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