Best track on "Promised land" LP 1975

[dreambear]

It´s been a while since the last poll. I´ve got a new job, so there´s been lots of work and lots of learning. “Promised land” was probably one of the 6 or 7 first albums that I owned as a child and I do remember listening to it a lot. And it´s still a great effort from Elvis. In my opinion, it´s just the “Elvis country” album that is better of his 70´s album. Some of you will probably rank “That´s the way it is” higher, and with a good reason. The voice from 1970 is almost unbeatable. But I like the mix of different tempos on “Promised land”. The hard rock of the title track, the waltz tempo in “There´s a honky tonk angel”, the steamy soul of “If you talk in your sleep”, the pop feeling of “Thinking about you” and the pure upbeat country of “You asked me to” and so on.

Let´s start from the beginning. The title track must be the best studio album opener since “Wearin´ that loved on look”. It smokes! It sounds like James had to stop his solo because of Elvis starts singing again. This is in my opinion Elvis´best rocker of the 70´s, even better than “Burning love”.

Normally, I´m not that fond of those many waltzy ballads, like “This is our dance” (terrible song), but this country ballad is fine. A fantastic vocal performance.

Elvis makes “Help me” better than it is by a very heartfelt performance. He must have liked this song very much (falling down on his knee while recording it). Even some later live versions is quite good.

“Mr Songman” isn´t top notch material (Lamar did ask “Who brought this piece of sh*t?” in the studio). And it´s probably the last song from this album that I would play to a non-Elvis fan. But Elvis performance is ok.

Side one ends with “Love song of the year” and I would like to repeat what I wrote about “Mr Songman”.

But “It´s midnight” is a haunting ballad. It also have some kind of wonderful production that only could have been done at Stax studios. One of Elvis best songs of the 70´s.

Next up is “You´re love´s been a long time coming”. Probably one of Elvis most unknown songs and seldom discussed. Again a fantastic vocal performance and the song ain´t that bad either. Underrated in my opinion.

Red West´s “If you talk in your sleep” is fun to play to non-Elvis fans. They hardy believe that it´s Elvis. More recordings in this style, could have given Elvis higher ratings in the general public of the 70´s and the song also fits good in the “Vegas style” with the heavy horn arrangement. The lyrics are very un-Elvis, but quite cool.

“Thinking about you” is a pop song with some positive lyrical vibes. Though the song isn´t that special, it´s easy to sing a long with. My wife (more of an Elton John-fan) likes this one.

The album ends on a remarkable way. This “out-law” country song is so good performed and the band cooks, especially Burton and Tutt. If it wasn´t for the classic title track, this song could have gotten my vote, but on an another day it also could have been “It´s midnight” or “If you talk in your sleep”. Of those ten tracks, eight are above average and a few are splendid. So sad that the album cover is one of the worst. There are photos from the same gig or from the Vegas ´74 season, that is so much better. I guess that some papers got their idea of “Fat and forty”, when they looked at this cover.

Have a nice weekend and…yes…Vote on

Kind regards
Björn

[DarrylMac]

I voted for Promised Land, one of the best rockers of the 70's, and recently discussed as Elvis' last truly great recording. Everything about the performance is infectious - he's clearly having so much fun, and the band are rocking as well.

There are other strong performances here - in fact, I don't think there's a weak vocal on the whole album, it's just the actual material that fluctuates. You Asked Me To is sublime, Honky Tonk Angel is always a favourite, and along with It's Midnight and If You Talk In Your Sleep, they make a very strong set of recordings. Help Me is ok, but somehow, I prefer the live version from Memphis, despite the screaming of some girl in the crowd.

As for the rest, they are all solid vocals, and I don't actively dislike any of them.

[Lennart]

Easy choice, Promised Land is one of my alltime favorite songs!
Got the single as a christmas present along withe the album Elvis Country back in 1974!
Talk about great christmas presents

I can´t say that I think it´s a great album because there are two REALLY weak songs.
Mr. Songman and Love song of the year is not my cup of tea, especially not Mr. Songman.
How that song could picked as a B-side to the great song T.R.O.U.B.L.E is beyond me.

Still there are other really good songs on this album as you have mentioned Dreambear but it
could have been so much better if RCA had released just ONE album from this session instead of two.
What a great album that never was!

Lennart

[Rob]

I either like, or can tolerate every song on the album. But there's none better than the title cut on the LP.

Was this released in '75 or the latter part of '74?

[keninlincs]

i got this on lp when it was released ,and like all the songs on it esp.the title track and thinkin about you

[Lennart]

Was this released in '75 or the latter part of '74?[/quote]
I think it was released in january 1975 for Elvis 40:th birthday!

Lennart

[rickeap]

The title track is a classic but many other good songs too - Honky Tonk Angel, If You Talk, Midnight, Thinkin' About You, Your Love's Been a Long Time.
I even have a soft spot for Love Song of the Year.
Two more uptempo songs and we would have had an absolute classic album

[dreambear]

Easy choice, Promised Land is one of my alltime favorite songs!
Got the single as a christmas present along withe the album Elvis Country back in 1974!
Talk about great christmas presents

I can´t say that I think it´s a great album because there are two REALLY weak songs.
Mr. Songman and Love song of the year is not my cup of tea, especially not Mr. Songman.
How that song could picked as a B-side to the great song T.R.O.U.B.L.E is beyond me.

Still there are other really good songs on this album as you have mentioned Dreambear but it
could have been so much better if RCA had released just ONE album from this session instead of two.
What a great album that never was!

Lennart

Why Mr. Songman was B-side? Perhaps Elvis wanted to do Donnie Sumner a little favour??? Only a guess.

Regards Björn

[londonflash]

Why Mr. Songman was B-side? Perhaps Elvis wanted to do Donnie Sumner a little favour??? Only a guess.

Regards Björn

Plausible.

My vote also went to Promised Land, although I was tempted to go for If You Talk In Your Sleep.

[Pete Dube]

I either like, or can tolerate every song on the album. But there's none better than the title cut on the LP.

Was this released in '75 or the latter part of '74?

Rob, the Promised Land single was released in October '74, the album January '75.

[bajo]

After having the single, I was looking forward to the album. It didn't let me down. I like all the songs on the album! Sure Promised Land is the standout performance on the album!

[jeanno]

In my opinion, 5th best album in the 70´s after "Elvis Country", "On Stage", "That´s the Way It is" and "He touched Me".
Should have been a single STAX album (instead of three) and, yes, PROMISED LAND is the masterpiece.

[dreambear]

I have a feeling that we already has a winner... It´s my favourite track too, but I thought that more people should vote on "It´s midnight" or perhaps "Help me".

Regards Björn

[sylvain]

Promised land

Colonel Parker's 100th Birthday in his birthplace Breda
Friday june 26, saturday june 27, Sunday june 28
Location: Parkzicht, P.Windhausenweg 1, Breda.
Country: Netherlands.
Exebition Colonel Parker (documents and pictures)record fair, live performances special guest SHAUN NIELSEN
For further information, contact http://elvismemoriesbelgium.homestead.com/

[Deleted User 1099]

Why would anyone vote for "Help Me"? It’s the poorest vocal performance on the album. The live version from Memphis is much better.

[Rob]

Because they like it?

Just a guess.

[JerryNodak]

I've gotta go with the title track. His version of "Honky Tonk Angel" outshines Conway Twitty's, and I like Conway's music alot.

[dreambear]

Why would anyone vote for "Help Me"? It’s the poorest vocal performance on the album. The live version from Memphis is much better.

Because the song has been mentioned before on this forum by members, mostly in a positive way (which is not the case with a song like "Mr Songman")..

Kind regards//Björn

[JerryNodak]

Taste in music as with many things in life is subjective. Personally, I like Help Me, and I prefer the studio version.

[Deleted User 1099]

This poll was created to nominate the BEST track on the LP, not people’s personal favorites. That disqualifies vocal dross such as "Help Me" or well-sung performances such as "Mr. Songman" and "Love Song of the Year".

The live version of "Help Me" is another matter entirely, although it cannot compare to "How Great Thou Art", which is the best track on the Memphis concert.

[dreambear]

This poll was created to nominate the BEST track on the LP, not people’s personal favorites. That disqualifies vocal dross such as "Help Me" or well-sung performances such as "Mr. Songman" and "Love Song of the Year".

The live version of "Help Me" is another matter entirely, although it cannot compare to "How Great Thou Art", which is the best track on the Memphis concert.

Well, my intention was to nominate the "best track by the different members opinion".

Kind regards//Björn

[ColinB]

This poll was created to nominate the BEST track on the LP, not people’s personal favorites.

How do you distinguish one from the other ?

The one you like best is your favourite, surely ?

[Deleted User 1099]

That is true, Colin, and it’s not easy. But let me put it this way: The August/September 1974 Vegas stand is one of my favorites, because I find it very interesting, and I find the following tour almost equally interesting. That does not mean this is the best Vegas season from a musical standpoint. Far from it. It’s the same with songs. You cannot let your personal taste get in the way of your objectivity as a reviewer. Many people make the mistake of confusing taste with best, or taste with quality. I love "Why Me, Lord?" from August 21, 1974 MS, but it’s not a great performance. It sucks musically, but I enjoy the humor of it.

[Deleted User 1099]

Nope, not in my part of the woods.

[Deleted User 1099]

I don’t offer my opinion. Instead, I offer a view that is as objective as possible. My personal favorite may not be the best track on the LP, and if that is the case, I don’t vote for it.