Thirtyfive years after the original release Sony Music Entertainment's own Follow That Dream Records issued a collector's edition of "Good Times". The set includes two compact discs and a booklet, housed in a 7" digi-pak. The release is not available on the streaming platforms, because FTD sticks to cds and vinyl.

The recordings were remastered and (in case of the unreleased outtakes) mixed by Jean Marc Julland. Unfortunately he didn't rework the tracks, that had been previously released by BMG on the album "Essential Elvis - Rhythm & Country". This album was mixed and mastered by Vic Anesini and he arranged some instruments in the stereo panorama differently. So if one listens to the takes of a certain song, the instruments move from one place to another. Besides that Ernst Jorgensen once again uses the term "undubbed master". A master is the final product, everything else is a master take. Things like these should not happen, but they are nothing to waste time on. The audio quality is very good and the packaging looks great. By the way: The photo on the cover of the booklet was made at the same show as the picture on the album sleeve. While he lookes somewhat bloated on RCA's classic release, he appears to be in fine shape here. Sometimes the selection of pictures was strange back then.

As usual I only describe the tracks, that are not part of the original album. For a review of "Good Times" tap HERE.

The musicians are rehearsing, then Elvis asks about the intro. The chorus is also rehearsed, the harmony singers are involved, too. The first take is a very insecure one. Nobody really seems to know what to do. It's a first try, just to get a feeling for the song.

The arrangement is fixed, but the king still has to figure out his interpretation. The ending is different to the master, because the choir is involved. After the performance is finished Elvis rehearses several parts of the song with the band and the harmony singers.

The musicians play the funk-rhythm of "I Got A Feeling In My Body", then the first take is announced. Elvis isn't as involved as on the master and the band has to figure out their part, too. In contrast to the released version we get to hear some bass vocals by J.D. Sumner. In total the take gives the impression of a jam session, which I like very much.

Here the song is played a tad slower and it doesn't have the flow of the master. For a first walkthrough the performance works surprisingly well.

Elvis still has some trouble with the timing, but in total everything works fine.

We hear some studio talk, Ronnie Tutt limbers on the bass drum. The song works well from the start, the drums sound quite different to the master.

Compared to the released version the song is played a tad slower and the harmony singers are arranged differently. Because he had performed "My Boy" on a regular basis in Vegas, Elvis knows what to do right from the start. Some of the musicians, who were not part of the king's live band, show a few insecurities here and there. At the end James Burton plays a little improvisation.

On the first take Elvis' voice suddenly cracks, which makes him laugh. After that the musicians struggle to start the song, but then everything runs smoothly. It obvious, that the song is known to everyone.

The intro differs to the master and Elvis' performance isn't as structured yet. But I like this take very much, because it has the feeling of a jam session. The country piano, played loose as a goose by David Briggs, adds to the vibe.

Elvis mistakenly sings "...some caught a freight, some caught a crane" (instead of "plane") and has to laugh out loud. He goofs around a bit (...good time Charlie's lost his mind) and continues with a serious take 8.

The musicians get into the groove, then the take is announced. The performance is much more structured than on take 1 and JD Sumner's bass parts are mixed to the background.

By now everybody knows what to do. Elvis emphasizes a few words different to the master and struggles a bit with the timing here and there. These are no big issues, just some details that have to be ironed out.

Elvis hasn't worked out his part yet and the musicians are also struggeling in places. But compared to the first take the performance sounds much more secure.

Take 5 is a long false start and take 7 is a complete performance. Why Ernst Jorgensen created a splice instead of presenting the material the way it was recorded is not known. WTF?!?

Take 15 was selected for release. A rough mix is created during or shortly after the session, to present the result to the decision-makers.

In the background we hear Elvis rehearsing a part of the song. On the second take he emphasizes some words differently to the master and doesn't sing the bridge as powerful as he did later. I like this more subdued performance better.

Elvis doesn't sound as involved as on the master, but I guess he still had to get used to the song. The musicians also play differently here and there. In-between the king has to laugh.

We hear studio talk and rehearsals. The first take is canceled because Elvis talks during the intro. On the fourth take Elvis comes in too late with "..some caught a plane". Later he gets lost completely and blames it on Charlie Hodge. "Good time Charlie's got his ass kicked" he quips. Take 6 is a serious performance, albeit not as intense as the master.

Elvis can't hear himself loud enough on the headphones. "A little more head on the elvis-phone" he jokes and laughs hysterically. The performance itself is good, but ends quite abruptly. When the producer requires another take, the king answeres in a cartoonish voice, that he already had told him to sing the song just twice.

The second take is nothing more than a rehearsal of the intro. Take 3 is a complete performace. The tempo is slower, the guitarist and the pianist play their parts differently. Elvis also has some issues with the timing and sings a bit reluctantly.

This is labeled as "undubbed master", but it's simply take 4. Without the additional voices and instruments it sound less kitschy, which I like very much.

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

Felton Jarvis announces "This is "She Wears My Ring", take 1" to which Elvis replies "OK, what about two?". The next attempts fail, at one point the king remarks "No-one rehearsed that goddamn intro" and says to Mr. Burton "We wanna surprise you, James". Another take fails because nobody starts to play at all. Now Elvis suddenly begins to sing and the band joins in. But the timing is off and when the king sings "sea of love" instead of "pool of love" he cancels the take. The following attempts fail, because Elvis has to laugh and cannot deliver a straight performance.

Elvis stumbles upon the timing and cancels the take after 40 seconds by swearing "goddamn". On the second take he gets lost in the lyrics and remarks "I shouldn't look away".

Once again this is labeled as "undubbed master", but it's simply take 4. By now Elvis has figured out his part and the performance doesn't give such a hectic impression anymore. The king obviously liked the result, too, because he selected it for post-production and release.

Another so called "undubbed master". We hear the musicians rehearse, Elvis sings a line of "Farther Along". This master take is interesting, because the harmony singers were removed before the track was released.

Elvis has the band repeat the intro to coordinate the tempo. The performance would become the groundwork of the master.

The pianist makes a mistake during the intro, so the take is stopped. Attempt number 7 works well. Elvis is emphasizing some words different to the master, but in general everybody knows what to do.

Once again FTD presents an "undubbed master". Without the overdubbed orchestra and choire the song sounds much more intimate, which I like very much.

The band rehearses, Elvis obviously has fun. On take 6 he gets lost in the lyrics, take 8 runs longer, but still the king cannot focus on the "idiot boards" and sings "Wasted years, wasted years, oh how foolish". Take 10 fails because of the same problem, Elvis remarks "If you miss it, you can't catch up". The eleventh take is a complete performance, but at the end the king stumbles upon the words and rimes "there's nothing I can do" with "shuffle up your shoe".

The take is ill-fated right from the start. The performance is continued after Elvis' voice cracked, but finally stopped when the drummer makes a mistake, too.

This attempt worked so well, that the king selected it for release. Therefore FTD is able to present another "undubbed master". Without the enhancements the ballad gives a simpler, more intimate impression.

After the master take Elvis recorded several more versions of "I Got A Feeling In My Body". He appears to be more loose here, but at one point his voice cracks.

Another "undubbed master". The ending was edited, because the performance more or less falters abruptly.

Elvis requests the volume to be turned up on his headphones. Take 3 is stopped after just a few seconds because David Briggs doesn't play like he should. After another false start the king and his crew deliver the master take. Or as FTD calles it: The "undubbed master".

This time it's not simply an "undubbed master", but an "undubbed and unedited master". Wow. But still nothing but take 9. Elvis repeats one verse and the musicians stretch out the instrumental parts a bit.