Don't Be Cruel

"Don't Be Cruel" is definately in my top five favorite Elvis songs of all time. When I hear other artists try to record it, it's like mixing pizza and peanut butter, they just don't mix. One exception to the rule is from the Elvis: Viva Las Vegas documentary when Chris Isaak and Brandi Carlile team up to sing the song as a duet. It's a really good rendition of the classic song especially hearing them sing like they are singing to each other. It's different but pretty damn good. Check out the video!

VIVA LAS VEGAS TV SPECIAL

Tonight I am going to talk about the TV Special that came on last year called Elvis Viva Las Vegas. The show was to focus on Elvis in Las Vegas. Elvis' friend would talk about being there and such while some of today's stars performed some Elvis tunes. Man, nothing gets me more excited than listening to someone kill and Elvis classic! Anyway lets start with the documentary side of the show. It was alright but nothing special. To any real Elvis fan it was nothing new with no new insight. They only touched the surface of the history that city and Elvis shared. Basically it was Elvis was out of the loop in the 60's, Elvis came back in Vegas, Elvis was the biggest thing in Vegas up to that time, Elvis went downhill, Elvis got caught up in drugs. Blah, blah, blah, same old shit man. I guess for the casual fan or someone who doesn't really know Elvis and his time in Vegas it would be somewhat informative. To me it was nonsense and there was so much more that could have been talked about. The usual suspects were on there from the Elvis circle talking. Joe, GK, and Jerry Schelling. The only Elvis buddies still in the good graces of EPE. Of course Priscilla was on there. Tom Jones actually spoke some on the show. That was interesting for the simple fact I have not seen Tom speak about Elvis and the time they shared in Vegas. Really though he just said we sang in his penthouse to late in the night. Not much more than that. I have never been big on Tom Jones or his music. Just never struck me and I have not been able to see the appeal in it even though many people think he is great. Some other people speak on Elvis and his impact such as 5o Cent, Beyonce, and Dewayne Johnson. That was cool I guess. I liked seeing The Rock speak on Elvis because I know he is a really big fan.
Now for the performances. I am not going to go into detail about every performance. I just didn't like many of them. Though I can't take many people singing any Elvis songs. Some though were just really bad. Maranda Lambert singing Jailhouse Rock was awful! I am sorry, I am sure some people find her talented but she need to leave one of the greatest rock songs ever alone! Instead of the raw out of control feel that the original offers, this has a sloppy somewhat country/pop about it. Though some of the songs I did like a lot. Chris Isaak and Brandi Carlile did a version of Don't Be Cruel that was pretty good. I think Chris Isaak is great and the song had a real good feel about it. Also The Little Willies with Norah Jones did a version of Love Me. Now if anyone else to ever walk the earth had been singing this song I would have been freaking out. Love Me is one of my favorite songs ever. Though Norah Jones is one of my top three favorite artist ever and she did a great job on this song. It was wonderful and it is a version I listen to quite often. Elvis' version is still a lot better, but she puts a great spin on it and it is very enjoyable. Now the only other song on the show that I liked might surprise some. It was In The Ghetto with Three 6 Mafia. It was actually a rap song they did with a nice beat from In The Ghetto that used Elvis' voice in the chorus. I am not a big fan of rap but I do like a few groups and artist a lot. I have been down with Three 6 Mafia since high school. They are from Memphis and some of the baddest producers/rappers ever! I would much rather hear a rap song with Elvis singing the line "In The Ghetto" then hear some hack butcher the real song.
So overall I do not rate this very high but it was worth buying for me just for the three performance's mentioned above which I loved. The information contained on here is alright but if you see it keep in mind a lot of interesting stuff has been left out and it would be worth researching.

Check out Chris and Brandi singing Don't Be Cruel

DOLL OF THE WEEK

I have been absent from this site this past week for the most part the last week. I have not had a day off work until today and have been working about 13 hours a day. I have been dead every night when I get home and have not even hardly got on the net. I hope this week will be different, but I doubt it. Anyway, now on to the doll of the week. Rose McGowan is the doll of the week. She played the part of Ann-Margret in the 2005 mini series, Elvis. I will not hold that against her! That production was truly the worst thing I have saw relating to Elvis. I have always thought she was pretty hot, so it is too bad I did not even really get to see her role in the movie. I only could stand about half of the first night before getting mad and turning that trash off.

New Graceland DVD delivers

I am going to talk a little about the new DVD, Elvis Presley's Graceland. This DVD has been a long time coming. It was worth the wait. It is one of the best buys I have made in a long time. It is a two disc special that is great from beginning to end. Disc one is really about Graceland and its history. Elvis' career is documented throughout the production. It is a great look at the house as it is presented currently. Also, what got me real excited was some of the pictures and footage I had never seen before. I have always wanted to step back in time and see Graceland how it was in 57 or 62 in those years. Some pictures are shown to give you an idea and that was the best part of this whole thing for me. Disc two is full of extra footage that is great. You get a sneak peak into the archives. I have seen most of the stuff they show but it was cool to see and another chance to actually see into the places where the house all this stuff from Elvis' life. It is really cool that they have so much stuff connected with Elvis. It was a good thing that the Presley's and Tom Parker kept everything! Now us fans can enjoy it today and get a better understanding of all things Elvis. There are some home movies seen here of Elvis messing around at Graceland on horses and such. Some of the footage has been seen many many times in documentaries and such, but this is the first time most have been seen in there entirety. The coolest thing on this disc is the footage from Graceland in 58. It is when it is covered in snow. A small part of it has also been shown in many things before but the full fourteen or so minutes are shown here. Elvis was off filming King Creole at the time and he wanted to see Graceland in the snow so he has the film made. You get to see much of the property and many of Elvis' cars. It is neat to see the back of the house when the garages were still there, and there was no den added on yet. You can see the back and what it was like. You also get to see how this was really an isolated spot and how nothing was built up around it really. Then see the home movies from 68 where Elvis is out front, and all kinds of stuff is around. I really can't say enough for this DVD, it is terrific. I am glad I have it so I can watch it on a regular biases and not miss Graceland as much. Also it is worth noting this was the last project finished by Todd Morgan. Man he did great work, and he is missed in so many ways. Not hearing him at Elvis Week this year was so upsetting. It is not the same without him.

The King Cobra and I

I few years ago I remember running across a show on the Animal Planet about cobras. I have always been fascinated about them and decided to watch. Turns out the expert the show was about was a avid Elvis fan. Below is a description of the show courtesy of the Animal planet website.

As long as a giraffe is tall, able to rear its head to the height of a man and deadly enough to kill an elephant with a single bite, the king cobra is truly the "king of the serpents." On this Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom special, join dynamic American herpetologist and Elvis fanatic Romulus Whitaker on a quest to protect this highly endangered and much-feared snake.
A world authority on Indian snakes, Romulus searches the jungles of southern India for the perfect place to build the world's first king cobra sanctuary — but first he must find a mate for his largest snake, Elvis.
The task is wrought with danger as Romulus, though allergic to antivenin, rescues a large female from a home in an Indian village. The female snake, aptly named Priscilla, ultimately breeds with Elvis. In time, their offspring are released into the remote jungle that Romulus has selected as the home for a new generation of kings.
Featuring classic songs by Elvis Presley, this film provides unique insight into the lives of these deadly yet secretive creatures through the eyes of a man who has a passionate desire to save them.

This show was awesome. The guy was doing a good thing in saving and trying to protect these interesting snakes. I remember several songs being played during the show but I know Mystery Train was played. I wish this show would air again. I would love to see the two massive cobras again. I thought it was really cool he named them after Elvis and Priscilla. I do remember the snake Elvis was very big, as big a cobra as I have ever seen. I have always wanted one of these snakes but I can't see it ever happening.

Elvis at his best

I picked up a copy of the DVD Elvis #1 Hit Performances. This has been out a while but I had not got around to getting it. The reason is that I have all of the performances on one thing or another. I felt I needed this thought for the collection. For the average fan that might not have a serious collection of Elvis's work this would be great. This has some of his best work. A lot of good stuff that could have been added was left off, but I am going to focus on the positives. Hound Dog could have had several different performances chosen, but they went with the performance from the second Sullivan show. They hit a home run there, that is one of Elvis's greatest performances, period. This DVD showcases Elvis from early 1956 to 1973. My favorite performances on here besides Hound Dog are, Stuck On You and Return To Sender. A cool thing as well is the two bonus interviews on here. I have seen them both a million tomes but they are great. They are the 1960 press confrance at Graceland and the 72 press conference in New York for the Madison Square garden shows. Overall this is a pretty good DVD even though it does not really aim for the serious fan. I am sure a lot of casual fans will love this.

TTWII(part three)

I am back to finish my thoughts on TTWII the two disc set. I am so glad they came out with this. I have enjoyed the 2001 special edition ever since I first seen it back in 01. I have always wanted to see the entire 1970 production though. I can't really say which one I like the best. If I had to pick one I would go with the 01 edition because it has so much more music. For historic purposes it is important to have the original. Also some of the music that is so great on the first one is left off the second disc from 2001. I still cant get over Just Pretend being left off of it. It is one of the best but most underrated songs of Elvis's from the 1970's. Watching TTWII and really putting some thought into what I thought of it over the last few days has got me to thinking. This documentary was shot over the period of five or six shows. You see bits and pieces of the shows on the documentary, but I wish we could see all the shows in their entirety. Most of the footage they have has been put on these discs. I bet a lot more footage existed at some point and has been lost and was done away with. What a shame it is we don't have all the shows from this engagement from start to finish. Wouldn't that be something. Elvis gave some of his best performances ever during these shows. He had not done a show at this level in over 12 years. He still had it up to the end in spots from time to time, but he probably never reached this level again putting the whole package together for an extended period of time. TTWII is an important part of the Elvis musical history that has been wonderfully preserved in the new two disc special edition.

TTWII( part two)

I am back to talk more about TTWII. I am going to talk about the 2001 special edition. Where the original edition was kind of took from the fans prospective at times, the 01 special was more of the process from Elvis's view. A lot more music is included in this edition. You see a lot more of Elvis rehearsing with his band and singers. One part I really dig that's not in the original is Elvis singing Love Me during the rehearsal on the MGM lot. The concert footage made of of several shows is pretty good. Several songs that are not in the original edition can be found on this disc. Though a lot of the songs on the 70 version is left off the 01 edition. I can't get over Just Pretend being left off, this song freaking rocks. The sound on the 2001 edition is top notch. Also they have a special look at the way they came up with the new edition of TTWII. A lot of footage that had been shot had not been used. For the longest people thought the unused footage was lost. So they went digging and found the footage no one thought was still around. It is a neat and interesting story of all it all came together. That does it for part two of my review. Tomorrow I will be back with part three with my final thoughts on not only the two versions of this release but my over all thoughts on the event. Also we will have track listing for the two discs and compare the two.

ELVIS-That's The Way It Is(part one)

I am going to talk some tonight about the two disc set that came out last year for That's The Way It Is. One disc is the 2001 special edition and the other disc is the original 1970 theatrical version. I am going to start off talking about disc two first. I was very excited to see the original version. I had seen parts of it before but not the whole thing. When you see it, you see that there is quite a bit of a difference from the two versions. The 1970 version is kind of took from the fans point of view. There is a lot of segments on there with fans. They talk about how they became Elvis fans, what they like about, how they honor him, etc. This cuts into quite of bit of the music. The original does not show all that much of the rehearsal with Elvis and his band or his backup singers. The concert also has a lot of different songs then they 2001 version. Keep in mind the documentary was shot over a period of six shows so Elvis mixed up some of the songs as usual. One thing I loved in this version that was missing from the new one is Elvis's rehearsal of The Next Step Is Love. That was freaking great. I lost it when he came out with "the next step is sex" instead of "the next step is love". Also in showing the interaction with the fans on this disc, they show some of the many celebrities that where at these shows. They showed Juliet Prowse being interviewed and she said she had been to see the show twice. She was about to see it for the third time and thought it was great. I got a kick out of that, she probably wanting a fling with E for old times sake. Also on this disc is many songs that don't make it on to either disc in the outtakes section. That was pretty neat, Little Sister was awesome. I had heard it on disc before, but to see it was neat.This was part one of three of my TTWII review. I will be back shortly with my take on the 2001 special edition.

THIS IS ELVIS Movie Review

"This Is Elvis" is by far the best Elvis documentary I have seen to date. Even though it has a horrible guy playing the early Elvis, the rare movies of Elvis of when he first became a superstar and TV show appearances make you forget about him. The movie explains Elvis from his early controversial career all the way to his untimely death in 1977. Showing footage in the early years when his dancing was considered vulgar and sadly showing Elvis during his last concert run. From what I have read in Biographies, this film seems to be the most accurate documentary of his life. I must say though, being a huge Elvis fan, it's hard to see him in this shape he was before his death but on good note, his rendition of "Unchained Melody" shows that he put everything he had into his singing and still was obviously

"The King".