Suspicious Minds

This evening I find myself listening to Elvis Presley. Yeah, I'm a huge Elvis fan. Or I was. No, I am. Well...

Let's listen to a song, OK? It's really good...



That's as fine a pop/rock performance as you're ever likely to hear. I mean, everything is perfect. In particular, Elvis' interpretation of the song leaves no doubt: it's a sad, even tragic, song. The uptempo (yet subdued--it's not a rock tune) performance of the band makes a nice contrast to the lyrics and Elvis' voice. I think this is one of the greatest pop tunes ever recorded.

Now watch and listen to this video, a live performance of the same song:



Probably a lot of Elvis fans will watch this and think it's a great performance. They are wrong. It's an abomination. It's difficult even to begin to list everything wrong with this, but...

Elvis smiles throughout the performance. Check that. He's not "performing." He's mailing it in. Or, yeah, he's performing, but he's not "singing." Take your pick. From Frank Sinatra to Mick Jagger, I've never seen a singer crack a smile during the performance of a tragic song. He's visibly mailing it in. There is no greater crime in the performing arts. He is sneering at the audience.

He also, early in the clip, makes a joke with the lyric. What, is he a comedian? It's not even funny...

Then there's the music. I mentioned the uptempo of the studio version. This is almost breakneck speed for this song. Now, as a drummer, I know that singers will sometimes get me to play a tune a bit faster onstage. The faster the tempo, the less time they have to hold notes. Good singers only do this when necessary (sore throat, cold, etc.). No problem. But Elvis sounds like he's in OK form in this clip. So what happens is, he ends up making a mockery of the song. And the speeding up/"jamming" at the end just seems stupid. Is it supposed to be "rock" (with 20 backup singers and an orchestra)? Please...

I watch this clip and I see a once great performer who now just doesn't give a shit. I see self-loathing. He hates himself; and he probably hates his audience beyond words. Frankly, I don't blame him. He was The King. His audience stole his crown...