The Greatest Thing

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:06 am

I'm not without definite reservations about marriage but this is a joyous thought provoking tune. Could have been a hit. It ranks pretty low on King Hoarse's poll though. What are your thoughts on the song?

The Greatest Thing

Everyone stopped when she walked into the room
Isn't this the greatest thing
Everyone own up but nobody could touch her
Isn't this the greatest thing
Punch the clock keep boxing clever
You'll be young enough for ever
Isn't this the greatest thing
Isn't this the greatest thing
I heard some new confection
Said we can't afford to feel affection
And it's the lastest thing
In and out of matrimony
Never once removed the Sony
'Cos it's a status thing
So girls like that above described
Are not to be so easily bribed
With a white frock and a ring
Punch the clock and in time you'll get pulled apart
If you're married on paper and not in your heart
But I won't be told that life with the one you love is sordid
Just because some authority says you can't afford it
Since nights were long and days were olden
Woman to man has been beholden
But since then times have been changing
She sends back his tribute of a rose
And says this ring is better suited for the nose
He's always fingering
I punch the clock and it's OK
I know a girl who takes my breath away
And it's the greatest
And it's the greatest thing

Jackson Monk · Post by **Jackson Monk** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:16 am

Greatv lyrics and a great tune. I remember hearing it first when EC&A appeared on a talk show and did it with 'Everyday..'. Stuck in my head straight away.

It's one of Mrs Doofster's favourites - as is the whole of PTC.

King Hoarse · Post by **King Hoarse** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 7:38 am

I think it's a pretty great tune too, but it was on the only mixed tape I'd left in my dad's car when I borrowed it for a week once and I got really tired of it. Probably the reason why it's so low on my ranking list. Would LOVE to hear it live someday.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:07 pm

Bruce Thomas and Horns. Like a duel.

Great song and one of the strongest hooks from Punch the Clock, an album that continued to leave the seminal "from MAIT straight through" Elvis fans still wanting for more of the older sound.

This song and the album that it represents is the best example, for me, of hearing the music entirely differently from the reissue than when I snatched the vinyl from the record bin the day of release and rushed home hoping to hear something that was a hybrid of TYM and IB. Neither at the time, thus disappointing.

Then the reisue, and I said "Ohhhhh?!??!?, I think I get it now..."

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 10:14 pm

Always loved it, as I do with most of PTC.

Love this:

Punch the clock and in time you'll get pulled apart
If you're married on paper and not in your heart

Like the mixture of that serious, almost sermonising message with the humour of:

And says this ring is better suited for the nose
He's always fingering

And 'girls like that above described' when songs have no 'above'.

And the simplcity of 'I know a girl who takes my breath away'.

And I've always liked LPs where the title wasn't a song title but part of one of the lyrics.

elvicos01 · Post by **elvicos01** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 10:35 am

I always enjoyed this album, and when this re-issue came out, I grabbed it quickly.

My guess is, The Greatest Thing, like most of the songs from PTC don't still have alot of meaning to Elvis; he hasn't performed most these songs in concert in quite awhile.

alexv · Post by **alexv** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 5:34 pm

I always loved the joyfulness of the tune, but I think this is one of the songs where Nick Lowe's criticism that EC is not a good editor really hits home. This may be sacrilege, but please indulge me. What if he had omitted the "But I won't be told..." verse in its entirety? It's jarring, comes out of nowhere, has some strained rhymes (olden/beholden?) , and muddles up a perfectly good love song. I like the "edited" version better. It's more straightforward then most EC songs of that era, and the directness of the lyrics I think works better with the sweet melody and tune:

Everyone stopped when she walked into the room
Isn't this the greatest thing
Everyone own up but nobody could touch her
Isn't this the greatest thing
Punch the clock keep boxing clever
You'll be young enough for ever
Isn't this the greatest thing
Isn't this the greatest thing

I heard some new confection
Said we can't afford to feel affection
And it's the lastest thing
In and out of matrimony
Never once removed the Sony
'Cos it's a status thing

So girls like that above described
Are not to be so easily bribed
With a white frock and a ring
Punch the clock and in time you'll get pulled apart
If you're married on paper and not in your heart

I punch the clock and it's OK
I know a girl who takes my breath away
And it's the greatest
And it's the greatest thing

Disclaimer: I am not a songwriter; I am not a songwriter; I....

SweetPear · Post by **SweetPear** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:01 am

I like this song a lot too. It sticks in my head for days every time I hear it.
I feel the same as Mr. Average......I was a bit bummed when I first heard PTC and didn't really get it either til I got the reissue.
A nice record with some of my fave EC songs on it.

Yeah, I like that too, when the record title isn't a song on the record but in a song on the record.

Dr. Luther · Post by **Dr. Luther** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:41 am

I always liked this song -- although it was played live, at the time, a bit too frenetically -- as was much of the stuff on the PTC soul-revue tour.

The demo version -- on the bonus disc -- though not identical in structure and melody, is quite lovely. It's a wonderful compliment to the PTC version, and the presence of both versions tends to make each seem even better than as stand alones, if that makes any sense...

(Not unlike the studio take and off-mike live version of CCIU #4. Both are enriched by the existence of the other...)

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 10:53 am

I'd pick out the same lines as Otis. It's one of my favourite songs on PTC.

I used to love it when he segued it with His Latest Flame. Another example of Elvis singing a song by the other Elvis.

normabuel · Post by **normabuel** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 12:33 pm

PTC is a very underrated album, in my opinion. And the Greatest Thing is a very good song. If you don't have PTC, pick it up; if you do have it but haven't heard it in awhile, give it another listen.

Alexv, it isn't sacrilege (at least to me) to criticize EC's lyrics. I think some of his songs could use some pruning (or other alterations) here or there. I notice that when he writes with someone else, his lyrics tend to be better focused --look at the songs he has written with Burt Bacharach or Paul McCartney.

PTC Story:

The PTC tour was the first time I ever saw EC live (and the only time I saw the Attractions). I saw them at Jones Beach Theatre (all of you New York area types know this a great place to see a show). I was sorely disappointed--the sound was muddled, the horns too loud.

The next time I saw EC was on a solo tour when T-Bone Burnett opened up for him (just before KOA I think). I was surprised how much better he was. I loved him -- he was so entertaining -- and he played the piano! And the sound was better even though he was playing in a college gym (Stony Brook).

In any event, it has been my opinion (confirmed over time) that EC sounds better when he plays solo, or with just Steve, than with an entire r-n-r band. (He sounded pretty good with an orchestra backing him up, but that's another story.)

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:41 pm

Wait till you hear him on this tour, then, as I assume you will. Sounds fabulous.

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 6:59 am

I agree with Otis. I would say EC and the Imposters playing surpasses the Attractions in their live heydays (of which there were many). They are incredibly tight. I never thought I'd say that.

normabuel · Post by **normabuel** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:55 am

I'll see them at the Beacon in NYC in April. I saw the Imposters there on the WIWC/Cruel Smile Tour. Although there were some incredible highspots (like EC's off mike version of Still Too Soon To Know and his cathartic version of I Want You), the louder songs sounded terrible. He played too loud for the hall.

The one time I heard him play with a full r-n-r band and that sounded good was when he played with the Imposers on The Today Show in NYC.

Anyway, the "worst" EC show is still a great show, and I am looking forward to it.

clairequilty · Post by **clairequilty** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 2:55 am

verbal gymnastics wrote:I agree with Otis. I would say EC and the Imposters playing surpasses the Attractions in their live heydays (of which there were many). They are incredibly tight. I never thought I'd say that.

Tight don't make right.

My pants are tight, and get tighter every year. But I'll take the Attractions any time.

elvicos01 · Post by **elvicos01** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 7:34 am

I'll see them at the Beacon in NYC in April. I saw the Imposters there on the WIWC/Cruel Smile Tour. Although there were some incredible highspots (like EC's off mike version of Still Too Soon To Know and his cathartic version of I Want You), the louder songs sounded terrible. He played too loud for the hall.

Normabuel, I believe that is a function of the Beacon Theatre. I been there for other shows, and the acoustics stink. That's why I am going to see him at the Borgata. The sound sucked during last years North show with the Brodsky's, so its not a function of the 'loudness' of the show.

normabuel · Post by **normabuel** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 9:52 am

Elviscos1, it could be the Beacon. He seems to like to play there, though, and there are plenty of venues in NYC for him to choose. And of course, there's the problem of getting good seats at the Beacon too (that's in another thread).

We can compare notes about the sound in April. Frankly, I'd be willing to do a research study into this phenonmenon, if anyone wants to provide funding.