Review by Piers Beagley - Elvis Information Network
This is the seventh FTD extended movie soundtrack release. Once again it is presented with an improved mix of the original LP, alternate takes, plus a colour booklet full of photos and information. Many Elvis fans would have previously purchased these soundtracks on LP and again via RCA's Double Features series.
Here we have an in-depth look at each one to see if they are worth buying again.
Spinout (25 tracks, 70 minutes).
By Elvis Presley's twenty-second movie everything had become dreadfully routine. Elvis was a racing driver yet again surrounded by young starlets - and the disappointing Paradise, Hawaiian Style had also preceded it. The soundtrack songs ('Queenie Wahine’s Papaya', 'A Dog's Life', 'Smorgasbord'...) were now becoming pallid impressions of anything else before them. Would Elvis win the race? Get the girl? Did the audience care?!
However, there was light at the end of the tunnel and the real musical excitement was the incredible impression the three “Bonus Songs” made on side two of the LP. But what were these Elvis gems, 'Tomorrow Is A Long Time', 'Down In The Alley' and 'I'll Remember You' doing on a LP that also contained 'Beach Shack'?
The Elvis fan of the sixties was truly confused. While the LP How Great Thou Art would be released soon after, nothing like the bluesy funk of 'Down In The Alley' would appear until the 'Big Boss Man' single a whole year later. In 1966, Elvis was still far more interested in exploring his spiritual side and spent hours discussing spirituality and the “Self-Realization Fellowship” with Spinout co-Star Deborah Walley. They became very close friends and there are great photos of them together on Elvis' motorbike.
All these Spinout songs have been released on bootlegs before, however all twenty fluffed attempts at 'Adam And Evil' never made them enjoyable listening. The challenge for Ernst and FTD was to keep the chosen outtakes interesting, provide a good-looking booklet, and make the audio really shine.
'Spinout', with 'All That I Am' as the flipside, was released as a single in September 1966 making #40 in the charts. The soundtrack LP made #18.
The deluxe gatefold sleeve packaging does contain some excellent photos and rare publicity stills. Elvis always looked awkward in the publicity shoot (check that boofy hairdo!) but the film shots are fun.
The photo of the recording session in Radio Recorders is particularly enlightening. The set up seems extremely ramshackle with amplifiers balanced on cheap metal chairs. No wonder the sound was so rough on these sessions!
There is a fascinating quote from this period in Peter Guralnick's book Careless Love. Elvis said to Deborah Walley:
"Look, we've only got this moment together, so let's have it completely. No holding back. No wasting time on trivialities. I've got the word; I want to give it to you. I'm not a man, you're not a woman - I'm a soul, a spirit, a force. I have no interest in anything of this world. I want to live in another dimension entirely."
What a contrast this sentiment is to the formulaic film that Elvis was making at the time! Fortunately FTD is back on track and the original LP master’s quality is improved and matches the sound of the outtakes. In fact, the original LP audio wasn't half as bad as Harum Scarum or Frankie And Johnny and had an “ok” stereo image. It did however have terribly muffled audio, whereas this FTD sounds lovely and crisp.
The previous Spinout Double Features issue wasn't as messed with as others (echo and mix-wise) and, for instance, the excellent 'I'll Be Back' master has a great snappy percussion sound on both! In fact, it is hard to tell the Double Features and FTD version apart, although the drums seem to have a nicer “edge” to them on the new FTD.
Nearly all Elvis' songs have the backing vocals on the right channel, and so it seems that the original LP was mistaken in having The Jordanaires on the left. The audio channels here have been swapped left to right on the outtakes only, so as to place The Jordanaires back onto the correct right channel.
Elvis' band was flown out to Hollywood for the occasion but even the addition of great guitar work from Tommy Tedesco weren't going to the makes hits out of the mediocre material and they managed to complete the recordings in an impressively fast two night's work.
Unfortunately one of the better numbers, the nice and bluesy 'I'll Be Back' was a one- take wonder. On the bootleg you can hear Elvis sounding enthusiastic before the first take saying, "Oh yeah." I also love the way it ends with (possibly) D.J. Fontana saying, "All right!" and a satisfied laugh from Elvis quickly faded out. Getting this final track finished so quickly meant that everyone got a holiday on the third planned recording day.
Being a Friday, Elvis could then take his new customized Greyhound bus to Las Vegas for the weekend. In the end it's so sad that songs like 'Smorgasbord' and 'Never Say Yes', that actually have a funky music backing are ruined by such mundane lyrics! Of the original “Bonus Songs”, the first two are in very similar audio quality to the versions of the '60s Box set.
For some reason the drum intro of 'Down In The Alley' was cut short on the ‘60s box set but here it is restored. The original LP short edit of 'I'll Remember You' however is a lovely upgraded audio mix and very different from the unedited longer version on the box-set. The trick for Ernst was to select a listenable “best of” selection of all the outtakes and I reckon FTD has done a very good job.
The earlier takes of most songs are a treat. 'All That I Am', without the syrupy strings overdub on the master, is a gem here, and the audio quality is great. While 'Beach Shack' was admittedly a terrible song, if you have never heard the outtakes then you are also in for a treat.
Looking closer at the outtakes ..
'Stop, Look And Listen' - Elvis tries hard to inject excitement into this song, which gives a taste of the enthusiasm with which he approached this session. You also get a nice feel of eavesdropping on the recordings. Take 1 is very raw while Take 2 falters with Elvis singing, "Whoa, whoops real still! Hold it!" The phone rings in the control room giving a feeling of controlled chaos. The previously released Take 3 on Collector's Gold was very muffled and echoey in comparison and is much clearer here. By Take 6, the "Hey, hey, hey" backing vocals had been added making it a fuller mix.
'Am I Ready' - Take 1 is very cute, with a delightful mix of piano and Tommy Tedesco on mandolin. The Jordanaires' backing vocals are too complicated here and very different from on the final master. This take was previously released on Collector's Gold but the audio is fabulously improved here and the false echo removed. Take 3 starts with Elvis trying out one line of 'Cotton Fields', causing him not to be ready and to break up laughing.
'Never Say Yes' - Day two of the recordings session started with this Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman (‘Little Sister’ etc.) song and you can hear Elvis' laughter and good humour. Elvis knows it's not going to work saying, "Give me the cue to come in on this man". A provisional title of the film was Never Say Yes and unfortunately this is another song with a great (Bo Diddley) rhythm but again let down by the lyrics ("Always keep the girlies guessing"!?!?) Take 1 falls apart delightfully with Elvis laughing, "I just run out the door." These first takes felt very out of context when they were featured on Today, Tomorrow And Forever. Here they sound fine and there's a nice touch of Elvis saying, "One more start and can I hear the group on these damn earphones?"
'All That I Am' - The earlier takes have a nice informal feel.Elvis stops halfway through Take 1 saying "I think we've picked up the tempo up a little too much." Nice guitar work from Tommy Tedesco really shines on this new mix. Take 4 has an over complicated piano arrangement and on headphones you might notice some old analogue tape audio drops outs on the right channel. These dropouts on The Jordanaires’ track are noticeable on the previous Out In Hollywood release but because of the better audio quality here unfortunately become much more obvious. The master ended up with syrupy overdubbed strings but these undubbed versions are a real treat.
'Spinout' - Elvis sounds enthusiastic before Take 1 but it immediately falls apart. Take 2 was again featured on Out In Hollywood but had added echo. This version sounds much cleaner with the real feel of the band in the studio. (Radio Recorders had a very “flat sound”, hence the reason why RCA added echo afterwards.)
'Adam And Evil' - We get three of the nineteen outtakes here, which is plenty! There is some great studio interaction with the engineer shouting "Close the doors please" and Elvis moaning like a dog! The roughness of Take 1 is interesting but falls apart after a minute. A bonus here is the between-take banter in the studio where Elvis sings lines from 'When the Swallows Come Back From Capistrano' (1960 home recording on In A Private Moment). After Take 16 he also sings the recent Statler Brothers hit 'Flowers On The Wall'. Take 16 was previously on Out In Hollywood, however again with added echo and Elvis' chatter was also edited. Showing amazing resolve for such a lightweight track, Elvis keeps on trying. After Take 14 falters Elvis comments, "Mental block city! That's the worst note I've heard in my natural life" yet he's still laughing! Very few Elvis songs went past twenty takes! ('Do Not Disturb' had thirty-six!)
'Smorgasbord' - It is amazing to realise that this was the first song recorded for the film! Sadly this is another track with a funky sixties’ beat and cool Boots Randolph sax solo but ruined by dreadful lyrics. Sid Tepper and Roy Bennett wrote forty-three songs for Elvis movies and while their music was often fine their lyrics were frequently appalling! In fact, Take 1 has a decidedly cool groove especially the sax playout. Elvis was also wishing for better times - at the end of Take 5 he kicks off with a line of 'I Got A Woman'.
'Beach Shack' - A terrible song but saved by the delight of Elvis' good humour making these outtakes a real treat. Even before the start you can hear Elvis' mischievous laugh, he knows what's coming and he’s going to change the lyrics! Singing, "What you think I am?" the backing singers of course reply, "Dumb, de dumb de dumb"! Everyone breaks up in laughter and you know that Elvis won't manage the next few takes without cracking up. As Elvis says, "It's gotta be the silly hour!" Really fun stuff. The master is Take 4 but even then you can hear that Elvis only just makes it.
Overall Verdict
Spinout, while neither the worst Elvis film nor soundtrack, was another mid sixties’ cheapie. The saving grace of this extended soundtrack album is the enthusiasm of the band, Elvis' great humour, and the audio improvement on the outtakes. Luckily the LP masters also have improved sound and the packaging is well put together. The original LP also had the treat of the exceptional “Bonus Songs”, showing a glimpse of hope at the time.
I have been playing Spinout all week and the fluffy fun seems to be catching, since I have really begun to enjoy it far more than I ever used to.
If Spinout is one of your favourites then this soundtrack won't let you down.
