There's a really good sound stage live performance with just him and Nieve on keyboards doing "Shot With His Own Gun" in 1981. The simple arrangement and presentation very effectively underscore what a great song that is.
The last performances in this collection date to 1983, and you can see a huge difference from those early performances. The whole band is surer and more confident. Elvis's vocal performances, particularly for "Shipbuilding" and "Clowntime Is Over" are just fuller, better controlled performances than he was capable of five years earlier. Based on actually seeing him live in more recent years, he's even far better live now than he was in 1983.
He finishes with a Swedish tv show from 1983 with a couple of particularly interesting items. "Big Sister's Clothes" was a personal fave of mine that was just not properly served by the gimmicky production on Trust. This straightforward live performance showcases the song better. I'd take just an audio file of this performance over the common studio version.
Lastly, we get a solo performance of "Peace in Our Time." This is, of course, a basic pinko peace sentiment- but one from a top-drawer pop songwriter. This is not particularly his very best song, but it's still far better than the average in such things. Plus, it's very earnest and hot off the presses. It makes a good final color to end the whole collection.
He has never been up there with, say, Madonna as a video maker. He's had neither the budgets nor the inclination for the bazillion dollar mini-movies like the material girl or Michael Jackson have done. But he's working with some of the greatest songs of a generation, and that makes more difference than some fancy costumes. The body language and posture, his physical appearance and even hairstyle and general fashion sense over time add significantly to getting the big Elvis picture.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
was "Veronica" the only video make from Spike?
man, that record had some killer songs on it.
2 - Al Barger
"This Town" is the first song on Spike, and my big new discovery on this video collection.
The criminal thing is that "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was the only video for King of America- no "Little Palaces" for one thing.
3 - Lisa McKay
I got this a few days ago from Amazon and haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but you've sure whetted my appetite, Al! Nice job!