Elvis starring in Landover,Maryland (Largo)-Hereee's looking at you kid!

[Rover]

Thanks for posting this Nolvis...I didn't know that My Way wasn't well accepted. Or maybe the guy who wrote this review has not the same opinion as most of the fans?

[Cryogenic]

Tell me again how Elvis had such a tremendously hard life that was more than anybody could bear.Give me a break.

- Crushing level of fame / recognition. He couldn't go anywhere without the almost-certain occurrence of being followed and bothered.

- Death of his mother. Everyone experiences death, but Elvis had a staggeringly close relationship with Gladys. He became a lot more insular with her passing.

- Elvis was born into dirt-poor surroundings. He lived a basic life for what turned out to be half his existence. He became a star overnight and wasn't equipped to deal with it. He needed advice and guidance; he got Colonel Parker.

- Because of the nature of his fame, tremendous expectations were placed on him. He was a rebel, so he was "drafted". He was a movie star, so he had to "fulfil" his contracts. He was a singer, so he had to do "approved" material. He was a sex god, so he had to "perform". As talented as he was, it was tough for him to break the mold. His looks were another double-edged sword; he was marketed as a commodity, he seemed unbelievable in his roles (a Martian playing an aspiring writer, a boxer, a racing driver, a doctor etc.) and people presumed to see a trim Adonis on stage.

He was boxed in in so many ways. One shouldn't just lament that boxing in, however; one should celebrate the smashing out. The wit, the verve, the sass, the style, the reinvention. All uniquely his.

[Getlo]

Are you joking?
As english may not be your first language, here is the definition of the verb 'could' as used be me, above:

could.....
(used to express possibility): I wonder who that could be at the door. That couldn't be true.
(used to express conditional possibility or ability): You could do it if you tried.

Hope this helps.

As a former English teacher, I can assure you I am perfectly aware of the meaning of the word "could", and in which context in might be used.

I stand by my statement: no other inference could have been made.

By the way, "English" should always be written with a capital E.

Hope this helps.

[Getlo]

Still, I appreciate their decision not to trash EP; instead, they appear to have translated their real feelings to print, which were clearly very positive. On that basis, EP still had it.

Are you including the Rochester review in this statement as well?

[Getlo]

You still refuse to look at the "whole picture " and only concentrate on one area. Very sad .

?????????????????????????????????

[Getlo]

To blame him entirely is what's ludicrous.

It would be ludicrous if someone did that; you're right.

Jak has never done this; neither has Stryx, myself nor any other poster who can see the whole picture.

[Getlo]

Yes, Elvis had a rough life ; because he trusted the wrong people.

So, when did his "rough" life stop? Was it still rough after he became famous?

If anything, his life was rough only until he hit it big.

[Getlo]

Unfortunately, you don't appear to know or acknowledge the truth of his private life .

What is that truth then?

[cameron]

So, when did his "rough" life stop? Was it still rough after he became famous?

If anything, his life was rough only until he hit it big.

IMO, his life just got rougher . Money does not cure all things ,in spite of what some seem to believe.

[Getlo]

- Crushing level of fame / recognition. He couldn't go anywhere without the almost-certain occurrence of being followed and bothered.

He knew what he was getting into; and if he didn't, he could have made the choice to go back to truckdriving. He chose to live the isolated life: he could have gone out in public, and people would have accepted it over time.

Death of his mother. Everyone experiences death, but Elvis had a staggeringly close relationship with Gladys. He became a lot more insular with her passing.

Still doesn't equate to a rough life, nor anything more than anyone else could bear.

Elvis was born into dirt-poor surroundings.

So are millions of other people around the world, and thousands of Americans every year. Still doesn't equate to a rough life - not from 1954 or so onwards anyway - nor anything more than anyone else could bear.

He was a rebel, so he was "drafted".

He was drafted because his number came up.

He was a movie star, so he had to "fulfil" his contracts. He was a singer, so he had to do "approved" material. He was a sex god, so he had to "perform".

So where's the rough life, or the stuff that's more than anyone could bear?

His looks were another double-edged sword; he was marketed as a commodity, he seemed unbelievable in his roles (a Martian playing an aspiring writer, a boxer, a racing driver, a doctor etc.) and people presumed to see a trim Adonis on stage.

Again ... rough??! And, at many points in his career, he could have said "No, I've had enough of the movies/crap songs/The Colonel" (fill in your own negatives here) and made some changes.

A rough life is one that deals with abuse, violence, living in poverty, or with disease, starvation, denial of education. As far as I remember, Elvis suffered from none of these, aside from relative poverty in the early years.

[cameron]

We're way off topic here . Start a new thread if you want to discuss all this.

[Raised on Rock]

Elvis was a mere shadow of his self because he was a drug addict.He destroyed himself by his own hand.The problems Elvis had were nothing compared to what everyday people deal with all the time.The everyday people dont have the luxury of making millions of dollrs to combat them either.The amout of money that you listed above was chicken feed to Elvis.How about a guy with a family trying to make a mortage payment and keep his house warm making a hourly wage?How about that guy getting sick and not being able to work.I never want to hear that poor Elvis routine.Most of his health problems which you always overstate were do to his unhealthy lifestyle and drug abuse.Elvis had it all so give me a break.I personally know dozens of people whose problems dwarf Elvis'.So does everybody else on the board.Elvis threw his life away.
Jak

Elvis hadn´t it easy in '77, but all of his problems (and I agree with Jack 100% here, they where really not such big deal compared with what every day people had to deal with) were nothing but the result of his own actions, and we got to deal with that, all of us, we can´t blame others, we can´t excusse our selves saying we had the odd circumstances, shit is the result of our own actions.

Elvis failed to deal with his addiction, with his bad habits, he failed to deal with many of his psichological issues "demos" if you may call it that way, he failed, just like millions of other people around the world, famous or not, just as we constantly have faults in everyday life. But that´s what life is about isn´t? we got to keep going, and Elvis keep going utill the end, and I do respect the man for it, there´s nothing to laugh about his failures, its sad, its a pitty he wasn´t able to get himself together once again.

I think he did enough of great things in life to not to be judged as a total loser, its not about that, but denying his faults change non, better to take a personal lesson out of that.

Going back to topic, thanks for these reviews, sure, Elvis still had good moments during his last years, he was still the man, adored and respected by billions no matter what, and he deserved that respect, we worked hard for it, but YES, ELVIS IT WAS TIME TO TAKE A BREAK.

[jak]

- Crushing level of fame / recognition. He couldn't go anywhere without the almost-certain occurrence of being followed and bothered.

- Death of his mother. Everyone experiences death, but Elvis had a staggeringly close relationship with Gladys. He became a lot more insular with her passing.

- Elvis was born into dirt-poor surroundings. He lived a basic life for what turned out to be half his existence. He became a star overnight and wasn't equipped to deal with it. He needed advice and guidance; he got Colonel Parker.

- Because of the nature of his fame, tremendous expectations were placed on him. He was a rebel, so he was "drafted". He was a movie star, so he had to "fulfil" his contracts. He was a singer, so he had to do "approved" material. He was a sex god, so he had to "perform". As talented as he was, it was tough for him to break the mold. His looks were another double-edged sword; he was marketed as a commodity, he seemed unbelievable in his roles (a Martian playing an aspiring writer, a boxer, a racing driver, a doctor etc.) and people presumed to see a trim Adonis on stage.

He was boxed in in so many ways. One shouldn't just lament that boxing in, however; one should celebrate the smashing out. The wit, the verve, the sass, the style, the reinvention. All uniquely his.

Elvis loved the fame and noteriety for the most part.He craved attention.The stars of today actually have it far worse than he did.That was the price of his fame.He wanted to be famous and he loved it.
I had an extremely close relationship with my mother and I watched her suffer in a hospital and finally die after experiencing suffering I couldnt begin to imagine.His mom passing is an excuse for nothing.
Elvis could have surrounded himself with different advisers if he had chosen to do so.He did not.
I will never accept the poor Elvis theory.Elvis had the world at his feet.After his comeback it was him alone that flushed it down the toilet.Money and fame doesnt cure all the problems.It does however take away many obstacles.Elvis had it made no matter what anybody says.Once again I say average people have it far worse than he could ever imagine.People try to justify and rationalize his decline because it's to hard to accept that he could have ended up that way.
Jak

[Cryogenic]

Sorry, cameron. You're absolutely correct. Yet one individual has just made a string of unchallenged, negative posts. Some may find that acceptable; I do not. I'll be brief.

Are you including the Rochester review in this statement as well?

No. And I made that explicit (for your benefit, actually) when I said:

"I do believe the selected reviews at the outset of this thread to be a little soft"

Operative word: outset; meaning: start, beginning.

For a "former English teacher", you surprise me. And as an EP fan, well...

He knew what he was getting into; and if he didn't, he could have made the choice to go back to truckdriving. He chose to live the isolated life: he could have gone out in public, and people would have accepted it over time.



Still doesn't equate to a rough life, nor anything more than anyone else could bear.



So are millions of other people around the world, and thousands of Americans every year. Still doesn't equate to a rough life - not from 1954 or so onwards anyway - nor anything more than anyone else could bear.



He was drafted because his number came up.



So where's the rough life, or the stuff that's more than anyone could bear?



Again ... rough??! And, at many points in his career, he could have said "No, I've had enough of the movies/crap songs/The Colonel" (fill in your own negatives here) and made some changes.

A rough life is one that deals with abuse, violence, living in poverty, or with disease, starvation, denial of education. As far as I remember, Elvis suffered from none of these, aside from relative poverty in the early years.

You've taken all my cogent examples and garbled them. Breaking them down one by one also misses a key point: it's not any of the factors on their own that were necessarily crushing; it was all the factors working together. Almost everywhere Elvis turned, he was confronted with major obstacles because of who he was. On the other hand, you're not entirely wrong. It was up to him to overcome those obstacles and make a go of it. He and he alone. You and Jak are both correct in this context. If our two ideologies can be strung together, then I believe it can be done through the observation that member Kris P has already made: Elvis Presley was the sum of his hopes and fears, like us all; his story is a commentary on being human: the good, the bad and everything in between.

[jak]

Elvis hadn´t it easy in '77, but all of his problems (and I agree with Jack 100% here, they where really not such big deal compared with what every day people had to deal with) were nothing but the result of his own actions, and we got to deal with that, all of us, we can´t blame others, we can´t excusse our selves saying we had the odd circumstances, shit is the result of our own actions.

Elvis failed to deal with his addiction, with his bad habits, he failed to deal with many of his psichological issues "demos" if you may call it that way, he failed, just like millions of other people around the world, famous or not, just as we constantly have faults in everyday life. But that´s what life is about isn´t? we got to keep going, and Elvis keep going utill the end, and I do respect the man for it, there´s nothing to laugh about his failures, its sad, its a pitty he wasn´t able to get himself together once again.

I think he did enough of great things in life to not to be judged as a total loser, its not about that, but denying his faults change non, better to take a personal lesson out of that.

Going back to topic, thanks for these reviews, sure, Elvis still had good moments during his last years, he was still the man, adored and respected by billions no matter what, and he deserved that respect, we worked hard for it, but YES, ELVIS IT WAS TIME TO TAKE A BREAK.

Outstanding post!!!

[Stryx]

Hold the phone.
Please re-read my post...............I used the word 'could'...........also I have stated elsewhere on this forum that EP's performances were not always up to scratch..............a fact that is plainly obvious to any subjective thinker.
As for your statement re Presely being unable to 'knock them dead towards the end', please refer to several posters on this very MB who actually attended 1977 performances and you will find your statement is simply untrue.

I fear your feelings towards Elvis are clouding your judgment.

You do know fans requested their money back during some the Dec 76' shows in Vegas?

I'm an Elvis fan so I don't want to slag him too much...but do some homework and you'll see he was no great shakes towards the end. The man wasn't well and he didn't seem all that bothered.

[jak]

"The man wasn't well and he didn't seem all that bothered."

That's the troubling part.He never even tried to turn things around.I have to think he was truly oblivious to the depths his life and career had fallen.Otherwise he would have known just how much he was losing and would have made an attempt to turn it around.
Jak

[LianaKaralivanou]

Although Elvis was fat in 1976-77 and he didn't perform as he used to, I would KILL to be present in one of his shows...

[cameron]

Although Elvis was fat in 1976-77 and he didn't perform as he used to, I would KILL to be present in one of his shows...

I saw Elvis in March of 1977 . He looked pretty good to me.
Sounded great too !! Some folks exaggerate .
Wish you could have been there too.

[LianaKaralivanou]

I saw Elvis in March of 1977 . He looked pretty good to me.
Sounded great too !! Some folks exaggerate .
Wish you could have been there too.

I wish that too, Cameron but I was three years old when he died. I'm so unlucky...