In April 2017 Follow That Dream Records finally released a collector's edition of "A Date With Elvis". As usual it was a set of two compact discs and an informative, well designed booklet, housed in a 7" digipak. Because the album featured material, that already had been released elsewhere, FTD also had used the tracks and outtakes on the collector's editions of these records. So Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon (the people behind FTD) had to come up with something else to fill this compilation. The solution was the use of binaural recordings (in the pre-stereo days the engineers were experimenting with multi track recordings and one of these experiments was called "binaural") and home recordings. The professional tracks were remastered by Sebastian Jeansson, the home recordings were improved by Jan Eliasson.

Even though Elvis didn't record anything in a professional studio, he taped several songs at home. Supposingly in November 1958 Elvis asked his father to get music- and recording-equipment. Vernon bought a Grundig TK32 tape machine, a Dynacord amplifier and an Insana guitar. The magnetic tapes were produced by Agfa. After the king's demise these tapes were discovered at Graceland. In 1983 Joan Deary transferred them to Ampex tapes and filed them professionally at RCA. Over the decades many of these recordings have been released, but often in incomplete or edited form. Sometimes RCA had also used several performances of the same song to create a listenable, continuous version. Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon now tried to present the recordings in their unedited form, including talk, interruptions and other things. The recordings were made between December 21st and 31st, 1958 in Elvis' suite at the Hotel Grunewald in Bad Nauheim. The song "The Fool" was taped in April 1959 in the king's house at Goethe-Strasse. Elvis sang and played piano or guitar, the harmony voices belong to Red West, Charlie Hodge, Lamar Fike and Rex Mansfield.

In this review I will only deal with the material, which is not featured on the original album and other RCA releases of the time. I also leave out the binaural versions of "Young And Beautiful", "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" and "We're Gonna Move". For a review of "A Date With Elvis" tap HERE.

The movie version of "I Want To Be Free" is a splice of the takes 10, 12 and 13.

The record version also isn't a continuous performance. It was a splice of the takes 11 and insert-take 5.

The first take is a complete performance, but the attempts number 2 to 6 are nothing but a few bars of the intro. Take number seven is canceled by Elvis after a while, because he wasn't satisfied with his performance. The 8th try doesn't last long, because the bass player makes a mistake. Take 9 is another complete performance. Elvis doesn't know how to emphasize all the words, but he's on the right track. From now on there are no false starts or canceled performances. Each try is an improvement and take 12 would become the basis of the master.

This recording was released in the early 1980s on the album "A Legendary Performer - Volume 4". The version here is five seconds longer, but these are only conversations before the performance starts.

We only get to hear the ending of the song. It's unknown whether the equipment wasn't running or if the tape was damaged.

Elvis accompanies himself on a guitar. He doesn't know all the words and includes a lot of lalalas, but the song fits him well. It a pity, that he didn't record "Mona Lisa" professionally (for example at Ariola in Munich), because a few months later Carl Mann as well as Conway Twitty scored hits with the ballad.

In 1997 BMG released a splice of this version and the previous one on the boxed set "Platinum: A Life In Music". While the aforementioned recording features just the ending of the song, this one includes everything but the finale. I guess the tape ran out.

This track features Elvis as an instrumentalist. It's obviously not his key competence, he soon reaches his limits. Not pretty, but rare.

It almost took Elvis two decades to professionally record a version of "Danny Boy". He handles it well, just his guitar playing leaves something to be desired. RCA released an edited version of this recording in the 1980s on the boxed set "A Golden Celebration", in 2000 the complete edition was featured on the album "A Private Moment With The King".

The same release also included this track, albeit shortened of 10 seconds. The whole "performance" just lasts 45 seconds, because obviously Elvis didn't like to play his own songs at home.

Elvis plays the host and announces a recording from the studio in the Peabody Hotel. He doesn't perform the song seriously and even includes a yodel. A shortened version of this track had been released in 1997 on the boxed set "Platinum - A Life In Music".

This oddity once was released as a hidden track on the FTD compilation "In A Private Moment". It's a wild mixture of "Santa Claus Is Back In Town!" and "Ding Dong", a song by The McGuire Sisters. But the latter one hasn't to do anything with Xmas, it's about school bells. At one point of the performance Elvis imitates drums (nope, he's not beatboxing), at the end someone shourts "I'm writing this letter".

The first version of the song, including a false start, is released here for the very first time. It's followed by a second performance, that was issued earlier on "In A Private Moment". Back in those days Elvis must have liked "I'm Beginning To Forget You" very much.

Obviously this gospel was also one of Elvis' favorites at the time. He supposingly sang it during his first meeting with Priscilla and recorded several versions of the song. In the 1980s RCA released them on the boxed set "A Golden Celebration", later their legal successors used it on the gospel compilation "Peace In The Valley" and the album "Home Recordings". Elvis gets more and more into the song, as if he wants to deliver a perfect take for a studio recording.

At the first sight it looks strange to hear this song on a recording from late 1958. The original was released by Billy The Kid in early 1959, Cliff Richard's cover version (it was featured on the b-side of "Living Doll") was taped in February of the same year. Today we know, that Freddie Bienstock sent a demo to Elvis, but offered the song to others, after he had learned, that the king wouldn't record anything while serving the US Army. In 1985 RCA released a splice of several versions on the boxed set "A Golden Celebration", in 1999 a splice of this and another recording could be found on the album "Home Recordings".

First Elvis tries to sing "Such A Night", but then he switches to "Soldier Boy". This is quite interesting, because both songs were recorded professionally in 1960 and released on the album "Elvis Is Back!". "Soldier Boy" first appeared on the boxed set "A Golden Celebration" in the 1980s, but the "Such A Night" tag is premiered here.

Now we hear another three (!) versions of "I Asked The Lord".

Elvis sings "Earth Angel" for 2.5 minutes, then he stops and discusses the song with (supposingly) Charlie Hodge. After that, he starts the tune again. A splice of these two performances was featured on "A Golden Celebration". FTD releases the complete recording for the very first time.

In 1971 Elvis recorded "I Will Be True" at RCA Studio B in Nashville, but obviously he was singing the song at home for quite some time. In Germany he starts the song, has to harrumph and starts all over again. BMG released the performance in 1997 on the boxed set "Platinum - A Life In Music", FTD followed three years later and used the track on the album "In A Private Moment".

The song is based on the classic "O Sole Mio" and Elvis considered to record it. But because the melody was in public domain and therefore free to be used by anyone, it was more lucrative to produce new lyrics and publish the song through one of the own companies. This home recording was first released on "Platinum - A Life In Music", later it re-appeared on FTD's "In A Private Moment". The latter one also included a false start, which is missing on this very release.

Just like "I Will Be True", this song was recorded professionally by Elvis in 1971. Thirteen years earlier the king also performed the ballad seriously and well, but unfortunately the recording is heavily distorted.

In this musical joke Elvis combines the hit from the movie "The Man, Who Knew Too Much" with his rock'n'roll classic "Hound Dog". The lyrics are "When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, what will I be. Will I be famous, will I be rich, here's what she said to me". In the original version the mother answers "Que sera, sera, what ever will be, will be". But Elvis answers "You ain't nothing but a hound dog". When I heared this track for the first time, I had to laugh out loud.

The funny medley is followed by another version of the gospel "I Asked The Lord"

Now the sad ballad is presented as a zippy boogie, unfortunately again badly distorted. The recording was first released on FTD's "In A Private Moment".

This one is known from the same compact disc, even though it was called "Number Eight". It was written by Charles Underwood, whom Elvis knew from his good, ole' days at SUN Records.

On his first two albums Elvis had covered some songs by Little Richard. Here he does the same ("Send Me Some Lovin'" had been the b-side of the hit "Lucille"), but presents the song much tamer than the original artist had done.

Back in the 1980s RCA had presented a splice of several performances on the boxed set "A Golden Celebration", a continuous performance was issued later on another boxed set called "Today, Tomorrow And Forever". Follow That Dream Records now offers all performances in their entirety. Eleven years after this home recording, Elvis would tape the song professionally.

Even though the audio quality is really bad, Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon wanted to include these tracks. It's really no joy to listen to these tracks, but there are a lot of concert recordings from the 1970s in circulation, that sound just like that or even worse.