Elvis was in superb voice but what is lacking is a sense of inspiration. Imagine if instead of just another recording session this would have been with the Boston Pops or collaboration with a writer who intrigued Elvis. Instead it was the same old, same old and it was hard for Elvis to get it up even near the peak of his powers.
Elvis' atrophy in Vegas came from the same reason as his atrophy on the road. His depression and an uncritical audience mad at simply the sight of him.
Some of it of course though, is simple rock snobbery. Prior to 1970, Vegas was not a rock scene and was associated with the tastes of an older generation.
Some of Elvis' bad reputation is punishment for daring to be aligned with the enemies of rock. That Elvis' taste drifted away from rock in the 1970s is another cause for punishment. A 1970 Richard Meltzer review of the "The That's the Way It Is" is a prime example of this.
The crux of the review is a simple condemnation of Elvis for using his talents to sing ballads as opposed to rockers. That Elvis' ballads were significantly different from say Frank Sinatra (not that Sinatra's approach was bad, although it could be & in the Meltzer book is ignored). Even some of the dismissal at the arrangements, which were overdone from time to time, can be interpreted as criticism for not sounding like a rock song.
Thanks for this series of articles by Harley Payette from www.elvisinfonet.com
Andy Stankovich
Elvis The Voice
www.ElvisTheVoice.com
One of the world's great Elvis Presley tribute artists
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