Spinout (soundtrack)

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, Soundtrack sales were plunging, shifting fewer units and peaking at lower positions on the chart.[3]

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 early in 1966, two were rhythm and blues songs. The other was "Tomorrow Is a Long Time", an original by Bob Dylan (publishing rights for which 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] Presley's recording exceeded five minutes in length, making it the longest studio recorded he ever released, but with a length that (at that time) was considered too long for release as a single. "I'll Remember You" had been a record by Don Ho, and reflected Presley's infatuation with Hawaii and its culture.[8] Its songwriter, Kui Lee, died of cancer only a few months after the album's release; Presley's later Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite concert (on which he performed "I'll Remember You") was a fund-raiser for a cancer fund set up in Lee's name.

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]

• Elvis Presley – vocals
• The Jordanaires – backing vocals
• Boots Randolph – saxophone
• Scotty Moore – electric guitar
• Tommy Tedesco – electric guitar
• Tiny Timbrell – acoustic guitar
• Floyd Cramer – piano
• Charlie Hodge – piano (on "Beach Shack" and possibly "I'll Be Back , arranged by Hodge)
• Bob Moore – double bass
• D.J. Fontana – drums
• Buddy Harman – drums

Album

• Spinout at Discogs (list of releases)