Top 05 Get Happy Songs

Pretty self-explanatory
Bob And Charlotte
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Top 05 Get Happy Songs

Post by Bob And Charlotte »

01. King Horse
02. Riot Act
03. Men Called Uncle
04. Human Touch
05. 5ive Gears In Reverse


ps.: i am obviously talkin´bout the alternative takes of those songs (as we all know( :D ), the originals are very lame)...




but be free to select any you prefer...
wehitandrun
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Post by wehitandrun »

IMO, the demos of those particular songs cannot compare to the cd versions. ESPECIALLY King Horse, Riot Act, and Men Called Uncle.

001. Love For Tender
002. King Horse
003. Black And White World
004. Motel Matches
005. Possession
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Branst
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Post by Branst »

1. King Horse
2. Men Called Uncle
3. Beaten To The Punch
4. High Fidelity
5. Motel Matches
laughingcrow
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Post by laughingcrow »

Just for the listing hell of it, here's mine pop-pickers...

1 Secondary Modern
2 Riot Act
3 King Horse
4 Opportunity
5 New Amsterdam
Last edited by laughingcrow on Thu Jun 24, 2004 7:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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King Hoarse
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Post by King Hoarse »

Really difficult! I love every second of that album except Beaten To The Punch, which I like a lot.

1. Riot Act
2. Men Called Uncle
3. I Stand Accused
4. King Horse
5. Motel Matches
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Post by Watching_Detectives »

1. Possession
2. Temptation
3. Riot Act
4. Black and White World
5. Human Touch
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daybreaker
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Post by daybreaker »

1. King Horse
2. Love for Tender
3. Opportunity
4. New Amsterdam
5. Riot Act
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Post by Copenhagen Fan »

1. High Fidelity
2. B Movie
3. Opportunity
4. 5 Gears in Reverse
5. King Horse - Riot Act
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BlueChair
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Re: Top 05 Get Happy Songs

Post by BlueChair »

Bob And Charlotte wrote: ps.: i am obviously talkin´bout the alternative takes of those songs (as we all know( :D ), the originals are very lame)...
You are speaking rather boldly. The originals are actually quite excellent, and among the best songs Elvis has recorded. I suppose you also think 1960s soul is 'very lame'

1. Clowntime Is Over
2. High Fidelity
3. Opportunity
4. Riot Act
5. New Amsterdam
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sabreman
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Post by sabreman »

This is a tough one because I love every song on the album. Get Happy!!Get Tempted!! Get Possessed!! ....

1. Possession
2. Opportunity
3. Temptation

4. New Amsterdam
5. Men Called Uncle
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Re: Top 05 Get Happy Songs

Post by wehitandrun »

BlueChair wrote: You are speaking rather boldly. The originals are actually quite excellent, and among the best songs Elvis has recorded. I suppose you also think 1960s soul is 'very lame'
That is also a very bold statement. 1960s soul isn't exactly like this. That's like saying The Specials album is like "Human Touch". Elvis's vocals are strained and nothing special- which is what originally turned me off about the album. This album is played more like early 90s Long Island Hardcore than 60s soul.
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BlueChair
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Post by BlueChair »

Dude, do your homework. Elvis admitted that he listened to nothing but Stax and Motown singles in preparation for Get Happy!! He even cops a few lines and riffs from 60's soul songs in his own compositions on the album. "Some things you never get used to.." is from a Supremes song, the opening to "Temptation" is very reminiscent of "Time Is Tight" by Booker T. & The MG's.

So... while yes, disliking an album is not the same as disliking an entire genre, I think most people who dislike Get Happy!! dislike it because it presents Elvis as a soul man. As for the vocals, it never occured to me that they were any worse than any of his other albums.
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Bob And Charlotte
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Post by Bob And Charlotte »

Let´s all that a deep breath boys... 8)


> I suppose you also think 1960s soul is 'very lame'

You supposed wrong.

> Elvis's vocals are strained and nothing special

Totally agree.

I do know that Get Happy!! is fill with amazing little songs, but to be honest, some performances leave me cold!
Costello seems sometimes a bit stealthy, covert...
sabreman
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Post by sabreman »

I remember getting this album weeks before it was released in the States. A great record shop in Rockville, MD named 'Yesterday and Today Records' had weekly shipments from England of the latest releases. I remember listening to Get Happy!! and being totally blown away. It was so different then anything else at the time and since. Each two minute wonder after another. Track listing on back of the album cover different then what was on record label. Recorded on the run in Holland. The sound was compressed but that made it better. It has soul, country and ska influences as noted. I guess I can see some people not getting it especially hearing it for the first time in 2004 but to me it doesn't get any better.
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Post by laughingcrow »

I can't think of one song on that record where his voice sounds 'strained'...otherwise Im sure they wouldn't have made the final cut. A lot of the songs are more upbeat, but I don't think his voice would strain to any of them...no songs are really 'physically demanding' like say Trust or North.
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King Hoarse
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Post by King Hoarse »

IMHO, there are definitely worse cases of strain than on Get Happy!! (For example, I wish he'd played the otherwise fantastic Little Palaces in a lower key. And I think even Elvis would agree on that when it comes to the MLAR versions of All Grown Up and Sweet Pear.)

Sometimes on Get Happy!! he sounds exceptionally drunk, though. One fine example of this is High Fidelity, and if you've had the pleasure of seeing the hilarious video clip for that one you'll know he doesn't try to hide it either. I think that manic vocal sound adds to the drama of the lyrics, and is one of the things I like best about the album. Especially since, as noted, the sound is really compressed, and a lot of the Attractions' playing is understated rather than the assault these songs were when debuted live before the record. The controlled backing behind the sometimes out of control vocals creates a feeling of being just on the verge of breakdown that is unique for this album.

(And it makes me want to dance, which is rare, to say the least.)
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Post by wehitandrun »

BlueChair wrote:Dude, do your homework. Elvis admitted that he listened to nothing but Stax and Motown singles in preparation for Get Happy!! He even cops a few lines and riffs from 60's soul songs in his own compositions on the album. "Some things you never get used to.." is from a Supremes song, the opening to "Temptation" is very reminiscent of "Time Is Tight" by Booker T. & The MG's. .

Yeah, he says that.

Yeah, he quotes it.

But, LISTEN to it. Stop reading about it. Gather your own opinion. What he says doesn't prove anything. I could say that "Fragment For Thought" sounds like "Charm School"- but only I see that.
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sabreman
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Post by sabreman »

Also some great lead bass work from BT.
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Post by wehitandrun »

laughingcrow wrote:I can't think of one song on that record where his voice sounds 'strained'...otherwise Im sure they wouldn't have made the final cut. A lot of the songs are more upbeat, but I don't think his voice would strain to any of them...no songs are really 'physically demanding' like say Trust or North.
His voice is very much strained on:
"High Fidelity" (as mentioned, he was very drunk)
"Beaten To The Punch"
"5ive Gears In Reverse"
"Black And White World"
"Human Touch"
"Temptation"
"I Stand Accused"
"Riot Act"

... okay, enough, the whole album.

I listen to these songs at ungodly volumes. His vocal style at the time almost called for strain, and that doesn't help (and doesn't change the fact that it is strained- intentional strain is still strain).

Trust and Almost Blue really show what he's capable of. Here he is just belting.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm saying it's what he's doing. I still love the album.
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Post by wehitandrun »

sabreman wrote:Also some great lead bass work from BT.

Definitly. Bruce Thomas is unbelievable on that album.
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Post by sabreman »

One of EC's most restrained vocals (can actually hear him breathing through his nose) is on Watch Your Step which also happens to be one of my all time favorites. I remember he did a great version of it on the Tomorrow Show or Letterman Show (in black and white). Does anyone have that? Would love to see it again.
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noiseradio
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Post by noiseradio »

I think on this album, EC is belting in a good way. Intentional strain or vocal affectation--whatever anyone wants to call it--is part of the charm of the record for me.

When Otis Redding is belting away at the end of Try a Little Tenderness..."Nah NAh NAH NAH NAH NAH Try a littuh TENDuhNEH!" or when the Tempataions sing "Can't Get Next to You and that one guy sings "And I can make a ship sail HEGH on dry land..." Those squawks and squeeks are part of the tangible emotion of the songs. It's what makes those performances so great, IMHO. It's as if the vocalists were trying to evoke John COltrane's horn squawks--which affect me in the same way.

I think EC was trying to do a soul record as penance for the Ray Charles comments and because he loves the music so much. Some of these songs I would probably like better if the more Armed Forces-like demos had been persued. But that's only those songs as stand-alone works. For example, I really prefer the way the lyrics are sung in Clean Money to the way they are sung in Love For Tender (most of the lyrics of the two songs are the same).

BUT

I think GH as an album is MUCH better for the soul touches. Had the original demos become the final product, I think we'd think of it as Armed Forces Redux, and it wouldn'tlikely be on so many people's top 5 lists.

It's on mine, and it wouldn't be without all the vocals. All that said, I think WHAR has a point about the vocals sounding different on GH than they do on the records right before and after it. (Exception: New Amsterdam, which could have easily fit on AF or Trust). I know when Oliver's Army performs songs from GH, my voice takes more of a beating copying his sound. Especially on High Fidelity and Can't Stand Up... Again though, I LIKE the difference in the vocals, and it's all Elvis either way.
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laughingcrow
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Post by laughingcrow »

His vocal style at the time almost called for strain, and that doesn't help (and doesn't change the fact that it is strained- intentional strain is still strain).
Okay I see what you're saying...but I think that his vocal delivery there is not strained per se, just that it sounds that way cos that was his singing style for those songs at that time.
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Post by Copenhagen Fan »

Bob And Charlotte wrote: > Elvis's vocals are strained and nothing special

Costello seems sometimes a bit stealthy, covert...
I think that is due to the on purpose "murky production" where EC tries to get a Stax sound going :wink:

I don't consider Get Happy to have much to with soul music, he borrows here and there as always............inspired by soul yes.

Get Happy is in my top 3 EC albums.........20 GREAT SONGS.
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Post by Copenhagen Fan »

yaaaaaaaa the strain is cool! Kinda like when WHAR strains to squeeze out a giant turd!
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