From Elvis In Memphis

On The Elvis Beat: From Elvis In Memphis/A Life In 57 Albums/John Walker Ross

/ TY / 4 Comments

Friends,

Thomas Melin over at The Elvis Today Blog continues to post must-read content. After reviewing the new 33 1/3: From Elvis In Memphis book (“From Elvis In Memphis Revisited“), he interviewed the author, Eric Wolfson (“From Elvis In Memphis: The Eric Wolfson Interview [Part 1]“). I enjoyed Thomas’ review so much that I immediately ordered the book. It is now in a very large pile, waiting for me to have time enough at last to read them all.

Howard Jackson is 19 albums deep into a 57 album look at Elvis’ life and times that began back in November with his debut album, Elvis Presley (“Elvis Presley — A Life In 57 Record Albums 1: Elvis Presley“). What I enjoy about Howard’s series is that he intermingles in-depth looks at the albums with personal reflections. The Elvis portion of his site can be found in the Music, Stuff and Elvis section.

Finally, Neal Umphred on his Elvis — A Touch of Gold site provided a worthy tribute to his friend and collaborator John Walker Ross, AKA “Nondisposable Johnny” of The Round Place in the Middle, who passed away last month (“John Walker Ross — Rest in peace, my friend“). While I unfortunately never got to know Nondisposable Johnny personally, I enjoyed reading his blog over the years. He also commented here on The Mystery Train about a dozen times. Back in 2012, I asked readers what Elvis event they would record with an audio time machine. Here is Nondisposable Johnny’s response:

“I want the recorder to be trained on Elvis at the moment when they came and got him out of the theater the night ‘That’s Alright Mama’ was first played on the radio. Love to see his expression at the very first moment when he might have had some inkling that there was a public out there that might actually respond to what was in his head.”

He’ll be missed. I’m praying for his family and friends to have strength and peace.

Blessings,
TY

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”
Psalm 73:26

Download the End of Lonely Street: Top 5 Elvis Starter Albums on iTunes [Pastimescapes blog]

/ TY / 9 Comments

While I buy much of my music online these days, the overwhelming majority of my Elvis Presley purchases continue to be in the form of CDs.

The times I tend to download Elvis are when I only need a few tracks from a new album or set. For instance, I purchased a December 15, 1956, concert and various non-music tracks as online downloads from the Young Man with the Big Beat: The Complete ’56 Elvis Presley Masters set a few years back, as I already owned all of the other content.

However, iTunes and other online music stores certainly present great oppotunities to find jumping-on places for many artists, including Elvis. With that in mind, I thought I would take a look at the current iTunes offerings and suggest various starting points for exploring the music of Elvis Presley.

There are many possible paths when first listening to Elvis. The below starter albums represent only a few of those possibilities, focusing on different aspects of his career, avoiding duplication, and keeping a maximum $10 US budget in mind.

Cover of ELVIS-TV SPECIAL (1968 album)

1968’s ELVIS-TV SPECIAL is a strong starter album for those new to Elvis Presley.

#1 ELVIS-TV Special

This is the soundtrack of the 1968 television special that marked a turning point for Elvis. As he finally began to break away from repetitive movies that dominated so much of his 1960s career, he adopted a new, mature sound on songs like “If I Can Dream” and reinterpreted many of his older hits, such as a pounding version of “Heartbreak Hotel.”

The ELVIS-TV Special album thus serves both as an overview of his career to that point as well as a navigation beacon for the direction of his future, reinvigorated work.

#2 Promised Land (Expanded)

The first ten tracks of this release represent the original Promised Land album proper. Recorded in 1973 at Stax Studios in Memphis, Promised Land features a perfect blend of rock ‘n’ roll (the title track), country (“It’s Midnight”), and inspirational (“Help Me”).

This 2000 expanded edition includes several tracks from the inferior Good Times album, recorded at the same sessions. While this has the benefit of adding choice cuts “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues,” “Lovin’ Arms,” and “My Boy,” it also detracts by including clunkers “She Wears My Ring,” “If That Isn’t Love,” and “I Got A Feelin’ In My Body.”

#3 Elvis At Sun

Whoever decided to lead off this collection of Elvis’s earliest professional recordings with the lightweight “Harbor Lights” and nearly unlistenable “I Love You Because” allowed recording order to dictate over common sense and entertainment value. Producer and SUN founder Sam Phillips wisely rejected both of these cuts. Had they become Elvis’s first record, there might not have been a second.

Elvis then “stumbled upon” what became his first single, “That’s All Right” b/w “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” which should have started this collection of 1954-1955 recordings. Despite the sequencing issues, Elvis At Sun is a stellar release, with career highlights including “Mystery Train,” “Baby, Let’s Play House,” “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” “That’s All Right,” “Blue Moon,” and “Tryin’ To Get To You.”

There is a certain appeal to starting an Elvis musical journey at the literal beginning, and this 2004 release does a fine job without delving too far into outtakes and alternates best left for more seasoned fans.

#4 Elvis’ Golden Records

Essentially picking up where Elvis At Sun left off, Elvis’ Golden Records captures the singer in his early years at RCA Records. These 1956-1957 recordings include many of his best known hits.

Along with his SUN records, these cuts represent some of his most influential work. Every song here is a classic, but “Jailhouse Rock” and “Love Me” manage to shine even among the top-notch competition.

#5 From Elvis In Memphis

After the success of the ELVIS television special in 1968, Elvis recorded for the first time in Memphis since his SUN days. His 1969 recordings at American studios eventually produced two albums and several singles.

From Elvis In Memphis was easily the strongest of the two albums and certainly one of the best of his career. Stand-outs include “Power Of My Love,” “Wearin’ That Loved-On Look,” “After Loving You,” “Any Day Now,” and “Long Black Limousine.”

New and upcoming Elvis releases focus on slices of a diverse career

/ TY / 2 Comments

Get those sound systems (and wallets) ready, folks, new Elvis releases are on the way.

Stay Away, Joe

Stay Away, Joe (concept cover art)

May 2013

Follow That Dream Records, Sony’s collectors label for Elvis fans, is releasing this month:

  • From Elvis In Memphis (2-CD): One of Elvis’ best albums finally receives the FTD Classic Album treatment. This should make an excellent companion to the recent Back In Memphis release. Surely an “imaginary album” will be in the works at some point to feature the rest of the recordings from the 1969 American Sound Studio sessions.
  • Stay Away, Joe (CD): Speaking of imaginary albums, here is one that compiles October 1967 and January 1968 sessions. In addition to the Stay Away, Joe soundtrack, it includes “Too Much Monkey Business” and “US Male.” The January session features Jerry Reed on guitar, which is why I consider this a follow-up of sorts to the fantastic Elvis Sings Guitar Man.
  • On Stage-February 1970 (2-LP): This vinyl release includes the original On Stage-February 1970 album, recorded live in 1969 and 1970, as well as additional material Elvis recorded during his early 1970 Las Vegas engagement.
  • Summer of ’61 (Book & CD): In conjunction with Flaming Star publications, this book primarily focuses on the making of the movie Follow That Dream. A brief CD containing previously released Elvis tracks and two demos for “What A Wonderful Life” is also included.

June 2013

FTD has scheduled the following for release in June:

  • Sold Out! (2-CD): The ambiguous title of this one could refer to almost any Elvis concert from 1956 and beyond. [May 19, 2013, Update: The concerts on this release will be March 1, 1974, Tulsa, Oklahoma and June 21, 1974, Cleveland, Ohio.] This one is from the creative team behind Forty-Eight Hours To Memphis: Recorded Live On Stage In Richmond, Virginia – March 18, 1974 and 3000 South Paradise Road, so a quality presentation is expected.
  • Hot August Night (CD): This one features the August 25, 1969, Midnight Show in Las Vegas. The 1969 shows are all must-haves. Portions of this one contributed to the From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis (Elvis In Person) release in 1969. Many tracks are previously unreleased, however.
  • Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis (2-LP): This vinyl release features the complete March 20, 1974, Memphis concert, from which selections made up the original 1974 version of this album. I have to admit, I enjoy the truncated version of this show more than the full version. Other than “Steamroller Blues,” the songs edited out of the 1974 1-LP release featured some disappointing performances by Elvis.
  • Best of British: The HMV Years (Book): This is a reprint of the popular book exploring Elvis’ 1956-1958 releases on the HMV label in Great Britain, which sold out upon release in February. Though not noted in the press release, presumably the two CDs of previously released Elvis material from the original printing are also included.

The only physical store in the US authorized to sell FTD releases is Good Rockin’ Tonight, a Graceland gift shop in Memphis. However, FTD products may be obtained online from a variety of other Elvis stores, including Graceland’s ShopElvis.com.

August 2013

Sony has scheduled Elvis At Stax: Deluxe Edition, a 3-CD boxed set, as a main label, wide release in August. The set will include all of the masters Elvis recorded in Memphis at Stax Recording Studio in July and December of 1973. It will also include alternate takes of many of the songs. Here is the track listing:

DISC 1: The R&B and Country Sessions – The Outtakes

1. I Got A Feelin’ In My Body – take 1
2. Find Out What’s Happening – take 8/7
3. Promised Land – take 4
4. For Ol’ Times Sake – take 4
5. I’ve Got A Thing About You, Baby – take 14
6. It’s Midnight – take 7
7. If You Talk In Your Sleep – take 5
8. Loving Arms – take 2
9. You Asked Me To – take 3A
10. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues – take 8
11. Talk About The Good Times – take 3
12. There’s A Honky Tonk Angel – take 1
13. She Wears My Ring – take 8
14. Three Corn Patches – take 14
15. I Got A Feelin’ In My Body – take 4
16. If You Don’t Come Back – take 3
17. Promised Land – take 5

DISC 2

Part 1 – The Pop Sessions – The Outtakes

1. Mr. Songman – take 2
2. Your Love’s Been A Long Time Coming – take 4
3. Spanish Eyes – take 2
4. Take Good Care Of Her – takes 1,2,3
5. It’s Diff’rent Now (unfinished recording)
6. Thinking About You – take 4
7. My Boy – take 1
8. Girl Of Mine – take 9
9. Love Song Of The Year – take 1
10. If That Isn’t Love – take 1

Part 2 – The July 1973 Masters

11. Raised On Rock
12. For Ol’ Time Sake
13. I’ve Got A Thing About You, Baby
14. Take Good Care Of Her
15. If You Don’t Come Back
16. Three Corn Patches
17. Girl Of Mine
18. Just A Little Bit
19. Find Out What’s Happening
20. Sweet Angeline

DISC 3: The December 1973 Masters

1. Promised Land
2. It’s Midnight
3. If You Talk In Your Sleep
4. Help Me
5. My Boy
6. Thinking About You
7. Mr. Songman
8. I Got A Feelin’ In My Body
9. Loving Arms
10. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues
11. You Asked Me To
12. There’s A Honky Tonk Angel
13. Talk About The Good Times
14. She Wears My Ring
15. Your Love’s Been A Long Time Coming
16. Love Song Of The Year
17. Spanish Eyes
18. If That Isn’t Love

I have mixed feelings on this release. I think it is wonderful for the main label to focus on an overlooked period in the recording career of Elvis Presley. For those fans who do not already have the corresponding FTD Classic Album 2-CD sets (Raised On Rock, Good Times, and Promised Land), this is an excellent, budget-conscious alternative to hear highlights of this material.

However, the first thing I noticed is that Sony really blew the sequencing of these tracks. Why, oh, why would the compiler of this collection choose to kick things off with the dreadful “I Got A Feelin’ In My Body”? Especially when “Promised Land” is sitting there, practically begging to begin this set in the right manner?

Short of starting from scratch, one simple alternative that I can suggest would be the following:

  • Swap Disc 1 with Disc 3
  • Swap Disc 2 – Part 1 with Disc 2 – Part 2

Just making the simple changes above would result in a much better listening experience from start to finish. Again, it is great to see a release focusing on 1973, but it should not just be grudgingly thrown together. While Sony’s Elvis team may disagree, some of us love this material. Treat it right.

Sony is also releasing in August a 1-CD version and a 2-LP version collecting some of the above Stax material.

REVIEW: From Elvis In Memphis CD Set (2009 Legacy Edition)

/ TY

From Elvis In Memphis CD set (Sony Legacy, 2009)

Elvis takes it home

“Take it home, son, take it home,” Elvis proclaims near the end of his 1968 Comeback Special. Just a few weeks after the special aired, Elvis did just that. He had not formally recorded in his adopted hometown of Memphis since his last session for Sun in 1955.

By January 1969, the musical landscape had changed, the entire world had changed, and even Elvis had changed. The 20-year-old kid who last recorded in Memphis as he was on the verge of becoming an unrivaled superstar was now a 34-year-old husband and father looking to continue pounding his way out of a creative slump.

Was the success of the ’68 Special a fluke, or was Elvis truly back on the track? His January and February 1969 sessions at the American Sound Studio in Memphis would help answer that question.

Outside of the hit singles, I first heard most of these songs when my brother gave me The Memphis Record double LP set as a Christmas gift back in 1988. It collects 23 of the best tracks from the sessions, including all of the songs from the original From Elvis In Memphis album.

As an Elvis fan, The Memphis Record changed my life. As I said, I was already familiar with “Suspicious Minds,” “In The Ghetto,” and the other hits, but I remember being blown away right off the bat by “Stranger In My Own Home Town,” “Power Of My Love,” “Any Day Now,” and “After Loving You,” to name just a few.

How had I not heard these songs before? Why wasn’t the radio playing these constantly? Unlike most of the kids my age back then and their favorite music fads, I knew at that moment I was going to be an Elvis fan for the rest of my life.

As I typed those words, I have just realized that I am now 34-years-old, like Elvis during these Memphis sessions. Since I first played The Memphis Record back in 1988, the musical landscape has changed, the entire world has changed, and I have changed. I hear the words to some of these songs differently than I did as a 13-year-old. Yet, here I am, still listening to Elvis. Despite all the change, Elvis is still here.

In the early 1990s, I switched over to the CD format and eventually picked up The Memphis Record on CD and complimented it with Back In Memphis to get some of the remaining songs from the session—which I found I didn’t like as much. Even the Back In Memphis songs I was familiar with sounded “muffled” to me.

In 1993, RCA treated the Elvis world to From Nashville To Memphis: The Complete 60s Masters I, a five-disc set that included all of his non-movie and non-gospel studio master recordings from the 1960s, including the complete 1969 Memphis sessions. While this was probably the most authentic sound to date at the time (I only found out later that the mixes on The Memphis Record were slightly altered to sound more contemporary), I remember being just a touch disappointed by the 1969 Memphis sound again for some of the tracks.

For the thirtieth anniversary of the Memphis sessions, RCA released Suspicious Minds: The 1969 Memphis Anthology in 1999. The sound was improved over 1994, but still muffled and lacking to me at times. I figured that it was the best we were ever going to have, though, and I was content with it.

When I first heard about the Legacy Edition of From Elvis In Memphis, now upgraded to include Back In Memphis and all of the other songs from the sessions, I was not planning to buy it. As much as I loved them, I had bought these songs countless times over. Then, a new press release announced that From Elvis In Memphis—Legacy Edition was going to include the original mono versions of all of the singles.

There, Sony/RCA had hooked me. At first, I planned only to purchase the ten individual mono singles online as legal downloads. However, I realized that just for three or four dollars more, I could buy the entire set of 36 songs by just purchasing the CD in a store (buying Elvis music in an actual store: “it’s been a long time, baby”). I probably wouldn’t need all of those other songs, but at least the packaging looked nice.

I played the mono singles first on Disc 2, and once I heard the quality of their sound, I could hardly wait to go back to Disc 1 and play From Elvis In Memphis proper. I don’t know what Sony/RCA did differently this time, but they finally got rid of that sort of muffled sound some of the Memphis tracks had before. Crystal clear. I’m loving this release! What a great surprise!

Yet, I’m sure this won’t be the last time I buy these songs. Sony’s Follow That Dream Elvis collectors label will undoubtedly release both From Elvis In Memphis and Back In Memphis as part of their Classic Album series in the coming years. The whole world will probably have changed by then, but I’ll still be listening to Elvis.

Songs: 10 (out of 10)

Audio & Mix Quality: 10

Liner Notes: 5

Cover Art: 10

Packaging: 10

Overall Experience: 10

Review: BACK IN MEMPHIS CD [The Elvis Beat newsletter]

/ TY

I was 18 when I wrote this review back in 1993 for The Elvis Beat #4, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Back In Memphis (RCA), recorded by Elvis Presley, produced by Felton Jarvis and Chips Moman. Recorded January 13-23 and February 17-21, 1969, American Sound Studios (Memphis). Released: November 1970. Re-released: 1992 (CD).

Back In Memphis was the second album released from Elvis’ early 1969 Memphis sessions that produced some of his best studio work. The contents of Back In Memphis had been previously released in November 1969 as Record Two of the double album From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis.

As was typical of his entire career, Elvis performs a variety of musical styles on this album, and as usual, pulls it off with perfection. His best performances on Back In Memphis are “Inherit The Wind,” “Stranger In My Own Home Town,” and “You’ll Think Of Me.”

However, Elvis’ best recordings from the Memphis sessions had already been released either as singles or on the first album, From Elvis In Memphis, and when compared to those works, Back In Memphis is a slight disappointment.

Songs:

  1. “Inherit The Wind”
  2. “This Is The Story”
  3. “Stranger In My Own Home Town”
  4. “A Little Bit Of Green”
  5. “And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind”
  6. “Do You Know Who I Am”
  7. “From A Jack To A King”
  8. “The Fair’s Moving On”
  9. “You’ll Think Of Me”
  10. “Without Love”

Rating: 7 out of 10