In 2007 Follow That Dream Records released a collector's edition of "Raised On Rock / For Ol' Times Sake". As usual the set included two compact discs and a booklet. Besides the tracks of the original album, FTD also included outtakes, rough mixes and music tracks. The recordings were mastered and mixed by Jean-Marc Juilland and sound absolutely stunning. Because Sony's collector's label sticks to the virtually extincted cd-format and vinyl, the album cannot be found on the streaming platforms.

In this review I only deal with the tracks, that are not available on the RCA release. For a review of "Raised On Rock / For Ol' Times Sake" just tap HERE.

I don't know why Ernst Jorgensen (the producer of this set) needs to edit some stuff together. He always tries to present "new" tracks by splicing outtakes. Of a collector's label I expect to get the material the way it was recorded.

The 6th attempt lacks the flow of the master, but it's not too far away.

Back in the 1990s BMG presented a shortened version of the recording on the boxed set "Walk A Mile In My Shoes - The Essential 70s Masters". At the time it was a sensation to hear a new song from the king. Here we get the unedited recording. "It's Different Now" was written by Clive Westlake. Elvis and the band tried it out, but never made a serious attempt to record the song. Therefore I am happy, that this rehearsal was caught on tape.

The band starts the song, but ends it after just a few bars. It could have been regarded as a false start, but the producer turns it into the first take. Elvis says "Can't kick that motherfucker" and unfortunately proves it with the following take. At first he sings with enough energy, but then he has to laugh and continues in a tired, desinterested way.

"Do one more?" asks Elvis. After the affirmation a fifth take is started. In general this version is very close to the master, including the tired performance of the king.

This one also sounds quite close to the master.

The arrangement is different to the composite we heared earlier. It gives a more subtle impression, which I like a lot.

As a joke Elvis intones The Four Aces' "Three Coins In A Fountain". Take 13 is a short, false starte. The 14th attempt is a complete performance, at the end the king sings "take it home, hey, hey...".

The arrangement is dominated by the piano, which sounds vastly different to the master. At the end the pianist continues to play, whereupon Elvis says "Donnie, that's the end of the song".

Some more bullshit from FTD.

Elvis delivers a believable performance, even though he hasn't perfected his phrasing yet.

The ballad was written by Mark James, who had also written the king's number one hit "Suspicious Minds". The band and the harmony singers recorded their parts on July 25, 1973 at Stax in Memphis. Elvis was supposed to add his vocals in Palm Springs, but unfortunately he never did.

On the same day the group produced an instrumental track of "Sweet Angeline". This one met the king's taste and he added his voice on September 22, 1973.

These mixes were made directly after the sessions to present the results to the decision makers.

The first take starts after some rehearsals of the band. Because the harmony singers don't join in, it's nothing more than a longer version of the intro. On the second attempt the singers get it right, but the producer cancels the take. Elvis comments "I was saying Hallelujah, man". Take number 3 is a complete performance. Elvis remarks "The tempo's just a little bit slower than the demo" and jokes "There's a chance to sing a little bit of bass, JD".

The first attempt sounds a tad reluctant. Elvis would also sound more emotional and honest on the released version. But this is just a first try, everyone still has to get accustomed to the ballad.

In the background we hear some rehearsals, Elvis jokes about the pipe-smoking bass player. The arrangement of the song is fixed right from the start, just the guitar part would be altered a bit. Here and there the king has trouble with the timing, otherwise it's a good performance.

After twenty seconds or so Elvis stops to sing and says "Missed the goddamn word of the sonefabitch. Can't read anymore". When the same thing happens on the second take, he says "Goddamnit! Can somebody give me a pencil?". The 4th attempt is hampered by the same problem, once again Elvis can't help to swear "Sonofabitch!". He apologizes to the harmony singers for his bad language and adds "I shouldn't say that in front of JD". Take number 5 is anything but perfect, once again Elvis gets lost in the lyrics. This time the performance is continued, it's loose as a goose and sounds more like a jam.

Obviously Elvis doesn't like the song, because he calles it a "goddamn sloppy sonofabitch". Once again he apologizes, he should not curse in front of The Stamps. The producer remarks, that usually the king curses with them. After a false start, a complete performance evolves. The piano part sounds different to the master, somehow the take sounds like it was taped in some blues club.

Felton Jarvis remarks, that take 4 had a good feeling. The 5th attempt is canceled, because Elvis gets lost in the words. Take number 6 is anything but perfect. Elvis has trouble with the timing, his voice cracks and finally he once again gets lost in the lyrics. The 7th try is almost a complete performance, but at the end the king gets off his lyric sheet and has to laugh. However, Elvis' voice had cracked a few times, so the recording was unreleasable anyway.

The ballad is played a tad slower and Elvis emphasizes some words differently.

After the first few lines the performance falls apart. Elvis sings "I almost lost my mind...if you don't fuck up". The king sounds bored and doesn't invest too much energy.

To present a false start followed by a complete performance, FTD has changed the order of the takes. The 8th one is played faster than the released version. When Elvis gets lost in the words he's obviously annoyed and wants to break the writer's fingers. The previous attempt is complete and works quite well.

The performance is anything but perfect, everybody still has to get used to the song. In contrast to the master there are no harmony voices.

Compared to the first take a slide guitar has now been added. The take is canceled after Elvis produced a p-popp on the line "Your hand upon the pillow". On the next attempt the king jokingly avoids the problem by singing "Your hand upon the illow". Take number 5 doesn't last too long, because Elvis still has to laugh about his joke. Finally we hear a complete performance, which is already close to the master.

Once again there's a p-popp, which Elvis mistakenly comments with "I made 36 movies and I never did learn how to get around that p". The following performance differs a bit to the master, at the end the king tries to sing bass.

The musicians have problems to find into the song, takes 12 to 14 are short false starts. The 15th attempt is the master take.

The compilation ends with two further music tracks, recorded on July 25, 1973. Elvis was supposed to add his vocals in Palm Springs, but he preferred to tape other songs and ignored the instrumental tracks.