Elvis Presley - Elvis at Stax - Music & Performance - CD

1973 was a crucial year in the career of Elvis Presley. Riding high on the success of ELVIS: ALOHA FROM HAWAII VIA SATELLITE, which was seen by over 1 BILLION people, Elvis did something remarkable. He chose to take control of his own business. He sold his future royalties to RCA and he started a new publishing company. No one would tell him what to do ever again. Elvis decided that his next recording project would be on his home turf at the red-hot STAX, the launching pad of such greats as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave and Isaac Hayes. He assembled the very best musicians in town members of the MGs, the Memphis Boys and his own TCB band to create the ultimate band and he searched for fresh new material that would reflect his new path. Such songs as "I Got a Feelin in My Body" And "Loving Arms" demonstrate an artist looking to broaden his palette and his reach. The STAX material, an amazing chapter of Elvis career, has never been positioned as a whole body of work. Until now.

The title "Elvis at Stax" is slightly misleading, suggesting Elvis Presley decided to set up shop at the famed Memphis recording studio so he could use their house band, or perhaps co-opt some of the Southern soul groove. That wasn't the case. Elvis chose the Stax studios to conduct several recording sessions in 1973 for a simple reason: it was close to his Memphis home. He rented out the studio twice, once in July and once in December, and brought in his crack backing band, recording enough material to fill out three CDs. This music was doled out over the years, accounting for five hit singles over three years (a B-side and a posthumous single also came from these sessions), along with three albums: 1973's Raised On Rock, 1974's Good Times, and 1975's Promised Land. These albums were all strong, but aren't often considered part of Presley's core canon, possibly because this mid-'70s run of records were often packaged like product (certainly there's not a memorable album cover among them), possibly because, apart from "Promised Land," there were no hit singles that could be called a true smash or part of his core canon. And that's why Elvis at Stax is so valuable: taken as a whole, these 1973 sessions are revealed as his last great blast of creativity in the recording studio. Essentially, he was working the same ground he began to plow on his 1968 comeback, but the aftershocks of Elvis Country are apparent, along with just the slightest hint of funky, organ-driven grooves. In this context, the preponderance of alternate takes are not tedious, but rather show Elvis' good humor and creativity as he tries out slightly different approaches on each take. What impresses is Presley's virtuosity and how he cannily constructed his performances to seem effortless: there's sweat fueling these tight, punchy renditions, and heart behind his ballads, and you can hear him work it all out on the alternate takes, then reach full flight on the finished masters. None of this was readily evident on the three LPs of Stax material, but this triple-disc, alternate-laden box lays it out plain and it's a joy to behold. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Performer	Elvis Presley
Music genre	Rock N' Roll Oldies
Music subgenre	Rock and Roll
Media format	CD
Original release date	1973
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Track listing	Promised Land, I've Got a Thing About You Baby, If You Talk in Your Sleep, Raised on Rock, Help Me, I Got a Feelin' in My Body Take 4, For Ol' Times Sake Take 4, Talk About the Good Times Take 3, Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues Take 8, You Asked Me to Take 3A, Loving Arms Take 2, Your Love's Been a Long Time Coming Take 4, Spanish Eyes Take 2, It's Midnight Take 7, Find Out What's Happening Takes 8-7, Three Corn Patches Take 14, My Boy Take 1
Record label	Sony Legacy
Songwriter	Elvis Presley
Character	Elvis
Track name	I Got a Feelin in My Body
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N