Bicycle Rider: Thoughts on The Searcher
A look at the HBO Documentary
EIN spotlight by George Smith
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The HBO documentary ELVIS PRESLEY: THE SEARCHER debuted Saturday, APRIL 14 on HBO in the US.
One of EIN’s most insightful contributors ‘George Smith’ has written a stunning essay on the new HBO documentary ‘Elvis Presley: The Searcher’.
In it he captures the essence of the narrative, Zimny’s production decisions and notes the difficulty of having to create a documentary about Elvis’ music and having to keep it under 4 hours.
EIN contributor George Smith reflects on The Searcher and Elvis' journey..
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Before the release of 'Elvis Presley: The Searcher' EIN contributor George Smith posted...
- The very idea of this documentary is thrilling. I've been waiting all of my adult life for a serious and respected music film-maker to assemble the definitive Elvis documentary.
-It will make judicious use of existing tapes to tell the story of Elvis' journey as a creative artist. It will not contain substantial amounts of rare video and music, instead offering commentary from those who knew, loved, worked with and were profoundly influenced by Elvis Presley.
- The marketing imagery is brave and should be applauded. One of the reasons Elvis has relatively little respect among subsequent generations of music listeners is the often shoddy and cliched use of photographs and typography on his LP covers and advertising. The producers of this documentary have quite clearly and deliberately moved to the polar opposite with this project. There is not one single hint of the iconic Elvis used in the picture. Instead they have chosen a mug shot of an ordinary man. Clearly he is a handsome man, But he is just a man. Not a demi-God or a superstar, just a man. Similarly, they have used his full name and not just "ELVIS". Furthermore, the unorthodox use of a post-modern font moves us worlds away from the awful faux-classical centred style that has plagued his product for decades; witness the recent UK RPO releases (how to make a bad product worse).
- 'Elvis-The Searcher' may not necessarily be aimed directly at the keen Elvis collector. Instead, it will serve several purposes: it will draw in serious music fans who, until now, have not shown any interest in Presley's music or career but who respect the opinions of people like Springsteen, Petty, Landau, etc; |
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Now read George Smith's wonderful review of the documentary ... |
Bicycle Rider: thoughts on The Searcher |
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There are seven basic types of story: The Quest; Rags to Riches; Voyage and Return; Comedy; Rebirth; Tragedy; Overcoming the Monster. The saga of Elvis Presley contains the first six in that order, but sadly the seventh act was denied him and us.
Director Thom Zimny has attempted to do justice to the Presley story over the course of a newly-released two-part documentary entitled Elvis Presley: The Searcher. Taking the viewer through the singer’s forty-two years in the space of three and a half hours, this is by necessity a picture painted in broad strokes but one which manages to tell the tale with reasonable accuracy and ample spirit.
It is structured similarly to Guralnick’s two-part written biography, using Presley’s army stint as a dividing line between his unprecedented rise and slow fall. Documentary writer Alan Light undoubtedly knows the intricacies but, when faced with time restrictions, was required to cut the finer points which must have been as infuriating for him as it is for the deep fans.
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The genius of the documentary though, is in its decision to present Elvis Presley to all viewers in a new and unexpected fashion. For the devotees this is realised through the constant use of new film (professional and amateur) and studio outtakes: it keeps the faithful on their toes and creates the impression of seeing and hearing Elvis anew. This is why Zimny insisted on using the alternative Aloha, the handheld “Trilogy” and “Never Been to Spain”, the “Burning Love” rehearsal, the “If I Can Dream” outtake, the off-air segments from ’68, the non-masters of “Lonely Man”, “Hurt”, “Suspicious Minds”, “Loving You”, and even (I think) outtakes from “The Truth About Me”. It is a deliberate and clever approach which was much appreciated by this writer.
For the casual viewer the trip is just as surprising: it’s no accident that the first picture we have of Elvis after the titles is of the man himself in 1969 at his absolute physical peak dressed only in shorts diving into a swimming pool — This is Elvis? Really? Wow! Where’s the fat guy in a jumpsuit? There’s no “Jailhouse Rock”, no “The Wonder of You”, no “Crying In The Chapel”, no “Blue Suede Shoes”, and no a lot of other stuff too. This is partly to do with time restraints but it’s also a conscious decision to show the less-known and less-appreciated side of the story.
The film favours home movies and behind-the-scenes clips over super-glossy Hollywood celluloid in an attempt to remove the albatross of iconography from Presley’s story. The flickerflicker of an old-time projector is occasionally heard as it shows grainy film of Elvis relaxing or rehearsing in happier times, segueing into the sound of a playing card catching on bicycle spokes as a pre-teen dungareed Elvis rides around Tupelo and Memphis in a recreated scene, showing how even at a young age Elvis was searching — looking and listening for emotional connection through faith and through music, sometimes both at the same time. The bicycle rider acts as a motif for The Searcher and appears several times as a linking device.
Zimny also uses a number of other creative devices to tell the story. There are no talking heads, instead he relies upon dozens of audio interviews with relevant parties (family, friends, musicians, observers, writers, disciples). Most of these are well used, but the contributions of Red West and Tom Petty are outstanding and reek of integrity and wisdom; West as someone who knew Elvis inside out and Petty as a musician chased by the same demons as his hero.
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There is considerable and understandable emphasis given to Presley’s early career, and Zimny takes great pains to demonstrate Elvis' absolute devotion to gospel and blues and to destroy any suggestion of cultural appropriation. It also clarifies just what is was that the young Elvis did — breaking down racial barriers through the use of music and performance, delivered with grace, excitement and sensuality, ushering in the modern cultural era. Actually, the production as a whole is beautifully and sensibly balanced allowing thirty minutes of air time for each of the six major musical phases of his life: Growing up in Tupelo and Memphis; Sun Records; The Rock ‘n’ Roll Years; The Early to mid-Sixties; The Comeback; The 1970s.
The anchor point for the production is the 1968 TV Special and the narrative jumps forwards and backwards to that show to illustrate or reinforce various points. It works for the most part and even when it doesn’t, the joy of seeing Elvis at the apex of his powers justifies its use.
There are echoes of Presley’s long-rumoured autobiography, Through My Eyes, when the camera slowly zooms in on photographic portraits, and there are several poignant moments as we are allowed to wander Graceland like Marc Cohn’s ghost of Elvis, looking at the knick-knacks, furniture and ephemera — we can look but we can’t touch, and it’s surprisingly moving.
There were a number of other points that stirred me, among them being the time the young Elvis talked about the material gifts he’d been able to buy his parents (in that moment one can hear 100% the reason he was so driven during the mid-50s); Petty’s heart-breaking summation of Elvis’ decline (“I think he just gave up”); and the sight of the Searcher’s rusty old bicycle, dismantled and chained up at the back of a dark garage — unused and unwanted, signifying the stagnation of Presley’s creative impulse.
There’ll be talk of it not being as detailed as The Beatles' Anthology, but Beatles fans might similarly complain that they don’t have as succinct and viewable a film as The Searcher. A casual fan might give three and a half hours, but not ten.
Elvis Presley: The Searcher is an enjoyable, honest, graceful and involving piece of work. Is it perfect? No. But find me a product that is.
It is aimed at the heart as much as the head and I can live with that, because that was where Presley did his best work.
For right or for wrong, the story will not be better told in my lifetime.
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THE QUEST
0:00:00 — Prologue
0:00:48 ‘68 SPECIAL “TROUBLE / GUITAR MAN”
0:02:30 — “My Baby Left Me” (Titles)
0:03:47 — Early life
0:06:25 ‘68 SPECIAL “BABY, WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO”
0:07:41 — Gospel roots
0:11:00 — Blues roots
0:12:00 — Interlude “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” (Bicycle Rider)
0:13:00 — The Presleys in Memphis
0:16:00 — Elvis on Beale
0:19:30 — Elvis and gospel
0:21:30 — Elvis and music
0:22:30 — Sam Phillips and Sun
RAGS TO RICHES
0:26:00 — Elvis arrives at 706 Union
0:28:00 — July 5th 1954
0:30:20 ’68 SPECIAL “THAT’S ALL RIGHT”
0:31:36 — Elvis at Sun
0:51:45 — The Colonel
0:58:24 ’68 SPECIAL “BLUE CHRISTMAS”
1:00:38 — Elvis at RCA
1:05:00 ’68 SPECIAL “LAWDY, MISS CLAWDY”
1:06:00 — Elvis, television and controversy
1:19:00 — Elvis in Hollywood
1:25:00 — Graceland
1:28:00 — The army
1:31:45 — Interlude “Farther Along” (The death of Gladys)
VOYAGE AND RETURN
1:34:32 — Germany
1:42:50 — Interlude “Lonely Man” (Home)
1:46:34 — “Power of My Love” (Credits)
0:00:00 ’68 SPECIAL “GUITAR MAN”
0:01:40 — Interlude “Milky White Way” (The story so far)
0:03:05 — Return from Germany
0:05:00 — Back in the studio
0:06:00 — Elvis and Frank Sinatra
0:10:12 — Elvis Is Back!
0:17:30 — Return to Hollywood
0:20:45 — Graceland, II
0:23:00 — His Hand In Mine
0:25:45 — Hawaii
COMEDY
0:28:23 — Hollywood and the Colonel
0:36:36 — The Sixties happen
0:39:00 — Nashville ‘66
0:43:45 — The Sixties happen, II
REBIRTH
0:46:10 — ’68 Special
0:50:00 ’68 SPECIAL “BABY, WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO”
0:53:10 — Recording in Memphis again
0:56:00 — Las Vegas ‘69
1:02:10 — Boredom with Vegas
1:04:10 — Back on the road
1:07:00 — Bringing together all types of music
1:10:25 — The image vs the man
1:12:50 — Touring the world via satellite
TRAGEDY
1:16:30 — Life as Elvis takes its toll
1:18:00 — In the studio (“Burning Love” / “Separate Ways”)
1:22:00 — Touring and searching
1:24:50 — Graceland, III
1:30:00 — How should we close the show?
1:31:30 ’68 SPECIAL “IF I CAN DREAM”
1:35:20 — End credits
NOTE: EIN thanks George Smith for this brilliant article - it was first posted on the FECC Elvis forum
Spotlight / Review by George Smith.
-Copyright EIN April 2018 - DO NOT COPY IMAGES OR INFO WITHOUT PERMISSION.
EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.
Click here to comment on this article
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Elvis "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret": 45 years ago today Elvis’ performance from the midnight show at the Las Vegas International on August 12, 1970 has been described by his record company as " Probably the best live concert ever recorded by Elvis Presley."
This stunning performance has been released by SONY on last year's "That's The Way It Is' Deluxe box-set as well as the June 2000 BMG 'That’s The Way It Is: Special Edition' 3cd set.
When he decided to investigate in-depth author George Smith discovered however that this 1970 Midnight performance was not just "the best live concert ever recorded by Elvis Presley"; it is an almost spiritual experience. But, like most great albums and concerts of that nature, it cannot be rushed: one must sit and listen to the show in its entirety. Then, and only then, can the genius of Elvis the performer be fully appreciated.
The show takes the form of a metaphorical sexual act with Elvis wooing, loving, and then ravishing his audience before twice taking it to an exhausting musical peak.
(Spotlight; Source;GeorgeSmith/ElvisInfoNet) |
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'Elvis Presley: The Searcher' Official Trailer: HBO have posted the official trailer for 'Elvis Presley: The Searcher'. Fans will love the fact that it DOES feature plenty of new home-footage that has never been officially released before. Includes some stunning footage from the 50s, 60s and 70s. This looks AWESOME - at last a documentary fit for a king.
With this film, filmmaker Thom Zimny (director of several documentaries for Bruce Springsteen) sought to showcase Elvis Presley in a way that few have seen: past the larger-than-life image of The King of Rock and Roll to reveal the man and the artist “who wanted to heal, to find that thing that was always felt to be missing, and to do it through the music.” Elvis Presley: The Searcher offers unprecedented access to Elvis, featuring new interviews with his collaborators, artists inspired by him (Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Emmylou Harris) and never-before-seen photos and footage of Presley at work and at play. The result is an intimate look at a performer countless audiences around the world have heard but only few have truly known.
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'Elvis Presley: The Searcher' Deluxe 3CD Release: The new multi-part documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher, directed by Thom Zimny and airing on HBO on April 14, pushes past the larger-than-life image of The King of Rock and Roll, portraying him instead as a man and an artist “who wanted to heal, to find that thing that was always felt to be missing, and to do it through the music.”
The 3-CD deluxe edition box set offers an expanded 55-track overview of Elvis’ career as heard in the film including familiar hit recordings (“Heartbreak Hotel,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”), powerful vocal performances (“That’s All Right,” “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” “Trouble/Guitar Man”) and rare outtakes (“Suspicious Minds,” “Separate Ways”), plus a bonus disc of additional recordings relevant to the film - including singles that inspired Presley (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s original version of “That’s All Right,” Odetta’s gospel version of Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow is a Long Time”) and two original instrumental pieces composed for the documentary by Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready. - 3CD Deluxe set priced at $40
Elvis Presley: The Searcher (Original Soundtrack) Deluxe includes a 40-page book of photos, liner notes by Warren Zanes, and a producer's note from film director Thom Zimny. |
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Disc 1: 1 Trouble / Guitar Man, 2 My Baby Left Me, 3 Baby, What You Want Me To Do, 4 Old Shep, 5 That's When Your Heartaches Begin, 6 That's All Right, 7 Blue Moon Of Kentucky, 8 Fool, Fool, Fool, 9 Tweedlee Dee, 10 Baby Let's Play House, 11 Good Rockin' Tonight, 12 Trying To Get To You, 13 Blue Moon, 14 When It Rains It Pours, 15 Blue Christmas, 16 Heartbreak Hotel, 17 Lawdy, Miss Clawdy, 18 Money Honey, 19 Hound Dog, 20 (There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me), 21 Crawfish, 22 Trouble, 23 Farther Along, 24 Mona Lisa, 25 Hide Thou Me, 26 Loving You (End Title Take 16), 27 Lonely Man (Solo Version), 28 Power Of My Love
Disc 2: 1 Milky White Way, 2 A Mess Of Blues, 3 Fame And Fortune, 4 Love Me Tender / Witchcraft (Duet With Frank Sinatra), 5 Like A Baby, 6 Are You Lonesome Tonight?, 7 It's Now Or Never, 8 Wooden Heart, 9 Swing Down Sweet Chariot, 10 Reconsider Baby, 11 Bossa Nova Baby, 12 C'mon Everybody, 13 Tomorrow Is A Long Time, 14 Take My Hand, Precious Lord, 15 Run On, 16 Baby What You Want Me To Do, 17 Suspicious Minds (Take 6), 18 Baby Let's Play House (Rehearsal), 19 Words (Rehearsal), 20 That's All Right, 21 Never Been To Spain, 22 An American Trilogy, 23 You Gave Me A Mountain, 24 Burning Love (Rehearsal Version), 25 Separate Ways (Rehearsal Version), 26 Hurt (Take 5), 27 If I Can Dream
Disc 3: 1 Mike Mccready - Dissolution 2, 2 The Blackwood Brothers - Satisfied, 3 Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - That's All Right, 4 Joe Hill Louis - She May Be Yours But She Comes To See Me So, 5 Little Junior's Blue Flames - Mystery Train, 6 Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning, 7 The Blackwood Brothers - Rock-A-My Soul, 8 The Prisonaires - Just Walkin' In The Rain, 9 Jackie Brenston And His Delta Cats - Rocket 88, 10 The Ravens - Write Me A Letter, 11 Bill Monroe - Blue Moon Of Kentucky, 12 Eddie Snow - Ain't That Right, 13 Johnnie Ray - Just Walkin' In The Rain, 14 Lloyd Price - Lawdy Miss Clawdy, 15 Gladys Presley - Home Sweet Home, 16 Odetta - Blowin' In The Wind, 17 Odetta - Tomorrow Is A Long Time, 18 The Staple Singers - The Weight, 19 The Orlons - Heartbreak Hotel, 20 Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Wooden Heart, 21 Mike Mccready - Rebound
(News, Source;SONY/ElvisInfoNet) |
'Elvis Presley: The Searcher' Single CD Release: The new multi-part documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher, directed by Thom Zimny and airing on HBO on April 14, pushes past the larger-than-life image of The King of Rock and Roll, portraying him instead as a man and an artist “who wanted to heal, to find that thing that was always felt to be missing, and to do it through the music.”
This soundtrack features 18 songs as heard in the film including familiar hit recordings (“Heartbreak Hotel,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”), powerful vocal performances (“That’s All Right,” “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” “Trouble/Guitar Man”) and rare outtakes (“Suspicious Minds,” “Separate Ways”).
Elvis Presley: The Searcher (The Original Soundtrack) – Single CD / Digital - Priced at $12
1. Trouble / Guitar Man, 2. My Baby Left Me, 3. That’s All Right, 4. Baby Let’s Play House, 5. Heartbreak Hotel, 6. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy, 7. Hound Dog, 8. Crawfish, 9. Mona Lisa, 10. Milky White Way, 11. Like A Baby, 12. Are You Lonesome Tonight?, 13. It’s Now Or Never, 14. Tomorrow Is A Long Time, 15. Suspicious Minds (take 6), 16. Separate Ways (rehearsal version), 17. Hurt (take 5), 18. If I Can Dream.
(News, Source;SONY/ElvisInfoNet)
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'Elvis Presley: The Searcher' 2LP VINYL Release: The new multi-part documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher, directed by Thom Zimny.
Also released as a DOUBLE-VINYL set this soundtrack features 18 songs as heard in the film including familiar hit recordings (“Heartbreak Hotel,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”), powerful vocal performances (“That’s All Right,” “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” “Trouble/Guitar Man”) and rare outtakes (“Suspicious Minds,” “Separate Ways”).
Elvis Presley: The Searcher (The Original Soundtrack) – CD / Digital - Priced at $25
LP. Trouble / Guitar Man, 2. My Baby Left Me, 3. That’s All Right, 4. Baby Let’s Play House, 5. Heartbreak Hotel, Side 2 - 6. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy, 7. Hound Dog, 8. Crawfish, 9. Mona Lisa, 10. Milky White Way,
LP Two - 1. Like A Baby, 2. Are You Lonesome Tonight?, 3. It’s Now Or Never, 4. Tomorrow Is A Long Time, Side 2 - 5. Suspicious Minds (take 6), 6. Separate Ways (rehearsal version), 7. Hurt (take 5), 8. If I Can Dream
(News, Source;SONY/ElvisInfoNet) |
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Compiled by EIN / Piers Beagley.
-Copyright EIN April 2018 - DO NOT COPY IMAGES OR INFO WITHOUT PERMISSION.
EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.
Click here to comment on this article
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See EIN review of 'Prince From Another Planet'
See EIN review of 'A Boy From Tupelo'
See EIN review of 'Young Man With The Big Beat'.
See EIN review of 'Elvis Is Back!' Legacy Edition review:
See EIN review of 'The Complete Elvis Presley Masters' in-depth Review
See EIN review of 'On Stage' 40th Anniversary LEGACY in-depth review:
See EIN review of From Elvis In Memphis (40th Anniversary Legacy Edition)
See EIN review of 'I Believe' BMG Gospel set.
See EIN review of 'The Complete '68 Comeback Special' CD Review:
EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.
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The Elvis Information Network has been running since 1986 and is an EPE officially recognised Elvis fan club.
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