9. elvis presley, "heart of rome"
why here? "starman" ends on a fading singalong and then segues right into another one.
why this song? "heart of rome" was june '70 single for the king, a modern remake of styne/cahn's "three coins in the fountain." again, released in june 1970 and one can already hear the differences between his 60s work and that which was to follow: the arrangements stopped being polite and e's voice had increased in density, an instrument that would become a little more country and a lot less rock 'n' roll with the passing years. if one accepts "suspicious minds" as his demarcation line (and, perhaps, as his apex), elvis began easing into the 70s in august '69 and "heart of rome", for what it's worth, is one of his finer overcooked numbers of the 70s, though not a jumping-off point by any means.