Most Underrated Elvis Performances?

[Jungleroom76]

To me the following where underrated...

1.) Torommow Never Comes (The most powerful song ever done next to Hurt. I like see him do this song at lease once.)

2.) Piece's Of My Life this to me next to My Way is what I call Elvis Theme Song.

3.) Solitare beautiful written should have been more pushin' on this song.

4.) My Way- Frank might have sang it first but this song was met for Elvis. It told his life all in 4 mins. But other than Elvis fans know he did this one.

I AGREE WITH YOU 100% DUDCOWBOY_1 ON "PIECES OF MY LIFE" AND "MY WAY"!! IF THERE WERE EVER 2 SONGS IN ELVIS' ENTIRE CATALOG THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED THE STORY OF HIS LIFE, THESE ARE INDEED IT!!!

TCB!
Mike

[Jungleroom76]

I Can Help and You Asked Me To are very under-rated in my opinion. I havee a couple of friends my age....yes OLD..... who every so often I play a song of Elvis' that I don't think they have heard. Their faces just light up...it's great. There is an abundance of Elvis fans who have only compilation CD's, if that, so they don't get to hear the majority of his songs. It's our job to educate these people....tough job, but someones got to do it.......

RIGHT ON CAROLYNLM!!!

Keep on educating your friends (and ANYONE else who will listen)!!!

TCB!
Mike

[Jungleroom76]

GREAT LISTS EVERYONE!!!

I am so glad to see such spirited discussion on this topic!!! I agree that both Elvis' albums from the 70's, as well as a majority of the soundtracks are VERY underrated!

There were almost always one or two songs in an Elvis movie that were sub-par (the song itself, not Elvis' performance....Elvis could almost always save a song just in the way he sang it, regardless of how silly or mundane it might be...in my opinion anyway (h) ), but on the whole, I can't think of one soundtrack that is a complete loss. (Hey, perhaps this should be another thread in itself! )

Keep up the GREAT discussion everyone!!!

TCB!
Mike

[Lonniebealestreet]

Let's see...

Never Again and Love Coming Down are among my favorite Jungle Room tracks, and they don't seem to get the praise they deserve IMO.

Love Me Tonight and Almost In Love are a couple of my favorite love songs--not chart-toppers, but every bit as good, to my way of thinking, as Love Me Tender and most of the others. It's Impossible...that one's so good that no matter how well it's thought of, it's still underrated.

That's a few that come to mind right now. I may chime in later.

By the way, some of these I think are held in pretty high regard by most fans. Are we thinking 'underrated' in terms of how well they charted, whether Joe Schmo is familiar with and likes them, or whether fans today tend to think highly of them? Ah, heck, it doesn't matter. Any or all can apply.

[Jungleroom76]

Are we thinking 'underrated' in terms of how well they charted, whether Joe Schmo is familiar with and likes them, or whether fans today tend to think highly of them? Ah, heck, it doesn't matter. Any or all can apply.

YES!!!!

TCB!
Mike

[Abbi]

Nobody ever mentions For Ol' Times Sake. Is it just me who finds this song very moving. I think it is one of the best performances of Elvis' career. Very tender and sung with feeling that can only come from experience.

[Jungleroom76]

ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITES ABBI!!! BEAUTIFUL SONG INDEED!!!

TCB!
Mike

[T_J]

I wouldn't select any of the Memphis songs as underrated, as the consensus among fans tends to be that this is some of the finest material of his career. It is highly rated!

I think the Good Times album deserves more attention. Loving Arms, Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues and Talk About the Good Times are superb tracks. Put the latter on and imagine how this could have worked on stage. I'm not sure Big Boss Man (original) gets the attention it deserves as one of Elvis' finest R&B performances either.

Someone mentioned Change of Habit. I can agree up to a point. This song starts in promising fashion. It's very catchy, with good production, but then the rather limp chorus kicks in. When I hear this I always think the songwriters should have worked on it a little more before submitting it.

Perhaps Big Hunk O' Love is underrated - I've heard some compare the 70s live version and prefer the latter. In truth, I don't think there is any comparison. Put your headphones on, turn the sound up and listen to the great take on Flashback, and you will hear a truly raw, vibrant, outstanding rock n' roll vocal. I'm not sure everyone appreciates how fantastically Elvis delivered these kind of songs in the 50s. Occasionally I'll have a 50s session and really listen properly. It never fails to provide a wake up call.

[howardrobardhughes]

Fame and Fortune,For the Heart,Promised Land(muther f**cker) version,Good Time Charlie's GOT the Blues

[Lonniebealestreet]

Awesome pic!

I'm not sure of the relevance to the topic at hand, but since it's so cool, you get a free pass.

[Dudcowboy_1]

Yes 1975 was underrated.... But so was 1974 and 1976. I loved Sept. to Oct. '74 stuff. I mean 12th of Never, Talk In Your Sleep, Its Midnight, few others. And in 1975 Shake a Hand, Never Walk Alone, Piece's of my life, and few others. Now in 1976 when he sang Rags to Riches and I wished he played First Time I Ever Saw Your Face on paino but I was happy with Dec. 29th version. BEst one of all 4 live recordings of it.

Your friend,
Tim Dudley
Dudcowboy_1@yahoo.com
http://www.timdudley.tk

[NightRider]

Nobody ever mentions For Ol' Times Sake. Is it just me who finds this song very moving. I think it is one of the best performances of Elvis' career. Very tender and sung with feeling that can only come from experience.

Yeah....Great call Abbi...thats one hell of a track....awesome

[dennyelvis]

Hmm...underated what a darn shame there are soooo many , and that so many commercial Elvis fans only really get to hear his hits..ie: 30# no1s.
Some great stuff that came to mind....An Evening prayer...He touched me....
Where did they go Lord ?.....also one of my own favs , the heart rendering My Boy also the desolate Ive lost you and the power of We can make the morning....geeez so many guys !
I agree also with so many mentioned , Its only love etc , i think we could make a No.1 selling custom album out of these superb songs...tell you what ! i would buy it ! ! !

[Jungleroom76]

I think the Good Times album deserves more attention. Loving Arms, Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues and Talk About the Good Times are superb tracks. Put the latter on and imagine how this could have worked on stage. I'm not sure Big Boss Man (original) gets the attention it deserves as one of Elvis' finest R&B performances either.

GREAT CALL T_J!!!

I couldn't agree with you more that the GOOD TIMES album definitely deserves more credit and attention than it gets! Just listen to how well Elvis performed GOOD TIME CHARLIE'S GOT THE BLUES live on stage in Las Vegas on 8/19/74, and you can clearly imagine any of the songs from GOOD TIMES being performed live on stage! A definite shame that this album didn't receive more attention when it was originally released...or today, for that matter!

TCB!
Mike

[Jungleroom76]

Hmm...underated what a darn shame there are soooo many , and that so many commercial Elvis fans only really get to hear his hits..ie: 30# no1s.
Some great stuff that came to mind....An Evening prayer...He touched me....
Where did they go Lord ?.....also one of my own favs , the heart rendering My Boy also the desolate Ive lost you and the power of We can make the morning....geeez so many guys !
I agree also with so many mentioned , Its only love etc , i think we could make a No.1 selling custom album out of these superb songs...tell you what ! i would buy it ! ! !

RIGHT ON DENNYELVIS!!

It is truly a shame that RCA feels the only Elvis music that the mass majority of the public will buy are the well known hit singles!! In my opinion, it simply illustrates how very little faith they have in some of Elvis' lesser known material.

I mean, could you imagine RCA releasing a ballads compilation, containing songs like:

*PIECES OF MY LIFE
*GOOD TIME CHARLIE'S GOT THE BLUES
*MY BOY
*SOLITAIRE
*LOVE COMING DOWN
*ALMOST IN LOVE
*IT'S MIDNIGHT
*FOR OL' TIMES SAKE
*WE CAN MAKE THE MORNING
*THEY REMIND ME TOO MUCH OF YOU
*THERE'S ALWAYS ME
*INDESCRIBABLY BLUE
*MINE
*SUPPOSE

In my opinion, that would be a KILLER compilation...but since there isn't a hint of LOVE ME TENDER or ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT anywhere on this kind of a compilation, RCA would never even consider releasing such an album!

Truly a shame that RCA has such little faith in some of Elvis' more obscure recordings!!

TCB!
Mike

[dennyelvis]

You are so right Mike i do consider myself quite a hardcore fan... but i feel obliged to buy these new releases rather than must have em !
I guess the NEW sound helps but its just not enough lets have a double collection of OUR songs released , with this excellent new technology , and have Unchained...Nightrider and the guys to make us covers worthy of such an awesome release !
Is this a pipedream Mike or can i add it to my xmas list ?

[rick]

TROUBLE and I've Got a thing About You are both underrated because they deserved to be top 10 hits.

[Jungleroom76]

You are so right Mike i do consider myself quite a hardcore fan... but i feel obliged to buy these new releases rather than must have em !
I guess the NEW sound helps but its just not enough lets have a double collection of OUR songs released , with this excellent new technology , and have Unchained...Nightrider and the guys to make us covers worthy of such an awesome release !
Is this a pipedream Mike or can i add it to my xmas list ?

Sorry Dennyelvis....I'm afraid we're dreaming here...

It certainly would be nice to see a collection like this sitting on a store shelf, but I'm afraid RCA will never see fit to release this kind of a collection. And, I agree with you....as much as the new DSD technology has helped to make Elvis' classic songs sound better than ever, how about applying that same technology to some of Elvis' lesser known, but perhaps greatest ballads? That certainly IS a dream, isn't it??

TCB!
Mike

[NightRider]

RIGHT ON DENNYELVIS!!

It is truly a shame that RCA feels the only Elvis music that the mass majority of the public will buy are the well known hit singles!! In my opinion, it simply illustrates how very little faith they have in some of Elvis' lesser known material.

I mean, could you imagine RCA releasing a ballads compilation, containing songs like:

*PIECES OF MY LIFE
*GOOD TIME CHARLIE'S GOT THE BLUES
*MY BOY
*SOLITAIRE
*LOVE COMING DOWN
*ALMOST IN LOVE
*IT'S MIDNIGHT
*FOR OL' TIMES SAKE
*WE CAN MAKE THE MORNING
*THEY REMIND ME TOO MUCH OF YOU
*THERE'S ALWAYS ME
*INDESCRIBABLY BLUE
*MINE
*SUPPOSE

In my opinion, that would be a KILLER compilation...but since there isn't a hint of LOVE ME TENDER or ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT anywhere on this kind of a compilation, RCA would never even consider releasing such an album!

Truly a shame that RCA has such little faith in some of Elvis' more obscure recordings!!

TCB!
Mike

Very well put Mike. And i totally agree.

BMG are put off by anything except the usual Love Me Tender etc. Thats sure the case over here in the uk......

Some countries are far more fortunate though.
The likes of Australia...Japan...etc
Their respective divisions of BMG actually do release a decent selection of material on their standard releases.

The 3 cd set 'The Legendary elvis presley', although it does contain the usual....they have included some real crackers too that you would not normally find on such a release.

Same as in the fair east...where i believe Universal release for BMG..they have some great compilations too.

Not that i am in to buying material i already have a dozen times..but its nice to see that they are not so short sighted in other divisions of BMG

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

So many underated, where to start

I love "Any Day Now", "My Little Friend", "Promised Land", "Do The Vega"(Yes Really), "Edge Of Reality", "Memphis Tennessee" (Love the drum roll at the beginning), "Pledging My Love".

There are times when different songs mean something to me, so I guess next weeks underated could be so different