TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS: The Elvis Forum

Am I alone in finding this new effort from Spankox pretty pretty pretty good. I've collected all of his previous (some good, some not) Elvis reworkings, and this without doubt is the best yet. There isn't a bad (as in remix) on the album. I don't know if it's down to him but Elvis' vocal sounds really clean and fresh throughout.

'Didj'a Ever' and 'Shoppin' Around' both benifit from some inspired brass additions. 'Girl of my best friend' should (for me) have been a remix too far, being as it is in it's original state, one of my all time faves. But truth is I love it. This new remix sounds great with some neat string and percussion add ons, it sounds as though it was recorded yesterday. The same can be said of 'His latest flame' , although, I would have preffered if the piano on the bridge had remained as prominent as on the original.

'Put the blame on me' is given a funky new bounce. On 'Surrender' Elvis sounds more operatic than on any other outing of this track. But the real surprise is 'Gently' which has been transformed from a nice album track into a classic.

Now I now all the arguments for and against, but, for me the only argument that matters is do I want to play these tracks loud thru the car speakers, The answer is yes.

Also there is something of the familiararity of the originals breeding not contempt but perhaps indifference. These new remixes throw up little inflections and phrasing and the sheer sweet power that sometimes pass without notice in their original frames.

I love it.

I must say, I've never been tempted to get any of these although I wouldn't mind a listen.

I'll have to see if they're available somewhere on line.

Previous Spanox remixes have been very average but I'll see if i can find these for a listen.

I've listened to them here http://www.elvisreloaded.com/Home.html and it's sounds exactly like what it is, some bloke playing around with a synthesiser. Not for me thanks.

His 'Baby Let's Play House' was 'INSPIRED & UNIQUE', since then it's all been 'rubbish' !
So much so that it makes me wonder if it was actually 'HE' who did it ?
The E.U. / U.K. 'public domain' rule has a lot to answer for, then again I suppose we have to take the bad with the good:
http://www.memphisrecordingservice.com/

I suggest we keep Monkey's clean from Spankox. This is a place where monkeys come - no room for vultures.

Mr Mike I think you are alone

You're never alone with a Strand.

Took a listen, BSSHOES was about the best, but i couldnt play this all the way through .........

A couple of 'pretties' too many there, but I quite enjoyed listening to them !

I support the idea of 'modernising' our boy's stuff.

If it doesn't come off, as it often doesn't, we still got the originals to listen to !

And if it does, which it does at times, we've got something a bit 'new' & 'different' to listen to !

I'm not against modernising but that stuff is amateurish.

Can I become famous if at home I cut and paste bits and pieces of an Elvis song and then overdub a discobeat disc?

You never know until you try, Luuk !

If you did it well enough, get the right PR behind you, get airplay or some exposure, get a supplier to use it for their product, get some other endorsement, get Sony, EPE, whoever to OK it, you could.

I guess its true (for all I know, which is not much) that Spankox uses a synthesiser, and cut and paste, and a disco beat, and a load of other things. But...but....but.....as someone (I don't think it was Elvis) once said, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

If Elvis was alive and this was his new record, we'd all be raving about it and rightly so. Lets be honest we'd be raving about more than another Blvd. album (itself heavily overdubbed with the strings and horns of Bergen White. Thats a thought, who made Elvis sound better, Felton or Spankox. Although to be fair I prefer the overdubbed version of 'Love coming down' (one of my all time Elvis faves) to the undubbed master. Anyway where was I...)

Spankox is an artist (not that kind) he takes something old (and a lot of the songs he uses we probably hardly ever play anymore anyway, in their original or any other form) and makes something new. And I'll happily admit that I prefer some of the remixes to the original versions.

And its not just me, is it? How many fans when they think of ALLC (another song that I for one hardly ever played anymore)think of it in its original form as opposed to its hit remix (I know its not Spankox) sound. Not many I'll bet. The remix is better than the original 68 special version, it just is.

But its still Elvis, still the King. But in a shiny new frame.

ALLC is in remix far superior than the original track, you are right BUT Spankox is NOT Junkie XL. JXL may very well be one of the best producers of this decade while Spankox... yeah Spankox... Spankox, who the f*ck is he anyway? I simply do not like the stuff I have heard... And I am not a purist opposing modernisation. I liked some of the stuff on the Christmas Duets album, think ALLC is stunning and did enjoy the Viva Elvis remake of Suspicious Minds and Bossa Nova baby. But Spankox just steals Elvis songs out of the PD and tries to claim some fame with it.