In the two years following the Memphis sessions of 1969 Elvis went back to RCA's Studio B in Nashville to record new music. In 1972 he taped a few songs in the label's Studio C in Hollywood. After having signed a new contract with RCA in early 1973 he didn't do anything, before the management reminded him of his duties in written form. At the time STAX in Memphis was famous for their funky r&b sound, but Presley chose to record there simply because the facility was just a five minutes car ride away from his Graceland mansion. Some of the musicians had worked with Elvis during the American sessions four years ago and they where shocked by his slightly bloated and at times obviously intoxicated appearance. Instead of the expected 24 masters, the sessions just yielded nine and the king insisted on saving two of them for a furture single release. Finally the overdue album was filled with three songs, Elvis recorded in a hastily arranged session at his home in Palm Springs. After a troublesome "Elvis Summer Festival" in Vegas, his divorce and a drug treatment the singer returned to STAX in December. This time he was in a clear frame of mind, motivated and in fine voice. As a result he produced 18 new tracks within a single week. In total he had met his contract, but the modality certainly wasn't according to the expectations of Elvis' business partner.

In contrast to the American sessions in 1969, the ones at STAX didn't produce any major hits. Tracks like "If You Talk In Your Sleep", "Promised Land" and "My Boy" reached the top20, but that was it. The longplayers "Raised On Rock" and "Good Times" stagnated at worldwide sales of a million units, the "Promised Land" album did a little better. While his concerts sold out wherever he went and compilations a' la "A Legendary Performer" were retailed in large quantities, the market for his current recordings was confined.

When he returned to Nashville in 1970, Elvis also returned to a traditional way of recording. The core of the tracks was recorded with everybody playing and singing together. Afterwards these performances were enhanced with strings, horns and additional harmony voices. Matt Ross-Spang worked with the recordings of the original sessions and left out everything, that was added in post-production. Once again many songs benefit from the principle of "less is more". Matt put the focus on the guitar, the drums and the bass. In some cases he also brought the harmony singers to the fore.

The rock'n'roll song was penned by Chuck Berry, whose recording peaked at number 41 of Billboard's "Hot 100" in 1964. Ten years later Elvis' cover version did better and climbed to number 14. The king recorded "Promised Land" on December 15, 1973 within six takes. The track was enhanced with a harmony vocal by Elvis, an echo effect, an organ (overdubbed on January 2, 1974) and a tambourine (overdubbed on January 15, 1974). In the end the king didn't like the result and had his harmony vocal, the echo and the organ removed. Matt Ross-Spang brought the organ back and also focused on the guitar and the drums. The result rocks like hell!

Compared to "Promised Land" Elvis' voice sounds much weaker. It's almost impossible to connect his tired vocals to the good ole' rock'n'roll. The lyrics don't fit the king at all, because he claims to have been grown up with the music he made popular and even mentions a track from the 1960s! The song itself is nicely written, uptempo radio-pop. I also like the driving beat, which is created by using two drummers. Compared to the original version Matt's remix sounds punchier, but it cannot save Elvis' mediocre perfomance. RCA had released the track on a single in early September 1973, but hadn't made it past number 41 of the "Hot 100". Elvis recorded "Raised On Rock" on July 23, 1973 within ten takes.

Here we have another declaration of love, albeit brisker and without any kitsch. This is no surprise, because the song was written by Tony Joe White, who also was the first to record it. Elvis did so on July 22, 1973 and needed 15 takes. The track was released in early 1974, without the overdubs it sounds almost better than the original.

The most unusual song of this album was written by Red West and Johnny Christopher. The funky sound of the 1970s wasn't Elvis' cup of tea, but here he sounds very modern and seems to enjoy himself. The audience also seemed to like "If You Talk In Your Sleep", because the king scored a top 20 hit with the song. It was recorded on December 11, 1973. Take nine was selected for post-production and was enhanced with harmony voices (January 2, 1974), strings (January 10, 1974) and horns (January 11, 1974). Without these additions the whole thing sounds less funky and 1970ish.

The ballad "Parce Que Je T'Aime, Mon Enfant" was written by Claude Francois and Jean Pierre Bourtayre, Bill Martin and Phil Coulter later provided English lyrics. In 1971 the actor Richard Harris scored a top50-hit with "My Boy". The king performed the song during his "Elvis Summer Festival 1973" in Las Vegas and recorded it in the studio on December 13, 1973 within three takes. The song is a monologue of a father in front of his sleeping son. He confesses that the love for his wife had died a long time ago, but it would break his heart to leave and not be able to see him growing up. Elvis' voice is so full of loneliness and sadness that one just has to believe every word he sings. Without doubt "My Boy" is one of the king's best performances ever. Without the strings (recorded on January 10, 1974) and horns (added on January 15, 1974) the focus is on Elvis' voice and his emotional performance. To avoid any emptiness Matt Ross-Spang brought the harmony singers a bit to the fore.  In general this remix works very well and sounds less vegasy.

Originally this song was an instrumental by Bert Kaempfert, before Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder added English lyrics. The Austrian singer Freddy Quinn (Franz Eugen Helmuth Manfred Nidl) was the first to record "Spanish Eyes", but it was Al Martino, who scored a hit with the song. The narrator says goodbye to his loved one, a blue-eyed Spanish lady. In real life this is a true rarity, but I guess Singleton and Snyder needed an additional word because otherwise they would have had to stretch "spanish" too much in the melody. The song is a classic and Elvis obviously liked it. He sang it a lot in private and also included it in his stage show in early 1974. The studio version was recorded on December 16, 1973, the 4th attempt became the master take. Without the violins, added on January 10, 1974, the ballad sounds more intimate.

 Elvis recorded the country song with religious lyrics on December 12, 1973 within a single take. Before the track was released on the b-side of "If You Talk In Your Sleep", Felton Jarvis added strings to the performance. They distracted from Elvis' imperfect vocals, so the pure version simply reveals, that another try wouldn't have hurt. By the way: We also get to hear the false start, that preceded the rendition.

The religious funk was written by Dennis Linde, who had also delivered "Burning Love" in 1972. The lyrics can be summerized with "With God everything is fine". Musically the song is very different to what Elvis usually recorded at the time. It's funky and modern (at the perspective of 1974) and the king obviously is enjoying himself singing it. On December 10, 1973 Elvis recorded seven takes of "I Got A Feeling In My Body", the third attempt was enhanced with more harmony voices and further instruments. The remix sounds more tight and rocking.

Elvis recorded the song by Billy Ed Wheeler and Jerry Chesnut on December 10, 1973. He workded hard and needed 19 attempts before the performance sounded the way he wanted. On the same day the king also recorded harmony vocals, strings were added on January 10, 1974. Elvis sings about his loneliness in the night in an absolute believable way and masters the soft parts as well as the operatic ones. Without the violins the ballad sounds more intimate.

This is another cover version, this time written by Jerry Crutchfield and first released in 1964 by The Spidells. The singer threatens to end the relationship, if his lady doesn't reconsider her behavior towards him. Once again Elvis sounds fatigued, which in this case may be regarded as a stylistic element. In total Elvis recorded nine takes of "Find Out What's Happening". Matt Ross-Spang's remix sounds crystal clear and rocks quite nicely. Unfortunately he couldn't do anything about the king's tired performance.

This one is a true gem. James Burton's wah-wah effect, the classy vocals of Westmoreland, Greene and Holladay and a dazed sounding Elvis. The whole thing sounds extremely funky, very atmospheric and absolutely contemporary (from 1973's point of view). I can be estimated, that the king really was overmedicated, but here his condition matched the song. It's strange, that "If You Don't Come Back" sounds so 1970ish, because the Leiber/Stoller song was first released as early as 1963 by The Drifters. The remixed version here is the best one, I've heared so far.

The ballad was written by Tony Joe White, who was also the first to record it. Elvis followed him on July 23, 1973 and delivered the ultimate version of the song with take number eight. The narrator is left by his wife and asks her to allow him to take her in his arms for one last time. The melody is sad, the arrangement is sparse and Elvis sounds honestly sad. Today "For Ol' Times Sake" often is overlooked, but for me this is one of the king's greatest ballads. Once again the new mix brings out the best of this recording.

The singer tries to woo a lady, but he sounds so tired and powerless, that the success is doubtful. Elvis obviously didn't care for "Just A Little Bit" and approved the second take for release. Unfortunately a remix cannot turn a bad performance into a good one. It's a pity, that the king wasn't interested in delivering a good performance, because his cover version is arranged a lot better than the original by Tiny Topsy (released in 1959). By the way: The song was written by John Thornton, Piney Brown, Ralph Blass and Earl Washington.

The singer is thinking about the old days, in which -of course- everything was much better. He does so in form of a country rock, which sounds mighty fine and is performed with obvious joy. "Talk About The Good Times" was written by Jerry Reed, who scored a top20 hit on the country charts with the song in 1970. Elvis recorded the tune on December 14, 1973 within 4 takes. On January 2, 1974 Felton Jarvis added harmony vocals and shortened the performance of half a minute. The remix features the complete recording (including a verse, that was cut from the master) and puts the focus on the drums and the clavinet. It works very well, but I prefer the original with the harmony singers.

Dobie Gray had recorded "Loving Arms" just a few months before Elvis did so on December 13, 1973. The king followed Gray's interpretation quite closely and needed just three takes to deliver a perfect performance. On January 10, 1974 Felton Jarvis silenced the harmony singers and added strings. The remix includes the original singers, but leaves out the overdubed violins. The performance becomes more intimate that way and one really can focus on Elvis' great voice and his emotional rendition of the song.

This country tune was penned by Billy Joe Shaver and Waylone Jennings. The last mentioned one also released "You Asked Me To" on a single in October 1973 and scored a top 10 hit with it on the country charts. The song was listed for 15 weeks, so it still was on the hitparade when Elvis recorded it on December 11th. Take 6 was selected for release and enhanced with additional instruments on January 2, 1974. The singer promises to do each and everything for his loved one, if she would just ask him. Even though I wouldn't go that far myself, I like the song very much. The remix doesn't sound all that different, but the audio quality is much better than on the remastered "Promised Land" album.

Danny O' Keefe wrote and recorded the song in 1969. Elvis taped his version on December 13, 1973, the ninth attempt was selected for post-production and release. The singer feels lonely, because everybody is leaving the town. He is on the decline and even has to take pills to bear the situation. Elvis left out the part with the pills, I guess it was a tad too close to his own life. On January 2nd and 15th 1974 further instruments were added and the recording was shortened of 1.5 minutes. Matt Ross-Spang presents the complete performance and also left the overdubed guitar in place. Once again the biggest difference to the master is the new mix, which makes one of Presley's best recordings even better.

The walz is a declaration of love from a father to his child, but it can also be regarded a regular love song. It was written by Rory Bourke and recorded by Elvis on December 15, 1973 within 9 takes. On January 11, 1974 violins were added and the performance was shortened of a minute. Without the sugar coating the track sounds less kitschy.

The singer laments the dying relationship with his lady and points out, that there is someone else who would pay a lot more intention to him. Elvis recorded the song by Troy Seals and Denny Rice on December 15, 1973 and selected the 8th take for release. The production was finalized on January 11, 1974 with the addition of strings. Shortly before the king Doby Gray and Conway Twitty had also recorded "There's A Honkey Tonk Angel", the latter one even scored a number one hit with it on the country charts. Fun fact: Cliff Richard had also recorded and released the song in 1975. When he realized that in the US prostitutes were also called honkey tonk angles, he quickly had the record removed from the market. When a remix of Elvis' version was released in 1979, it charted at number 6 and sold 250,000 units. The track was taken from the album "Our Memories Of Elvis - Volume 2", which also offered the "pure" Presley sound. Of course the technology has massively improved since the 70s of the last century, so the new remix (once again sans the strings) sounds much brighter and punchier than the old one.

Elvis recorded this ballad on July 21, 1973 within six takes. On September 28th Felton Jarvis added strings and a guitar. The song by Ed Warren and Arthur Kent was recorded for the first time by Adam Wade, who scored a top 10 hit with it in 1961. Elvis' version was supposed to be released on "Raised On Rock / For Ol' Times Sake", but he insisted on holding the track back for a separate release on a single. And so it premiered in early 1974 on the b-side of "I've Got A Thing About You Baby" and was later re-released on "Good Times". The narrator begs the new partner of his loved one to take care of her. The lyrics are quite pathetic and the original production pulls out all the stops regarding kitsch and schmaltz. Matt Ross-Spang tried his best to dekitsch the recording by leaving out the strings and bringing the drums and the guitar a bit to the fore.

Way back in 1960 Elvis had taped a performance of "She Wears My Ring" at home, but it took him until December 16, 1973 before he recorded the song professionally. Even though he knew the ballad well, he needed ten takes to reach a satisfactory result. The production was finished on January 11, 1974 by overdubbing strings. Without them the ballad becomes more simple and intimate. Even though the singer enthuses about the love for his wife Elvis' voice carries a touch of melancholy. It doesn't fit the lyrics at all, but strangely though it doesn't feel out of place. It's a very good performance. "She Wears My Ring" is based on "La Golondrina", written by Narciso Serradel Sevilla in 1862. The English lyrics were provided by Boudeleaux and Felice Bryant.

Another religious song, this time a ballad. Elvis is singing about Jesus' love for humans and does it in an extremely schmaltzy way. Of course there are also truckloads of choirs and strings. I have to admit that I like this Christian kitsch very much, because the melody is nice, Presley is in great voice and he sings with a lot of emotion. "If That Isn't Love" was written by Dottie Rambo, a member of the gospel group The Singing Rambos (no irony here, because the movie franchise started over a decade later). The group recorded the song in 1969. On December 16, 1973 the king put seven attempts on tape and selected the fourth take for release. Before this was done, Felton Jarvis added violins on January 11, 1974. Of course the tune still sounds kitschy, violins or not. But the remix doesn't sound as over the top as the original master.

The rocker was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and recorded for the first time in 1973 by T-Bone Walker. Elvis followed him on July 21, 1973, but could not provide the energy a song like this needs. On the original reels he can be heared saying "I can't kick that motherfucker". Unfortunately the master proves, that he was right. The remix puts the focus on the drums, the bass and the guitar. The trick works well, the new incarnation doesn't sound as tired as the version on the album "Raised On Rock".