"It's Now or Never" is one of my favorite records. It's not just the song, but the arrangement and the tension between Elvis and rest of the instrumentation and voices by The Jordanaires. Operatic, and I believe the song is based on an Italian pop song, it's interesting to hear a European melody attached to a solid American aesthetic such as Elvis. The songwriters Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold also wrote Elvis' "Good Luck Charm." To me, this is a sound that is separate from his work in the 1950s. It has a dramatic flair, that is cinematic, and the cha-cha rhythm slowed down and then speeded up is a remarkable work of tension. "A Mess of Blues" the b-side is written by Doc Pomus and the always fascinating Mort Schuman, who later had recordings in France, and became associated with the songs of Jacques Brel. It's a strange world, and Elvis has always struck me as a man from another world - like his fellow label mate, David Bowie.
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