In 2006 Follow That Dream Records released a collector's edition of "His Hand In Mine". As usual it was a set of two compact discs, housed in a 7" digipak and accompanied by an informative booklet. The first disc contains the tracks of the album, the first complete takes of these songs in the same order and the masters of "Surrender" and "Crying In The Chapel". The second disc is dedicated completely to outtakes. The recordings were digitally transferred by Andreas Meyer, who also mixed the outtakes. The mastering and digital restauration was done by Sebastian Jeansson and Vic Anesini.

In this review I will only deal with the material not available on the album or other RCA Victor releases. If you want to read about the "His Hand In Mine" longplayer, just tap HERE.

Elvis and The Jordanaires fail on the intro, afterwards they coordinate themselves and rehearse the part. The second try isn't just a complete performance, but also already quite close to the master.

This first take was selected as master. FTD remixed it and brought the piano to the fore.

The first two takes are nothing but failed intros. The third attempt is a complete performance and works just fine.

We hear The Jordanaires rehearsing and also some of the musicians. "Hold on a second, Bill" says Elvis. After a false start the king and his crew deliver a great performance, that also could have been released.

The Jordanaires are unsuccessful on their first try of the intro, but the producer doesn't regard it a separate take. Once again the performance works on the spot, the first take sounds great. Compared to the released version the song is played a tad faster here.

This time the first attempt doesn't sound all that well. Scotty Moore doesn't know how to play the song yet and The Jordanaires have to work out their part, too. Elvis sings "...salvation in his arms" instead of "...salvation in his hands". Nevertheless it's more than satisfactory for a first walkthrough.

Elvis and his group play the song a bit faster, which creates some kind of a "Fats Domino Effect". I like it very much, but Elvis obviously thinks differently and says "It was a little bit too fast".

To present a false start followed by a complete performance Ernst Jorgensen (the producer of this collector's edition) switched the order of the takes. The second attempt is canceled, because someone has to cough. The previous take was a complete performance, even though one of the microphones caused some distortions during the first verse. 

Because Elvis selected the first take for release, we have to content ourselves with an alternate mix.

Hank Garland says "Hey Bill, I've got the intro". After the first try falters a few seconds later Elvis remarks "Hey, that sounds pretty good, we should have kept it up". The second attempt works well, even though the king cannot suppress a cough.

Elvis doesn't put too much effort into this take. I guess he wanted to save his voice for later takes, when everything is worked out and he has to deliver the grand, big voiced finale.

Elvis sings the first word ("yes") and cancels the take with "no". In the background we hear Millie Kirkham going over her part. The next attempt fails, the king remarks "Gimme another start" and adds "That's a good tempo". After another false start we hear the complete take number 5. In details it differs to the master, but already sounds quite good.

Take 2 are two unsuccessful attempts of The Jordanaires to find into the song. The thrid take starts well, is played slower and sung in deeper voice. After half a minute Elvis has to laugh and the take is canceled.

After another false start we hear a complete performance of "His Hand In Mine".

Take 5 is another complete, decent performance. Because Elvis regarded neither take 4, nor take 5 as completely satisfactory, he had the master spliced of both of them.

On the second take the choir intro fails and The Jordanaires coordinate themselves. The next walkthrough seems to work fine, but Elvis stumbles upon the timing. The producer interrupts the performance by saying "Cut, please". Take 4 isn't just a complete performance, but also the master.

Take number 2 is played much slower than the first one. Because the song drags, Elvis stops the performance by saying "Hold it". He also cancels the next attempt. The Jordanaires keep going for a moment, which sounds nothing but great. These guys surely could sing! Take 4 is a complete performance.

Elvis asks "Ready?". After a minute he cancels the take, something seems to disturb him. Take number 6 is ended by the producer. The 7th attempt is complete again.

The arrangement was changed. The song is played slower and the solo part of The Jordanaires was removed.

Elvis and his crew perform the song a tad faster than on the record.

Now the group tries the opposite and performs the tune at a very slow pace. After Elvis fails on the timing he cancels the take by saying "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry". On the 5th attempt he gets out of tune at the word "desire". Now the crew is coordinating themselves. On walkthrough number 6 the tempo is higher than on take 3, but still slower than on the master take. 

The tempo is still a bit slower than on the released version. In general it's a fine performance, but at the finale Elvis' voice suddenly cracks and ruins the take.

Take 8 falters after half a minute, but the group has finally figured out the right tempo. The 9th attempt is a complete performance.

With this workpart-take Elvis and his crew wanted to tape a perfect finale, which was to be edited to another take. For some unknown reason FTD spliced the first two attempts to a single performance. The other ones are presented the way they were recorded.

The first takes are nothing but false starts, because Elvis and The Jordanaires have to coordinate themselves. Take 3 fails, because the king stumbles upon the words. Ironically the producer asks "Are there new lyrics now?". The 4th attempt is canceled after Elvis had to laugh.

Take 5 is a false start, take 6 is stoped because of a technical problem. The engineer had forgotten to switch on Ray Walker's micorphone.

After another false start we hear a complete performance, including a solo part of Ray Walker.

The first attempt fails, which is not regarded as a separate take by the producer. The next try is a complete performance. Once again Elvis sings "...salvation in his arms" instead of "...salvation in his hands".

The walkthrough is canceled after two minutes because Elvis has to laugh.

After Homer Randolph (the saxophonist) misses his cue, Ray Walker jokingly advises "It's the first button on the left, Boots". The intro is dominated by the bass voice of Mr. Walker, in general the performance is so rocky, that the producer cancels the take.

The second take is nothing but a false start. Take number 3 is played slower, which gives the song a completely different feeling. At one point Elvis stumbles upon the lyrics.

After the session Elvis selected the first take for release, so we get to hear the recordings made after the master. First there are two false starts, which the producer regarded as take 2. The next attempt is a complete performance. The song is played a tad faster, which makes it sound somewhat hectic. At the end the musicians want to end the performance whereas Elvis wants to repeat the part. The result is a short break and a re-start.

Now the tempo has been reduced, here and there Elvis emphasizes a word different to the master.

The 5th attempt doesn't differ much. In the end the king preferred his first performance and I agree.

The harmony singers start twice, but both times they fail (take 3). Now someone is harrumphing, the following attempt fails, too (take 4). Once again the musicians fail on the intro, but the next try works well. The song is performed a tad slower and the group starts with the first verse instead of the chorus (take 5).

On the first take Elvis and The Jordanaires get the verses mixed up. The harmony singers are supposed to repeat a part of the lead vocalist's lyrics, but because something went wrong the king is singing "...of one accord" and The Jordanaires answer "...knees and pray". Elvis has to laugh and asks "What? What are you guys all saying?".

The second take is a false start, the third one is the performance known from the single and the "How Great Thou Art" album.

Compared to the master Elvis holds back and therefore becomes more or less a part of The Jordanaires.

Now the king is in the foreground again. A short false start is followed by a complete performance.