In 2020 and 2021 Sony Music Entertainment had released the boxed sets "From Elvis In Nashville" and "Back In Nashville", which feature striped down remixes of the material, the king had recorded in Music City in 1970 and 1971. On August 9, 2024 they followed up with "Memphis". It peaked at number 11 in Switzerland, at number 48 in Germany, at number 53 in Australia, at number 79 (Flanders) and 82 (Wallonia) in Belgium, at number 83 in the UK (albeit at number 5 on the Official Physical Album Chart) and at number 148 in France. However, in the king's homeland "Memphis" didn't chart at all. In contrast to the physical sales the digital edition was quite popular and was streamed more than 400 million times within its first three months after release on Spotify alone.

The lynchpin of the boxed set is the 70th anniversary of the release of "That's All Right", Elvis' first single. As the title suggests, the focus is on the music Elvis had taped in Memphis. The journey starts in 1954 at SUN Records and ends in 1976 in the den of the king's Graceland mansion. The presentation of "Memphis" is similar to the predecessors. Once again the outer packaging includes two large digipaks for the compact discs as well as an informative booklet.

Of course the music also is treated in a similar way: With the exception of one or two tracks Matt Ross-Spang left out the overdubs and remixed the original master takes. However, this doesn't apply to the recordings Elvis made at SUN and the concert, the king gave in his self-choosen hometown in 1974. Back in the 1950s everything was recorded on a single track, so nothing can be remixed. The live recording also includes all the elements, that were taped on March 20, 1974. But here Matt has created a mix, that sounds much better than the album "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974) and also is an improvement over the remixed Legacy Edition (2014). Before he went to work, everything was newly remastered by Vic Anesini. Because the SUN recordings are the exception from the rule (they were remastered by Sebastian Jeansson), I guess Sony simply copied them from FTD's boxed set "A Boy From Tupelo". This cost-saving procedure is nothing to worry about, because the music sounds mighty fine. This applies to all recordings here, everything is crystal clear, lively and punchy. Not every song benefits from leaving out the overdubs, but most of them do. Once again it has to be said, that Elvis wanted the songs to sound just as they did when they were released. He wasn't a fan of sparse arrangements and loved choirs, horns and violins. Matt Ross-Spang's versions of the material certainly are catering to the taste of the 2010s/2020s. We also have to take into consideration, that the musicians in the studio knew, that further elements would be added later. That's why a few of the tracks sound a bit empty or too sparsely arranged.

In contrast to the Nashville sets, this one is neither in chronological order, nor complete. Some of the tunes are left out, so we don't get a remake of everything Elvis recorded in his self-chosen home town. From the sessions at American Sound Studio "This Is The Story", "A Little Bit Of Green", "Inherit The Wind", "I'll Be There", "My Little Friend", "Who Am I", "And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind", "If I'm A Fool For Loving You" and "Rubberneckin'" are missing. The part of the Stax recordings omittes "Girl Of Mine", "Mr. Songman", "Thinking About You" and "Love Song Of The Year". The reason for leaving out these tracks is unclear. I guess Sony simply demanded to limit the physical set to five compact discs. However, in this case the songs could have been included on the more important digital release. Besides that, nobody would have complained if Sony had bothered to issue "Memphis" in hi-res. In addition to the cd-set the label also released a double album (pressed on red vinyl) with the essence of the recordings. By the way, on the UK's Official Vinyl Chart the set peaked at number 11.

For reviews of the individual compact discs/chapters tap here:

SUN Records    American Sound Studio    Stax Studio   Midsouth Coliseum    Graceland Mansion