Anno 2010 Follow That Dream Records released a classic album-edition of "Elvis". As usual it was two cds housed in a 5" digi-pak and accompanied by a booklet with liner notes, photos, reprints of RCA documents, etc. The discs included the tracks of the original album, bonus songs, alternate mixes, outtakes and songs that were finally scraped by Felton Jarvis. On the first pressing the second take of "Padre" was presented twice. One time it was labeled as "take 2", the other time as "take 11". In December 2010 every customer got an opportunity to receive a correct disc for free.

Those were the days of physical sound carriers and it took some effort to correct mistakes like this. As written many times before, Follow That Dream Records never left the past and still sticks to deserted formats. Even today they refuse to distribute their products through the streaming platforms.

For this project the original analogue tapes were scanned by Vic Anesini, the mastering was done by Sebastian Jeansson (cd 1) and Lene Reidel (cd 2). Because Anesini and Jeansson were responsible for the remastering of the Presley catalogue in 2007, I guess FTD didn't do it all again and simply used the re-mastered versions that Sony Music Entertainment already had in its vaults.

As usual I just deal with the tracks not featured on RCA's original album. For a review of "Elvis" as released in 1973 tap HERE.

The song was recorded live on January 14, 1973 in Honolulu/Hawaii for the tv concert "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" was was released on the soundtrack of the show. To promote the airing in the USA the track was also released on a 45. Here FTD presents the single-mix of the recording.

During the king's lifetime only the version on the album "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" was available. The studio recording, made on March 27, 1972 within four takes at RCA Studio C in Hollywood/California, was released for the first time in 1995 on the boxed set "Walk A Mile In My Shoes - The Essential 70's Masters".

Originally Elvis had recorded the ballad on May 17, 1971. On June 8th he re-recorded the song, this time with an emphsis on the rhythm. In the end he decided to release the first version. Because this was done in early 1972 on a single and on the album "Elvis Now" I don't understand why FTD used the track on the special edition of "Elvis". There is simply no connection.

The mix highlights the strings.

The instruments are arranged differently in the stereo panorama and the orchestra is missing. Besides that the recording has been shortened and there is less echo.

The castanets are not as prominent as on the master, to my ears the new mix also sounds more vital.

The alternate mix has a better separation of the instruments and voices.

The original version of the album also included a live recording of "Reconsider Baby", at the time simply entitled "A Blues Jam". It was recorded on June 10, 1972 during Elvis' matinee performance at the Madison Square Garden in New York City/New York. 

Joan Deary wanted "Elvis" to benefit from the success of "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite". The king had recorded these songs on January 14, 1973 after the audience had left. The tracks were included in the US version of the tv concert to lengthen the show and allowing NBC to squeeze in another commercial break. Because the recordings had not been a part of the soundtrack album, their inclusion might have been a good incentive to buy.

Originally it was planned to put the original mix of "Fool" on the album. In the end it was decided to re-mix the song, so the original version became the single mix. The difference to the track on the lp is the fact, that the string section starts to play twenty seconds earlier.

We hear some studio talk, James Burton rehearses his part on the guitar. Suddenly Elvis starts to sing and the musicians follow him one by one. There is no announcement of a take number or anything else. It sounds more like a rehearsal than a proper attempt to record the song.

The first take doesn't last long, because Elvis has to laugh about someone in the studio. Number 2 is a false start, David Briggs plays a few bars in boogie woogie-style. The second start works and the ballad is performed from a to z. But it's far from perfect.

The first attempt is a shaky one, everybody sounds quite insecure. Elvis doesn't know how to handle the lyrics and canceles the take after half a minute. Even though the musicians rehearse a bit before the next try, it doesn't work and is scrapped after 30 seconds. Take 4 is complete, the band now knows what to do. Elvis gets the chorus right, but struggles with everything else. There is obviously still a lot of work ahead.

Take 1 is nothing more than a rehearsal. We hear Elvis explaining how he wants the rhythm to be. The second attempt is a complete performance, but it's far from perfect. The king interpretes the song different to the master. Instead of sounding sad he gives the impression of being agitated, almost angry.

The thrid take isn't a serious attempt to record the song, I would regard it not much more than a rehearsal. Now the engineer announces "take 3", but FTD labels it as "take 7". However, it comes to a halt when Elvis looses track at "but someday when your poor heart is on the mend..." and sings "Who wrote this sonofabitch? I'll break his leg" I might kick your ass again". Take number 8 is a complete one, but it still sounds shaky and the king creates some distortions with his hand held microphone.

The recording starts in mid-song, when Elvis stopps we hear Felton Jarvis saying "Let's cut that". It sounds as if the king played the song for himself during a break and the decision to record it was made spontaneously. On the second take Elvis is joined by Norbert Putnam on bass, but because the song wasn't rehearsed it sounds far from perfect. The same applies to attempt number 3. Here the king forgets the line "the love I had for you so long", sings the word "thing" instead and has to laugh.

The master take, which was later overdubbed with strings, is the only one Sony Music Entertainment has in their vaults. Because some tapes are missing, it's not known whether Elvis nailed the song in a single take or if the other attempts are on one of the missing reels.

The first take works surprisingly well, but when Elvis wants to repeat the "somehow I feel"-part he goofs it up and can be heared swearing "sonofabitch". On the second take the king has some trouble with his piano playing, when he finally blows it completely the recording is faded.

Neither Elvis' singing, nor his piano playing is working well. After half a minute he makes a major mistake and stops the take with a heartfelt "goddamn". Take 5 is the master take. Elvis still makes several mistakes and restarts his performance a few times. But nevertheless Felton Jarvis was able to create a master by editing and shortening the recording.

Elvis fools around with the gospel "Farther Along". Because he also sings it while the intro to "Until It's Time For You To Go" is played, the recording has to be stopped. Now the king clowns around with "Mean Woman Blues", which is picked up by the pianist. When everybody finally gets back to "Until It's Time For You To Go" the performance works very well, unfortunately at one point Elvis sings "until it's time for me to go" and therefore everything has to be repeated.

By now Elvis has changed his interpretation. On the verses he sounds sad, on the chorus he literally screams out his frustration. Jerry Carrigan also hits the drums much harder than on the earlier takes. Finally the master was spliced of this take and take 8.

Elvis fails on the first line (I am not a wise man...) and sings jokingly "I am not on key...pitch". Take 6 is a complete performance, but still the king misses several notes and fights with the emphasizing and timing.

In general this song has nothing to do with the album "Elvis". It should have been used on the special edition of "Elvis Now", because this album features several recordings from 1971. Here it is out of place. However, the first attempt works well, but after 1.5 minutes Elvis misses his cue and stopps the take. The second try is ill-fated right from the start. During the intro Elvis' rings cause some noises on the hand held microphone and the king has quite a few troubles with the lyrics. After a while he gives up and cancels the take.

Obviously Elvis didn't like "My Way" all that much, because he moved on after this first, complete performance. It also speaks volumes that he refused to have it released in later years. In fact, the recording appeared for the first time in 1995 when BMG presented it on the boxed set "Walk A Mile In My Shoes - The Essential 70's Masters". However, in 1972 the king had Glen Hardin re-arranging the song and performed it live on a regular basis.

Take 9 is cancelled because Elvis stopps singing a few bars after the intro. "I almost threw up on the second line" he claims. The next attempt works very well and easily could have been the master take, if Norbert Putnam wouldn't have goofed up his bass part a few seconds before the end of the song. Shit happens.

On May 16, 1971 Elvis and his band warmed up with a jam of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright". Felton Jarvis recorded a huge part of it and created a master that was released in 1973 on the album "Elvis". For whatever reason Follow That Dream Records issued the unedited version on the classic album edition of "Elvis Now". On this special edition of "Elvis" we get to hear another jam of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", recorded on May 17, 1971. In general it's a boring affair, because the same instrumental parts and fragments of the lyrics are repeated over and over again. Nevertheless it's nice to hear what Elvis and his guys were doing in the studio aside from producing the well known tracks.