of many fans at the time.

The times, they were a-changin', but Elvis was cranking out crap. It's no surprise that Roustabout lasted just one week at the top of Billboard's album chart in January 1965, sinking fast while being replaced by the exciting B#@%(*&S '65 LP.

Elvis would never again score another #1 studio album on that chart.


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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by SteamrollerBlues »

I love the 1968 version, much more than the original '64 cut. I enjoy it either way, and I wish the '68 recording was longer. Seems like a song Elvis could have done live in '69, too.




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Juan Luis

Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by Juan Luis »

drjohncarpenter wrote:
fn2drive wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace. Along with a tougher arrangement, Elvis showed all the fire the song deserved, and delivered a magnificent performance. It was no longer a "novelty song."
Youre 68 special comments are spot on. I have a soft spot for parts of the movie soundtrack and indeed the film. Perhaps it is Elvis paired with a real actor like Barbara Stanwyck. But Other than 68, this song never did much for me. And again we see the genius of Steve Binder collaborating with Elvis to deliver the goods. Amazing how Elvis bettered his best when working with really creative people vs hacks and hangers on.
I completely agree. Elvis needed to be pushed.
No he didn't. No "tough love" needed for Elvis. Elvis pushed himself when he wanted, was inspired, was hungry. All by himself. An engaged Elvis Presley was a dream for any producer.



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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by bajo »

Ken Jensen wrote:I don't care if it's the 1964 movie version or the 1968 comeback version, "Little Egypt" rocks no matter what. A great song in the right throat.
Count me in Ken! :smt020


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Davelee
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Re: "Little Egypt"

Post by Davelee »

Juan Luis wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:
fn2drive wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:The 1964 soundtrack recording is one of the only highlights from a very unremarkable batch of songs.

When "Little Egypt" was revisited for his 1968 TV special, the bridge was dropped, and it created a delightful sense of menace. Along with a tougher arrangement, Elvis showed all the fire the song deserved, and delivered a magnificent performance. It was no longer a "novelty song."
Youre 68 special comments are spot on. I have a soft spot for parts of the movie soundtrack and indeed the film. Perhaps it is Elvis paired with a real actor like Barbara Stanwyck. But Other than 68, this song never did much for me. And again we see the genius of Steve Binder collaborating with Elvis to deliver the goods. Amazing how Elvis bettered his best when working with really creative people vs hacks and hangers on.
I completely agree. Elvis needed to be pushed.
No he didn't. No "tough love" needed for Elvis. Elvis pushed himself when he wanted, was inspired, was hungry. All by himself. An engaged Elvis Presley was a dream for any producer.
Yes he did. Telling it like it is has never been a problem with me.

As for the song, it's OK.