This '80s Band Didn’t Just Cover an Elvis Presley Classic Song — They Gave It a New Sound

[NinaFromCanadaEh]

This '80s Band Didn’t Just Cover an Elvis Presley Classic Song — They Gave It a New Sound


By
Fiona MacPherson-Amador
Published 5 hours ago
Curious from birth, Fiona is a music writer, researcher, and cultural theorist based in the UK. She studied her Bachelor of Music in London, specializing in audiovisual practices, and progressed to a Master’s in Arts and Culture from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Her MA research focused on the societal impact of sound within urban communities and how the narratives of art can contribute to their shaping and commentary.

Written in the early 1970s, and not originally an Elvis Presley song, a powerful ballad was circulating in studios waiting to find success. “Always On My Mind” is a deeply emotional song of a lost and yearning love. Whilst he wasn't the first to release the hit, the King was the first to find major success with “Always On My Mind,” making it synonymous with his emotionally charged artistry. In the years following, there have been endless versions of the ballad, Willie Nelson even won a Grammy for his attempt, but few have had the same impact as Elvis did as the late-’80s anthem by the Pet Shop Boys. The pulsing synthesizers and contemporary sheen injected a cool sense of electronic urgency, proving the remarkable versatility of “Always On My Mind” and its ability to thrive across genres and generations.

“Always On My Mind” was not actually an Elvis original. The hit was written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James. Legend has it that Carson was initially inspired to write the song after consoling his wife on the phone, who was irritated by his being away from home writing for so long. His apology was laced with a sentiment we’ve probably all heard at some point, with reassurances that she was on his mind despite his prolonged work trip. With that notion, “Always On My Mind” had a clear direction.

After being completed in 1971, “Always On My Mind” was first recorded by Brenda Lee and first released in 1972 by Gwen McCrae. Lee’s version came out only three months later than McCrae’s in June that year. Despite both versions being lovely enough, there was only one person who could make it the classic it is now

Elvis Presley released “Always On My Mind” in the fall of 1972, his natural charisma bursting through as ever. His vocals on the single are especially impressive, and the song is certainly a highlight of Elvis’ ’70s releases. Elvis actually recorded “Always On My Mind” just a few weeks after his separation from Priscilla, which adds a whole new level of authentic emotion to the song. In his voice, Elvis has inflections of longing and a sense of genuine defeat, or more precisely, heartbreak.

Because of the real-life emotion attached to his version, it makes the record implode with feeling. You can hear the intensity, and it makes listening to the single feel really intimate, and even almost intrusive. But that’s the magic of Elvis: he makes you feel like he’s singing only for you, even if he’s clearly singing about someone else. Despite it not being the first version, its success became synonymous with him, and he made it as loved as it is today, giving it the status of a true classic. There are a plethora of versions of “Always On My Mind” out there, but one in particular stands out.

In 1987, British synth pop duo the Pet Shop Boys debuted a rendition of “Always On My Mind” to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s untimely death. The Pet Shop Boys’ version of the ‘70s smash was the first cover of many that really stood out as something different from the plethora of existing ballad renditions. This totally fresh angle involved incredibly high energy, mainly stemming from the instrumentation.

Synthesizers punch through the mix, adding an urgency to the longing message of “Always On My Mind.” Additionally, the duo expanded on the harmonic variation of the song’s chorus to give a new sense of dissonance. Finally, the modernity of the Pet Shop Boys and their synthesised sound gives “Always On My Mind” an almost robotic feel, despite Neil Tennant’s incredible singing. This isn’t a bad thing, by the way, but a glaring disparity to Elvis’ sentimental croon.

These contemporary evolvements not only kept “Always On My Mind” exciting, but proved the strength of the song’s skeleton—meaning that no matter the genre the song is performed in, it sounds great. This was reflected in the public reflection of the Pet Shop Boys’ rendition when it reached the Christmas number one spot in 1987, spending four weeks at the top. The Pet Shop Boys' version of “Always On My Mind,” however, wouldn’t have been so successful without Elvis’s iconic take. The common thread in the Pet Shop Boys’ development of the song is the stark contrast against such a soft, tender, and loving Elvis. Without this dramatic juxtaposition, the effects of the Pet Shop Boys’ “Always On My Mind” perhaps wouldn’t have had such a striking impact.

The Pet Shop Boys' version of “Always On My Mind” came to define the ‘80s. It was used in the soundtrack for Andrew Haigh’s 2023 movie All Of Us Strangers, which takes a journey back to the 1980s. The use of the Pet Shop Boys is a way to familiarize the audience with the decade as an identifying feature. This is a credit to the synth pop duo, as their music can be used to epitomize the culture of a period in time, similar to the King himself.

[NinaFromCanadaEh]