“ Cadillac Elvis ” TCB Records 1-8-35 was released
in 1979 and produced in the USA, though on the bottom of the back cover the date
is given as 1977. The front cover
features a color photo of Elvis circa 1970 in his Houston Astrodome press
conference outfit, what a smile!! Numerous
small black and white photos of Elvis dating from the 50’s up through the
70’s are placed in boxes alternating with pink/blue/yellow boxes which feature
the Cadillac automobile emblem…hence the title of this LP.
The title of the LP is at the top of the cover in large pink and blue
text with a white background. The back
cover features more photos in black and white with the LP tracks listed in white
text over a portion of the photographs and the LP title and a thank you to Elvis
for the music in black text.
Some of the tracks have added echo added, for what
purpose I do not know. The sound
quality is decent, though there is noticeable surface noise on all of the tracks.
The LP is pressed on mainly pink ( with a splash of blue ) vinyl and has
a pink label with black text and graphics. There
may be other vinyl color variations.
Side 1 starts off with a sexy female voice saying “
Cadillac Elvis ”. A portion of Elvis’
dialogue from the “ Perfect for Parties ” EP is used as an introduction
followed by the live version of “ Polk Salad Annie ” from the film “
That’s The Way It Is ”. Sammy
Davis Jr. dialogue is followed by a long montage of different radio spots and
advertisements with some weird effects tying them all together; some of the
spots are in foreign languages. Two
recognizable voices here are those of Wolfman Jack and Dick Clark.
“ Heartbreak Hotel ” is taken from TTWII, not Feb 16, 1972 as it is
credited to on the back cover. “ Rags
to Riches ” is the studio version that at the time of the release of this LP
was only available on 45 RPM single I think. A
brief comment by Ann Margret and a radio spot for the film “ Viva Las Vegas
” precede the duet version of “ The Lady Loves Me ”, which is overlaid
with a few parts of dialogue by Ann that only distract from the song…why
couldn’t these have simply played separately?
“ That’s All Right Mama ” is taken from the ’68 Comeback Special
preceded by the introductions of Scotty and DJ. A
brief snippet of an interview in regards to Elvis’ involvement in fist fights
precedes “ Blue Suede Shoes ” from TTWII, again incorrectly dated this time
as Aug. 4, 1972. The final musical
selection is “ All Shook Up ” again from TTWII and again incorrectly dated
the same as the previous track. To close
out the LP we have a portion of the interview with Peter Noon of Herman’s
Hermits done in Hawaii in the mid/late 60’s.
Side 2 starts off with part of an Elvis interview in
which Elvis discusses his beginning with Col Parker, which
goes to a rather lengthy, and most likely surreptitiously recorded, phone
interview by Canadian DJ Red Robinson with Colonel Parker.
In response to the question about Elvis touring the world, the Col
remarks that his back has been bad so her isn’t able to set up something like
that. LAME EXCUSE!! “
Shake A Hand ” was recorded in Ashville NC, dated as July 22, 1975 but this
probably from July 24. Dialogue by Pat
Boone is followed by a medley of “ Young and Beautiful ”, “ Happy Birthday
” ( sung to a member of the audience ), and the Mickey Mouse club theme dated
as May 30, 1976 in Odessa TX. “ I Want
You, I Need You, I Love You ” and “ Hound Dog ” from the Steve Allen Show
are preceded by comments from Steve Allen regarding the effort to tame Elvis
down by having him dress in tux and tails and sing to a Bassett Hound.
An interview with Fats Domino leads into Elvis’ 1957 studio version of
“ Blueberry Hill ” which is very poorly overdubbed with echo and crowd
noise. Next we have an interview with
Murry the K, the New York DJ who supported the Beatles when they came across the
pond in 1964, discussing Elvis’ early Sun records.
This is an interesting listen. This
leads into the final musical selection “ Lawdy Miss Clawdy ”, again
incorrectly dated this time as March 5, 1974, it is actually the version from
the film “ Elvis On Tour ”. Elvis’ closing dialogue from the “ Perfect for Parties ” EP
closes out this LP.
Ernie Boyes Jr.