Hidden Symbolism in "Unchained Melody" 1977 CBS Special "Elvis in Concert"

[epmoodyblue]

Bingo. especially the ending when he loses control of the vocal. Like most shows that year, he is out of breath, very thin voice with no tonal quality.

..anyways ur entitled to ur opinion

[Miss Clawdy]

How many of you if you had friends round and wanted to impress them with Elvis, would show him singing this song ?

Funny, that's exactly what I did!
In this performance of Unchained Melody we can see and feel the power, the brillancy and the soul of Elvis the entertainer and Elvis the man and for me this is simply grandness and makes it better than other performances. Also, I really can't hear a breaking thin voice
For the symbolism, maybe there is some in it as well as in My Way, but I think only his subconsciousness would let do Elvis things which could be seen as symbolism....in hindsight.

[beckelvis]

I belive that in certain way it was a brillant performance,when youbit see his eyes they reflect an enormus emptiness,this one exhausted,but when you listen to it you hear the voice,that I captivate millions persons.
But let´s not deceive ourselves,it was not his better espectacle,but it he was very intense.This face seems to reflect(Already I have everything I begin am proud to obtain)at least seems to me to my,if is not like that me to be grateful that they were rectifying me.Thank you.

[rocknroll]

..anyways ur entitled to ur opinion

Would you like to discuss. Unfortunately for you, I have proof. Just look at the video.

[KPM]

Hi Brad, Elvis was in bad shape throughout June 1977, there are some highlights, however even these highlights are blown out of all proportion by ardent fans who have Elvis' best interests at heart.

We can say that Elvis was ill, we can say he was over-prescribed and they are valid reasons for not being 100% on you game, what we shouldn't do is ignore the fact that this wasn't Elvis at his best!

There seems to be myth that Elvis' voice never failed him, I'm sorry but there are times where it may not of completely failed him but it wasn't at it's optimum.


Don't get me wrong, I would give anything to have seen Elvis, even the worst concert he ever gave, and there lies the problem, a lot of people just wanted to go see the King even if he was extremely ill.

"Great show-man great show"........."Dont show the boss the bad reviews"..................
I have to agree-there were no critics from within-and few in the audiences! Most willing to accept him in any form, good, bad and in between.
He no longer needed to move-he could raise his eyebrow and people screamed-he did not need to put fire into the old songs-they were just happy he was doing them-he needn't worry about the shape he was in-it did not seem to matter to anyone! When he did truely give a better show-it was magnified by the acceptance of his bad ones. Horrid circle.
The lethargy of total acceptance. The feeling of-it does not matter they love me!

[yvonne]

anyone who could look at that footage elvis fan or not and not be moved by it, does not have any emotions.

I remember the time this clip was first released on
Video. Me and a couple of friends had a small fanclub in those days. We also stood on markets with our Elvis stand. We rented a big TV screen to show Elvis video's. We always got comments when people saw we were Elvisfans, selling only Elvis stuff and most of the time those comments weren't very nice....
The video "Great perfomances", was just released and had this clip in it. As soon as we played it we drew a crowd.... people stopped and watched silently. Most of them weren't Elvisfans at all but you could tell that they were moved by seeing this video clip.

[tcbeus]

Like Diane, I can't watch this video too often, it brings me to tears, it hurts my heart, but I can't stay away from it either, it is BRILLIANT! A rainbow of emotions.

I kinda feel the same.From time to time i need to watch it,but it always make me cry.

[Cherokee]

It has been written even in newspapers in 1976/1977 that the Elvis Presley show during those years wasn't fantastic. He relied on the love of the audience and the knowledge that they take anything for granted from the King ("the only thing I need to do is show up and do 'well, well, well'..."). Many shows during those two years were not much more than a few very bad performances of old classics, long, long introductions of the band and much attention of Elvis to the first rows.

But even in those negative newspaper reports (that were -in my opinion- closer to reality than the 'good show, good show' remarks from the Memphis Maffia), they were amazed how extremely good Elvis was during a few gospels and ballads. How is it possible that a man who does a show on the automatic pilot, comes suddenly alive while singing songs like Hurt, Unchained Melody or How Great Thou Art?

It think this has to do with the "It's very hard to live up to an image" remark from Elvis in 1972. The whole show was a prison of the image of Elvis. An image that he didn't know to escape from. But with songs like these he escaped that prison and showed the audience a rare glimps at his soul...

In Total Agreement

[jak]

Hi Brad, Elvis was in bad shape throughout June 1977, there are some highlights, however even these highlights are blown out of all proportion by ardent fans who have Elvis' best interests at heart.

We can say that Elvis was ill, we can say he was over-prescribed and they are valid reasons for not being 100% on you game, what we shouldn't do is ignore the fact that this wasn't Elvis at his best!

There seems to be myth that Elvis' voice never failed him, I'm sorry but there are times where it may not of completely failed him but it wasn't at it's optimum.


Don't get me wrong, I would give anything to have seen Elvis, even the worst concert he ever gave, and there lies the problem, a lot of people just wanted to go see the King even if he was extremely ill.

Thank you for this logical post.The reality of the way things were back then is far different than many believe.

[seyeregit]

I know this is an old thread, but I'll jump in . . .

The comments here about total acceptance by the fans are indeed true.

During '76 and '77, he was just going through the motions, and sometimes very slowly at that.

There was no comparison between Elvis 1970 and Elvis 1977.

There was no challenge, no spark, nothing that seemed to motivate and stimulate him . . . he was just getting through each show, same drill, doing the job he was paid to do.

The fans should have expected more and demanded more - perhaps it would have sent a strong message and might have helped him. But really, it shouldn't even have been up to the fans - the people around him who "allegedly" cared so much about him should have exercised some control and intervened. No one can convince me that no one could help him or tell him what needed to be done. I think too many were just too afraid of the gravy train derailing, and in some convoluted type of thinking, they thought helping him would do that - instead of understanding that NOT doing something was precisely what caused the derailment.

The lack of spark in his shows was health-related AND due to the fact that his career was not headed in any particularly interesting or challenging direction . . . be it the fault of Parker and cronies or that Elvis just did not take charge, the fact was that he needed to stay up with the times, do something extraordinary to perpetuate the excitment of who he was and what he had done. But sadly, that did not happen.

If E had taken time off beginning around 1975, just stepped back and evaluated his life and career, things would have been different, at least for awhile.

One can argue that it was destiny and heredity for him to leave so young, but had he gotten clean, hired a qualified fitness trainer and nutritionist, "cleaned house" (gotten rid of the excess baggage) and worked with some phenomenally talented writers and producers, he could have blazed trails into the eighties and beyond and left everyone else in the business in the dust.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

Nice post seyeregit, very succinct. The problems were exacerbated by the Vegas stints where Elvis was expected to do two shows a night and three at the weekend! I don't care who you are, your probably going to take something to help you get through the punishing schedule. Elvis was a major star, he didn't need to do that many shows.

[chloe13]

I am always in awe of Elvis' vocal range. People (not true Elvis fans) but some focus on his weight at the end of his life and forget just how gifted this man was. I believe he was the best singer ever. MJ could dance but his vocal's were studio enchanced and didn't have the pipes of an Elvis, I don't know of any entertainer that could take a song and make it sound so unique. When you listen to him you hear a man with an amazing ability to sing from his soul. God, when I listen to Unchained Melody I get gooose bumbs, Love him and always will.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

People (not true Elvis fans) but some focus on his weight at the end of his life and forget just how gifted this man was.

Hi Chloe, I not so sure that the first part of the section I have highlighted is true, the weight issue is separate IMO, The weight was a symptom of a bigger problem which was Elvis' health. This IMO then lead to other problems including his vocal ability. I don't question there were songs like HGTA and YGMAM where Elvis gave good performances, however these do not compare to say 1972?

Fans can discuss all elements of Elvis life and be objective, to gloss over the problems is what lead to Elvis' downfall in the first place.

I believe he was the best singer ever.

I agree, Elvis was an outstanding artist who's vocal ability was amazing.

[debtdbruno]

I know this is an old thread, but I'll jump in . . .

I saw Elvis for the last time in 1977, and the comments here about total acceptance by the fans are indeed true.

Having seen him every year from 1970 forward, I can tell you that especially during '76 and '77, he was just going through the motions, and sometimes very slowly at that.

There was no comparison between Elvis 1970 and Elvis 1977.

There was no challenge, no spark, nothing that seemed to motivate and stimulate him . . . he was just getting through each show, same drill, doing the job he was paid to do.

Back then, I was one of the accepting fans.

Looking back now, I realize that the fans should have expected more and demanded more - perhaps it would have sent a strong message and might have helped him. But really, it shouldn't even have been up to the fans - the people around him who "allegedly" cared so much about him should have exercised some control and intervened. No one can convince me that no one could help him or tell him what needed to be done. I think too many were just too afraid of the gravy train derailing, and in some convoluted type of thinking, they thought helping him would do that - instead of understanding that NOT doing something was precisely what caused the derailment.

I personally believe the lack of spark in his shows was health-related AND due to the fact that his career was not headed in any particularly interesting or challenging direction . . . be it the fault of Parker and cronies or that Elvis just did not take charge, the fact was that he needed to stay up with the times, do something extraordinary to perpetuate the excitment of who he was and what he had done. But sadly, that did not happen.

I think that if Elvis had taken time off beginning around 1975, just stepped back and evaluated his life and career, things would have been different, at least for awhile.

One can argue that it was destiny and heredity for him to leave so young, but had he gotten clean, hired a qualified fitness trainer and nutritionist, "cleaned house" (gotten rid of the excess baggage) and worked with some phenomenally talented writers and producers, he could have blazed trails into the eighties and beyond and left everyone else in the business in the dust.

As it was, we'll never know what he could have done . . .

excellent post


on a side note, when my Parents watched the dvd of EIC, my Dad said he thought he did remarkably well singing this, especially considering he was sitting down

[Unchained Melody]

I think when you look at it this way, his physical appearence from even say 1975 to 1977, there is clearly something alarming happening to Elvis in such a short amount of time.

[debtdbruno]

I suppose it was a buildup............his body had, had enough, it was shutting down..............Tragic

[TTWII2001]

Oh my god, this is so true and so well described....Unchained..the way he did it on the CBS...it's really something else..it's like Elvis last will...or legacy....you are so right I like to think that it's a hidden message....and there is only one other song in that period live...with elvis on piano...with good old Charlie by his side ( rest in peace Charlie ) I saw Where no one stands alone, done with that same spirit...with the same greatness...and that emotion...wow...I hope you have a chance to see that one too....alone with Unchained melody....there you can see what kind of voice and enterner Elvis was.....and either what kind of companion Charllie was for Elvis....

so long friends and thanks for reading me

[Sonny]

Please no more of these nonsense remarks.

[TCB81975]

Where can I get my hands on this show? I have seen a few YouTube clips from it,but never the whole show. I have heard that EPE will not offficially release this. Any thoughts on this?

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

You can buy both shows on the net and e-bay, just do a quick search on Google and it will be there in the top ten