In 2012 FTD released a collector's edition of "From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee". It features two compact discs and a booklet in a 7" digipak. Besides the tracks of the original album, this special edition also presents many outtakes. The recordings were compiled by Jean-Marc Juilland, who also was responsible for the mastering. Here he was supported by Vic Anesini.

I will focus on the recordings, that cannot be found on RCA's original album. For a review of the classic release just tap HERE.

After the intro Elvis needs too much time to catch breath and stumbles upon the timing. Later he sings "...you said our love was new" instead of "...our love was true" and has a lot of trouble with the phrasing. After a minute or so his voice cracks and he cancels the take. The second attempt is a complete performance, but it still sounds rocky.

By take number 11 everyone more or less knows what to do. James Burton plays his part a bit different to the master, Elvis still sounds a little insecure at times.

For me, the song sounds much better without the artificial echo. At one point Elvis fails to hit a note, but otherwise it's a fine performance.

The 9th take doesn't sound as perfect as the master, but it's pretty close.

Ernst Jorgensen (the producer of this compilation) and his team tinkered a bit and turned two outtakes into a new one. WTF?!?

The first attempt is taken at a slower tempo, here and there Elvis sounds insecure. But somehow the whole thing sounds quite relaxed, almost like a jam. At the end the king and his crew fool around a bit, which I also like very much.

This song needs powerful and long sustained notes. The Elvis of 1976 still was up to the challenge, but sounds labored and somewhat tired.

Without the overdubs this song sounds more intimate and haunting. During the 3rd walkthrough Elvis doesn't know how to sell the song yet and he tries out different things on the chorus. It's interesting to hear how he gets closer and closer to his final performance.

Elvis' voice cracks several times and the timing isn't perfect, too.

Take 4 is nothing but a false start. During the 5th walkthrough Elvis sings "...you fell for someone else" instead of "...when I saw you in his arms". I don't know if Elvis tried out something different on purpose or if he simply didn't look at the lyric sheet and made up something to keep the performance going. In general everyting works well and there are just a few details to be ironed out.

The musicians begin to play, Elvis and the choir sing "had a dream" and the producer says "cut". On the next attempt the king comes in too early, which ends the take. Finally everything works well and we get to hear a complete performance of "For The Heart".

Once again FTD cobbled together two takes to create a complete performance.

The second take is nothing but a false start, Elvis quietly sings "Give The World A Smile". Take 3a (the false start, labeled as "take 3b" was presented previously on this set) is a complete performance, but the king doesn't sound powerful and also at one point misses his cue.

Elvis says "Man, you guys don't hold back. On the chord changes emphasise them, so we know where we are". Basically the arrangement is set, but the king sings in a higher key.

The king starts his performance with much energy. I guess he thought it was a bit too much, because he cancels the take by saying "Cut it". Elvis coordinates himself with the musicians before we get to hear the 3rd take. Here he sings softer and manages a complete performance.

Elvis' voice cracks during the intro, which causes some laughter. The second attempt works well. It's still not 100%, but for an outtake it sounds quite impressive.

The song is played slower and Elvis sounds very insecure. After three minutes or so he says "shit" and has to laugh.

Compared to the first take it's an improvement, but the king still doesn't know how to sell the lyrics.

Elvis rehearses the song and reminds the band "Pay attention. You guys have been in the studio too long". Ronnie Tutt says, the sound was all drums, but the king understands "drunk" and says "I can get drunk now - bring out the booze, grandma". The next attempt fails, because Elvis sings in too high key on the line "I can't take it anymore". After another false start take 9 is a complete performance again. It's obvious, that "Never Again" isn't an easy task for Elvis.

The king comes in too early, later his voice cracks. He also doesn't put as much energy in his performance. At the end the harmony singers fool around a bit.

Compared to the master Elvis sings in a higher key. After a while he cancels the take and says "Still not high enough, take it up to E". Maybe he wanted to present the song in the style of the early 1960s, but by 1976 it obviously overstraines him to sing that high. Finally his voice cracks and he quits the walkthrough.

Now Elvis wants to do the song in the key of C, which is much lower. He still doesn't hit every note properly, but it works much better and leads to a complete performance. The unedited tapes reveal, that the king says "I can't make it. I've got too much shit in me, man". Obviously Follow That Dream Records wanted to save the sensitive souls from such brutal honesty and left that comment out.

Elvis still has some trouble with the phrasing, but he's on the right track.

On the first take Elvis doesn't get it right and says "Wait a minute, I jumped on rain". The second attempt is a complete performance. The king changes the lyrics from "...in a land that knows no parting" to "...in a land that knows no sorrow".

Take number 5 lasts just a few seconds, because Elvis gets out of tune on the word "lonely". He clears his throat and jokingly threatens to kill Neil Sadaka (the writer of "Solitaire") when he sees him. The 7th attempt is quite good, there are just a few details to be ironed out.

Follow That Dream Records wanted to present a false start followed by a complete performance and therefore switched the order of the takes. The 6th attempt is just the intro, Elvis belts out "I'm so hurt" and comments "Goddamnit". Everybody has to laugh, some confirm that this was real hurt. Take 5 works well, just the finale isn't perfect yet.

Elvis jokingly warns his band "You guys don't desert me on the very first part" and harrumphs in overblown style. The official recording is started, but soon a telephone rings. The king facetiously wants it to be shot off the wall. The group tries again, but now Elvis' dog Get-Lo barks. "Shoot the telephone, shoot the yellow dog!" comments the king. Finally the 5th take can be started without any disturbance and works quite well.

The tempo is a bit higher now and FTD has changed the mix. The focus is on the accustic instruments now. In total we hear the best version of "For The Heart" so far, the king and his crew are on the right track.

The designation "undubbed master" is nonsense, because a master is the finished product. What we get to hear is the undubbed master take, in this case a splice of the takes 3 and 5. The track starts with the attempt in-between, take number 4. It's just a false start, the musicians quit before Elvis even has sung a single note. The master take sounds much better in its original form, because the strings and harmony voices distract from the details of the king's performance.

Felton Jarvis created a rough mix of the master to present the result to the decision makers. Compared to the finalized mix the strings and the choir are more in the background, which I like better.

Here we get the master take without the overdubs. Besides that the audio mix differs to the later released version.

The compilation ends with the rough mix of "Danny Boy". It doesn't differ too much from the finalized mix.