Harum Scarum (album)

Harum Scarum
Soundtrack album by Elvis Presley
Released November 3, 1965
Recorded February 1965
Genre Soundtrack
Length 24:14
Label RCA Victor
Producer Gene Nelson
Fred Karger
Elvis Presley chronology
Elvis for Everyone
(1965)		 Harum Scarum
(1965)		 Frankie and Johnny
(1966)

Harum Scarum is the twenty-fourth album by Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3468, in November 1965. Recording sessions took place at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 24, 25, and 26, 1965. It peaked at #8 on the Top Pop Albums chart.

Contents

Content

Although 1965 had seen the release of a studio album in Elvis for Everyone, it was back to the grind of making soundtracks. Elvis continued to grumble about the material and the continued pressure put on the stable of songwriters corraled by Freddy Bienstock — the writing team of Giant, Baum, and Kaye alone had provided 17 of 47 songs on the past four soundtracks in an eighteen-month period — but he soldiered on with as much grace as possible.[1] In reality, almost any song could have been squeezed into the story lines, including old classics. But as long as sales continued, the formula required guaranteed control of publishing and new songs by the same songwriters.[2] However, Presley's sales were plunging in music stores as well as ticket sales at the box office.

Eleven songs were recorded for Harum Scarum, and all were used and issued on the soundtrack. As with Roustabout, no singles were issued in conjunction with the album. A single was issued a month later, using the leftover 1957 track "Tell Me Why" backed with "Blue River" from the aborted May 1963 sessions. In an onimous sign of things to come, it only made it to #33 on the Billboard Hot 100, the lowest charting single of Presley's career to date.[3]

Personnel

Track listing

Side one

Track Recorded Song Title Writer(s) Time
1. 2/26/65 Harem Holiday Peter Andreoli and Vince Poncia 2:18
2. 2/25/65 My Desert Serenade Stanley J. Gelber 1:47
3. 2/26/65 Go East-Young Man Bernie Baum, Bill Giant, Florence Kaye 2:16
4. 2/26/65 Mirage Joy Byers 2:25
5. 2/25/65 Kismet Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett 2:08
6. 2/24/65 Shake That Tambourine Bernie Baum, Bill Giant, Florence Kaye 2:02

Side two

Track Recorded Song Title Writer(s) Time
1. 2/25/65 Hey Little Girl Bernie Baum, Bill Giant, Florence Kaye 2:15
2. 2/26/65 Golden Coins Bernie Baum, Bill Giant, Florence Kaye 1:54
3. 2/25/65 So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) Joy Byers 3:01
4. 2/26/65 Animal Instinct Bernie Baum, Bill Giant, Florence Kaye 2:13
5. 2/25/65 Wisdom of the Ages Bernie Baum, Bill Giant, Florence Kaye 1:55

Bonus tracks

Elvis recorded "Wisdom of the Ages" on February 24, 1965 at RCA studios.[4] It featured as a bonus track on the soundtrack album, along with "Animal Instinct", but did not feature in the film itself.[5][6] The Jordanaires sang backing vocals.[7] The film and its soundtrack are widely considered one of the lowest points of Presley's career.[8] The song progresses from F major to B flat major, to D minor to E flat major to F major.

References

  1. ^ Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; p. 201.
  2. ^ Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; p. 198.
  3. ^ Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; p. 417.
  4. ^ Worth, Fred L.; Tamerius, Steve D. (23 March 1992). Elvis: his life from A to Z. Wings Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=scwXAQAAMAAJ. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
  5. ^ McLafferty, Gerry (1989). Elvis Presley in Hollywood: celluloid sell-out. Hale. http://books.google.com/books?id=530dAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
  6. ^ Matthew-Walker, Robert (1995). Heartbreak hotel: the life and music of Elvis Presley. Castle Communications. ISBN 9781860740558. http://books.google.com/books?id=ungIAQAAMAAJ. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
  7. ^ American Film Institute; Munden, Kenneth White (1971). The American Film Institute catalog of motion pictures produced in the United States. University of California Press. p. 457. ISBN 9780520209701. http://books.google.com/books?id=s1k1RsGvFwwC&pg=PA457. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
  8. ^ Cotten, Lee (21 July 1987). The Elvis catalog: memorabilia, icons, and collectibles celebrating the king of rock 'n' roll. Doubleday. p. 120. ISBN 9780385237055. http://books.google.com/books?id=b_s5AQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 

External links