[Today: Two of The King's very strangest albums...]
Under the dubious management of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley released a lot of questionable albums and cheap merchandise during his career. But no single Elvis knickknack better reveals the blind, dumb greed that was behind him than the 1974 album Having Fun On Stage With Elvis. Labeled “A Talking Album Only”, this train wreck contains no songs, just a seemingly endless medley of inane between-songs banter, bad jokes and confusing non-sequitars. “By the end of the evening I will make a complete and total fool of myself,” he says early on, and it doesn’t take long to pay off that promise. Elvis could be a charismatic performer, but 30 seconds of this gibberish will have you wondering what everyone involved with the release was thinking. It was bad enough to be selected #1 in the 1991 book The Worst Rock N’ Roll Records Of All Time – edging out some notable contenders, including The Milli Vanilli Remix Album, Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music, and Bob Dylan’s Self-Portrait – and it’s hard to think of anything that has surpassed it since. Midway through this monstrosity he lamely jokes “I think my horse just left.” That wasn’t your horse Elvis, that was your integrity.
Elvis’ Greatest Shit is a sly bootleg that slams the post-death commercialization and deification of Presley. Released in 1982 on the Dog Vomit label (complete with faux RCA dog puking into phonograph), the National Enquirer cover and shocking title mask an album full of songs so bad that they’re delightfully good. ‘There’s No Room To Rhumba In A Sports Car’ is Elvis at his cheesy best, ‘Song Of The Shrimp’ could be the theme song to a new Pixar-animated feature, and ‘US Male’ is as tough and monumental as The King himself. Hearing him flub the lyrics late in an otherwise perfect ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ and shouting “Hot damn tamale!” is a perfect Elvis moment – funny, charming, and musically satisfying. Elsewhere, song titles like ‘Do The Clambake’ ‘He’s Your Uncle Not Your Dad’ and ‘Dominic The Impotent Bull’ tell their own jokes. Each album came with a prescription from Presley’s ‘Doctor Feelgood’, George Nichopolous, dated Aug 15, 1977 and made out for Dilaudids, Quaaludes, Dexedrines, Percodans, Amytals, and Biphetamines. Love it or loathe it, Elvis’ Greatest Shit is a funny collection that takes a big bite out of all those questionable albums and cheap knickknacks.
Tags: Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis, Elvis Presley, Elvis' Greatest Shit, George Nichopolous MD, Having Fun On Stage With Elvis
10 February 2009 at 4:31 pm |
the hot damn tamale line is up there with “i’ll rip your tongue out by the goddamned root…thank you very much.” both are on my best found audio collection. there are moments on you tube (like the really out of it “are you lonesome tonight” performance that kind of support elvis’ claim in steve martin’s recent memoir to a piquant sense of humor. his lonesome rant is kind of funny… ) that fascinate for good and bad reasons. check his dance number with ann margaret (not sure of the film, but they are in a gym) and find the king squarely in the pocket.
11 February 2009 at 7:55 am |
The dance with Ann Margaret was Viva Las Vegas! It was fantastic.
17 June 2009 at 10:47 am |
I almost peed my pants when I read this. I want these records…