RE:VERSIONS

In 2008, after five straight years without a single official remix project, EPE finally announced a new remix from a well-known Italian DJ who goes by the name of Spankox. Speculation in Elvis world wondered if they would have authorized another obscure song in the manner of "A Little Less Conversation" and "Rubberneckin'," perhaps the long-time fan requested remix of "Let Yourself Go" or another similar late 60's movie song.

Instead, it was Baby Let's Play House, Elvis' fourth original single at SUN Records. Fans were utterly speechless. "How could they let this so-called DJ ruin a SUN masterpiece?" They asked. And then, it was released - with an official video clip.



Spankox had taken the same route that JXL had taken - he had left the integrity of the original song intact while adding modern dance club beats and effects. In fact, the Scotty Moore guitar riff plays a more prominent role in this version than in the original master recording.

The song was an instant international smash hit. In Spankox's native country, the song was a number one hit for five consecutive weeks before being overtaken by Timbaland and OneRepublic's "Apologize," but then took the throne again the following week. In some other European countries, it made the top 10 - a true testament to Elvis' staying power in the world, considering he'd had been dead for 31 years and the original recording itself was 53 years old.

Spankox was mostly praised in the Elvis community for the remix, as it was far more difficult to remix a 50+ year old mono track than a more modern multitrack song. However, Spankox and EPE released a statement that in Europe, they would be releasing Elvis' first full remix album, to be entitled "Elvis Re:Versions." However, the album would not be released in the US. The reason? The entire tracklist was made up of songs originally released prior to 1957, meaning that the copyright on them had expired in the European Union, but not in the United States.

And the songs on the tracklist split the gap between remix lovers and traditionalist Elvis fans even further. Older Elvis fans were in shock. Half the album was made up of "sacred" SUN tracks. That's All Right, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Just Because, You're A Heartbreaker, and of course the lead single Baby Let's Play House.

Once was a gimmick, twice was too far. Elvis fans took to the messageboards and comment sections of the articles regarding the release of the album and began filling them with hate messages before having even heard the album.

Viva Elvis

Ohhhhhhhhhh brother. 2010 was a very exciting year for Elvis remix enthusiasts. This was the year that the Cirque du Soleil show "Viva Elvis" opened in Las Vegas. Controversial from the start, with reports from behind the scenes that the show was falling apart at its seams, with entire sequences being created, choreographed, then chucked out the window, no one was sure how Viva Elvis would turn out.

And in February 2010, the world found out. It's an exciting show that celebrates the life and music of the King, and has been highly praised for exciting a young crowd that would usually scoff at the mention of Elvis' name, thinking of that long-publicly held image of a fat, jumpsuited has-been wiggling his hips, curling his lips and singing "Uh-huh-huh."

Gone is that image, and in its place, the rough and rowdy rocker.





But for remix enthusiasts, the hype about the show was nothing in comparison to the anticipation of how Viva Elvis would SOUND. Cirque's "LOVE," which featured the music of the Beatles, had a soundtrack of over and hour and a half of remixed Beatles music, using only the original elements in the master tracks.

The music of Viva Elvis was produced differently, however. With support from Cirque, Sony, and EPE, Erich van Toureau, a French-Canadian record producer, oversaw the project and watched every Elvis-related film, listened to every home recording, outtake, master track and live show available, and tried to put in as many Elvis-world samples as possible. Then, each song in the show received a completely 21st century arrangement, in genres ranging from hip-hop to gospel to punk rock to easy listening. Some of the music would be prerecorded, most of the new arrangements would be performed live on stage by a real rock band.

The results were astounding. From the raunchy version of Blue Suede Shoes that opens the show (which borrows chord progression from a deleted song from "Girls! Girls! Girls!," "Plantation Rock") to the U2-inspired easy rock version of Suspicious Minds that closes the show, Viva Elvis encompasses so many genres it's almost unbelievable. And for the most part, the tracks stick fairly close to their source, with a few notable exceptions: That's All Right Mama sounds like late 80's punk rock, It's Now or Never is transformed into a Spanish-influenced tango, and King Creole into a jazz and hip-hop crossover, like old New Orleans meets new.

There are upsides and downsides to the remixing of Elvis. Many older fans felt it was a violation of the original recordings, but those younger fans in supported the project, who saw "the big picture" pointed out that the original recordings are still there, not being replaced or diminished. This is no worse than a cover version, and perhaps better, since this at least features direct elements of Elvis.



The Viva Elvis version of Suspicious Minds sounds like a U2-inspried track.



Burning Love was converted into a near-clone of The Hives' "Walk Idiot Walk," which is a surprisingly pleasant transformation.







And in multiple international versions of the album, "Love Me Tender" was included as a bonus track as a duet with regionally successful musicians from those countries.

• Finland - Anna Puu
• Netherlands - Lisa Lois
• France - Amel Bent
• Spain - Russian Red
• North America and Wal-Mart Exclusive in United States - Thalía
• Australia - Jessica Mauboy
• Belgium - Dani Klein
• Canada - Marie-Mai
• Portugal - Aurea
• Japan - Miho Fukuhara

THE REMIX MASTER RETURNS

Hey everyone, after a 3 year delay, The Remix Master Returns! I will be updating this site with more Elvis photos, updating the master remix list with tons of new ones that have come out since the release of Viva Elvis!

Here's one of my favorites, from the Elvis: Bossa Nova Baby album that came out this year.