Las Vegas Weekly

July 27, 2010 · 5:25 PM

Another Elvis comeback special: New album, ‘Viva Elvis,’ planned for November

By John Katsilometes

Elvis Presley sings during a 1973 concert. Presley fans will soon have a place in the islands to fondly remember why they couldn't help falling in love with the star of "Blue Hawaii." Wearing his signature flare-legged, big-collared, bejeweled and strategically snug ensemble, the King will reappear in the islands in the form of a life-sized bronze statue marking the site of his historic 1973 concert "Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii." (AP Photo)

Music continues to pour from Elvis Presley, or at least those lording over his vast estate, even 33 years after his death.

Announced yesterday are plans for a "new" Elvis release, titled Viva Elvis — The Album, which borrows from the similarly named Elvis-Cirque du Soleil production at Aria.

The CD is set for a November release. The first chance to hear any of this album will be Aug. 14, when a sample will be played during the event, "Conversations on Elvis," as part of "Elvis Week" in Memphis.

A news release describes the effort as "a postmodern studio masterwork" that will introduce the King's music to a new generation of fans, similar to how the Cirque stage show is built for audiences that might be unfamiliar with Presley's groundbreaking music and compelling life story.

Similar to the digital techniques used by Giles Martin as he assembled the soundscape for The Beatles' Love, producers Erich van Tourneau and Hugo Bombardier have plowed through thousands of hours of Presley's music for the material on the new CD. Van Tourneau is music director for Viva Elvis.

Bombardier is assistant producer and assistant arranger for the show. In weaving the music for the upcoming Elvis album, the two were provided access to Presley's original studio recordings, films, concert recordings, interviews and home recordings. The process involved breaking down individual songs, changing tempos and adjusting keys to update such familiar Presley hits as "Burning Love," "Suspicious Minds," "Blue Suede Shoes" and "It's Now or Never."

The album, a partnership between Legacy Recordings, Elvis Presley Enterprises and Cirque du Soleil, should sell enormously well, given the popularity of Elvis "product" decades after his death. The CD also is a way to imagine how Presley would have updated and refined his own sound had he lived (he would have turned 75 this year).

As van Tourneau said in a statement, "What would the songs of Elvis be like if he were doing them for the first time today? We set out to evoke the soul and spirit of Elvis Presley while building been a bridge between his music and future generations of fans."

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.

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