Lets go on a moonlight swim

This morning I have woke up watching one of the best movies ever Blue Hawaii. One reason this movie is so great is the soundtrack. I am going to talk a little bit about it today.I think this soundtrack is the best of all that Elvis did. It is my personal favorite barely edging out IT. The title song Blue Hawaii is a terrific song and one of my favorite movie songs ever. It is so soothing and Elvis does a great job on this. I think this is one reason I like to go to sleep to this movie. The song relaxes me and puts me at ease. Almost Always True is a fun song that fits in the movie well. Aloha Oe is a Hawaiian song that Elvis does a pretty good job with. Can't Help Falling In Love is a classic and is one of the songs people think about when they think of Elvis. I think this song is the best one on the soundtrack. Elvis would end up singing this song to his fans to close shows in his live acts later on in his career. Rock-A-Hula Baby might not be the best song on the track, but might just be the most fun. The scene in the movie where he sings it is one of the coolest parts of the movie. Moonlight Swim is my personal favorite from the movie. I don't know why but I have always thought this song was top notch. I think like all the songs in this movie it just fits with the flow of the movie and actually makes me the movie better. Slicin' Sand is a a fun song to jar around to and Elvis has a fit during the scene in the movie.Hawaiian Wedding Song I have always thought was pretty good. Other songs from the soundtrack Ku-U-I-Po,Ito Eats,Hawaiian Sunset,Beach Boys Blues,and Island Of Love. They are all pretty good songs for the most part. Steppin Out Of Line is also on the CD. The version of the soundtrack shown above also has some bonus alternate takes on it that are really good. It includes the movie version of Can't Help Falling In Love. As I said before this is my favorite soundtrack and in my opinion his best. Elvis's vocally was at his best around this time and really shined. Also unlike many of his later movies where most of the songs did not make sense in context with the movie, this does not suffer from that. I think the music actually lifts the movie and make it better. in closing all I can say is that Blue Hawaii(movie or soundtrack) is the freakin truth.

You Can't Say No In Acapulco

Tonight I am going to continue my reviews of the movie soundtracks. I am going to talk a little bit about the music in Fun In Acapulco. The movie and soundtrack came out in 1963. The soundtracks from the previous two films Girls! Girls! Girls! and It Happened At The Worlds Fair had not done so well. They almost decided not to even do a soundtrack for the movie. What a poor decision that would have been. You will notice with this soundtrack and with the ones that fallow, the material and quality work would go downhill. Some movies still had standout performances from time to time, but never a great soundtrack from start to finish. Fun In had elven tracks on the original album and two bonus songs. Elvis's voice was still great and it was a shame he was not given better songs, or he was not doing some normal album releases still. A few songs do stand out to me in this movie. Bossa Nova Baby is a great song and one of my favorite movie songs ever. I also think You Can't Say No In Acapulco is a good song. Mexico and I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here are also fun songs in my opinion. The FTD release of the soundtrack is awesome as usual. The bonus tracks are pretty good. As usual I go nuts over the outtakes. Hearing Elvis craft a song and even cut up at times is pretty cool. I really enjoy the first couple of outtakes of You Can't Say No In Acapulco. Elvis seems to have a hard time with the first of the song. In the end it turns out great and is the one song in the movie that still gives you a hint of the great vocal ability Elvis possessed at the time. Fun In, not the best soundtrack ever but certainly a lot of fun. I would rank it in the middle of the pack as far as soundtracks go.

Soundtracks

I have did a review or two of the movie soundtracks. I will continue to do that until I do all thirty one movies. I am going to go ahead and let you in on what I view as his best. I will also let you know what my personal favorites are.
I ranked the best soundtracks based on a combination of Elvis's voice quality, production, arrangements, and material.
1.Blue Hawaii
2.GI Blues
3.Viva Las Vegas
4.Tickle Me
5.Girls!Girls!Girls!

Here is a list of my top five favorites.
1.Blue Hawaii
2.It Happened At The Worlds Fair
3.Tickle Me
4.Girl Happy
5.GI Blues

I will continue to do my reviews and go in depth on each movies music.

NOTE: I do not include the 50's movies when I am talking about these list on the movies and soundtracks. Those four movies stand alone. I will try to rant about my reasons on that later to clear that up.

Dig right in and do the clam

Girl Happy is one of my favorite movie soundtracks. This might not be one of the best as far as material or the quality of Elvis's voice. Though It has always appealed to me and has a few unforgettable songs. The title track from the movie is of course Girl Happy. A very fun tune that you can help but sing. Spring Fever is a song that in the movie Elvis sings with Shelley Fabares. It is a good song, however on the album Shelly's part is missing and kind of makes the song incomplete. Fort Lauderdale Chamber Of Commerce is a freaking classic. When most Elvis fans talk about the crap Elvis had to sing, this song always seems to come up in conversation. A part of me totally agrees, and wishes the man never had to sing that stuff. He did however sing it, and I choose to enjoy it. I have always found the idea of singing this to a random girl to swoon her to be funny. Maybe that's why I have always got a kick out of the song. Startin' Tonight is a pretty good song with a good vibe. For some reason the VHS versions of Girl Happy left this song out. I remember it being in when it was on TV way back when. It now can be seen on the new DVD release. It is worth hearing. Wolf Call is another one of my all time movie favorites. Something about the song is just fun, and I can't help but sing it every time I hear it. Do Not Disturb is a slow song that is a key song for swooning girls. A solid song in my opinion that don't get any run. Cross My Heart and Hope To Die is my favorite song on the album. I have always liked the arrangement and vocals on this track. Another solid swooning song. The Meanest Girl In Town is probably my least favorite song from the movie. Though it is still a pretty damn good song. Do The Clam. Freaking classic, don't need to say anything else. Puppet On A String, the best song on the album. This is a classic and I think Elvis does his best job vocally on this song of any track from Girl. I've Got To Find My Baby is a solid track to end the movie. Overall I can't find a bad song on the album. Some of the songs are a little weak, but Elvis brings them to life. The beat track on the album is Puppet On A String as I stated before. My personal favorite is Cross My Heart And Hope To Die. I am as a big of fan of Elvis's movies and the songs in them as I am of anything Elvis did. I really love the soundtracks. Girl Happy might not be one of the best artistically, but is for sure in my personal top five of favorites. I would recommend getting the Girl Happy soundtrack. Get the Follow That Dream release. The sound is awesome and it has lots of outtakes. They are gold. Also you get the key book with all kinds of info on the soundtrack and movie.

Hey everybody gather round,Listen to that bongo sound. Grab the first one in your reach,Now were going to shake the beach. Do the clam, do the clam,Grab your barefoot baby by the hand. Turn and tease, hug and squeeze, Dig right in and do the clam

Thoughts on new FTD's

I am going to give you some thoughts about my new FTD's that I got while in Memphis. For those who might not know what I am talking about when I say FTD, let me give you a short explanation. Fallow That Dream records releases material that is not normally part of the usual releases by Sony BMG. Many live concerts and studio outtakes are found on these releases. This is for the serious collector when it comes to Elvis' music. They cost you a lot more than most normal CD's you can buy. It is worth every penny in my opinion though. My favorite CD's come from the FTD label. For a more detailed explanation visit the news and FAQ's section on Elvis.com.
Now to my thoughts on my new CD's. I picked up two movie soundtracks. I am a huge fan of the movies so I always make it a point to buy a soundtrack when I am buying new material. I picked up Girls! Girls! Girls! and Harum Scarum. The Girls CD is great. This has some great outtakes on it. I loved hearing Mama and I Don't Want To Be Tied outtakes. Harum Scarum was also a treat. This is not the best soundtrack the Elvis catalog has to offer in my opinion. I still find my self loving most of the songs on here. I have always liked the songs Hey Little Girl and Go East Young Man. Hey Little Girl has a few extra takes on the album that I enjoyed. I also got Long Lonely Highway. This covers some of Elvis' work in Nashville in the 60's. This will for sure be a favorite from now on. Most of the songs on here are favorites of mine.About sixteen of the songs are previously unreleased material. Shes Not You is my favorite track of this CD.
I am going to take a break now. I will be back shortly to cover the other five CD's I got.