TCBCast 425: Is Good Times (1974) Underrated? An Album Discussion

Bec and Justin revisit the 1974 album "Good Times," which was comprised mostly of material from Elvis' December 1973 sessions at Stax, though with the inclusion of a single "Take Good Care of Her/I've Got A Thing About You Baby" held over from the July sessions. "Good Times" unfortunately suffered perhaps the worst chart and sales performance of Elvis' 1970s albums of original studio material - the duo takes a listen to reassess whether the material merited it, or if the context and circumstances of its release at the time held it back. 

Bec also takes the opportunity to give her thoughts on the Stax sessions overall, something she hasn't really had a chance to do on the show, they catch up on listener emails and finally, Songs of the Week! Bec leads off with a breezy pick, the Harum Scarum song, "Mirage," which turns out to be almost as fleeting as a real mirage. 

Justin then digs in on the challenging recording session and creative choices that led to the stunning ballad "Summer Kisses Winter Tears" being cut from the 1960 film "Flaming Star." Elvis' recording, as some may know, did end up making an eventual cinematic debut in 1991's "Until the End of the World," paired with a soundtrack cover by Julee Cruise, but did you know that "Summer Kisses" also had an extensive, multi-generational parallel life overseas as the beautiful Mando-pop song "多少柔情多少淚" or "So Much Tenderness, So Many Tears" starting in 1964 and subsequently revived and reinterpreted over the decades into modern day? We didn't until this episode! All that and more in this TCBCast!

If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.