In 2013 Follow That Dream Records added "Moody Blue" to their string of classic album releases. Back then streaming was no big issue, but even today the label sticks to the dead compact disc format and refuses to make their products available via the streaming platforms.

The release is presented in the typical format of this series. It's a 5" digi-pak with two cds and a booklet with background information, photos and much more. The set is produced by Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon, the mastering was done by Jean-Marc Juilland (cd 1) and Vic Anesini (cd 2), who also did the remixing.

The first disc contains the original album, an alternate version of the album and bonus tracks. The second cd is filled with outtakes and live recordings. Strangely though Ernst Jorgensen describes some tracks as "undubbed masters" which is downright stupid, because a master is the finished product. What's presented here are the undubbed master takes. Besides that Ernst tries to sell a remix as an pure master take and creates new complete takes by editing two incomplete ones. WTF!?!

Below I describe the tracks not featured on the original album. By the way: If you want to return to the review of the "Moody Blue" release, just tab on the covers of this classic album.

The undoctored recording reveals the coarse piano playing and the missed note at the end. After he has finished Elvis even admits "I have done it better". But even without being as smooth as the version on the "Moody Blue" album, it's performed with a lot of emotion and at times the king sounds as impressive as ever.

This track was not changed all that much, but the undubbed version discloses how weak Elvis sang in parts.

In general this version sounds very similar to the master, but Elvis still fights with the timing and at one point he even skips singing.

The first attempt was nothing but a false start, Felton Jarvis counted the first complete walkthrough as "take 2". Obviously he forgot to note it down, because the next try is also numbered "take 2". Later RCA would change that to "take 2b". Here Elvis and his musicians try a new rhythm and take the performance in a bluesy direction. At the end of the song the king clowns around a bit and includes the word "sonofabitch".

The song has nothing to do with the "Moody Blue" album, maybe it would have been a better choice to use another live recording of "Let Me Be There". However, the version of "My Way" was taped on April 25, 1977 in Saginaw/Michigan and was first issued on FTD's "Spring Tours '77".

Here Felton Jarvis screwed up the numbering again and marked three takes as "take 2". So RCA would later change this one to "take 2c". In contrast to the released version we clearly hear Elvis coming in at the word "hold" to early. The mistake was corrected by simply muting the king's mike for a second.

Because the song had not been played for a while, the performace sounds a bit rough without the overdubs.

Unfortunately there are no outtakes of "He'll Have To Go" in the vaults. Elvis added his voice to a pre-produced music track (take 2) and obviously just the approved version was retained. The rough mix was done at or right after the sessions to present the results to the decision-makers.

I still have not figured out why Ernst spliced the partly recorded rehearsal and the complete take 3 to a new track. Pure humbug!

Elvis says "I get carried away very easily. Emotional sonofabitch!". Subsequently he proves to have told the truth because he nails the song at the very first try. He is full of emotion and in great voice. Without doubt this attempt could also have been used as the master.

The first take is nothing but the intro sung by the choir. The second attempt is a complete walkthrough and sounds quite solid, even though Elvis still has some trouble with the phrasing.

This performance was captured on a reel-to-reel tape on December 13, 1975 at the Las Vegas Hilton. It's just a mono recording, but Elvis' performance is very strong and he is in excellent voice. RCA Records released the track in November 1977 on the flipside of "My Way".

The track was used for the b-side of the single "Unchained Melody" in early 1978 and comes from the same source. Here Sherrill Nielsen sings the song while Elvis recites the lyrics. It's a very intimate and touching performance.

The musicians jam a bit, then Elvis says "ok, let's try this sonofabitch". At least that's what he says according to other sources. FTD obviously didn't want to hurt the feelings of over-sensitive fans and cut this sentence out. St. Elvis isn't allowed to swear. However, the first attempt is played slower and discontinued by the king after he messed up the timing on the "I can feel it..." part. He wants to pick up the tempo and remarks the song wouldn't be completed until the fingers of David Briggs are bleeding.

After the first walkthrough all takes are announced as "take 2". This time the song is played from start to finish, but Elvis still sounds quite insecure and also not very enthusiastic.

After the change of rhythm the group returns to the original beat, but now the musicians play a little too reticent and Elvis remarks "you guys desert me". Take number 4 is complete again and it already works quite well.

The first take is complete, but the "disco beat" is still missing. The band obviously knows their parts, but the king has trouble with the timing and doesn't sound too motivated.

In contrast to "Moody Blue" Elvis is fully engaged and his voice sounds much stronger. He ends the first take after stumbling upon the line "I forever love you". After the same thing happened on take 2 the singer annotes a plain and simple "shit!".

Take 3 is nothing more than a false start, because Elvis misses his cue and doesn't start to sing. The fourth attempt also doesn't start smoothly, but is continued. It already sounds quite close to the master take and is enjoyable to hear.

Elvis had already nailed the song with the second take, the following attempts are nothing more than false starts. There's a lot of joking and laughter and it's obvious that he wasn't in the mood for a sad song. On the third take he misses his cue and claims to need a red light - like in a whorehouse. The next try also doesn't get old, because Elvis has to laugh after the first few bars.

Now we get to hear the second take as recorded in the den of "Graceland" mansion. Because I don't like the added synthesizer sounds too much, I prefer this version to the master.

The cover claims that we hear takes 7 and 9, but we also get the one in-between. Take 7 is stopped with a joke about the blind singer Steve Wonder, so I assume Elvis couldn't read the lyrics properly. On take 8 the king complains about the empty spaces when he's not singing, the next try also doesn't last long.

Take 10 is not just a complete one, it also sounds quite similar to the master. Sometimes Elvis misses a note, sometimes the harmony singers don't harmonize the way they should, but in general everything is moving in the right direction.

This track is completely out of place, because the song wasn't released on the "Moody Blue" album. But hey, the same applies to "My Way", "America (The Beautiful)" and "Softly As I Leave You". Sometimes Follow That Dream Records works in mysterious ways. However, the rough mix does without the strange echo effect of the master and sounds much better.

Ernst Jorgensen and his team have changed the chronological order, because they wanted to start with an incomplete attempt and end with a complete one. On take 7 Elvis gets lost in the lyrics and sings some funny onomatopoeias (featuring stuff like "motherfucker" and "sonofabitch") instead. Afterwards he claims that it was the Italian version. The 5th walkthrough is complete albeit Elvis still is fighting with the timing, sings "think" instead of "thought" and at one point even stopps singing altogether.

Once again we hear a song from the album "From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee". The cover claims that it's a rough mix of the master, but if that was true, it would feature the overdubbed orchestra. Therefore I believe it's a rough mix of the master take. To me this version sounds better than the released one.

Here we get a bunch of false starts in chronological order. On take 4 the pianist slides his hands over the keyboard and Elvis asks if he was about to play "Little Darlin'", which also starts with a glissando. The next attempt is ruined by a mistake of the guitar player, which the king comments with "Chip sinking!" (a mashup of "ship sinking" and the first name of the guitarist). After the following try fails, too, Elvis cheers up the technicans in the truck outside of the building. Finally a distortion kills take 5, which causes the singer to laugh.

Elvis and the band are playing the song for five minutes. The king is obviously caught in his performance and doesn't want to stop. It's really a pleasure to hear him that way.

Before the offical take starts there is a little rehearsal, some talk and some jokes. Even though it stars off a bit rough, the walkthrough is continued, at least until Elvis completely looses track on the chorus.

Take 2c was complete and selected as master take, here we get to hear it including all overdubbs. This rough mix was made after all elements were added to present the version to Elvis. After his approval the mix was finalized, then he had to give his ok before the track could be released.

The 8th take is a false start because the timing of the band is wrong. On the next attempt Elvis goofs up after "...what she's all about" and ends the take by saying "godamn!".

This track is pure fraud, because FTD claims it was the rough mix of the master. But neither the present harmony singers, nor the later overdubbed orchestra are audible. What we get here is the remix Dick Bogert made in 1979 for "Our Memories Of Elvis".

The performance is close to the master take.

After having presented "America (The Beautiful)" on stage in December 1975, Elvis wanted to record a studio version of the anthem. But he didn't like the result and to avoid discussions with RCA Records and Colonel Parker he simply re-used the tape for "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain". The only thing that is left is the beginning and the end of take 2. Here we get a composite of the live recording and the end of the studio take. To me the pieces of take 2 had been sufficient, because 99% of this track is a repetition of the live version on the first cd of this set.