Elvis Presley - Any Day Now From - First Take to the Master (and beyond)

Описание: In order to find some of the very best of Elvis' studio recordings it is necessary to delve deeper into his back catalogue and not just assume that the hits that are familiar to all are in fact Elvis at his finest and this is unfortunately the impression that the general public are left with mainly due to the constant repackaging of the same tracks in different combinations on successive releases in tandem with many radio stations choosing the odd one or two as selections on their playlists. As most fans are aware it is not difficult to find some of these lesser known tracks which show Elvis at his finest.

One of the easiest to find is "Any Day Now" the only composition by legendary composer Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Bob Hilliard, to be recorded by Elvis and it's ease of access to the general public is it's location on one of his most famous and critically acclaimed albums "From Elvis In Memphis". The quality of the recording comes as no surprise considering that it was recorded during his legendary 1969 sessions at American Sound in Memphis during January and February of that year and was one of the final songs recorded at those recording sessions.

The song really does showcase what a wonderful singer Elvis Presley really was considering that it has a very awkward wide ranging melody which makes it difficult even for the best of singers but Elvis makes it seem so simple. The bridge of the song creates an illusion in drop of tempo but it is an illusion created by the bare instrumentation which is typical of the unusual arrangement of the song. There are strange sonorities by the orchestra consisting of a couple of solos firstly by an oboe then violin before the deep and solid brass sound can be heard all of which adds to a wonderful performance by Elvis which has more than a hint of soul about it although today it is probably the undubbed master which has the more contemporary sound.

The recording process of the song required two days in order to achieve the master take with take six, the final take, originally chosen as the master but Elvis added vocal repairs to a couple of separate portions of the song specifically from the beginning to the bridge and then again from the first "Any day Now...don't fly way my beautiful bird" to the song's end. String and brass overdubs were then added on the afternoon and evening of 18 March respectively before the final RCA master was achieved after backing vocal overdubs were added on a date uncertain although likely the evening of 25 March.

After completing his June '72 tour which incorporated the Madison Square Garden shows Elvis took a month off before preparations began for his 1972 Summer Festival, his seventh Vegas season. Apart from the odd exception most rehearsals only took place before the commencement of a Las Vegas engagement and August 1972 was no different. Amongst those rehearsed was "Any Day Now" and it received a full blown stage rehearsal and this can be heard at the end of the video. It is evident that the song was given full and serious consideration about being added to the setlist as it has a full orchestral arrangement and Elvis gives this rehearsal a fully committed performance.

Whether it was dropped completely or added to the setlist and then ignored by Elvis is best left to the imagination since only eighteen of the sixty three shows from this season have a recording in the public domain and it is possible albeit unlikely that Elvis actually performed the song on stage. If it had been performed then there would surely at least be some persistent rumours if nothing else!!

As with all of these videos, to get the most out of the audio, I highly recommend you use ear /headphones and turn the volume up as much as you dare!