ELVIS: Legend in a Cage

[monk222]

~
"The most notable event that occurred in the course of their stay was that Red and David Stanley and several of the other guys beat up a land developer from Grass Valley, California, who showed up drunk and disgruntled outside the suite after paying a security guard to gain admittance for hmself and his date. A number of fans witnessed Elvis simply standing there and observing the fight without doing anything to stop it, as four guys held the developer down, according to his later complaint, and the rest beat him to a bloody pulp."

-- Peter Guralnick, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley

That scene goes with the last years of Elvis' life, when he was struggling in vain with a soul-suffocating ennui and a crippling drug addiction, and when he was also unable to deliver his solid show for his fans, being barely able to even stand at times, as he toured the smaller venues again almost desperately seeking the cash to maintain the profligate lifestyle to which he, his family, and entourage had grown accustomed.

No gods ever walked the earth. Elvis was a man. But a legend was made and that magic keeps rockin' and rollin'. Below is an excerpt from a review of the '68 Comeback Special. It was printed in the CD that Monk bought in the mid '90s, being curious about how he might take to Elvis music after having left Elvis behind as a toy of his childhood. Needless to say, he had Monk at "Looking for trouble?" Last night he watched his Deluxe Edition DVD of the Comeback Special to mark this twenty-eighth anniversary of the King's death.



___ ___ ___

Eighteen million households tuned in on December 3rd, 1968 to find Elvis' face on the screen telling them that if they were looking for trouble, they'd "come to the right place." Launching into "Guitar Man," Elvis appeared in front of a two-story tall scaffolding filled with 100 Black-clad, dancing, guitar-slinging Elvis silhouettes.

Next, as if to prove thet he was indeed bigger than life even without elaborate stage props, Elvis appeared alone in an empty boxing ring. Dressed head to toe in black leather and completely surrounded by the studio audience, Elvis looked like a caged animal ready to strike. Literally forced to "deliver the goods" in this confrontational setting, he tore through blistering versions of such favorites as "Jailhouse Rock," "Hound Dog," and "All Shook Up," and fairly radiated emotion on "Can't Help Falling in Love." Free of any encumbrances, Elvis seemed to be reaching into the bottom of his soul as he stood on that naked stage, singing with all of his heart like an ambitious young kid with absolutely nothing to lose. It came off as a veritable rebirth."

-- Christopher Niccoli, 1991

Comments

[miss-next.livejournal.com]

I never was a fan, I'm afraid... but that artwork has something going for it.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

*chuckling* Not exactly Tchaikovsky or figaro, is it? This is a little down in the alley - something wild and primal.

[antilapsarian.livejournal.com]

I had to chuckle a little bit at the news footage of people at Graceland the other day. It's a bit comical watching the dedication some people have to a long-removed pop icon. I suppose it happens in the cemetary in Paris where Jim Morrison is.

And we even get a taste of it today when 47 year old Madonna fell off a horse. She's still got this hardcore legion of fans...and ok, she made some good music and has been a spiritual inspiration to some. But it is a bit like being stuck in a time warp.

I always laugh at my dad who thinks no good music was made after, say, 1980. This coming from the man who likes vapid 1970's "classic" rock. lol

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

Ha ha, obviously, you are just trying to get a rise out of me. Morrison and Madonna are hardly at the same level of Elvis, as they are like his lesser heirs. Though, the French are funny; they even named Jerry Lewis as the funniest comic - but that's the French, who are hardly taken seriously outside of France.

I have to say that I'm with your father on this one. I cannot help but think that the music from the 80s on may be seen as an indication of a kind of cultural degeneration. But then that's what they said of Elvis, saying that real music died with Mozart and Beethoven and that pristine lot. Maybe all of us are right...

[antilapsarian.livejournal.com]

Well, the French are actually pissed off at Doors fans because they come visit and vandalize and ruin their classy cemetery. I don't know about him, but Madonna certainly could be compared to Elvis in terms of length of career, hits, etc.. Even influence if one wants to see today's pop stars as made in her image.

As a fan of a broad cross-section of music, I'd have to say that it is apples and oranges always. Elvis is certainly no Louis Armstrong who was probably America's greatest musical genius. But then, Louis Armstrong and jazz are hard to compare to, say, European opera. Certainly mid-20th century popular music was a huge moment in musical history, but I'd also say that it was no Golden Era either. All things considered, it stands alongside other movements that grow and fizzle then grow again. Jazz was huge. Rock. Hip hop was a watershed moment. Punk. The advent of House/Techno that now dominates nightlife in the world. *shrug*

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

An interesting post that may pique your interest. I don't get economics myself and never pretend to.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/canticle/526756.html?mode=reply

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I cannot follow the professional discussions of economists myself.

Though, this issue seems more political. He's right about this story not being big in US news. I had to google around myself, and thank god for Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.-Canada_softwood_lumber_dispute), and after reading this, I'm inclined to suspect that your Canadian friend perhaps overstates the case (perhaps as a good Canadian nationalist, heh).

In particular, I'm not sure about what he means when he says the US is not honoring its agreement. Going by Wikipedia, what agreement we had expired some years ago, so that one factor in this dispute is dealing with the fact that we have not been governed by a specific agreement on this softwood lumber.

As for the more general free trade agreements, it seems that the US may not have been wrong in assessing some fines for the socialist element in Canada's policy in the lumber industry. The US evidently has been on the wrong side of the dispute, as adjudged thus far, on the grounds that the fines assessed are too high. And I gather this is where the dispute is at now.

I don't know how fearful the Bush administration is of any 'trade war' with canada. Compared to the rising price of oil and the turmoil of the Mideast, I would not be surprised to see Bush stick to his ideological guns about counterveiling the socialist element in Canada's lumber policy.

I don't agree with this sort of hardball with Canada. It may have been wiser to accept the rulings that the fines were too high and to moderate them. When this finally gets settled out, that may be where we will end up.

Considering the costs of a trade war, I'm doubtful that America would suffer more - just given that brute factor of size. I really, really, don't imagine that Canadians want to see if they really can sustain 50% unemployment over the long term!

I'm just sorry to see Bush going out of his way to deepen the estrangement with the international community. It is in such bitter musings that one sorely misses a politician like Clinton - for whom politics is more about compromising rather than hardball.

Thanks for sharing with me! I never even heard of softwood lumber before. :p

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

All I know about this is that the softwood lumber thing is indeed a MASSIVE issue up here, it's in the news basically every single day. And I don't follow it because I inevitably get lost.