Cryogenic
12-19-2007, 10:20 PM
Who's heard the home recording of "Dark Moon"? If you don't have it on CD, I believe it's up on YouTube at the moment.
I think this song proves that Elvis -- more than anything else; yes, even the Comeback Special (from a certain POV) -- was ...... "the real deal".
Why do I say that? Because it's a majestic recording made at home on a crappy tape deck. That dichotomy is surreal. Despite not being in a studio or having used professional equipment maintained by professional minds, the essence of Elvis shines out. It's him, alright. The sound quality may be poor, yet Elvis has as much presence -- as much ineffable intimacy -- as on anything he ever did. How was this guy even real? How could anyone achieve this? Moreover, the arrangement is warm and intuitive and the harmonising just sublime, creating a "home gospel" feel which would almost certainly have been lost in a studio. This is Elvis as he WISHED to be heard (IMO) ......... but rarely was because of all the tampering, then and now. It's Pure Presley.
From the unassuming start, "Dark Moon, Take 1", where Elvis sounds like a scolded, furtive boy, to the rising tenor harmony on the chorus, this stands as one of his most enchanting records, for me. The various imperfections only seem to add to it. In the clipped 2:17 version, we hear coughing, a "yeah" gesticulation, dropped and slurred lyrics, slightly flubbed timing, which gets added to with even more errors, including a bout of terrible guitaring, in the longer, "unedited" version. Yet the longer version is even more compelling as one hears Elvis working to the lyrical splendour of the shorter version. To compound matters, the sound on both is boxed in, clumpy, hissy, frothy ....... yet this seems to add to the private magic of the whole affair. In many ways, it is a "ballad" version of the "Comeback Special", generating that same sense of closeness and honesty; good times with friends.
What's even more startling is that "Dark Moon" was almost lost to the sands of time. Merely a private recording, slated for nothing or nobody, it could just as easily have never come out. Incredibly, it's better than half of what Elvis recorded in the 60's, and might just be one of the best things (as I hold) that he ever recorded. There's a dedication, an intensity, a commitment -- to both the seriousness of the song and the feel of the music -- that exemplifies the best of Elvis. Here he is in a natural environment, singing unscrutinised, unbounded, unselfconsciously. The way Elvis and Charlie blend is utterly amazing; I would submit it is far better than ANYTHING else we have on record. Listen to a third person (Red? Sonny?) subtly exlaim, "Yeah", as Elvis sings, "Mortals have dreams," with unconditional confidence, taking the song to a new level, followed by a much louder "Yeah!" less than a minute later; this is reminiscent of Alan Fortas and D.J. Fontana's ebullient responses in the "Comeback Special", empowering Elvis to take his performance to greater heights. Hearing that awe that other people had, even some of his buddies who could have "gotten used" to him, is extremely edifying.
And don't the lyrics sum Elvis up? "Mortals have dreams / Of love's perfect schemes / But they don't realise / That love can sometimes bring / The Dark Moon". If Elvis was mortal, then he certainly had dreams, indeed, of love's perfect schemes, but he didn't realise, oh, that love could sometimes bring, the Dark Moon. Or maybe he was, in some indecipherable way, simply immortal. Maybe he was the Dark Moon. Tell me why, tell me why, you lost your splendour. What was the cause, your life withdrawed? We all lost our love. But we'll always feel the presence of that Dark Moon.
I think this song proves that Elvis -- more than anything else; yes, even the Comeback Special (from a certain POV) -- was ...... "the real deal".
Why do I say that? Because it's a majestic recording made at home on a crappy tape deck. That dichotomy is surreal. Despite not being in a studio or having used professional equipment maintained by professional minds, the essence of Elvis shines out. It's him, alright. The sound quality may be poor, yet Elvis has as much presence -- as much ineffable intimacy -- as on anything he ever did. How was this guy even real? How could anyone achieve this? Moreover, the arrangement is warm and intuitive and the harmonising just sublime, creating a "home gospel" feel which would almost certainly have been lost in a studio. This is Elvis as he WISHED to be heard (IMO) ......... but rarely was because of all the tampering, then and now. It's Pure Presley.
From the unassuming start, "Dark Moon, Take 1", where Elvis sounds like a scolded, furtive boy, to the rising tenor harmony on the chorus, this stands as one of his most enchanting records, for me. The various imperfections only seem to add to it. In the clipped 2:17 version, we hear coughing, a "yeah" gesticulation, dropped and slurred lyrics, slightly flubbed timing, which gets added to with even more errors, including a bout of terrible guitaring, in the longer, "unedited" version. Yet the longer version is even more compelling as one hears Elvis working to the lyrical splendour of the shorter version. To compound matters, the sound on both is boxed in, clumpy, hissy, frothy ....... yet this seems to add to the private magic of the whole affair. In many ways, it is a "ballad" version of the "Comeback Special", generating that same sense of closeness and honesty; good times with friends.
What's even more startling is that "Dark Moon" was almost lost to the sands of time. Merely a private recording, slated for nothing or nobody, it could just as easily have never come out. Incredibly, it's better than half of what Elvis recorded in the 60's, and might just be one of the best things (as I hold) that he ever recorded. There's a dedication, an intensity, a commitment -- to both the seriousness of the song and the feel of the music -- that exemplifies the best of Elvis. Here he is in a natural environment, singing unscrutinised, unbounded, unselfconsciously. The way Elvis and Charlie blend is utterly amazing; I would submit it is far better than ANYTHING else we have on record. Listen to a third person (Red? Sonny?) subtly exlaim, "Yeah", as Elvis sings, "Mortals have dreams," with unconditional confidence, taking the song to a new level, followed by a much louder "Yeah!" less than a minute later; this is reminiscent of Alan Fortas and D.J. Fontana's ebullient responses in the "Comeback Special", empowering Elvis to take his performance to greater heights. Hearing that awe that other people had, even some of his buddies who could have "gotten used" to him, is extremely edifying.
And don't the lyrics sum Elvis up? "Mortals have dreams / Of love's perfect schemes / But they don't realise / That love can sometimes bring / The Dark Moon". If Elvis was mortal, then he certainly had dreams, indeed, of love's perfect schemes, but he didn't realise, oh, that love could sometimes bring, the Dark Moon. Or maybe he was, in some indecipherable way, simply immortal. Maybe he was the Dark Moon. Tell me why, tell me why, you lost your splendour. What was the cause, your life withdrawed? We all lost our love. But we'll always feel the presence of that Dark Moon.