FTD included "He Touched Me" in the series of special editions in 2011. It's a set of two compact discs and a booklet with background information, reprints of internal RCA documents, record sleeves, etc. The items are housed in a 7" digipak. The audio restauration has been done by Vic Anesini and Sebastian Jeansson. There is no digital version of this product, because Sony Entertainment's collector's label sticks to the extincted cd-format and vinyl.

In this review I focus on the material that is not included on the original RCA release. If you want to read about the album of 1972, just tap HERE.

In the background The Imperials are warming up. On the second take the hymn is presented in a more subdued way than the master. This is quite usual, because everybody has to get used to the song.

The same can be said here. But this time Elvis also misses some notes and his timing isn't always right.

The king and his crew rehearse parts of the song, Elvis obviously has fun with it. The first take is not much more than coordination and tryouts. On the second attempt the intro sounds different to the released version. In total the take is not more than this intro. On the third walkthrough Elvis and the band get a little further, but the king sounds quite insecure. Finally he looses his step and cancels the take. With take number four the group manages a complete performance of "Seeing Is Believing". The choir, the guitar solo and the finale sound different to the master and the song is taken at a slower pace.

Elvis and The Imperials goof around with the intro. The singers sound a bit insecure and their coordination isn't perfect yet. It's also noticable that Elvis' voice cracks two times during the performance. However, it's not all that bad for a first try.

James Burton rehearses the intro, Elvis and the choir are coordinating themselves and the ladies try their part. The song doesn't appear to challenge anybody, because it's more or less a copy of "There Goes My Everything".

As a joke Elvis starts to sing "You'd Better Run". Take 2 breaks down shortly after the start, because the tempo is not right. A member of The Imperials ironically blames the band and claims they had to get it right, because they (The Imperials) are just the singers. Take 3 is a complete performance, albeit not as perfect and snappy as the master.

The first seven takes are nothing but failed intros. It's obvious that everybody has fun. There are much jokes and laughter, in-between stuff like "Oh Happy Day" is intoned. The 9th attempt finally works and is performed in a focused and serious way.

Elvis is fooling around and makes noises with the ice in his glass. Then he performs "The Lord's Prayer", albeit in a stultified way.

Between the recording of "He Touched Me" and "I've Got Confidence" the king and his crew fooled around with "Johnny B. Goode". For some reason Felton Jarvis thought it might be worth to be taped and started the recording equipment. But it was too late and he only caught the last twenty seconds of the performance. The king gives the song an elvis ending (it's really named that way) and goofs around with the Xmas classic "The First Noel".

Elvis and The Imperials perform the hymn in a much more subdued way than on the master. I like this interpretation very much, because it sounds more intimate. Unfortunately the king's voice cracks several times and he cancels the take after 2.5 minutes or so. Subsequently the big voiced part of "He Touched Me" is rehearsed.

The Imperials warm up, parts of the song are rehearsed. Elvis sounds a tad insecure and misses several notes. It's obvious that his voice is not as good as in the summer of 1970.

Elvis and the female harmony singers coordingate themselves and rehearse parts of the song. In contrast to the master Elvis gives them a solo spot on the chorus. I like this take very much, because it's loose as a goose and has a touch of a jam session.

This is no serious attempt to record the song, but a rehearsal. Felton Jarvis doesn't even bother to record the whole thing and starts the equipment somewhere in mid-song. Elvis and The Imperials are not in sync, the king misses several notes and jokes around. This track doesn't include just one version, but several try outs. It enables us to hear how Elvis and his group worked out an arrangement.

The first take is canceled quite early, on the third one the tempo is too slow and the group adjusts the pace. Take number four also doesn't get far, because Elvis requests another start. Instead of take 5 FTD now presents the second take, which is a complete performance.

We hear studio talk and rehearsals of the musicians. On the first take Elvis messes up the timing and looses track. He turns it into a joke and sings "...was shot" instead of "...was blind". Take 2 is a complete walkthrough and it's performed with a touch of blues. I like this version very much, especially the guitar licks of James Burton. This is a very laid back take, almost like a jam with a lot of space for improvisations. Great stuff!

Elvis rehearses with the choir and the band and discusses the song. Take number 8 collapses at the line "When I see the mighty oceans". The king suggests to fade the song instead of ending it with a worked out finale. On the 11th take his voice cracks several times, but nevertheless the performance sounds very interesting and airy.

Compared to the first attempt Elvis sounds more secure and hits the notes better.

After some studio talk the official recording is announced. Obviously "I, John" is well known, because the fast song works very well considering that this is the first walkthrough. At least until Elvis looses track and cancels the take.

The performance works well, there are just a few details to be ironed out.

The choir rehearses the intro, parts of the performance are coordinated. The second take isn't perfect yet, after the break there's a noticable mistake in the timing. Finally Elvis gets tangled up in the lyrics and cancels the take. The 3rd attempt is a complete performance and works better. Here and there the king misses some notes.

We hear studio talk and rehearsals. Because this is the first walkthrough the performance is somewhat reluctant, but in general it works very well.

Compared to the earlier takes this one is an improvement. By now Elvis masters the song and his voice.

Take 2 is just a false start, attempt number 4 sounds quite good, but is canceled by the king after a while.

The performance falters after the first "well". Elvis turns it into a joke and sings the word in squeaky voice. The group tries again, but after half a minute the second attempt has died, too. The 7th take works well and sounds similar to the master.

Elvis and The Imperials fool around with "Listen To The Bells". Then it's time for the 4th take of "A Thing Called Love", but the king misses his cue on "...he can lift you up" and therefore the take is canceled. The next attempt fails when Elvis' voice cracks at the same line. Take 6 dies due to the same reason, this time at the line "...ever since time". Now the king fools around with "The Lord's Prayer" and customizes the song to himself by changing a line to "...went back to SUN Records". He also spoofs the gospel "If That Isn't Love" by turning it into "If That Isn't Sex". Then the 7th take follows. Again Elvis' voice cracks, simply because he isn't a bass singer and the notes are too deep for him to hit. The performance finally ends after the king gets tangled up completely and comments his failture with "shit".

Here we get another take of "An Evening Prayer" which once again is an improvement.

Elvis sounds very motivated, but he skips the walkthrough by saying "no good". The 12th take seems to work according to his taste and is a complete performance. He emphasizes several words differently to the master, in total this take sounds relaxed and rocking at the same time.