In 2015 FTD released a collector's edition of "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3". It was the usual set of two compact discs, housed in a 7" digipak and accompanied by a booklet with background information, pictures, etc. The first disc features the original album as well as an alternate album. Here we get the songs in the same sequence, but not the masters, but outtakes. The second disc contains further outtakes. Here FTD didn't just use the songs of the original albums, but also tracks, that had been released on the studio albums of this period. It's a good idea to include outtakes, that had not been released on the collector's editions of "Elvis Is Back!", "His Hand In Mine", "Something For Everybody" and "Pot Luck With Elvis". The recordings have been remastered by Sebastian Jeansson.

In this review I will deal with the material, that is not available on the original album. For a review of "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" tap HERE.

The Jordanaires start to sing the intro, but they are interrupted by the producer. The second try also fails, because Elvis has to laugh. The third attempt works well and leads into a complete performance. To save his voice the king sings quite tentatively, the rhythm is tapped with a baton. For a first walkthrough the performance works very well.

After a false start Elvis and his crew deliver a good performance. The king doesn't put as much energy into his voice as he would do later and also hasn't figured out, how to emphasize every word. But it's no big deal, because this is the first try.

The Jordanaires sing the intro and cancel the performance. Of course they know, that it didn't work too well. They discuss the intro, the pianist plays the tone sequence. The second attempt, still regarded to be take 1, doesn't sound all that great, but at least the king and his group manage to deliver a complete performance of the ballad.

This time we hear a later take, therefore everybody knows what to do. Unfortunately FTD spliced an incomplete take with the first workpart-take of the ending instead of releasing the material as recorded back in 1960.

The arrangement is set right from the start, "Boots" Randolph delivers a great saxophone solo. Of course Elvis sings with less zest than he would do later, because it's the first walkthrough and he has to get used to the tune.

On the first attempt The Jordanaires miss their cue, the second try is canceled by the producer. These false starts are regarded to be take 1. Now everything works fine, even though Elvis delivers the spoken part less dramatic as he would do later.

The performance is already quite close to the master, the major difference is, that the song is played a tad faster here.

The guitarist and the drummer have not figured it out yet.

We hear some studio talk and jokes. Elvis wants his group to keep on playing, even if some mistake occurs. Of course that's what happens, which the king comments with "Somebody goofed". The arrangement is set right from the start, just the part of the bass-singer would be altered later.

At some point a break lasts a bit too long, but otherwise the 9th take is very close to the master.

Once again FTD combines an incomplete take with a workpart-take to create a continuous performance. WTF?!? Why don't they just release the material as it was recorded?

We hear studio talk and the announcement of the take. Elvis doesn't know how to accentuate everything and some harmonies of The Jordanaires also sound pretty weak. After a messed up break the performance simply falters.

The third take is canceled after a minute or so, attempt number 6 also doesn't get old. The 7th walkthrough is a complete one. Elvis sings a tad lower and doesn't know how to emphasize all the words yet.

This song wasn't released on "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3", but on "Elvis Is Back!". At the 14th try to record "Make Me Know It" everybody knows what to do, there are just a few minor details to be ironed out.

Another one from the king's comeback album and another take, that differs just slightly from the master.

We hear the announcement of take 4, but in fact we hear a splice of the takes 4 and 2. This time FTD hasn't messed it up, it's the original master take. Of course it misses the later overdubbed elements.

The master is a splice of take 4 and workpart-take 8. So here we have another piece of handicraft work from the FTD manufactory. In other words: Another piece of bullshit.

This gospel was originally released on "His Hand In Mine". In contrast to the master a part of the song is sung just by the choir. Besides that, the performance doesn't differ all that much from the official version.

The producer announces the take, Floyd Cramer plays a few bars on the piano. After a false start the band finds into the song and delivers a complete performance. The beat is tapped on the drumheads, which makes the performance appear somewhat cumbersome.

FTD changed to sequence of the takes to present two false starts followed by a complete performance. Take 10 is canceled after roughly a minute, the following attempt doesn't get much further. For some reason the recording is faded before the performance is actually stopped. Take number 9 is complete, albeit the guitar part differs to the master. In general the performance lacks drive.

Here we have a song from the album "Pot Luck With Elvis". In Europe and Asia "Kiss Me Quick" was released on a single and became a top 10 hit in several countries. The second take is played a bit slower. At one point the king looses his step, but the performance is continued.

Once again FTD changed the sequence to present the false starts first. On take number 6 the pianist gets out of tune during the intro, on take 7 the king gets out of step and cancels the performance. The 3rd attempt works better, but Elvis sounds quite insecure.

Take number three is canceled by the producer after just a few lines. The 4th try is a complete performance. The arrangement differs from the master, the song is taken at a slower tempo and Elvis doesn't know how to emphasize all the words yet. By the way: "For The Millionth And The Last Time" stayed in the vaults until 1965, when it was finally released on the album "Elvis For Everyone!".

This one also cannot be found on the "Gold" album. It's a track from the longplayer "Something For Everybody". Take three is canceled after a few lines, afterwards The Jordanaires and Millie Kirkham rehearse the choir intro. The 4th attempt works quite well, even though Elvis still sounds insecure here and there.

The first take sounds quite bumpy, but it's a complete performance. The workpart-take is the last minute of the song (starting at "...and when we're dancing").

The second walkthrough sounds quite good, but after two minutes Elvis starts to fool around. The 8th take also doesn't get old, this time the king has to laugh.

Compared to the previous takes, there's a noticable improvement. Now everything sounds as smooth as it should.

In general the take works fine, however, the bridge ("...your kind of love") still seems to cause some problems.

Elvis sounds more relaxed here, but when he sings along to the instrumental part, he looses his step and messes up the timing.

The timing still is a major problem, so the take is canceled in mid-song. The 11th attempt works much better, there are just a few details to be ironed out.

Take 7 breaks down after a few lines, the 9th try doesn't get much further. Number 12 works much better, this time the drummer works with a brush, which gives the song a better drive.

Compared to the master the tempo is slower and the harmony singers join in at the bridge ("...let the band keep playing"). Elvis still has problems to get the timing right.

After he has messed up the break, Elvis cancels the attempt to record "Kiss Me Quick" with a laugh. Take number 6 is played faster and the choir does not sing at the bridge. Nevertheless the king still struggles with the timing.

Elvis emphasizes some words different to the master, which makes his performance comparatively stiff.

Once again FTD switches the sequence of the takes to present a false start followed by a complete performance. Elvis cancels his 11th attempt after a few lines with some swearwords. Take number 8 sounds quite good.

Take 12 is nothing but the intro, which the choir ruins after a few bars. The next try works very well. Other singers, and in later years also Elvis himselvis, would have released a performance like that.

This one is even better, but unfortunately Elvis makes a small timing mistake.