A Filmography Fit for a King, Chronicled on New Elvis Box Set

If a Legacy Edition of Elvis’ Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis wasn’t enough excitement from the King, try this one on for size: Sony’s U.K. arm is releasing a 20-disc box set collecting Elvis Presley’s soundtrack albums.

From the beginning of his career, Elvis Aaron Presley had an eye on Hollywood. He enjoyed acting, despite having no formal training in it, and had a screen test for Paramount Pictures just days after his first long-player for RCA Victor was released. Producer Hal Wallis (Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon) offered him a contract with Paramount, though he was allowed to work with other studios; it was in fact for 20th Century-Fox that he landed his first role. Originally titled The Reno Brothers, it was renamed for a song Elvis would perform in the film; that song, “Love Me Tender,” was a gigantic hit, and Presley was on his way to Hollywood stardom.

A run of relatively dramatic performances (Loving You, Jailhouse Rock (both 1957) and King Creole (1958)) was halted by Elvis’ stint in the U.S. Army; when he came back, he was back to work in pictures, but all was not well. Elvis loathed the low-budget films, with their by-the-numbers plotting. And the songs he was often given to record were among the worst in his discography, despite a few classics like “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (from 1961’s Blue Hawaii), “Return to Sender” (from Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)) and the title track to 1964’s Viva Las Vegas.

As Elvis remained stuck on soundstages, American audiences turned to other pop stars to look up to; the all-time low occurred when his final soundtrack album, Speedway (1968), posted a sales tally of under six figures. Elvis would complete five more films afterward, none of which had a soundtrack album. But fortunately for the King, he was able to reclaim his crown at the end of 1968 with a landmark comeback television special on NBC.

Most of the 20 discs in this box set are familiar to fans – and nothing on here is unreleased – but there are a few notable rarities and oddities herein:

• While the American Jailhouse Rock soundtrack was simply an EP’s length of songs, the album presented here is in fact an LP that was pressed only in South Africa, featuring other album cuts.
• The set’s fifth disc features selections from the films Follow That Dream, Kid Galahad and Flaming Star, all of which were released as soundtrack EPs. This reordered disc features only the relevant tracks from those films, in turn dropping half the Flaming Star EP (which consisted of non-movie hits “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and “It’s Now or Never”) and in turn adding two tracks from Follow That Dream that never ended up on the original LP. (One was released on 1965’s Elvis for Everyone, the other was not released until a 1991 rarities compilation.)
• Viva Las Vegas is presented as the 2010 album-length CD reissue released with several other soundtrack reissues for what would have been The King’s 75th birthday.

Elvis: The Movie Soundtracks is available now in the U.K., with a U.S. import date of January 14. Hit the jump to get your copy and check out the full repertoire!

Only the Strong Survive: Ace Reissues, Remasters Vintage Southern Soul from Ace, Fame

The mighty Stax Records catalogue got a lot of much-deserved respect in 2013, from a new book exploring the label’s history (Robert Gordon’s Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion) to a variety of catalogue projects, many from the venerable Ace Records label.  Ace has recently followed up its reissues of classic albums by The Staple Singers, David Porter and Bettye Crutcher with further Stax discoveries from Darrell Banks and The Newcomers.   And not to be outdone, Ace has also mined the legacy of another southern soul hotbed, Muscle Shoals’ Fame Studios, with a new volume of singles from Clarence Carter.

The entire recording career of Darrell Banks can be summed up by seven singles and two LPs.  Yet, between the July 1966 release of “Open the Door to Your Heart” and his tragic death by gunfire in February 1970, Banks made a name in the world of soul and R&B.    The Ohio-born and Buffalo, New York-raised singer was reared, like so many other great artists, in the church, bringing intensity and passion to his vocals.  His debut single of Donnie Elbert’s “Open the Door to Your Heart,” on the small Revilot label, peaked at No. 2 R&B and No. 27 Pop on the Billboard Hot 100, setting the stage for expected future triumphs.  Proving that he was no fluke, his second single “Somebody (Somewhere) Needs You” went Top 40 R&B and No. 56 Pop.  He was soon signed to Atco Records where he released more singles as well as one full-length album.  But by the end of 1968, following a final single for Atco parent Atlantic’s new Cotillion label, Banks was left without a label.

The newly-independent Stax Records had recently severed its ties with Atlantic – and lost its back catalogue to the giant – when it signed Darrell Banks to its Volt imprint.  Just one album and two singles (four sides) were released by Banks on Volt, and all of those tracks are included on I’m the One Who Loves You: The Volt Recordings.  The Ace/Kent release sweetens the pot by adding four previously unissued demos recorded during Banks’ stay at the label.  Banks was still collecting material to record at the time of his death at the hands of an off-duty police officer involved in an affair with Banks’ girlfriend.  Banks recorded a handful of songs at Volt that are not included on this compilation; alas, most are missing.  This makes The Volt Recordings the most complete account of his tenure at the label we’re likely to see.  There’s plenty of treasure among these 19 cuts, including versions of songs by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Jerry Butler (“Only the Strong Survive”), Don Davis (“Forgive Me,” “Never Alone,” “No One Blinder (Than a Man Who Won’t See)”) and the team of Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson and Bettye Crutcher (“We’ll Get Over” and “Just Because Your Love is Gone,” the latter with Davis).  Banks even gives Percy Sledge a run for his money with “When a Man Loves a Woman.”  The liner notes by producer Tony Rounce include a full Volt sessionography for Banks.  Nick Robbins has remastered.

Banks’ Volt labelmates The Newcomers are the focus of another new Ace release.  Hit the jump for more on them – plus Clarence Carter!