Spinout (soundtrack)

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AllMusic[1]

Spinout is the twenty-seventh album by Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3702, on October 31, 1966. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, on February 16 and 17, 1966. It peaked at number 18 on the Top Pop Albums chart.[2]

Content

In early 1966, executives at RCA and Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had arrived at the same conclusion. They could no longer expect records of only soundtrack recordings and session leftovers to perform as strongly as in the past.[3] Popular music was rife with changes in the mid-1960s, and with chart dominance from The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and a host of others, Presley no longer reigned supreme in the marketplace. Soundtrack sales were plunging, shifting fewer units and peaking at lower positions on the chart.[3]

But the Spinout sessions still adhered to the same formula of the past four years. Nine songs were recorded for the soundtrack, all of which appeared in the film. Most of the songs derived from the standard pool of songwriters, their publishing rights signed over to Elvis Presley Music and Gladys Music, the companies owned by Elvis and the Colonel.[4] One song "Stop, Look, and Listen" was previously recorded by Ricky Nelson and Bill Haley & His Comets.[5] Two songs were released as a single the month before the film's premiere, the title track backed with "All That I Am", and although both sides charted independently the A-side just barely made the Top 40. Elvis performed the song "Adam and Evil" on stage in the film which features a long drum roll at the beginning. He makes reference to Adam and Eve in the Bible, that "Adam and Evil they go hand in hand / Eve taught him sin, that's the way it all began". Elvis clicks his fingers throughout the track.

Acknowledging shifts in taste, three additional tracks of a contemporary nature were added as a "special bonus" to bring the album up to a more acceptable running time. Recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee during the sessions for his gospel album How Great Thou Art, two were rhythm and blues songs. The other was "Tomorrow Is a Long Time", an original by Bob Dylan (publishing rights were, of course, not signed over to Presley and Parker), with a ballad from a later Nashville session in June.[6] "Down in the Alley" had been released in 1957 by The Clovers, and Presley knew of and appreciated the Dylan song from the version on Odetta Sings Dylan by the folk singer Odetta.[7] "I'll Remember You" had been a record by Don Ho, and reflected Presley's infatuation with Hawaii and its culture.[8] Even with these inclusions, the album fared little better than its predecessors in 1966.

Dylan confessed to Rolling Stone in June 1969 that Presley's version of "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" was the cover of one of his songs that he "treasured the most."[9] The three additional songs can be found on From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential 60s Masters, while three songs from the film soundtrack appeared on Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II: "Spinout", "All That I Am", and "I'll Be Back".[10]

In 2004 Spinout was reissued on the Follow That Dream label in a special edition that contained the original album tracks along with numerous alternate takes.[11]

Personnel

Track listing

Original release

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Stop, Look and Listen"Joy ByersFebruary 16, 19661:31
2."Adam and Evil"Fred Wise and Randy StarrFebruary 17, 19661:55
3."All That I Am"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettFebruary 17, 19662:15
4."Never Say Yes"Doc Pomus and Mort ShumanFebruary 17, 19661:53
5."Am I Ready"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettFebruary 16, 19662:26
6."Beach Shack"Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence KayeFebruary 16, 19661:48
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Spinout"Ben Weisman, Dolores Fuller, Sid WayneFebruary 17, 19662:32
2."Smörgåsbord"Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettFebruary 16, 19662:01
3."I'll Be Back"Ben Weisman and Sid WayneFebruary 17, 19662:02
4."Tomorrow is a Long Time" (bonus track)Bob DylanMay 26, 19665:20
5."Down in the Alley" (bonus track)Jesse StoneMay 26, 19662:48
6."I'll Remember You" (bonus track)Kui LeeJune 10, 19662:52

"Spinout" was released as a single in October 1966 with "All That I Am" as its B-side. The songs reached number 40 and 41, respectively, in the United States on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and, respectively, numbers 21 and 18 in the United Kingdom.[12]

2004 Follow That Dream CD reissue

Original release
No.TitleLength
1."Stop Look and Listen"1:32
2."Adam and Evil"1:54
3."All That I Am"2:17
4."Never Say Yes"1:54
5."Am I Ready"2:26
6."Beach Shack"1:49
7."Spinout"2:34
8."Smorgasbord"1:57
9."I'll Be Back"2:05
Original bonus songs
No.TitleLength
10."Tomorrow is a Long Time"5:26
11."Down In the Alley"2:52
12."I'll Remember You"4:09
New bonus songs
No.TitleLength
13."Stop Look And Listen" (takes 1, 2, 3)3:43
14."Am I Ready" (take 1)2:28
15."Never Say Yes" (takes 1, 2)2:40
16."Spinout" (takes 1, 2)3:26
17."All That I Am" (takes 1, 2)3:57
18."Adam And Evil" (takes 1, 14, 16)5:51
19."Smorgasbord" (take 1)2:18
20."Beach Shack" (takes 1, 2, 3)3:47
21."Am I Ready" (takes 3, 4)2:51
22."Never Say Yes" (takes 4, 5)2:17
23."All That I Am" (take 4)2:42
24."Stop Look And Listen" (take 6)1:34
25."Smorgasbord" (take 5)2:26

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1966 Billboard Pop Albums 18

References

  1. ^ "Spinout - Elvis Presley". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  2. ^ "Pop Albums". Elvis Presley: Official Site of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; p. 203.
  4. ^ Jorgensen, op. cit., p. 197.
  5. ^ "Chris Gardner's Bill Haley Database". Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  6. ^ Jorgensen, op. cit., pp. 208, 218.
  7. ^ Jorgensen, op. cit., p. 214.
  8. ^ Jorgensen, op. cit., p. 218.
  9. ^ Gray, Michael. The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. New York: Continuum, 2006; p. 666.
  10. ^ Sources:
  11. ^ Sources:
  12. ^ Drake, Howard (2009). "Elvis Presley songs". Retrieved May 11, 2013.