Elvis Presley: Spinout

ELVIS PRESLEY: SPINOUT (1966)

1) Stop, Look And Listen; 2) Adam And Evil; 3) All That I Am; 4) Never Say Yes; 5) Am I Ready; 6) Beach Shack; 7) Spinout; 8) Smorgasbord; 9) Iʼll Be Back; 10) Tomorrow Is A Long Time; 11) Down In The Alley; 12) Iʼll Remember You.

General verdict: A slightly outstanding soundtrack in that it at least briefly acknowledges the arrival of a new musical era with new musical values.

Oh wow, there are actual signs of life here! Do not get your hopes up too much — we are talking just a few relatively bright spots in a stable sea of hogwash, nothing close to a true «comeback»; but the objective facts are such that the soundtrack to Spinout is Elvisʼ first ever album to acknowledge, one way or the other, that the world of music did actually move on since the days of Frankie Avalon. Maybe we should thank George Stoll, who had earlier produced the Viva Las Vegas soundtrack as well, or maybe we should be grateful to the particularly odious Giant / Baum / Kaye songwriting team for only contributing one stupid corny tune this time around (the tropical sex anthem ʽBeach Shackʼ) — whatever the matter, Spinout is almost inarguably the strongest of all of Elvisʼ mid-to-late-Sixties soundtracks. This is not saying all that much, but it is definitely saying something.

The good news are announced with the very first track: ʽStop, Look And Listenʼ (written by the generally reliable Joy Byers) is a lighthearted, but sharp-sounding pop rocker, certainly more appropriate for a go-go girls performance on Shindig! than for the Monterey Festival, but played with genuine rockʼnʼroll verve and featuring what should qualify as an «experimental» guitar solo for Elvis — played by Tommy Tedesco, I believe, through a Leslie speaker or something. No, itʼs not amazing by any means, but hearing this kind of sound after half a dozen completely retrograde soundtracks is such a drink of cool, clear water that I am almost ready to forgive this album any of its upcoming sins in advance.

Fortunately, ʽStop, Look And Listenʼ is not just a fluke: throughout the album, one continuously encounters traces of decent contemporary production and convincing atmosphere. The Pomus-Shuman composition ʽNever Say Yesʼ is just a slice of standard Bo Diddley beat, but when it is delivered with crackling, fuzzy rhythm guitar at a head-spinning fast tempo, then even the Kingʼs ever-softening voice starts regaining certain powerful overtones, almost forgotten after hours and hours of consuming Queenie Wahineʼs papayas. The title track brings back the tastefully treated electric guitar of ʽStop, Look And Listenʼ, and although it is essentially a Tom Jones-style cabaret number, at least its somber swagginess finally sounds in step with the times. Finally, ʽIʼll Be Backʼ is a generic mid-tempo blues-rocker, graced with lively backing vocals, screechy guitars, and even a few shadows of Elvisʼold rockabilly voice, with those almost forgotten alternations of exuberant high and somber low that heʼd largely left behind in the Fifties.

While everything else on the soundtrack proper is largely forgettable (but usually not horrible), the main attention has always been tied to tracks tacked on at the end which had no relation to the movie at all — such as a quality cover of The Cloversʼ old hit ʽDown In The Alleyʼ, and, most importantly, a five-minute long (!) acoustic cover of Bob Dylanʼs old song ʽTomorrow Is A Long Timeʼ, which Dylan allegedly referred to as the one cover of a song of his that he "treasured the most" — of course, everything Bob ever said in his life always has to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but it is worth noting that he said this in 1969, the year of Nashville Skyline, and that his own soft and crooning vocal tone on that album, amusingly, was quite similar in mood and overtones to Elvisʼ voice on this soft and crooning cover. Besides, five minutes long! Five! The longest Elvis song up to that point was ʽOld Shepʼ, and even that one was just four. If that ainʼt sufficient homage to one of the greatest post-Elvis forces in music, I donʼt know what is.

I will not spoil the positive impression by discussing the flaws of particularly inferior songs on the album — just reiterate that they are not enough to spoil the overall fun, but also state that you can really only taste that fun in full if, like me, you have previously sat through Harum Scarum, Frankie And Johnny and Paradise Hawaiian Style in a row. Look, even that sleeve photo is an upgrade — for the first time in at least three or four years, there is a slightly vivacious glint in the manʼs eyes, as if there was something out there on the horizon that finally piqued his interest. Alas, time would show that this was all an accident, but it wouldnʼt be the only one — and, after all, you can only stay under the water so long before you have to come up for at least one or two quick gulps of fresh air. Spinout is one such gulp.