It took Follow That Dream Records until 2018 to release a collector's edition of "Elvis". It was the usual format: Two compact discs and a booklet in a 7" digipak. Of course FTD stuck to the good, old cd format and didn't release the compilation on the streaming platforms. The recordings were mastered by Sebastian Jeansson and mixed by Vic Anesini. The first disc includes the tracks of the original albums as well as bonus tracks. On the second disc we find studio outtakes.

As usual I only deal with the tracks, that are not included on the original release. For a review of "Elvis", just tap HERE.

At the time "It Hurts Me" wasn't included on the soundtrack. Because the performance was interupted by other sequences, it was recorded in segments. After the king's demise RCA edited these elements to a continuous performance and released it on the album "A Legendary Performer - Volume 3".

The same applies to "Let Yourself Go".

While the album featured the mono master, FTD now presents the stereo version.

The same applies here.

Elvis and his crew deliver a great performance of the SUN classic. It was taped during the second "informal" session on June 27, 1968. RCA released the track in the 1980s on the album "A Legendary Performer - Volume 4".

The ballad "Love Me" was recorded during the same show. Elvis sings with a lot of emotion, but also shows a little humor. This one was released in 1974 on "A Legendary Performer - Volume 1".

RCA released this performance, it was taped during the first "informal" session on June 27, 1968, in 1976 on the second volume of "A Legendary Performer".

 Elvis doesn't take the song seriously, he changes the lyrics to "are you lonesome tonight, does your hair look a- fright" and remarks about a lady in the audience "man, she's pretty". The king excludes the spoken part, I guess he didn't know it too well. The performance was taped during the second "informal" show on June 27, 1968. It was first released in 1974 on "A Legendary Performer".

This performance was taped during the same show, but released two years later on the second volume of "A Legendary Performer". Elvis rocks the house like only he could do.

We are still at the same show, but RCA issued the track in 1974 on "A Legendary Performer - Volume 1". The king is running at full throttle, especially the chorus is a highlight.

This is the version from the CAMDEN album "Elvis Sings Flaming Star And Others". I guess FTD included the track, because there is not collector's edition of this album.

The instrumental version of "Let Yourself Go" was used by NBC during the credits. FTD released it for the first time in 1999 on the cd "Burbank 68 - The NBC Comeback Special".

Elvis has problems with his timing, misses his cue, etc. At the end the band plays a few bars of "Guitar Man", the next song of the medley.

Once again the king misses his cue, later he gets lost in the lyrics and cancels the take. The next attempt works better, but Elvis still sounds very insecure. This track was first released by FTD on "Let Yourself Go".

Everything works as planned, so Elvis selected this take for release. In 1999 BMG included the song on the cd "Memories".

After some hysterical noises by Elvis the group starts take 5. As it didn't work out, the king jokingly asks, if a pickup-take could be produced. The producer has to laugh while announcing the next take. In general it works well, but another attempt is needed, because the king makes a small timing-mistake. FTD released the track previously on the compilation "Let Yourself Go".

The next try was the master. BMG released it (spliced with the second part) on the 1991 compact disc edition of "Elvis".

The band starts with the "slapstick music", to which the working girls dance (the bordello scene was cut from the tv show). Elvis follows with "Let Yourself Go", at the end we hear thunderer whistles, because the brothel is raided by the police. The track was first released on FTD's "Let Yourself Go".

This is the master, which BMG released in 1991 on their compact disc edition of "Elvis". Of course the second part was spliced with the first one to create a complete performance.

Avid collectors knew this track from the compilation "Let Yourself Go". On the first take everything goes wrong. Elvis is out of tune and sings too slow. He turns it into a joke and decreases the tempo big time. Before a second attempt is started, the king rehearses his part. But he messes it up again and the band simply stops to play. Once again Elvis makes fun of his mistake and continues to sing. Take number 5 still isn't perfect, but it works a lot better than the first ones.

Take 6 is an improvement, the next try is the master. In-between Elvis intones "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling". Once again both takes were released before, take 6 was known from FTD's "Let Yourself Go", take 7 had been issued by BMG on the double-cd "Memories".

Elvis says "It's a message song", then the official recording is started. It's not as powerful as the final version and the king also doesn't know, how to emphasize all the words.

The king imitates the intro of "Trouble" and changes the lyrics of his number 1 hit to "are you horny tonight". The second attempt works better than the first, at the end Elvis intones "When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano". This track had first been released on the cd "Let Yourself Go".

In the show this song was presented in two parts, both of them were recorded separately. Therefore we just hear the first part of the ballad. It's not an easy task for Elvis, who has obvious problems with the timing.

By now it works better, but it's far from perfect. FTD originally released the track on their compilation "Let Yourself Go".

Here we have the second part of the song, once again already known from "Let Yourself Go". The performance is not all that great, so the producer says "Let's do another one, Elvis".

Elvis comes in too late and doesn't sing as powerful as he would do later. The track ends with the first few bars of "Little Egypt", the next song of the medley. FTD had released this recording previously on the compilation "Let Yourself Go".

It's a solid effort, but it could be better.

Compared to the 6th attempt, this one is an improvement. It was also known from "Let Yourself Go".

Elvis' performance is not as perfect and powerful as it would be later, but he's quite close to the master. Guess, on which compact disc FTD had released the track first.

This one was also known from the album "Let Yourself Go". Darlene Love sings the traditional "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" and Elvis continues with "Where Could I Go But To The Lord". During the rehearsal he's fooling around and doesn't seem to take the performance seriously. However, the first official take is sung well. At the end the band moves over to "Up Above My Head", of which the king also sings the first line.

The 4th take works well, at the end everybody fools around with the following song. BMG had originally released the recording in the early 2000s on the boxed set "Today, Tomorrow And Forever".

After some rehearsals the band plays the bridge between "Where Could I Go But To The Lord" and "Up Above My Head". Because the tempo is too slow and Elvis sings a bit too reluctant, the take is canceled after a minute. Now we hear the king intoning "The Lord's Prayer". Take 7 works well, even though Elvis still lacks drive and sounds somewhat insecure.

Elvis sings the first part a' capella, then the band and the choir join in. The performance is ok for a first walkthrough. FTD had previously released the track on a compilation called "Easter Special".

The second take is just a false start. Elvis turns it into a joke and sings "I used to drink, I used to...start all over". On the fourth take the king puts too much effort in his performance and sounds breathless at times. Jokingly he includes an "elvis ending" and sings "I said I'm saved". Collector's already knew this sequence from the compilation album "Let Yourself Go".

In contrast to take number 4 the band is there right from the start. The king also includes an "elvis ending", which of course was left out by RCA. This is the remix from the album "Memories", which emphasizes on the lead vocalist and the band. The choir and the orchestra are mixed in the background.

After the drummer messed up the bridge between the songs, someone imitates a dog. Elvis has to laugh and orders "Get that damn dog out of the studio". Take number seven suffers of timing issues, but is continued. FTD had previously released the track on the album "Let Yourself Go".

The first try is a rocky one. The fans new it from the boxed set "Platinum: A Life In Music".

Take number 2 is canceled during the intro because of a feedback, the third one is stopped after a few words. But number 4 is a complete performance with very few glitches. Elvis asks "Can we do one more?". They did and this would be the master. Take 3 was previously released on "Let Yourself Go", the fourth attempt was known from the longplayer "He Walks Beside Me".

This track could also be found on FTD's "Let Yourself Go". Take 3 is nothing but a short false start, the following attempt is a complete performance.

The collector's edition of "Elvis" closes with the band's first attempt to record "Let Yourself Go", which was played over the credits.