Elvis himself summed up this approach in an interview once when he said something along the lines that ‘you can't just stand there you have to give them something extra or else they could just sit at home and listen to the record’. With all due respect to a Nirvana or Elvis himself in 1968, sitting there on a stage and singing doesn't cut it most of the time. And the idea of a band parading out on stage in a t-shirt and jeans is way overrated.
The largeness of Elvis' sound as well as the elaborate costumes and movements was an attempt to give the audience that ‘something extra’. It was incidentally also a sign of musical ambition within himself for which he is seldom given credit.
But in 2005 now that rock and roll is no longer the dominant music of the age, our musical appreciation has somewhat matured and the legitimacy of non-rock music is no longer questioned. And most audiences now come to expect elaborate stage play. I think the world has finally caught up with the Vegas Elvis.
Thanks for this series of articles by Harley Payette from www.elvisinfonet.comAndy Stankovich
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