All songs were recorded in binaural. One channel was used for the musicians and backing vocals (channel 1 - GO-14, HO-07 etc), and the other channel was used for Elvis' vocals (channel 2 - GV-14, HV-07 etc). The master was then mixed from the two-track tapes (GOV-14, HOV-07 etc).
The count-in for 'Dixieland Rock' (track
G - Take 14) can be found on the old bootleg LP From The Beach To The Bayou where
it was sneakily inserted before Take 6 of 'Steadfast,
Loyal & True' (track M). This deceivingly
made it look as though it was Take 14 of 'Steadfast,
Loyal & True' on the LP.
An odd situation exists regarding the introduction
to the song 'Dixieland Rock'. There are a
couple of different edits in existence. On the
single and album versions there are six introductory
bars while the original EP version (EPA-3419)
has only two introductory bars. In all other respects
though the version is exactly the same.
Ironically though, when the track was included
on the EP King Creole Vol. 2 (RCX 7201)' as part
of the UK-only The EP Collection Vol. 2 in
October 1982, the introduction to 'Dixieland
Rock' had three bars!
Also on From The Beach To The Bayou the count-in for 'Young Dreams' (track Q
- Take 8) was sneakily inserted before Take 7
of 'Lover Doll' (track H), deceivingly making
it look as though it was Take 8 of 'Lover Doll' on the LP.
None of the listed movie version masters (track
N Take 4 - short, or Take 8 - long) of 'As Long
As I Have You' were actually used in the movie
- The version used in the movie is track K Take
10 which is the record version.
In 1965 new matrix numbers were issued to 'Dixieland Rock' (SPA3 6769),
and the instrumental 'Muskrat Ramble' (SPA3 6770).
A possibility is that track P (RCA didn't use
track O because of confusion with the number zero)
could have been recorded at a later date (January
23), if recorded at all, although it's likely
that it was only reserved for use and then not
eventually used.
The first few guitar notes were omitted from the start of the LP version of 'Lover Doll'. Where the undubbed EP version has the guiter intro twice, the album
version has the intro only once.
On the CD Elvis Presley - As He Was Meant
To Be Heard Volume 3 there is what's listed
as a stereo version of 'Lover Doll'. This
is actually nothing of the sort - It's the LP
and single versions of the song (undubbed and
overdubbed) mixed together in two separate channels,
giving a fake stereo effect!
'Muskrat Ramble' was originally intended to be used in Scene 39, played in the background by the Jazz group on stage, just before Elvis sings 'Trouble'. It may have been that there were rights or copyright issues though, as 'Muskrat Ramble' was replaced by a similar number instead, called 'The Blue Shade No. 3' in the final print of the movie.
The Thorne Nogar live mono mixes featured on FTD's King Creole classic album are not the actual masters as heard on record. The released masters were remixed from binaural two-track tapes and some have additional reverb added. However, as above with 'Crawfish' when released with dry vocals, some of these live mono mixes were used as the actual masters on the 50s Box (The King Of Rock 'N' Roll - The Complete 50s Masters), Essential Elvis Volume 3 and the 1997 reissue of the King Creole album.
In March of 2007, Sony decided to go through all of Elvis' masters. They retransferred everything and remastered all tracks including repairing as many clicks, pops, bad edits and dropouts as they could. They have used these newly mastered recordings on their new releases since 2007 including budget soundtracks, Legacy releases, the 30 disc Complete Elvis Presley Masters collection and the Franklin Mint package.
In a letter from Hal Wallis on January 8th 1958,
outlining what songs would be recorded for different
scenes in the movie, it appears there was an additional
song called 'Stop Me' which was planned to
be recorded.
Stop Me
(Charles O'Curran)
You miss me when I'm gone
You really want me near
Stop me if I'm wrong
Stop me from being here
The kiss we held so long
You want your whole life through
Stop me if I'm wrong
Stop me from kissing you
Don't let our lips meet
If yours only mean to deceive
For when our lips meet
This is what I believe
Your love for me is strong
And always will be true
Stop me if I'm wrong
Stop me from loving you
Thanks to Bill Bram for the lyrics to 'Stop
Me'
