Elvis' Greatest Shit

Elvis' Greatest Shit
Compilation album by Elvis Presley
Released July 1982
Recorded Various
Genre Rock and roll, rockabilly
Label Dog Vomit
Producer Various

Elvis' Greatest Shit is a bootleg recording of Elvis Presley, released in July 1982.[1] It assembles a number of studio recordings, a large number of film scores,[2] and out-takes intended to represent the worst recordings Presley made in his career.[3]

Contents

The disc was assembled by a bootlegger known simply as "Richard", who thought some fans were overenthusiastic to the point of deification, and wanted to show that Presley, like most other artists, could not produce exclusively critically acclaimed work throughout his lengthy career.[1] The tracks are mostly recordings from film soundtracks, along with a few outtakes of well known songs; one is an aborted take of "Can't Help Falling in Love," in which, at the breakdown of the take, Presley exclaimed, "Aw, shiiiiiiiit!"[3]

This "poor taste" concept did not merely extend to the album's contents, but continued on the cover, which contained a photo of Presley shortly after his death, lying in a coffin. The photograph was allegedly taken by Presley's cousin and subsequently sold to the National Enquirer.[4] The subtitle, "50,000,000 Elvis Fans CAN Be Wrong," parodied the compilation album 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, and the packaging included a reproduction of a prescription from George Nichopolous, who was one of Presley's doctors.[1]

The album's putative record company was not RCA Victor, the record label for which Presley recorded for almost his entire career, but "Dog Vomit", and it featured a parody of Nipper, the RCA dog trademark logo, vomiting into a gramophone.[1][5]

Most of these tracks are diegetic music from the following feature films:

Of the choice of tracks, Lee Cotten, author of several Presley books, said, "Elvis would probably have approved of the song selection. It is truly Elvis' greatest shit."[1] One critic agrees at least that five of the songs are among Presley's worst.[6] On the occasion of Presley's 75th birthday, another suggested that recording these songs should have made Presley self-destructive.[7]

There have been four pressings of the album; the album covers vary in detail[8] as do the disks—different color, design and words, but the audio material is the same.[9] One version has a white cover, and the photo is relegated to the interior.[5] The bootleg vinyl album has since been reissued as a CD.[10] Whatever the format, "It is guaranteed that this CD probably gathers dust on collector's shelves instead of being played—the content definately [sic] makes a strong statement of the 'situation songs' that Elvis had to perform."[9]

Track listing

Side one

Side two

Other works

This album does not encompass the 1974 talking-only album by Elvis, Having Fun with Elvis on Stage—it contains no music—which "is still widely considered to be the worst record ever officially released by a major artist."[7]

"Richard" followed up Elvis' Greatest Shit with another bootleg featuring a black humoured theme—The Beatles vs. the Third Reich—containing a selection of recordings of the group's December 1962 appearance at the Star Club in Hamburg, and The Dark Side of the Moo—a compilation of rare or unreleased tracks by Pink Floyd, before exiting the bootleg industry.[1]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ See Focus on movies (1960–67) and Elvis Presley on film and television.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Heylin, Clinton (2003). Bootleg: The Rise & Fall of the Secret Recording History. London New York: Music Sales Group; Omnibus. pp. 145–146. ISBN 978-1-84449-151-3.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Elvis' Greatest Shit, Dog Vomit Records SUXOO5". Angelfire.com. 1983. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Marcus, Greil (1999). Dead Elvis: A Chronicle of a Cultural Obsession. Harvard University Press. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-0-674-19422-9.
  4. ↑ Guralnick, Peter (1999). Careless Love. Boston: Tarab Editions. p. 743. ISBN 0-316-33297-6. ISBN 978-0-316-33297-2
  5. 1 2 Boyles, Ernie, Jr. "Elvis' Greatest Shit". Ernie's Import Lp Corner. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  6. ↑ Wolfson, Eric (September 1, 2012). "The Top 5 Worst Elvis Songs of All-Time". American Wolf. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Epstein, Dan (January 8, 2010). "Elvis Presley: 75 Things You Didn't Know About The King". Hot Topic — Everything about the music. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  8. ↑ Compare Cover photo at discogs.com
  9. 1 2 "Elvis' Greatest Shit — first pressing and second pressing". Elvis on CD. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Elvis Greatest Sh*t". ElvisNews.com. July 17, 2004. Retrieved September 13, 2012.

External links

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