NEW YORK (Elvisfantasyfest WebSite) - Dead nearly 25 years,
Elvis Presley has become pass� even for
Vegas impressionists and supermarket tabloids. The legacy is tired and bloated, much like the King himself toward the end. A new four-CD boxed set would appear to be just what we don�t need - more second-rate Elvis.
The 100 tracks on
�Elvis: Today, Tomorrow & Forever��
(RCA/BMG Amazon, $55.98), all previously unreleased, are mostly alternate takes of lesser-known material, which makes it attractive primarily to completists.
Still, the timing for the set could hardly be better because Presley returned to the top of the singles charts in Britain last week with a remix of �A Little Less Conversation.� Likely a fluke rather than the start of an Elvismania revival, the hit isn�t included here. But the anthology does feature the greatest singer in the history of rock �n� roll, and there are some fascinating moments.
The performances span Elvis� recording career from 1954 to 1976 and range wildly in quality, with even the liner notes acknowledging that a couple of compositions are awful. A handful of his biggest hits are included, among them �In The Ghetto,� �Are You Lonesome Tonight?� and �I Want You, I Need You, I Love You.� The outtakes are understandably more ragged than the originals but include interesting tweaks in tempo, arrangement or vocal interpretation.
�Shake, Rattle and Roll,� for example, restores a piano solo and risque verse edited from Elvis� original. He�s backed by a harmonica on �Loving You� and a celeste on �Can�t Help Falling in Love.� There�s a duet with Ann-Margret on �Today, Tomorrow & Forever� (good) and an a cappella version of �Steadfast, Loyal and True� (bad).
Among the best tracks are seven live cuts from a show in Little Rock, Ark., in 1956, and eight from Las Vegas in 1969-70, which illustrate how dramatically Presley � and popular music � changed in less than 15 years. The early concert captures the raw frenzy of the young Elvis on stage, with a radio announcer providing slightly inaccurate but priceless play-by-play: �He�s winding up his legs, and here he goes with �Heartbreak Motel�!�
Elvis was never just about music, of course. Stage patter and studio chatter capture his hammy humor, and accompanying the discs are some terrific pictures of our most photogenic rock icon. The liner notes are informative but skimpy, limited mostly to track-by-track commentary by Colin Escott.
The set contains no revelations, only reminders that a quarter-century after his death, Elvis� pioneering talent is underrated and overshadowed by the cartoon King.
To explore the Presley catalog is to discover greatness. This may not be the place to start, but with �Today, Tomorrow & Forever,� that catalog is now a little richer. But only just a little.
