ELVIS PRESLEY - “His Latest Flame”
(11th November 1961)
Maybe “His Latest Flame” is so endearing because Elvis is losing for once. Not that you’d know from the airy arrangement - or from the first verse, the song saving its unpleasant twist for a little while. It rests on a tweaked Bo Diddley beat, an undercarriage of such pedigree and power that the rest of the band can afford to give the music a little space and delicacy. Sonically it’s Presley at his lightest, but that seems to bring out the best in the man. Presley tackles the song with authority, the showboating of his recent hits left behind: he respects its simplicity and gives a more subtle performance than you might expect. Listen to him in the final, repeated bridge and verse, how he hints at despair and anger before settling on defeat. It’s not that he couldn’t fight for Marie - this is Elvis Presley singing, after all - but it’s that there’s suddenly nothing worth fighting for. 7
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Joe Williams on August 29th, 2005
Another Elvis double A you’ve missed - ‘Little Sister’ was on this too, though ‘His Latest Flame’ is better known.
Lena on February 16th, 2007
I am trying and failing to think of The Smiths song that is clearly influenced by this…
Marcello Carlin on February 16th, 2007
Rusholme Ruffians
Lena on February 16th, 2007
Ah, thanks! And didn’t he get dolled up (as the British say) to look like Elvis for a cover too? Hmmm…
Lena on February 16th, 2007
Or, you know, when the Smiths were around…such a short time, come to think of it…
Marcello Carlin on February 17th, 2007
Well, Elvis was on the cover of one of the Smiths’ singles (I think “Shoplifters Of The World Unite” but I’ll have to check on that). Morrissey did get dolled up as Terence Stamp for the cover of “What Difference Does It Make?” since the Smiths couldn’t get clearance in time to use the original photo…