Elvis' music in 1977 compared to the rest of pop music in 1977

[Getlo]

A great set list and possibly the best ever for an EP concert was the opening night of August 1974. But for some reason he went right back to the old routine set list the following night.(

This has been blamed in the past on lukewarm reviews and mixed response from the audience. One only has to listen to the show to hear that the audience was not the most excited Elvis had ever had. But I think it was likely that Elvis reverted to form; something with which he was comfortable.

I sometimes feel we are all to willing to lay the blame at Elvis' feet for all the ills that became him, however it is evident although Elvis was weak in certain areas of his life, there is an element of expectation from us the fans that contributed to the stagnation of the king

But that is the price great entertainers have to pay. You know what it's like when you go to a concert by someone who's been around for a long time. That part of the show where they say "We're gonna do a couple of tracks from our latest album" and the mood immediately drops. Usually, most people don't give a stuff.

Can you imagine going to an Elvis show and not hearing him do, for example, Hound Dog or whatever. The classic tracks were why people fell in love with him in the first place.

What I would have liked to have seen him do was to rehearse another few dozen tracks; that way, he'd have had 200 or so songs to pick and choose from. He could quite easily have chopped and changed the repertoire each night and made it more interesting for himself, and for the fans and critics. Let's face it, if you saw Elvis somewhere in 1974, then again in 1977, nothing changed apart from Elvis' appearance and attitude. Had he expanded his song base, he could've had room for classics and new stuff each night, but without using the same classics and new stuff for each show. Hound Dog one night; Don't Be Cruel the next. I'm Leavin' one night, Moody Blue the next. See what I mean?

C.C.Rider ... I Got A Woman ... Love Me ... all the way through to Can't Help Falling In Love night after night after night after night, year after year. Ultimately, a waste of unlimited potential.

It was Elvis' choice for stagnation.

[ruggishboo]

This has been blamed in the past on lukewarm reviews and mixed response from the audience. One only has to listen to the show to hear that the audience was not the most excited Elvis had ever had. But I think it was likely that Elvis reverted to form; something with which he was comfortable.



But that is the price great entertainers have to pay. You know what it's like when you go to a concert by someone who's been around for a long time. That part of the show where they say "We're gonna do a couple of tracks from our latest album" and the mood immediately drops. Usually, most people don't give a stuff.

Can you imagine going to an Elvis show and not hearing him do, for example, Hound Dog or whatever. The classic tracks were why people fell in love with him in the first place.

What I would have liked to have seen him do was to rehearse another few dozen tracks; that way, he'd have had 200 or so songs to pick and choose from. He could quite easily have chopped and changed the repertoire each night and made it more interesting for himself, and for the fans and critics. Let's face it, if you saw Elvis somewhere in 1974, then again in 1977, nothing changed apart from Elvis' appearance and attitude. Had he expanded his song base, he could've had room for classics and new stuff each night, but without using the same classics and new stuff for each show. Hound Dog one night; Don't Be Cruel the next. I'm Leavin' one night, Moody Blue the next. See what I mean?

C.C.Rider ... I Got A Woman ... Love Me ... all the way through to Can't Help Falling In Love night after night after night after night, year after year. Ultimately, a waste of unlimited potential.

It was Elvis' choice for stagnation.

So true. Elvis seemed to be a creature of habit, and his live shows in 1977 reflected the sense of boredom and malaise with which he approached his own music. Of course, on some of the songs he truly becomes engaged, and those songs always stand out among the rest. If Elvis would of really gotten some negative feedback from an audience, no matter how insensitive it may sound, IMO he would have been forced to make some changes, and turned at least his stage show around. So tragic to think of the limitless potential Elvis had. Amazing still that we only got to see a small amount of it, and still listen to him thirty years later...

[utmom2008]

This has been blamed in the past on lukewarm reviews and mixed response from the audience. One only has to listen to the show to hear that the audience was not the most excited Elvis had ever had. But I think it was likely that Elvis reverted to form; something with which he was comfortable.



But that is the price great entertainers have to pay. You know what it's like when you go to a concert by someone who's been around for a long time. That part of the show where they say "We're gonna do a couple of tracks from our latest album" and the mood immediately drops. Usually, most people don't give a stuff.

Can you imagine going to an Elvis show and not hearing him do, for example, Hound Dog or whatever. The classic tracks were why people fell in love with him in the first place.

What I would have liked to have seen him do was to rehearse another few dozen tracks; that way, he'd have had 200 or so songs to pick and choose from. He could quite easily have chopped and changed the repertoire each night and made it more interesting for himself, and for the fans and critics. Let's face it, if you saw Elvis somewhere in 1974, then again in 1977, nothing changed apart from Elvis' appearance and attitude. Had he expanded his song base, he could've had room for classics and new stuff each night, but without using the same classics and new stuff for each show. Hound Dog one night; Don't Be Cruel the next. I'm Leavin' one night, Moody Blue the next. See what I mean?

C.C.Rider ... I Got A Woman ... Love Me ... all the way through to Can't Help Falling In Love night after night after night after night, year after year. Ultimately, a waste of unlimited potential.

It was Elvis' choice for stagnation.

Very interesting post Getlo, amd I have to agree with you 100%. When you sit down and look and actually see the song lists from the shows over the last few years it is a crime that he didn't mix things up a bit. All that changed was the jumpsuit and the weight for the most part. When I look back at the shows that I saw I always remember "I'm Leavin" from 8/17/71, and "Raised on Rock" and "Memphis,Tennessee" from 8/6/73. I remember these because they were something different than what we were used to at the time.

[SleepyJack]

The opening night August 1974 show has to be one of my favourites.I only heard it for the first time a few months back,It felt like I was listening to a new Elvis,great effort put into the songs and Elvis sounded in good form.This could have been the moment that things took a real turn for the better.You get the feeling that he really did want to change things around.

[Getlo]

If Elvis would of really gotten some negative feedback from an audience, no matter how insensitive it may sound, IMO he would have been forced to make some changes, and turned at least his stage show around.

That was a major part of the problem.

Elvis was shielded from the negative press reviews as well.

Some of the later reviews are a little bit cruel, but most of them are honest in their portrayal of a performer in free-fall. Had Elvis read these, things may have been different.

Although, to be fair, the first negative review in the post-comeback years actually came in 1970!

[EP75]

The opening night August 1974 show has to be one of my favourites.I only heard it for the first time a few months back,It felt like I was listening to a new Elvis,great effort put into the songs and Elvis sounded in good form.This could have been the moment that things took a real turn for the better.You get the feeling that he really did want to change things around.

Exactly! That is how I feel about this particular show too. For those who have never heard this show, here is the set list.

Big Boss Man / Proud Mary / Down In The Alley / Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues / Never Been To Spain / It's Midnight / If You Talk In Your Sleep / I'm Leavin' / Let Me Be There / Softly , As I Leave You / If You Love Me Let Me Know / Love Me Tender / Polk Salad Annie / Introductions / Promised Land / Introduction Of Telly Savalas / My Baby Left Me / Bridge Over Troubled Water / Fever / Hound Dog / Can't Help Falling In Love

RCA should consider remixing this show to improve sound and release it on main stream. This is too good to be imported on bootleg.

[Lisarose]

Remind me, why was it that Elvis procrastinated at the idea of going into the studio to record in the late 70's. Did he just hate the idea of recording because he had lost control of the final product? Or was there just not any music that 'spoke' to him?

[EP75]

Remind me, why was it that Elvis procrastinated at the idea of going into the studio to record in the late 70's. Did he just hate the idea of recording because he had lost control of the final product? Or was there just not any music that 'spoke' to him?

It had a lot to do with the poor material being brought his way. He got bored with it and therefore lost passion in recording as he did performing live. I think the last session in which EP felt he had control was the June 1970 sessions in Nashville. After that it all was about just getting new material out to the people-good or bad.

[EnigmaticSun]

People like Elvis wouldn't need to just appeal to the masses. Some of my favorite performances are actually from 1977, I wouldn't want to miss those. Very expressive and emotional.

The scene in music had already degenerated quite a bit in 1977, it was not as classy and charming as that of the 50's or 30's - I guess people like Elvis would be unhappy in such an environment.

I'm just trying to defend EP's work from 1977. I agree some songs had become obligatory by then (because "Hound Dog" and such were still major favorites of the crowd), but a man like Elvis is too great to just follow commercial appeal or pop-culture.