‘Viva’ album brings back King

A big hurdle for Cirque du Soleil's "Viva Elvis" seems to be the notion that the Canadians, with all their Frenchy pastel leotards and mime makeup, are screwing with an American icon.

Hearing the new "Viva Elvis" companion album is a chance to consider the music on its own, without the busy acrobatics and visuals.

And you might decide upon hearing it that at least one Canadian -- Erich van Tourneau, the 37-year-old music supervisor of both show and album -- is only screwing with the cheesier aspects of the legend.

"When you see impersonators, they all look like Elvis in the '70s, with the big jumpsuit, white and flashy. That's not what I want to remember," he says.

"Elvis was a rebel that reshaped the musical landscape of his generation. I worked on the album hoping that a lot of the younger generation will know this Elvis."

Mere print can't do justice to the vocal percussion he uses to illustrate the "infectious grooves" of the early '50s.

The disc will be the show's ambassador for Elvis fans, and perhaps renew interest in a title that quietly slid into place on the Strip since February.

The "Viva" album released Nov. 9 wasn't as anticipated -- or as big-selling in its first week -- as "Love," the Cirque soundtrack that remastered the Beatles with new clarity by original team member George Martin (with son Giles).

Elvis fans were more skeptical about messing with the King. But van Tourneau is proving himself trustworthy.

He listened to 3,000 hours of Elvis. Not just every studio album, but every bootleg, outtake and living-room jam session he could lay hands on. "I think for me it's more respectful to have listened to everything Elvis did," he says. "I was really reverential in my approach."

If you doubt his Elvis street cred, listen to him break down how he worked a guitar riff from "Plantation Rock" into "Blue Suede Shoes."

"I was able to bring in way more samples from the Elvis world on the album," while the show gives more work to the live band. He hopes Sony Legacy will put up a website with his road map to each song listing every sample.

If the label is looking for a breakout single along the lines of the (unrelated) "A Little Less Conversation" a few years ago, no one track here jumps out as that ploy. "It was more micro than macro," van Tourneau says.

"For me it was not to do a club mix, but to go for the heart of the song," van Tourneau says. "My goal was to have Elvis back and dangerous. To reimagine Elvis and not simply put a big beat under it, but trying to translate the songs in 2010."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.