COME WHAT MAY (2001/6) (Released 1998)
1. Review by Crister Berge |
Alternate studio takes (60's)
1: Come What May (takes 1, 2)
2: Stay Away, Joe (takes 1, 2)
3: A House Of Sand (Repairs; takes 4, 5, 6)
4: A Dog's Life (take 1)
5: How Can You Lose What You Never Had (take 3)
6: So Close, Yet So Far (take 3)
7: My Desert Serenade (take 10)
8: Wisdom Of The Ages (take 2)
9: Kismet (take 2)
10: Hey, Little Girl (takes 4, 5 [M])
11: Golden Coins (takes 1, 2, 4)
12: Animal Instinct (takes 3, 4)
13: Shake That Tambourine (takes 18, 19, 20, 16)
14: So Close, Yet So Far From Paradise (take 4)
15: My Desert Serenade (takes 1, 2, 3)
16: Stay Away, Joe (takes 5, 6, 8)
17: Come What May (takes 5, 4)
18: Just Call Me Lonesome (6)
19: Stay Away, Joe (take 9)
All takenumbers on the Harum Scarum material are wrong on the CD.
I have listed the correct take numbers here.
Content: 3 Sound: 5 Artwork: 5 |
Review by Crister Berge
What have got here? Well, how's another shitty release from the 2001 label; 51 minutes worth of alternate takes of thirteen (yes, 'A House Of Sand' is just one line, a "work part"!) different songs dating from 1965-67. A majority of the songs are taken from the sessions for the horrible MGM picture HARUM SCARUM, which was one of the real lowpoints in our idol's recording career. And to think that 'Go East Young Man', the one good song from that film is not included. At least the sound is okay, even though it's in mono. Oh yeah, we get to hear Elvis talk too, note the remark to a certain cranky drummer while discussing the arrangement for 'Stay Away Joe': "D.J., quit complainin'!" In the take that follows, Elvis sings "Jump down, spin around, bullshit...", perhaps revealing his true opinion of the song at hand?
The cover work is awful, and why in God's name did they use a studio shot from 1957 on a record containing material from the mid-sixties? And is he really trying to make a hole in his cheek with his thumb? Inside the sleeve there's a picture of a 45rpm released in the Philippines; 'Drums Of The Island' b/w 'This Is My Heaven' - now THAT record must have been a big seller?!
How could one best describe the artistic quality of the songs on this compilation? Just take a look at the last few lines in 'Wisdom Of The Ages':
"But a man who turns and escapes somehow, is the wisest of men -
and to such a man I'd bow!"
Oh, what drama! I ask myself how anyone can steep so low as to record shit like that?
In what's listed as the first take of the title track, Elvis messes up the line "I plant a kiss upon your lips" and consequently takes away the romantic touch of the song whilst erronously singing he wishes to kiss an entirely different body part (her "cheeks!") - wow, that one really layed me out! Silly stuff like 'Stay Away Joe' could make anyone question Elvis' mental health - and I just can't stand the clapping at the beginning! You have trouble sleeping? Trust me; songs like 'Kismet' and 'Golden Coins' are better than any sleeping pill in the world! Elvis, how could you? A cool rhythm pattern does NOT make 'Hey Little Girl' a good song. And have you listened to the words to 'Animal Instinct'? - holy Mother of God! 'Just Call Me Lonesome', billed "unreleased unknown take" is okay, but the key is too high for Elvis.
Don't forget to send me an e-mail. And yes friends, I've done my home work:
BMG has released take 6 of 'Come What May', take 4 of 'So Close Yet So Far', and takes 1 & 3 of 'How Can You Lose What You Never Had' on the box set COLLECTORS GOLD way back in 1991. And on GREAT COUNTRY SONGS (1996) you'll find take 6 of 'Just Call Me Lonesome'.
Don't buy this crap. Just think about it; this is a CD that even Willem Kaauw trashed, where the stand-out-track is 'Come What May'! Djeezus...
On a scale from 1 to 5, I give this release a 1.
© Crister Berge, Stockholm, Sweden 2001.
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