In 2010 Follow That Dream Records released a collector's edition of "Elvis Now". The two compact discs are housed in a 7" digipak, which also includes an informative and well designed booklet. The recordings were mastered and mixed by Vic Anesini, Sebastian Jeansson and Lene Reidel. Besides the tracks of the original album, the collector's edition also features the songs "I'm Leavin'", "It's Only Love" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", which were only available on singles at the time. Besides that we also hear an unedited jam of "Don't Think Twice, It's Allright" and several outtakes. Because FTD sticks to physical formants, this compilation is not available on streaming platforms.

In this review I will only deal with the tracks, that are not available on singles or the original album. If you want to read a review of "Elvis Now" as released in 1972 just tap HERE.

Elvis and his group fool around with the Dylan classic for more than nine minutes. It's a rather boring affair, because the king simply repeats the same two verses over and over again. James Burton offers some nice riffs, but in general the performance meanders aimlessly in what seems to be an infinite loop. I don't mean to blame the guys, because it wasn't anything more than a warm-up. Felton Jarvis recorded large parts of the jam and created a releasable master by editing it down to 2:45 minutes. The result was released in 1973 on the album "Elvis", so I don't know why it was released on the collector's edition of "Elvis Now".

The drummer fails on the intro and therefore kills take 8. The next attempt is canceled after a few seconds because of a clattering noise. Elvis jokingly assumes it must have been Charlie's teeth (I don't know if he means Charlie Hodge or Charlie McCoy), but in fact it was one of his rings touching the handheld microphone. After it happens a second time the king removes his jewelry. We hear another false start and finally a complete performance. Elvis voice fails several times, at one point he also stumbles upon the timing.

The harmony singers rehearse their part, then the producer starts take number 11. It is canceled after a minute, whereupon Elvis and the harmony singers apologize. The next attempt is stopped by Felton Jarvis, because the king fails to hit the first note. Take 14 is a complete performance.

Between the 4th and 5th take of "Until It's Time For You To Go" Elvis and his crew are fooling around with The Beatles' hit "Lady Madonna". Of course it's anything but a worked out performance and the king just remembers fragments of the lyrics. However, it's always great to hear the guys improvising and just having fun.

In contrast to the released version the first attempts to record "Help Me Make It Through The Night" include an intro. We hear talking and joking, some musicians rehearse their parts. The first two takes are just false starts. The 3rd one is compleate, but Elvis doesn't hit every note. The arrangement of the instruments differ to the master while the king sings the song more or less in the same way.

The first take sounds like a rehearsal. James Burton and Chip Young play the intro together, Elvis ends the walkthrough after a few lines because on his headphones he hears an echo on his voice. He suggests to split his tongue to be able to sing in two voices. On the next take James Burton makes a mistake, which is some kind of a rarity. The group tries again, but it doesn't work and Elvis cancels the take. The 9th attempt to record "Early Morning Rain" works well until the king fails on the line "...and the sun always shines" and stops the endeavor.

Elvis just sings "fools rush in where angels fear to treat". Because he forgets the second line the take has to be canceled. The 6th try is a complete performance, but as before the king misses several notes and stumbles upon the timing.

On the first attempt the musicians are not in sync, then Elvis makes some noise with the ice in his waterglass. Then he sings "lady bananas" to the melody of The Beatles' "Lady Madonna". If this compilation was chronological, we would hear the jam of that song, which was presented earlier on this album. The performance of "Until It's Time For You To Go" works quite well, Elvis still tries to figure out how to interpret the song. 

With the exception of the steadfast Mr. Burton there isn't anyone, who doesn't make a mistake at some point during this performance. It's really a rocky ride, but that's no surprise considering the complexity of the song.

Elvis and The Imperials go through the line "...and I just can't get enough", the king also coordinates himself with some members of the band. But nevertheless they don't make it past the intro, later Elvis fails on the part "It's only love. I never woke up from my dream, girl. There must be something else for me, girl". These lines really cause him trouble, but somehow he doesn't manage to rehearse this part properly.

This was supposed to be the 5th take of "It's Only Love", but Elvis improvises a few lines of the Dylan classic instead.

According to the cover we hear the takes number 6 and 7, but Felton Jarvis announces take 6 twice. So it's not known if he regarded the whole track as a single take or if he mixed up the numbering and filed the second attempt as take 7 regardless his announcement. However, take 6 is nothing but a failed intro. The next walkthrough is a complete performance, but not perfect by any means. Elvis often shouts more than he sings and leaves out the "I never woke up from my dream, girl" - part. Just a few months before he would have rehearsed this part until he got it right, but by now he simply does without anything that requires extra effort from his side. At the end he sings "it's only sex".

Because the intro was played too hard for his taste, Elvis cancels the take with the imitation of a pistol shot. The next attempt works well and could also have been released.

The 8th take is full of timing mistakes, but is continued until Elvis completely ruins the line "...so open up your heart and let this fool rush in". The following performance is complete and sounds close to the master.

Compared to the released version the song is played a bit slower, Elvis emphasizes some words differently and James Burton also offers a divergent solo. At the end the performance simply falters.

Take 8 is not much more than a rehearsal of the chorus. After take 9 was announced, Elvis and The Imperials continue to practice the harmonies on the line "...and I just can't get enough". The king also jokes around and intones the gospel "Farther Along". Finally there's even a complete performance of "It's Only Love", but it's still quite rocky.

For a first walkthrough this take sounds astonishingly well. It's also very interesting, because the song gives a completetly different impression without the truckloads of choires, strings and the other jazz. 

Take 6 is canceled by Felton Jarvis due to a distortion. The next attempt could have been released, too. Elvis sounds a bit cautious, which I like very much. The king himself obviously thought otherwise, because he would put more energy into the next attempt.

While the musicians rehearse, the king intones "Are You Lonesome Tonight". During the following performance of "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Treat)" the harmony singers make a mistake, but the take is continued. Besides that this version doesn't differ from the one before.

This take is interesting, because it's played slower than the one before or the following one. The drummer also tries out something new. Obviously Elvis and his crew wanted to experiment a bit, but finally returned to their previous arrangement.

Elvis cancels the performance after the line "I don't care what's right or wrong", then the take is announced. I don't know if it was a long false start with a second announcement of the take number or if we get to hear take 14 first. However, the 15th attempt is a complete performance and easily could have been released, too.

Take number two sounds insecure right from the start. When Elvis misses his cue on the second verse, the recording is stopped. After some rehearsals and coordination another walkthrough is started. Once again it's far from perfect, but at the end the king remarks "This thing is worth working on it".