Is TODAY Elvis' best 70's studio album?

[vivaelvis]

I have been listening to the Today album from 75 and IMHO I believe this is his finest studio album from the 70's. Some could argue that Promised Land or Elvis COuntry were, but those albums weren't recorded to be such. With those albums and much of his albums throughout his entire career Elvis would record a slew of songs all at once and then the producers would chose which songs would be album material. The Today album was meant to be just that, an actual album. 10 songs were recorded for the record and all 10 were featured. One reason I think it's his best studio album was because of the song selection. Outside of the overly done country track Fairytale there wasn't a throwaway track on it. With PL you had a few throwaways like Mr Songman and Help Me that just didn't fit into that album. Today featured some personal songs by Elvis that we usually didn't get from him. Pieces Of My Life might have been as close to his life story that we got. T-R-O-U-B-L-E was his last real rocker. And Shake A Hand was one of his bluesiest tracks from the 70's. Then there's the smooth country ballad Woman Without Love and the Billy Swan cover, I Can Help.

I would consider Today to be a high quality country album for the 70's. I also love the strong bass sound from those LA sessions that all of his other 70's songs didn't have.

[ROCKET88]

No i think his very best album of the 70s would be ELVIS COUNTRY. That album is near perfect.

[Albert]

I prefer TTWII over any 70s studioalbum from Elvis. But And I Love You So, Susan When She Tried and Fairytale are among my alltime favorite tracks.

But I agree with Rocket88 partly: Elvis Country is a fantastic album. It's one of the few RCA albums with a good thought through concept: the artwork, the selection of the songs, the "I Was Born About 10.000 years ago" song playing between all songs. It's a strong album that really fitted well in the 1970s countryrock era.

Too bad RCA couldn't resist the urge to release as much Elvis material as possible and over flooding the market:

1970:
TTWII, Love Letters (OMG what a poor album), Elvis Country, On Stage

1971:
Elvis Now!, He Touched Me, Elvis Christmas Album

[hounddog]

I love Elvis country, the closest Elvis ever came to a concept album but today is a great album i also think that Good Times is an often overlooked album. Today has some stand out tracks, TROUBLE, Shake A Hand, Fairytale, I can help but for me it's Elvis country hands down as his best studio album of the 70's

[_Elvis_]

I,m a big Fan of the that,s the way it is album. it,s for shore my favorite one from the 70,s .
But country also is very good i have also a cd called elvis great country songs released in 2002 it,s also a very good album.

[Jungleroom76]

While I agree that TTWII and ELVIS COUNTRY are d**n fine albums, I have to agree with you vivaelvis that the TODAY album, as a whole, is clearly his best studio effort in the 1970's. ELVIS COUNTRY was a concept album, obviously being a country themed record and TTWII was a soundtrack album, albeit a much improved soundtrack album over previous years!! But those albums were recorded with a purpose in mind. COUNTRY was done to showcase Elvis' country roots and influences, while TTWII was done to showcase the newer material that he was performing in concert in 1970.

But what we have with the TODAY album is a great mix of material, not focusing on just one particular genre of music or whatever. The music Elvis recorded on the TODAY album was a nice balance of new rock n' roll material (T-R-O-U-B-L-E), some fantastic newly written ballads which were perfectly suited for Elvis' vocal abilities at the time (PIECES OF MY LIFE, WOMAN WITHOUT LOVE, BRINGING IT BACK) and some OUTSTANDING cover versions which showcased Elvis' varying range of musical influences (classic R & B - SHAKE A HAND, classic country - SUSAN WHEN SHE TRIED, great covers - AND I LOVE YOU SO, GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME and I CAN HELP).

I really think with the TODAY album we have a very "Elvis-y" mix of material, with a focus and clarity that several other of his 1970's albums lacked. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the TODAY album is my all-time favorite Elvis album also!!

TCB!
Mike

[Jimmy1966]

Elvis Country Or Promised Land Are Fantsatic Albums In My Opinion..

[Jungleroom76]

Elvis Country Or Promised Land Are Fantsatic Albums In My Opinion..

I agree completely that COUNTRY and PROMISED LAND are awesome albums as well!!! In fact, I would have to say PROMISED LAND is my third favorite 70's album after TODAY and FROM EP BLVD.!!

Speaking of PROMISED LAND, I can't wait for that one to get the FTD Classic Albums treatment!!

TCB!
Mike

[rickb]

Elvis Country wins for me, though Today, Promised Land, TTWII and FEPBMT also also solid albums.
Today has a nice crisp sound which is consistent, which as vivaelvis mentioned is due to the specific nature of the recording. The only complain is that there are too many cover versions of well known songs.
TROUBLE is one of his great recordings.

[Raised on Rock]

I believe the TODAY album is way underrated for sure, buried under the myth that there is nothing interesting from Elvis post Aloha from Hawaii.

Big yes, it is way stronger than many other better knowns albums from the 70's.

In TODAY his voice is in great shape (superior than in Hollywood March '72 and Memphis July '73), all the musicians are a good choice and the sound is energetic, tight and contemporary. Elvis didn't lost energy working on tons of inferior pointless songs like in Nashville '70-'71 or Memphis '73 (or even Memphis '69) mixing greatness with sillyness, instead he just sticks with what was needed for a strong album, and so, sessions were uniform and quality prevails. The only fault to me is the lack of stronger new material, courtesy of course of Col. Parker monkey bussiness, which is dam a shame, as this could have been a much more memorable album if better new material was available for Elvis to record, why? because unlike March '72 (Elvis was kind of depressed) or Stax '73 (Personal problems plus technical problems and key musicians leaving for previous comitments), this time everything was on its right place and working just fine.

Despite that, TODAY is a stong album for sure; compared with other country and country-rock albums of the time (cause its more of a country album than a straight rock or pop/rock album) TODAY is quite remarkable. Most music critics that put down this album and other albums from this period in Elvis career, are totally missing the point when they try to compare Elvis music with current rock bands of the time. From the '68 special until Live at The Madison Square Garden/Burning Love, there is a point in doing that. After that Elvis, as usual was moving away into something else, and if Stax was a transitional stage, and Elvis trying to find his place in the current music scene, a melting pot between country, rock, R&B, Gospel, but more than that, a mix between old and new. TODAY was clearly contemporary and country. So, when you stop comparing the 1975 Elvis with hard rock acts of the day, and do compare him with country and country rock acts of the day, his performance was actually still on top of almost everyone else.

Compare TODAY with what was PInk Floyd, David Bowie or Led Zepellin were doing at the time and it is obviously out of tune; but its a mistake to do that! But now compare TODAY with what Dylan was doing at the time with the ROlling Thunder Review, or with what Johnny Cash was doing same year, and then you'll understand that the sound Elvis got on TODAY was actually in tune with times. Now when it was time for good old fashioned rock and roll, a(T-R-O-U-B-L-E or Tiger Man on the expanded edition) or R&B tunes like Shake a Hand, well, Elvis performance,The King and his band, were definetively above Lennon and his fantastic 1975 Rock & Roll album, or any other rocker in that style at the time.

TODAY is not my favourite Elvis 70's album, neither I think is his best (Elvis Country a.k.a Im 10,000 years Old, He Touched Me, On Stage, Live at the MSG are the contenders for me, although Today would be definetively on the top 10). But what TODAY proves to me above all, and proves it even more when the bad critics come, is Elvis inmense strenght in popular music: nobody, and I mean nobody ever asked Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison or even Chuck Berry to be at the vanguard of Rock music in 1975, in fact we acepted that they where done already by '65, sure they still moved crowds , had the ocational hit, and where fantastic in what they already did back in the 50's, but nobody was stupid enough to compare them to what was happening in rock music in the mid 70's. Man, in fact, people was already acepting that The Stones, Dylan, Lennon and Macca/Wings, where not anymmore the music vanguard that they once where in the 60's, so again nobody compared them with Pink Floyd or Bowie.

So then WHY WAS AND STILL IS this strong necesity to demand (as to compare is to demand) Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll, to be always on the very center of what was happening in Rock music? to analize his music always in those terms? Nobody did that to Lennon or Dylan albums, nobody did that to Chuck Berry (the most repetitive rock artist of all time). It was unfair to Elvis, it still is, not to contextualize his music in the right way, but that unfair demand is only a simptom of how big, how such a huge musical force he was, that all those unreal demands could only happened to him. We loved him so much, he meant so much in rock music, that what we asked from him was out of proportion.

Are you tired of being a singer, a music man, and entertainer? no, never ever. Are you tired to be Elvis? hell yes, what a burden, they don't even really lisen to the music because of that. In other words, TODAY is a fine album if we stop demanding Elvis to be Elvis: out of this world. Some times he did that and wow, but you can always push it that much.

A way in which TODAY shines the most and it could be better judged is this: to compare it with what other 50's Sun artists as well as other 50's artists where doing at the time. But more than that, just lisen to the man sing.

[Tigerman1975]

No i think his very best album of the 70s would be ELVIS COUNTRY. That album is near perfect.

I agree with you 100%!

[Jimmy1966]

Please FTD Do Something For Us Regarding Promised Land...

[Tigerman1975]

Amen to that Jimmy1966.

[Jungleroom76]

I believe the TODAY album is way underrated for sure, buried under the myth that there is nothing interesting from Elvis post Aloha from Hawaii.

Big yes, it is way stronger than many other better knowns albums from the 70's.

In TODAY his voice is in great shape (superior than in Hollywood March '72 and Memphis July '73), all the musicians are a good choice and the sound is energetic, tight and contemporary. Elvis didn't lost energy working on tons of inferior pointless songs like in Nashville '70-'71 or Memphis '73 (or even Memphis '69) mixing greatness with sillyness, instead he just sticks with what was needed for a strong album, and so, sessions were uniform and quality prevails. The only fault to me is the lack of stronger new material, courtesy of course of Col. Parker monkey bussiness, which is dam a shame, as this could have been a much more memorable album if better new material was available for Elvis to record, why? because unlike March '72 (Elvis was kind of depressed) or Stax '73 (Personal problems plus technical problems and key musicians leaving for previous comitments), this time everything was on its right place and working just fine.

Despite that, TODAY is a stong album for sure; compared with other country and country-rock albums of the time (cause its more of a country album than a straight rock or pop/rock album) TODAY is quite remarkable. Most music critics that put down this album and other albums from this period in Elvis career, are totally missing the point when they try to compare Elvis music with current rock bands of the time. From the '68 special until Live at The Madison Square Garden/Burning Love, there is a point in doing that. After that Elvis, as usual was moving away into something else, and if Stax was a transitional stage, and Elvis trying to find his place in the current music scene, a melting pot between country, rock, R&B, Gospel, but more than that, a mix between old and new. TODAY was clearly contemporary and country. So, when you stop comparing the 1975 Elvis with hard rock acts of the day, and do compare him with country and country rock acts of the day, his performance was actually still on top of almost everyone else.

Compare TODAY with what was PInk Floyd, David Bowie or Led Zepellin were doing at the time and it is obviously out of tune; but its a mistake to do that! But now compare TODAY with what Dylan was doing at the time with the ROlling Thunder Review, or with what Johnny Cash was doing same year, and then you'll understand that the sound Elvis got on TODAY was actually in tune with times. Now when it was time for good old fashioned rock and roll, a(T-R-O-U-B-L-E or Tiger Man on the expanded edition) or R&B tunes like Shake a Hand, well, Elvis performance,The King and his band, were definetively above Lennon and his fantastic 1975 Rock & Roll album, or any other rocker in that style at the time.

TODAY is not my favourite Elvis 70's album, neither I think is his best (Elvis Country a.k.a Im 10,000 years Old, He Touched Me, On Stage, Live at the MSG are the contenders for me, although Today would be definetively on the top 10). But what TODAY proves to me above all, and proves it even more when the bad critics come, is Elvis inmense strenght in popular music: nobody, and I mean nobody ever asked Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison or even Chuck Berry to be at the vanguard of Rock music in 1975, in fact we acepted that they where done already by '65, sure they still moved crowds , had the ocational hit, and where fantastic in what they already did back in the 50's, but nobody was stupid enough to compare them to what was happening in rock music in the mid 70's. Man, in fact, people was already acepting that The Stones, Dylan, Lennon and Macca/Wings, where not anymmore the music vanguard that they once where in the 60's, so again nobody compared them with Pink Floyd or Bowie.

So then WHY WAS AND STILL IS this strong necesity to demand (as to compare is to demand) Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll, to be always on the very center of what was happening in Rock music? to analize his music always in those terms? Nobody did that to Lennon or Dylan albums, nobody did that to Chuck Berry (the most repetitive rock artist of all time). It was unfair to Elvis, it still is, not to contextualize his music in the right way, but that unfair demand is only a simptom of how big, how such a huge musical force he was, that all those unreal demands could only happened to him. We loved him so much, he meant so much in rock music, that what we asked from him was out of proportion.

Are you tired of being a singer, a music man, and entertainer? no, never ever. Are you tired to be Elvis? hell yes, what a burden, they don't even really lisen to the music because of that. In other words, TODAY is a fine album if we stop demanding Elvis to be Elvis: out of this world. Some times he did that and wow, but you can always push it that much.

A way in which TODAY shines the most and it could be better judged is this: to compare it with what other 50's Sun artists as well as other 50's artists where doing at the time. But more than that, just lisen to the man sing.

FANTASTIC POST ROR!!!

TCB!
Mike

[Tigerman1975]

FANTASTIC POST ROR!!!

TCB!
Mike

I agree Mike. Nice work ROR!

[debtdbruno]

that was a perfect post R on R..............spot on

[SleepyJack]

I believe the TODAY album is way underrated for sure, buried under the myth that there is nothing interesting from Elvis post Aloha from Hawaii.

Big yes, it is way stronger than many other better knowns albums from the 70's.

In TODAY his voice is in great shape (superior than in Hollywood March '72 and Memphis July '73), all the musicians are a good choice and the sound is energetic, tight and contemporary. Elvis didn't lost energy working on tons of inferior pointless songs like in Nashville '70-'71 or Memphis '73 (or even Memphis '69) mixing greatness with sillyness, instead he just sticks with what was needed for a strong album, and so, sessions were uniform and quality prevails. The only fault to me is the lack of stronger new material, courtesy of course of Col. Parker monkey bussiness, which is dam a shame, as this could have been a much more memorable album if better new material was available for Elvis to record, why? because unlike March '72 (Elvis was kind of depressed) or Stax '73 (Personal problems plus technical problems and key musicians leaving for previous comitments), this time everything was on its right place and working just fine.

Despite that, TODAY is a stong album for sure; compared with other country and country-rock albums of the time (cause its more of a country album than a straight rock or pop/rock album) TODAY is quite remarkable. Most music critics that put down this album and other albums from this period in Elvis career, are totally missing the point when they try to compare Elvis music with current rock bands of the time. From the '68 special until Live at The Madison Square Garden/Burning Love, there is a point in doing that. After that Elvis, as usual was moving away into something else, and if Stax was a transitional stage, and Elvis trying to find his place in the current music scene, a melting pot between country, rock, R&B, Gospel, but more than that, a mix between old and new. TODAY was clearly contemporary and country. So, when you stop comparing the 1975 Elvis with hard rock acts of the day, and do compare him with country and country rock acts of the day, his performance was actually still on top of almost everyone else.

Compare TODAY with what was PInk Floyd, David Bowie or Led Zepellin were doing at the time and it is obviously out of tune; but its a mistake to do that! But now compare TODAY with what Dylan was doing at the time with the ROlling Thunder Review, or with what Johnny Cash was doing same year, and then you'll understand that the sound Elvis got on TODAY was actually in tune with times. Now when it was time for good old fashioned rock and roll, a(T-R-O-U-B-L-E or Tiger Man on the expanded edition) or R&B tunes like Shake a Hand, well, Elvis performance,The King and his band, were definetively above Lennon and his fantastic 1975 Rock & Roll album, or any other rocker in that style at the time.

TODAY is not my favourite Elvis 70's album, neither I think is his best (Elvis Country a.k.a Im 10,000 years Old, He Touched Me, On Stage, Live at the MSG are the contenders for me, although Today would be definetively on the top 10). But what TODAY proves to me above all, and proves it even more when the bad critics come, is Elvis inmense strenght in popular music: nobody, and I mean nobody ever asked Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison or even Chuck Berry to be at the vanguard of Rock music in 1975, in fact we acepted that they where done already by '65, sure they still moved crowds , had the ocational hit, and where fantastic in what they already did back in the 50's, but nobody was stupid enough to compare them to what was happening in rock music in the mid 70's. Man, in fact, people was already acepting that The Stones, Dylan, Lennon and Macca/Wings, where not anymmore the music vanguard that they once where in the 60's, so again nobody compared them with Pink Floyd or Bowie.

So then WHY WAS AND STILL IS this strong necesity to demand (as to compare is to demand) Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll, to be always on the very center of what was happening in Rock music? to analize his music always in those terms? Nobody did that to Lennon or Dylan albums, nobody did that to Chuck Berry (the most repetitive rock artist of all time). It was unfair to Elvis, it still is, not to contextualize his music in the right way, but that unfair demand is only a simptom of how big, how such a huge musical force he was, that all those unreal demands could only happened to him. We loved him so much, he meant so much in rock music, that what we asked from him was out of proportion.

Are you tired of being a singer, a music man, and entertainer? no, never ever. Are you tired to be Elvis? hell yes, what a burden, they don't even really lisen to the music because of that. In other words, TODAY is a fine album if we stop demanding Elvis to be Elvis: out of this world. Some times he did that and wow, but you can always push it that much.

A way in which TODAY shines the most and it could be better judged is this: to compare it with what other 50's Sun artists as well as other 50's artists where doing at the time. But more than that, just lisen to the man sing.

Excellent points....thanks for such a great post.