The glamorous location of Acapulco at least had a musical influence, unlike the Seattle location of the previous film. Elvis was keen to go on location to Mexico – a rich and glamorous US holiday destination in the early sixties - and even took Spanish lessons to help improve his pronunciation. But sadly, since Colonel Parker was himself a US illegal alien he found excuses for Elvis not to go and so instead the film used poor quality back-projections and bad inserts.
No doubt it would have been a much better movie had Elvis actually filmed in Mexico but at least Mike Windgren, his movie character, has a reason to sing in the film rather than just bursting into song as Elvis had to do in his previous movie.
The film ‘Fun In Acapulco’ was in fact the highest-grossing US movie musical of the year.
In 1962 the Tijuana sound of Herb Alpert was prominent on radio stations. His hit single ‘Lonely Bull’ had made the US Top Ten in August 1962, the B-side coincidentally being ‘Acapulco 1922’!
Eydie Gormé's hit single 'Blame It on the Bossa Nova', which reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, was surprisingly not released until March 1963, the month after Elvis' Acapulco recording session. This demonstrates the fascination of the time with the Latino sound. The Beatles, however, would soon change that.
If you like Elvis, sunny locations, sixties movies packed full of songs and the Latino sound then there is no doubt that Fun In Acapulco would be one of your favourites – and the new FTD 3-CD deluxe soundtrack sessions album an essential purchase.
But does this new set really have that much more to offer over the previous FTD 'Fun In Acapulco' ‘Classic Album’ release?
The Positives
- The larger size 8x8” format is impressive and the 28 page booklet is a delight.
- The Latino musical influence created a vocal challenge that Elvis obviously enjoyed - after all his co-composed ‘You’ll Be Gone’ would have fitted nicely onto this soundtrack.
- Elvis’ enjoyment is infectious and so the “complete sessions” let us eavesdrop on a truly upbeat recording experience. Unlike so many soundtrack sessions here we find Elvis stays in a positive mood, even after nineteen attempts at the same song.
- Even if you own FTD’s ‘Fun In Acapulco’ classic soundtrack album the newly remastered audio here bristles in comparison.
The Negatives
- If you don’t like that “sixties Latino sound” and think that Elvis’ sixties soundtrack material is of no interest then this is not for you.
- Unfortunately several unreleased tracks from the session feature The Amigos only (their songs used in the movie) or backing tracks without Elvis’ vocal, so over 25 minutes of CD3 does not feature Elvis at all.
The Packaging
The stylish packaging is similar to the previous “Viva Las Vegas Complete Sessions” with the three-panel fold-out resembling the original Radio Recorders tape boxes.
Some fans, me included, will find this stuff fascinating as you can, for instance, check out the tape-reel where the Instrumentals and Amigo versions (which we have never been released before until now) were supplied to Paramount on the same reel as Elvis’ masters.
The 28 page booklet features two main articles by Alan Hanson, one on the movie and another detailed essay on Ursula Andress’ movie career and her time with Elvis.
Collectors will be interested to know that Hanson’s 3-page look at the movie is a brand new, lengthy examination written for this FTD release and not the shorter essay that was in his very good ‘Elvis: The Movies’ book.
The article includes some amusing and very differing reviews…
The Bad: “Elvis Presley, when faced with the current mania, presents a pitiful figure in Fun In Acapulco. Poor Elvis, his hair calmly brushed back, is paunchy and tired, bored perhaps with the endless parade of formula movies that have demanded his presence for several years. It seems that as the rock 'n'roll king becomes more palatable, his films become more innocuous, requiring merely Elvis, an inviting locale, two or three leggy beauties and an occasional fawning youngster.” New York Daily News, Feb 20 1964.
The Good: "Compared with the Beatles, Elvis Presley sounds like Caruso in Fun in Acapulco. And he certainly looks better. In fact, this attractive travel poster for the famed Mexican resort is far and away his best musical feature ever It's a pleasant, idyllic movie that never takes itself seriously and moves briskly. The excellent color photography and the balmy atmosphere of the resort — the luxurious hotels, the beaches and the quaint byways — were positively eye-popping. The songs, in native rhythm, come thick and fast. The melodies and staging are generally bright and imaginative. And Mr Presley has never seemed so relaxed and personable."—The New York Times, February 20, 1964.
Along with pages of Movie Reviews, Movie Trivia, Behind The Scenes, Worldwide Chart Releases and Film reviews this is a perfect companion to the session material.
Unlike the previous Viva Las Vegas Deluxe release, the sessions are presented chronologically as they were recorded rather than shuffling the many outtakes across the 3CDs.
The booklet features some stunning high-quality photos of Elvis along with record labels, colourful posters and memorabilia. The ‘Bossa Nova Baby’ RCA single cover on the back-page is glorious.
Please note that the images used in this review are personal low-res scans, you will have to buy the set to see the true high-res quality
FTD have no doubt realised that fans who purchase this would have previously bought the 2001 original FTD Classic Soundtrack Album, so congratulations to them for featuring alternate photos in this new booklet and not doubling-up.
My personal disappointment is that there is no actual full-page high-quality image of the regular album cover in the set – surely an essential. Instead the booklet front cover features the alternate “first proof” which uses magenta lettering (as above) which surely would have been better included in the trivia section. The magenta lettering happens to be the same as the original Australian LP cover, although this is not mentioned. (see Australian vinyl image below)
The Music
Fun In Acapulco musical director Joseph Lilley brought in the Latino band The Amigos to add the influence of their backing-vocals and Spanish guitars, while Emil Radocchia added Latino percussion with Tijuana trumpets supplied by Rudolph Loera and Anthony Terran.
Elvis’ backing band was his regular team including The Jordanaires, augmented by rhythm guitarist Tiny Timbrell, well-known jazz-guitarist Barney Kesell plus drummer Hal Blaine (RIP).
With all these musicians packed into the Radio Recorders, Latino percussion, live trumpets, the Amigos singing in Spanish, Elvis singing in Spanish, tricky Mexican rhythms and all recorded LIVE, what could possibly go wrong?
Well, plenty of course and that’s what makes listening to these full session such a joy.
I strongly suspect that if Fun In Acapulco had been filmed after Kissin’ Cousins, Parker would have arranged pre-recordings and Vocal Overdubs to save time and money which would have only resulted in a disappointing detached feel.
| Side Note: Having a Mexican theme meant that the composers could use a plethora of marvellous Spanish rhyming couplets in the lyrics. La Bamba / Caramba, Siesta / Fiesta, Amor / Adore, Peso / Say so, Matador / Before, El Toro / Tomorrow, along with words such as Amigos, caballeros, Senoritas, Muchachas and so much more. If you enjoy Elvis’ sixties movie soundtracks for their exuberance and happiness then Fun In Acapulco’s lyrics will surely have you laughing out loud. |
FTD issued ‘Fun In Acapulco’ Classic Soundtrack Album back in 2001 as their very first expanded soundtrack session, but being a single CD it could only include 14 new complete session outtakes. FTD’s 2014 ‘Elvis For Everyone’ included another four never-before released excellent tracks but now we get the (almost) complete sessions. And if you are a Latino Elvis fan, then this is a cracker.
Audio Quality: Like all too many of Elvis’ soundtrack LPs the original album audio quality was a little dull and rather “Mono” sounding. The FTD Classic Album remaster really opened up the sound revealing some great percussion and giving the musicians some real clarity.
Now with this set newly Re-mastered by the Vic Anesini and Sebastian Jeansson team this whole set is a stunner.
Note that the first “Masters” are taken from the original album tapes while their later repeats - in the session section - are taken from the original studio tapes so sound even clearer.
Radio Recorders - Fun In Acapulco session – January 22 and 23 1963.
Bossa Nova Baby: The first track recorded, and the potential soundtrack single, helped set the scene and even though the Bossa Nova was a Brazilian craze, and had little to do with Mexico, it had a Latino feel - so who cared?
What is fascinating about these full sessions is that with the Latino influence and so many musicians present most tracks change arrangements between the first take and the final master and ‘Bossa Nova Baby’ is no exception.
Even on Take 1 Elvis says, "Hold it Hold it. Is there something wrong with the intro?" Take 2 is a classic slower, jazzier version with an odd down-beat and very different feel to the single. Listen to Dudley Brooks’ delicious jazzy piano on this version. Take 3 has the similar jazzy vibe and it’s great to hear those ‘Tijuana’ trumpets playing live in Radio Recorders!
By Take 5 the arrangement had cooled down, and while still in the same basic tempo, it has a far more relaxed vibe. The driving acoustic guitar line, the piano riff, as well as the all–important maracas are all missing here.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
Takes 7 -9 feature yet another different, jazzier, laid-back arrangement. Here the drums have even been dropped from the intro creating a more “acoustic-jam” vibe with light Latino percussion and strumming guitars.
Complete Take 8 is a gem, with Elvis clapping along to the Tijuana trumpets and with Barney Kessell playing a completely “out-there” guitar solo (a sure misfire) yet they keep on going! At the end Elvis fluffs a lyric yet they still keep going, until Elvis eventually calls a halt. One of my favourite session takes and even if the band was losing its way, I cannot believe this wasn’t released before.
After the next take Elvis rightly comments, “Whatever it is, it’s gone”.
And yet by the next complete take (11) they were back up to speed, back to the earlier arrangement and with the master in the can..
I Think I’m Gonna’ Like It Here: A Don Roberston / Hal Blair composition featuring some cute Tijuana horns as well as some wonderfully silly rhyming couplets, “Down to my last peso, but I’m not afraid to say so”! Take 1 is a delight being an early, rougher take. Elvis hasn’t absorbed the lyrics yet so listen out for him singing a charming, "I don’t know it" in the middle break, even though the recording continues to the very end.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
On unreleased Takes 4 & 5 the rhythm changes to more of a gentle shuffle. It sounds very laid-back “Your troubles like bubbles will soon disappear in the air”. After Take 5 Elvis seems unsure of the new arrangement and asks, “Let us hear it back”.
On “BO” Take 8 Elvis jokes “It’s beginning to get B.O!” and cutely sings “Pessimistic outlook” - and he would be right as both following takes fall apart. Elvis also changes the lyric to “You know a chance for romance is always queer”.
The end of take 9 is very cute as the horns play an obvious flat note and Elvis bursts in to laughter.
Mexico: Silly sing-a-long movie fluff, again with some hilarious rhyming couplets, “One Tequila, makes you feel-a, Oh to kiss a lovely senorita”. The first takes were recorded with Elvis leaving gaps for the boy-on-the bicycle (Larry Domasin) to add his lines.
On Take 1 Elvis messes up the lyrics, while Take 2 was the first complete run-through, with Take 5 the album master. I have never understood why they released the incomplete lyric version on the LP, since the complete lyrics work so much better and in any case why did they even record the full version if they didn’t do it to be included on the soundtrack album?
Take 6 is the first ‘full lyric’ version but Elvis slipped up on the timing and you can hear him blow out through his lips in exasperation at the end. Take 7 was complete and listen out for Elvis’ off-mic growl @1.24. Dudley Brooks’ jazzy piano is nice and clear in the remastered versions where it had been unfortunately muffled on the original vinyl.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
Having Elvis record while deliberately leaving out lines of the lyrics was never going to be easy.
Dudley Brooks’ jazzy piano is one of the delights at this session with his arrangement changing from a three-chord jazz-riff at the start but ending up more one-note-samba by the master take.
On unreleased Takes 3 and 4 Brooks’ jazz-riff is still part of the arrangement with take three breaking down on a fun lyric fluff, “Life begins when you’re in .. shit”. On delightful Take 4 Elvis gets close to the very end but comes in singing the incorrect melody “Never saw such adorable creatures”, exclaiming “God damn, almost!”
The purely percussion based instrumental is a cute addition as well.
The Bullfighter Was A Lady: The earlier takes feature the fun of Elvis interacting and rehearsing with The Amigos who you can hear speaking Spanish in the background. Elvis was obviously having real fun with this soundtrack and his enthusiasm showed through in his great vocals even in the most ridiculous songs. On Take 6, Elvis gets thrown by the Amigos shouting "O-Lay." Elvis laughed, "I can’t hear it because of the ol’ lay. If someone’d get that Ol’ lay out of the way, I can make it! I had her years ago." It’s spontaneous and great fun.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
The first few takes are at a slower, more deliberate, tempo than the final master.
On a stunning Take 2 Elvis sings the naughty, “Her red cape was waving but Pedro was shaving, he wanted to fuck her that night” and unbelievably the band continues, as Elvis bursts out laughing, seemingly having not noticed the change of lyrics.
This of course starts Elvis laughing so on the following attempt Elvis can’t stop giggling throughout. Again it is amazing that no one called a halt to the recording as Elvis laughs through the whole complete take. An unreleased gem – “Next song” Elvis jokes at the end.
Marguerita: Another Don Robertson composition with a fabulous Latino feel. With its circular bass-line and delicious harmonies this was one of the vocal gems from this soundtrack session. The early takes are similar to the album version but with less Spanish guitars in the mix.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
Take 1 is a delight as it’s a very rough run through with a great tic-tac bassline. More like a rehearsal Elvis plays with the lyrics and melody. Elvis sings “Caught like a m...moth in a flame” but everyone continues. Similarly Elvis slips off note @2.25 on “Sweet Marguerita” but it’s the vibe that matters. “Whoaah” Elvis laughs at the end.
For some reason on Take 7 the tempo is suddenly sped up with the castanets clicking away at a crazy speed, Elvis never actually starts singing as he points out, “Too fast, too fast, way too fast”.
Vino, Dinero Y Amor: A Tepper / Bennett composition with a real Mexican Mariachi feel as Elvis and The Amigos play off each other. This was the last song recorded the first night of the session and Take 5 was the master.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
There are a lot of lengthy notes that Elvis has to hold in this rather short number. You can imagine Elvis holding back to so he doesn’t run out of breath.
Elvis’ voice cracks at the start of Take 2 and as they call a halt Elvis jokingly sings, “I like to drink wine and money is drunk”.
Take 3 is complete but Elvis still holds back a little and in the end isn’t satisfied, “Let’s do another one.”
Afterwards we get 8 minutes of ‘The Amigos’ solo version.
If you have ever visited Mexico you’ll be well aware of the Mariachi bands playing at popular restaurants – and if they were playing some Elvis songs this is what they would sound like.
Fun, but annoying after a while!
With a cool backing track the ‘Boat Version’, if nothing else, helps capture the craziness of the movie’s theme. It ends with Joseph Lilley saying “Everybody back here at one O’clock tomorrow”
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(There’s) No Room to Rhumba In A Sports Car: The second day of the session kicked off with this ludicrous soundtrack song. A Fred Wise (‘Fame & Fortune’, ’Give Me The Right’ etc) and Dick Manning composition, we can blame Dick Manning for the ridiculous lyrics. This is a classically bad Freddy Bienstock “Freddy The Freeloader” supplied number and he really should take the blame for choosing this nonsense in the first place. However with the so-bad-its-good potential, no wonder British eccentric poet-singer Vivian Stanshall chose to perform it for the 1990 New Musical Express charity album, The Last Temptation of Elvis.
Elvis must have been relieved that he got it done in just one take.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
Sounding annoyed Elvis states before the take, “Get this while I am in happy mood, you know!” And we sure understand why!
Reading the words Elvis sounds rather reticent with the lyrics. The volume of his vocal goes badly up and down as he leans away from the mic. The rhythm section is rather messy at times (what’s that crash at 01.46?) and Elvis sings “I was going to gat to hold you tight” on the first verse. This would be a fun rough-and-ready rehearsal and there’s no way it would have been acceptable had it been a serious song but understandably Elvis decided “Once Was Enough”!
Fun In Acapulco: Elvis was working fast and this was another track recorded in one take. From the very first scrape of percussion to Tiny Timbrell’s mandolin it sounded exquisite and was the perfect title song for the movie.
El Toro: A Giant/Baum/Kaye (‘Devil In Disguise’ plus 40 other soundtrack songs) composition where Elvis tries hard with his early-sixties operatic baritone and the song is a challenge. The master was a splice of the first two takes and here we can check out both.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
Take 1 starts with studio engineer Dave Weichman asking “Are you ready El?” – “Let’s try it” Elvis replies and then jokes “We should turn a bunch of bulls loose for atmosphere!”
Elvis sounds rather mannered in the first verse before relaxing into the song but after all this was the first try-out.
Take 2 sounds much more assured even if it stops just before “so one night..”.
A quick splice and the master was done.
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I Think I’m Gonna’ Like It Here (Movie Remake): Why a remake was really needed is an interesting question – but the fact that they thought of doing a different style movie-version showed that at this stage they still cared about the content of the soundtrack. This ‘movie’ version is at a faster tempo with an added Spanish intro “Todo es encantador aqui en Mexico” by The Amigos. It certainly has a more playful vibe than the original laid-back version that started side 2 of the LP.
There’s a real frivolity in the studio and you can clearly hear Elvis clicking his fingers, a sure sign that he is enjoying the vibe.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
The Amigos still discuss how to harmonise on the delightful “Todo es encantador aqui en Mexico” intro, while on Take 14 the takes falls apart as the rhythm section misses the beat, “Is the drummer off somewhere?” asks Elvis. Proving the enthusiasm of the session even after 15 takes Elvis is still enjoying the Latino vibe, listen out for Elvis’ delicious laugh @1:49 “I think I'm going to like it here.. hah!”.
Elvis messes up the start to Take 18, yet the second half was used for the final movie splice. “One More, one more, we’ll get it, soon as possible” says Elvis at the start on Take 19. It’s all great fun.
‘The Bullfighter Was A Lady’ (Movie Remake): Again the movie version is at a faster tempo and with a lighter arrangement.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
Once again Elvis jokes about the “Ol’ lay” when The Amigos seems to miss out the timing all too often.
On Take 10 “The people were starting to hiss” gets an “Ole”, while on Take 12 “he heard the crowd shouting Ole” does not get an “Ole”! Elvis jokes, “I’ve never turned down an ol’ lay”
On Take 13 Elvis sings, “He curd the how” instead of “He heard the crowd” and starts laughing. Once again everyone’s happy vibe shines through.
We also finally get the cute ‘Movie Master’ Take 17 release – a very fine addition.
Malaguena: This backing-track does not feature Elvis and has never been released before.
A popular Latino instrumental by Ernesto Lecuona, Malagueña was released by Chet Atkins in 1956 and later by Connie Francis (singing in Spanish) as a B-Side to her single ‘My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own’.
It was probably an additional song that they hoped Elvis would overdub for the movie in the same way he would overdub ‘Guadalajara’ but in the end nothing came of it. The band and The Amigos work though ten attempts to get the backing track right before a splice would be used for the master. Listening to a couple of takes of this would surely be enough to satisfy any Elvis fan. Here we get 15 minutes of Malaguena outtakes.
| Side Note: Had Elvis supplied a vocal for this track ‘Malaguena’ they would have had twelve tracks for the soundtrack album and by adding the very suitable ‘You’ll Be Gone’ as a Bonus Track, RCA would not have needed to plunder filler tracks from the 1963 “Lost Album” session. This means that fans might have got another 1963 studio album to follow on from ‘Pot Luck’ which surely would have sold better than Kissin’ Cousins. This could have meant that Elvis’ soundtrack albums might have had not assumed their mid-sixties importance and also changed Elvis' idea of what he should be recording. Just one song could have made that difference! |
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You Can’t Say No In Acapulco: At the start Elvis has trouble with the count in. At one point he got very frustrated making them stop the tape saying, "Hold It, Goddamn it!" It is always fascinating to hear the recording process in action and here we listen in on Elvis sorting things out with musical director Joseph Lilley. On Take 4, the first complete version, Elvis seemed a little reticent with the lyrics and the tempo was a little slower.
All these takes were previously released. By Take 5 everything was in place and the album master was completed.
Guadalajara: Elvis’ version of a great Mexican tune, still sung by Mariachi bands all over Mexico today. Pepe Guízar, who was born in Guadalajara, composed the number back in 1938. It was the final track recorded by the group on the last day of the session at around 3am in the morning and with Elvis having to sing in Spanish only the backing-track was recorded.
The song was then finished by Elvis, as a vocal overdub, a month after the first session.
On this release we get all the backing-track outtakes - as well as all of Elvis’ ten overdub attempts. With over 33 minutes of the same song repeated fans will be justified to skip this last part of CD3.
Previously Unreleased Delights.
The backing-track session is interesting as an examination of the whole band trying to pull it together without a guide vocal. (Sing-along-folks!) Several times they drift off timing and there’s a great misplaced trumpet toot in Take 4.
There must have been another overdub session as the Amigos partying in the background and the key Spanish violin was later added at some point to complete the master backing track.
Elvis’ vocal overdubs do not vary that much with Elvis often stopping due to fluffing the Spanish lyrics or his timing. Elvis calls “Hold It’ to the first attempt and as the backing tape slows down Elvis jokes about it cutely deepening and slurring his words.
Interestingly Take 2, with its strong power-ending, was one of the very first studio outtakes ever released when included on ‘A Legendary Performer Vol 3’. The end was also used in the final splice.
Again Elvis is amused when on Take 3, they start playing the backing track at twice the correct speed. Elvis delightfully laughed, "It’ll never happen, never happen" before they correct the speed.
Take 10 – the final attempt before Elvis gave up – is a cute addition as Elvis gets tongue-tied causing him to break up laughing, ‘Whoo”.
The final release was a spliced from Elvis’ vocal overdubs Takes 6 & 2.
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Overall Verdict: For some reason Elvis fans often complain that this soundtrack album was a lightweight disappointment but with the superbly descriptive title of “Fun In Acupulco” what more could you except than Bullfighting, Bossa Novas, Maracas, Mariachis, Muchachas, Vino, Dinero and Amor!
It was a great improvement on the previous 'World’s Fair' and for a musically themed soundtrack album it is a classic.
More power to FTD for releasing the (near) complete sessions - and with Elvis obviously enjoying the “latino challenge” having the chance to eavesdrop on the full recording session is a lovely, upbeat experience. Truly a collector's treat, and with an incredible audio quality, over 55 years since Elvis stepped into the studio to record this box of Mexican delights.
While fans need to be aware of multiple tracks not featuring Elvis - or several being vocal overdubs - there are a pile of “Previously Unreleased Delights” that makes this deluxe-set a collector’s essential purchase
FTD, More Complete Sessions please!
Review by Piers Beagley.
-Copyright EIN June 2019
EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.
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Right: Original Australian Album release |
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'The Fun In Acapulco Sessions' - Special 3-CD Deluxe release.
FTD March 2019 release #506020-975135
Album produced and art directed by Ernst Mikael Jørgensen & Roger Semon.
Mastered / Mixed by Sebastian Jeansson and Vic Anesini. |
