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Long Black Limousine (takes 1-3. 5-9 & 9 with vocal repair)

The tracks are sorted in chronological order, so we start with "Long Black Limousine", the first song Elvis recorded on January 13, 1969. The first three takes as well as the 5th one are unreleased, number 6 is known from FTD's "Memphis Sessions", takes 7 to 9 were part of their collector's edition of "From Elvis In Memphis" and number 9 including the vocal repairs had been issued on "From Elvis At American Sound Studio". During the first attempt the king fails to sing the word "such", so he changes the line "...such a sight to see" to "...such a sight to blow". The second take works better, but everything still sounds quite rough. After 2.5 minutes the recording is stopped. The third try is canceled by Chips Moman, the same happens during take number 5. With the 6th attempt Elvis finally manages to produce a complete performance. It lacks the emotional depth of the master, but sounds much better than take 2. At the end the singer jokingly adds "oh shit" to the lyrics. Take seven is a short false start, the 8th one is canceled by the producer after the first few words. The next try sounds mighty fine, but unfortunately Elvis has to laugh during the second part of the song. And so he re-recorded everything from "With tear-filled eyes..." onwards on January 22, 1969. Sony ends the sessions with the master take, the splice of the original take 9 and the re-recording.

This Is The Story (takes 1 + 2 with re-recorded vocals)

The second track of the evening is recorded much faster. The guitarist can be heared rehearsing his part, then the official recording begins. After a few bars the attempt is canceled and the group starts all over again. It's a complete performance and there's nothing to complain about the music. However, Chips Moman thought that Elvis could do better and asked him to re-record his part on January 21st. Unfortunately the undoctored take 2 seems to be lost, so we get to hear the version with the king's newly recorded vocals. Both takes are known from FTD's collector's edition of "Back In Memphis".

Wearin' That Loved-On Look (takes 1-3, 5, 10, 12-15)

Here Sony offers a few unreleased bits and pieces. Takes 1, 2 and 5 are all false starts, but they had been in the vaults since 1969. Take 3 is known from BMG's "Suspicious Minds - The Memphis 1969 Anthology", take 10 can be found on FTD's "Memphis Sessions" and everything else was released on their collector's edition of "From Elvis In Memphis". The king sounds quite hoarse, after the producer had cut him off he jokingly sings "...you said you blow your cool" instead of "...you said you'll be good". The second try is another short false start, during the 5th attempt Elvis' voice falters. He appears to be somewhat embarressed about the situation, but has to laugh and intones "A Little Less Conversation". Now the disc jumps back to take 3, because here the singer gets a little further. Take number 10 turns out to be a complete performance. The song itself doesn't seem to be the problem, but Elvis' voice is in trouble. He obvously has a hard time hitting and holding the notes. The 12th attempt is killed off, because the king's voice squeaks on the word "eye". During take 13 Elvis misses his cue, but the performance is continued. Finally Chips Moman ends the procedure, because his star doesn't sing with as much feeling as he wants him to. The 14th try is another complete performance, but Elvis' voice sounds rough and he misses several notes. Finally take number 15 is considered to be good enough for post production and release. Due to the king's voice problems the session ends after the recording of "Wearin' That Loved-On Look".

You'll Think Of Me (takes 1-8, 11, 14, 16, 19, 20, 22 & 23 with vocal repair)

During the night Elvis' voice has recovered, nevertheless he fails on the word "soul" and says "No good, no good". After a messed up intro the king once again starts to sing, but his voice cracks again. Take 4 is another failed attempt to play the intro, the producer can be heared saying "One more". Now everything seems to work according to plan, but there's a technical problem in the control room and so the take is killed off. Take number 6 is a complete rendition, albeit a quite reserved one. The following attempts are complete walkthroughs, too. Slowly the group improves their performance. Take 11 is a long false start, canceled by the producer after 1.5 minutes. The 14th and 16th attempt are also complete performances. Everyone knows what to do, there are just a few details to be ironed out. The complete take number 19 consists of two failed attempts to play the intro, but here we get to hear just one of them. The 20th attempt is stopped after Elvis sings about the winter wind. The session ends with take number 23, which became the basis of the master. However, we don't get to hear the original recording, but the version with Elvis' voice overdub, which was done on January 21st. Most of the takes presented here are previously unreleased. But we do know the takes number 7 (Elvis At American Sound Studio), 8 (Made In Memphis), 14 (Memphis Sessions), 16 (Suspicious Minds - The Memphis 1969 Anthology) and 23 (From Elvis In Memphis - Collector's Edition).

 

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