Discs 1 and 2 feature the master takes. The first cd is dedicated to the folk/country songs, the piano songs and the pop songs. To return to the introduction of this review, tap on the cover.

This is the first song Elvis recorded on March 15, 1971. He planned to record a duet with Ginger Holladay, but the 11th take is not more than the first few words. The king remarks, that it sounded like a nightclub performance. Jokingly he calls the club "Millie's Mike" (in reference to Millie Kirkham). Take 12 is a complete performance, but without the voice of Mrs. Holladay. Elvis didn't like the duet and had Felton Jarvis removing the lead vocals and the overdubs. On March 21st the producer recorded new harmony vocals and had Temple Riser add a duet voice. One again it didn't meet the king's taste and so he recorded new lead vocals on June 9th. The remix features the basic track from March 15th and Elvis' re-recording from June 9th. The mix focuses on the king's voice, the guitar and the drums. The harmony singers were brought to the back. The result sounds much less bombastic than the original release, but also less kitschy.

Here the focus is on the piano and the organ, which adds a bluesy touch to the gospel. The harmony singers were left in place, but the overdubbed voices are missing. The result doesn't sound as voluminous as the original release.

Elvis recorded twelfe takes of "Early Morning Rain", the master is a splice of the takes number 3, 10 and 12. Matt Ross-Spang tried to eliminate the harmony voices, but at times they bleed through the king's microphone. Even though the sparse version of "Early Morning Rain" sounds very good, I would have left the singers in place, because it sounds strange when parts of their performance still can be heared (at least if one listens very closely).

This songs also doesn't need harmony vocals. Unfortunately the problem is the same, once again the singers bleed through Elvis' microphone. However, Matt brought the harmonica to the fore, which helps to hide the additional voices.

The master take is a splice of take 11 and the finale of take 16. The remix emphasizes of piano, bass, guitar and drums. Because the strings are also missing, the whole thing sounds muss less languid than the master.

The ballad was treated similarly, but this time the harmony singers were left in place. It's still neither a good song, nor a great performance, but at least it's much better than what was released back in 1972.

On May 16th Elvis was supposed to record Xmas songs, but between "Winter Wonderland" and "O Come, All Ye Faithful" the king and his crew left the agenda for nine minutes or so and fooled around with the Bob Dylan tune. When Felton Jarvis realized what was going on, he quickly turned on the recording equipment. In 1973 a shortened version was released on the album "Elvis", the complete jam is known from FTD's classic album edition of "Elvis Now". This remix sounds more dynamic.

After having recorded the gospel songs RCA had requested, Elvis sat down on the piano and played some of his favorites. Spontaneously it was decided to record three of them. After four more or less unsuccessful attempts the king finally managed to archive a complete performance (Glen D. Hardin, Elvis' pianist, once had called his boss the worst piano player he's ever heared). This undubbed version is known from FTD's classic album edition of "Elvis", but the audio quality is much better here.

This time Elvis needed just one take to get it right. Once again Matt Ross-Spang's remix sounds much better than what FTD had released on their edition of "Elvis".

To record the third and final "piano song" Elvis needed three attempts. Regarding the audio quality this version here is the definitive one.

On May 15th the king taped eleven takes of "Padre". The master take is a splice of the takes number 8 and 11. Without the overdubbs the performance sounds less kitschy.

Elvis tried no less than 24 times to record this boring ballad. Unusually it was not overdubbed with additional voices and instruments, but just shortened. The remix brings the bass a bit to the fore and the king's voice is also a tad louder. Nevertheless "Fools Rush In (Where Angles Fear To Tread)" still sounds like elevator muzak.

On July 10th Elvis wanted to re-record "I'll Be Home On Christmas Day", but spontaneously he decided to cut Sinatra's "My Way", too. After two false starts his third attempt turned out to be a complete performance and was filed as master. It stayed in the vaults until 1995, when BMG released it on their boxed set "Walk A Mile In My Shoes - The Essential 70s Masters". Soundwise this re-mix is much better, but the performance itself remains a turkey.

Without the strings and horns this song sounds much better. The overdubs somewhat covered the great performances of the musicians and the lead vocalist.

Even though this track was recorded during the same session, Elvis' voice sounds worn-out. He misses several notes and at times he's screaming more than he sings. So the overdubed instruments and voices saved the performance to a certain degree. However, I have to admit that "It's Only Love" is one of my guilty pleasures. The same applies to this remix.

Once again Matt Ross-Spang tried to get rid of the harmony voices, but wasn't 100% successful. If you listen closely, you can still make them out. Nevertheless the stripped down version of "We Can Make The Morning" sounds very good.

The same applies here. The tune itself sounds good without the harmony singers, but you can still hear them at times.

On June 8th Elvis decided to re-record "Until It's Time For You To Go". Ten takes were put on tape and the final one was selected as master. But in the end the king opted for his first version, which was played slower. In contrast to Elvis I prefer the re-recording. It's still not a great song, but at least I don't fall asleep when listening to the faster incarnation.