Harum Scarum

[Keith Richards, Jr.]

I agree with Elvis' Babe. Elvis looked like an idiot during some parts of the Sixties. I can't believe how much EP's looks changed during his life! I don't think I've ever seen anything like it...

Keith Richards, Jr.

[Renan]

You'll all remember Billy Barty, the little mute guy from Harum Scarum.

Had he not died in 2000, he would have been 81 today.

Just thought you'd like to know that.

you mean the dwarf??

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

You'll all remember Billy Barty, the little mute guy from Harum Scarum.

Had he not died in 2000, he would have been 81 today.

Just thought you'd like to know that.

I remember him fondly. Thanks for the reminder because,
well, yes, I needed to know!

Seriously, he was in a lot of non-Elvis films for a time.




P.S. One of the last of the "Little Rascals of "Our Gang" fame died this
week.

[Renan]

R.I.P. Billy Barty

[ColinB]

Renan -

Yes, that was sad.

[You're just 'bumping' - now stop it - The Management]

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

What's wrong with returning to the ever-green topic of "Harum Scarum"?

It's one of a kind!

So bad, it's good!

I actually find some of the songs half-decent, despite the grade Z production values of the film.

[elvis63]

Well, I love Harum Scarum - yes, I seriously do. It is one of my top 10 soundtracks. I love the flow of it, and I can easily listen from beginning to end without skipping tracks, which is much more than I can say about other movie soundtracks, including Loving You, Blue Hawaii and Girls! Girls! Girls! I love the orchestration on certain tunes, and it has a number of cool (IMO) uptemo tunes as well.

If I had to rank favorite soundtracks, these would probably be my top 10 (in no particular order):

Double Trouble
Harum Scarum
Fun in Acapulco
Roustabout
Frankie and Johnny
G.I. Blues
Speedway
Paradise Hawaiian Style
Clambake
Easy Come, Easy Go

[Rob]

What song do you like in Easy Come Easy Go? I can't think of any. Now, Tickle Me on the other hand, (which is not on your list), had a few good tunes on it (mainly because they were not recorded especially for the film.)

If we're going to pick movies from the mid-60's with good soundtracks, there are precious few. Tickle Me should be up there though.

[minkahed]

Hey Little Girl, Animal Instinct, and Wisdom Of The Ages are decent trax...

[minkahed]

What song do you like in Easy Come Easy Go? I can't think of any.

Well, The title track for one. I like it. I even like I'll Take Love.

Look, I know a great deal of those movie trax jus reaked, but sum of them are still fun to listen to and I'm not ashamed to say so or admit it.

Oh well...

[Pete Dube]

What song do you like in Easy Come Easy Go? I can't think of any. Now, Tickle Me on the other hand, (which is not on your list), had a few good tunes on it (mainly because they were not recorded especially for the film.)

If we're going to pick movies from the mid-60's with good soundtracks, there are precious few. Tickle Me should be up there though.

Rob -
Although it was cut from the film I think She's a Machine is actually pretty good, with some surprisingly tough lyrics for an Elvis movie rocker. You Gotta Stop and the title tune are ok too.

[JerryNodak]

The Love Machine and Yoga Is As Yoga Does are no great shakes. Although within it's film context I find "Yoga" quite amusing.

I quite like the other songs on the soundtrack

[elvis63]

What song do you like in Easy Come Easy Go?

Basically, I like them all except for Yoga Is As Yoga Does, but as has been stated it's much better in the context of the film, which is more than I can say for Ito Eats (or even Slicin' Sand, although I love that song, from Blue Hawaii). I love I'll Take Love and the title tune, as well as The Love Machine.

Tickle Me doesn't count as a soundtrack for me as all of the songs were recycled from non-movie material. While I think it's a decent album, it's not a soundtrack in the sense of those songs being recorded exclusively for the movie.

If we're going to pick movies from the mid-60's with good soundtracks, there are precious few.

To each his own - as my list shows, I like a number of them, an would pick some of them over 50's soundtracks, or the much vaunted Blue Hawaii any day.

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

I'm one of those who find a lot of "guilty pleasures" in the Elvis '60s movie songbook - save for obvious dogs like, well, "A Dog's Life," "Yoga.; "Old MacDonald," and others.

But in comparison, even "The Love Machine" is even a step above those ones and I enjoyed the alternate found on a boxset a few years back.


As for "Tickle Me," Elvis did in fact "sing" them in the movie, lipsynching to them just as he did any other flick, the only difference being the age and intended purpose and release status of the songs. So it was a soundtrack of sorts. The EP and the later FTD version on CD confirmed that. It's actually a fact.

[elvis63]

As for "Tickle Me," Elvis did in fact "sing" them in the movie, lipsynching to them just as he did any other flick, the only difference being the age and intended purpose and release status of the songs. So it was a soundtrack of sorts. The EP and the later FTD version on CD confirmed that. It's actually a fact.

I think you misunderstood me a bit - yes, I know it's a soundtrack and was released as such. I meant that the songs are not soundtrack songs. In other words, they were not specifically recorded for the Tickle Me soundtrack. They were studio songs and as such (IMO) shouldn't be considered typical soundtrack fare as they were not recorded with that intention in mind - or as you said, their intended purpose was different.

Like some bonus studio songs (like Slowly But Surely, Blue River, etc.) on other soundtracks...yes, they're on a soundtrack, but they are not soundtrack material. That was the point I was making with Tickle Me and why I don't consider it when I'm selecting my favorite soundtracks.

However, even if I were to consider it I wouldn't rank it in my top 10...I'm not really crazy about the mix of material, and the selection from different recording sessions does show through IMO.

Bring on Double Trouble for me!

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Oh, I understood you, but I was just saying that the more you think about it, those were in fact "soundtrack songs" ultimately.

Every "soundtrack song" was recorded in a studio onto tape. That some were intended for movies is no small matter but the reality is that once it got put in a movie (and Elvis "sang" it in a movie, even if a few years later) than in a way, it was indeed then a movie song, in a sense anyway.

We're lucky he chose (or they chose) some of his better studio cuts for that flick. It otherwise would have been all on Jocelyn Lane's shoulders...or gams .. to save that flick.

[elvis63]

We're lucky he chose (or they chose) some of his better studio cuts for that flick. It otherwise would have been all on Jocelyn Lane's shoulders...or gams .. to save that flick.

It's funny how peoples' perceptions differ...to me, the fact that the Tickle Me songs were not specifically recorded for the movie makes some of them seem out of place, particularly Dirty, Dirty Feeling...that one doesn't work for me in the film. Elvis' voice sounds too young on some cuts to fit in properly IMO.

However, on the flip side, some songs work - Long Lonely Highway works as the opener, and Put the Blame on Me is a cute scene.

I count Ticle Me as a soundtrack myself, but I doubt most people would consider that material when discussing the merits of Elvis' movie music, simply because none of the tunes are movie tunes.

[ColinB]

...to me, the fact that the Tickle Me songs were not specifically recorded for the movie makes some of them seem out of place, particularly Dirty, Dirty Feeling...that one doesn't work for me in the film.

As I've written previously [somewhere on here] the film isn't lifted to the level of the songs; the songs are dragged down to the level of the film.

Having said that, I quite like the film !

There were a couple of highlights that stayed with me for a long time.

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Sounds like a good time to provide a link for Jocelyn Lane fans:
http://jocelynlane.nstemp.com/index.html




Elvis63, outside of us hard-core fans, do you really think the millions who saw "Tickle Me" figured out that those "old" tracks were from 1960? When I was a younger, it took me awhile to even notice that. In that sense, for over 40 years, they've been "movie songs" of a sort.

[ColinB]

Imagine Elvis singing Suspicion to Jocelyn, or Anything That's Part of You, or Reconsider Baby, or Fever, or...you name it....

It would have done those songs no favour.

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

I'll have to watch my DVD-R versions of the wide-screen "Tickle Me" and get back to you on that, guys. That the same thing for "Girl Happy." (Thank goodness for Elvis fans!)

They look great, by the way. Why can't others enjoy this, officially?
What are they waiting for, the 'Blu-Ray' format?

[elvis63]

Elvis63, outside of us hard-core fans, do you really think the millions who saw "Tickle Me" figured out that those "old" tracks were from 1960? When I was a younger, it took me awhile to even notice that. In that sense, for over 40 years, they've been "movie songs" of a sort.

Well, I would say that some of the songs in Tickle Me, like "Long, Lonely Highway" fit in well, but "Dirty, Dirty Feeling" jarred for me upon first viewing. It was kind of like when I first heard "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" on Gold Records Vol. 4 - at the time I had no idea when the song was recorded, but I noticed right away it didn't "sound" correct...

[Pete Dube]

...to me, the fact that the Tickle Me songs were not specifically recorded for the movie makes some of them seem out of place, particularly Dirty, Dirty Feeling...that one doesn't work for me in the film.

As I've written previously [somewhere on here] the film isn't lifted to the level of the songs; the songs are dragged down to the level of the film.

Good assessment Colin. I think a big part of the problem was that the staging of the songs was just as hokey as the other films of this mid-60's period.

[ColinB]

As I've written previously [somewhere on here] the film isn't lifted to the level of the songs; the songs are dragged down to the level of the film.

Good assessment Colin. I think a big part of the problem was that the staging of the songs was just as hokey as the other films of this mid-60's period.

Yes, better songs wouldn't have saved Elvis' worst films.

But we might have gotten some better soundtrack albums !

[bajo]

I'm lucky to have a six and a half year old son who demands Elvis movies.
So I got a box with 8 DVD's in it, and I must say I was pleased to watch Elvis in this movie. I didn't actually like it the first time I saw it, ages ago.
Still, I'd prefer this movie over PHS.
Regarding the soundtrack LP at the time, it was one of the poorest, sound and mixing wise.
For those who might not have come across the DF version of this soundtrack, you're into a pleasant surprise. Ernst bothered to remix this one and Frankie And Johnny for the DF release and both are coming out much better imo. I was thinking when I first heard the DF versions, that this is the way they once should have been!