Anybody who’s witnessed Austin Butler’s exhilarating star-making flip as Elvis in Baz Luhrmann’s eponymous biopic can’t assist however be blown away, as he pulls off the astonishing process of getting past the King’s omnipresent picture and numerous imitations. “You wish to be extremely meticulous,” says the 31-year-old actor to NME. “I needed each gesture and in every single place that his eyes go and the best way that he strikes his total physique to really feel as truthful and similar to him as attainable but it surely’s received to really feel as if it’s occurring for the primary time.” Seize a peanut butter, jelly and bacon sandwich as Butler talks us via the tracks that helped him slip into Elvis’ (blue suede) footwear.
Elvis Presley – ‘Milkcow Blues Boogie’
“Ranging from his early stuff, I’d go for ‘Milkcow Blues Boogie’. I like listening to that tune so far as listening to him going from the sluggish stuff at first to when he kicks it up. Additionally, listening to his early stay performances on the [compilation] album ‘A Boy From Tupelo: The Full 1953-55 Recordings’ was useful, since you hear totally different qualities, like when he sings ‘Lengthy Tall Sally’ onstage, it has an explosive energy, in order that helped me so much for these early performances.”
Elvis Presley – ‘(There’ll Be) Peace within the Valley (For Me)’
“All through his profession, Elvis would return to non secular music as his solace so there’s plenty of totally different gospel songs that I might return to, together with ‘(There’ll Be) Peace within the Valley (For Me)’. After we went right down to Nashville and recorded all of the gospel numbers for the movie, attending to be in these small church buildings listening to gospel being sung for eight hours straight, it despatched chills down my backbone and I couldn’t assist however transfer.”
Elvis Presley – ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Laughing Model)’
“There’s a recording of Elvis singing ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ onstage the place he can’t cease laughing. He’s virtually crying! After I present that to individuals who haven’t heard it earlier than, they will’t assist however fall in love with him as a result of he had one of many best, most real, open-hearted laughs. I felt like this gave me a window into him.”
Elvis Presley – ‘Polk Salad Annie’
“Daily, I listened to 2 songs whereas driving to work which have been ‘Polk Salad Annie’ and ‘By no means Been to Spain’. There’s a stay efficiency of ‘Polk Salad Annie’ he does in [the 1970 documentary] Elvis: That’s the Approach It Is, which is nice since you get to see how dynamic his vitality is and the way he makes use of humour within the music.”
Elvis Presley – ‘By no means Been to Spain’
“It simply fires me up. I like to show it on super-loud within the automotive and drive. Singing ‘By no means Been to Spain’ as soon as on set, my voice went out. I misplaced the mid-range of my voice for a few days. Fortunately, it was on a Friday so we may take the weekend off, so I went on vocal relaxation and didn’t communicate for 2 days to let the vocal cords relaxation. It’s a troublesome sing!”
Elvis Presley – ‘Unchained Melody’
“Each time I watch or hear ‘Unchained Melody’, it brings tears to my eyes. It was a tough one to sing, as a result of at that time, I used to be fairly giant and so my respiration was constricted since you’re strapped into the jumpsuit.”
Elvis Presley – ‘Separate Methods’
“It’s attention-grabbing tracing the songs across the time of his divorce, like ‘Separate Methods’, and understanding that when he recorded it, he simply stared up on the ceiling afterwards and shook his head, with tears in his eyes. And would take heed to it again and again. You’re listening to the voice of a person going via an unimaginable quantity of ache and there’s such honesty to sure traces he sings, in order that made me really feel very linked to his soul.”
Elvis Presley – ‘Bother’
“That was fiery and thrilling! What I liked is you possibly can learn plenty of tales about Elvis acting on stage in that small period of time earlier than he goes into the military and his mom passes away, the place he’s on the top of his primal, animalistic energy. You may see photos of it, however you possibly can’t see plenty of footage, as a result of if he was on tv, he didn’t push it fairly so far as he would stay. There are tales of him spitting on the stage, and rolling round on it, and fully giving what feels like a punk-rock present. So it was enjoyable to carry out ‘Bother’ and for it to be at this pivotal level within the story, with actual emotional that means behind it. It’s a second the place he’s rebelling and being true to his personal inventive and ethical integrity. The best way he sings ‘Bother’ within the ’68 Comeback Particular turned an affect for the best way I carried out it within the Fifties [scenes] as a result of he has extra grit, and does a growl that turned very influential for me.”
Howlin’ Wolf – ‘Smokestack Lightnin’’
“For probably the most half, I listened to Elvis, however I additionally listened to Howlin’ Wolf, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Little Richard and all the opposite people who find themselves within the movie so much. I used to be always drawn to the eagerness of Howlin’ Wolf as a result of you possibly can watch movies of him singing and picture Elvis being in Beale Avenue, Memphis, and watching him sing and that’s thrilling.”
‘Elvis’ is out now on Premium Video on Demand, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD