By '68, Elvis had grown estranged to his music, going from session to session and set to set. Since G.I. Blues (1960), he was making between two and four films a year which were generally shot in two weeks time. The King was becoming frustrated when comparing his career (to let's say oh... the Beatles, perhaps) to new emerging successful ones on top of the charts. Why couldn't he, the man who'd seen every peek position in a four year period with a handful of grooves, get a piece of it now? Secondly, why couldn't he feel passionate about his music, wings of his soul? Truth is, Elvis wasn't Presley, he was MGM, Paramount and UA. Disowned and discouraged from the claws of pop, that of Good Luck Charm or Have a Happy, '68 came and gave a breath of fresh air with the Speedway ST.

I'm not sure if the Colonel had to with it, But the connection to the sexy, tongue dropping Ms Sinatra seemed to've brought chemistry to the music. Listen to "Speedway" or "Let yourself go" (check out the Comeback version - HOT!). These are, yes indeed, pop dipped tracks but all-groove. There's a feeling in that music which is indescribably fly. La crème de la crème is no other than "There Ain't nothing like a song", where Elvis' voice sounds like it had been sleeping in a Memphis studio for a few years and pulled out of a drawer for the recording. It's fresh, hip and the way E.P. likes it most: Rock'N' Roll, baby.

However, nobody paid much mind to the product, Elvis having been a franchise performer for too long. It was just another Elvis movie with a soundtrack.
"Hey Joe, You wanna like go see that Elvis flick?
- Forget that, man, like I got tickets to see the Byrds.
- Whoa, man, I'm like there too."
Thank goodness, Elvis' prayers from How Great Art Thou (his '66 Grammy award-winning gospel album) had been answered because '68 was a good one. After marrying Pricilla on May 1st, the Comeback Special was filmed two months later and redeemed the man's soul until his death and that, despite those last intolerable films he had to make after the Comeback.

So buy the double album (because ECEG is kinda worth it - Nonetheless, it's better than the two films that part ECEG to Speedway) and pay attention to the Speedway soundtrack. Invite your friends over and have a bikini party with the music. If your friends don't dance, then change your friends!!! The girls should consider taking their tops off by the time Let Yourself Go plays...

By 1966 even his most serious fans were not excited by the prospect of another" Elvis Movie" and soundtrack. Sure there were always good scenes and good songs, but the *music* was still the most important element and EASY COME, EASY GO and SPEEDWAY were disappointments in that area, EASY COME moreso. Both releases (EASY on Extended Play only) sold poorly. But by 2001 many published critical commentaries on the Presley sessions cause one to reconsider the tunes and the performances: in several cases, Elvis makes *something* out of nothing. For example, the title tune to EC-EG is a fun uptempo opener; "You Gotta Stop" also has a beat; the prev. unrel. take of "The Love Machine" should have been released earlier, despite the discordant background. SPEEDWAY was the last (and ironically one of the better) "formula" films and surprisingly features Presley's most spirited vocals in years - every single track from the latter movie has a bright and energetic vocal, esp. the title tune, with its Jerry Lee Lewis feel and powerful drumming; "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet, Baby", a nice country-pop medium tempo; "There Ain't Nothing Like A Song" is a definite toe-tapper. Nancy Sinatra's contribution is notable, especially in light of the fact that her career was soaring at the time. Talent elevates material - here is a prime example.

Some of the songs on "Easy Come, Easy Go" are decent, particularly the title track, but since it's available on the 2-Disc "Compact Command Performances" collection, along with the best two songs from "Speedway", this one falls very short of being essential. Especially with the huge amount of Elvis CD's out there...

By '68, Elvis had grown estranged to his music, going from session to session and set to set. Since G.I. Blues (1960), he was making between two and four films a year which were generally shot in two weeks time. The King was becoming frustrated when comparing his career (to let's say oh... the Beatles, perhaps) to new emerging successful ones on top of the charts. Why couldn't he, the man who'd seen every peek position in a four year period with a handful of grooves, get a piece of it now? Secondly, why couldn't he feel passionate about his music, wings of his soul? Truth is, Elvis wasn't Presley, he was MGM. Disowned and discouraged from the claws of pop, that of Good Luck Charm or Have a Happy, '68 came and gave a breath of fresh air with the Spinout ST.

I'm not sure if the Colonel had to with it, But the connection with the then sexy, tongue-dropping Ms Sinatra seemed to've brought chemistry to the music. Listen to "Spinout" or "Let yourself go" (check out the Comeback version - HOT!). These are, yes indeed, pop dipped tracks but all-groove. There's a feeling in that music which is indescribably fly. La crème de la crème, though, is no other than "There Ain't nothing like a song", where Elvis' voice sounds like it had been sleeping in a Memphis studio for a few years and pulled out of a drawer for the recording. It's fresh, hip and the way E.P. likes it most: Rock'N' Roll, baby. In comparison, if you liked "Bossa Nova Baby" (Fun In Acapulco), you'll love.

However, nobody paid much mind to the product, Elvis having been a franchise performer for too long. It was just another Elvis movie with a soundtrack.
"Hey Joe, You wanna like, go see that Elvis flick?
- Forget that, man, I like, got tickets to see the Byrds.
- Whoa, I'm like sooooo there too, man."
Thank goodness, his Grammy winning gospel album, two years earlier, answered his prayers and that year was a good one. After marrying Pricilla on May 1st, the Comeback Special was filmed two months later and redeemed the man's soul until his death and that, despite those last intolerable films he had to make after the Comeback.

So buy the double album. ECEG is kinda worth it (nonetheless, it's better than what was done in the two movies between them) and pay attention to the Spinout soundtrack. Invite your friends over and have a party with that soundtrack. If your friends don't dance, then change your friends!!!

This CD features two Elvis soundtracks from 1966-67.

Easy Come, Easy Go is a contender for "Worst Elvis Soundtrack". None of the songs are good. I mean, really, "Yoga Is As Yoga Does"? The soundtrack was released as an EP that was probably the worst selling record of Elvis' career, with approximately 30,000 copies sold. Some of these dopey songs are good for a laugh, though. The CD adds three alternate takes of these dumb songs.

Speedway isn't a very good soundtrack either, but at least it has a few good songs. "Let Yourself Go" is a great song that was the single from the album (it flopped). Elvis later used the song in his "Comeback Special", in a version that's even better than the one from Speedway. "Suppose" is another great song. Elvis recorded a three minute version and a two minute version, neither of which ended up in the movie (both versions are on the CD). The third best song from the soundtrack is actually "Your Groovy Self", by Nancy Sinatra. None of the other songs are very good. Seriously, "He's Your Uncle Not Your Dad"?

This CD will only be of interest to serious Elvis fans.