Review by Keith Flynn
Before I start, I must say that I do love listening to studio sessions (outtakes, alternate takes etc...) It's amazing how different a song can sound from Take 1 up to the master take, examples being 'Sand Castles' (listen to Takes 1 and 9 on the import release Hawaii USA and you'll see what I mean) and Take 2 of 'Stay Away' that was released on FTD’s Long Lonely Highway. I know some people don't like these "stupid" movie songs - they say that these songs weren't the real Elvis, but I will say this: What a perfectionist Elvis was with his music! How many other artistes would go to the lengths of recording thirty one takes of 'King Of The Whole Wide World' or twenty takes of 'Adam And Evil' before getting them the way he wanted? I don't think many would.
There's nothing really outstanding on this CD, but they are all new alternate takes. A lot of these have been released before on Import releases, but for some it is the first time they have been released in any form, so I personally like this CD. In this review I refer a lot to the released version of a song, this is the master take of the song already released on the soundtrack album.
The CD starts with Take 7 of 'Mexico' from Fun in Acapulco. This is actually very different to the released version (Take 5) as Elvis sings all of the words of the song, and it’s interesting to hear Elvis sing the complete song himself. This version is released for the first time here.
Next is ‘Cross My Heart And Hope To Die’ (Take 6) from Girl Happy. This is interesting because there's no piano intro at the beginning of the song, and is also released for the first time on this CD.
Take 11 of ‘Wild In The Country’ is next and this is quite different to the master (Take 19) in that the backing vocals seem a bit flat and there seems to be no feeling whatsoever. Also there seems to be a tapping all the way through the song, as if someone is tapping a guitar the whole time, very irritating.
‘Adam And Evil’ (Take 16) from Spinout is next. Well after doing 15 takes of this song, and not finishing a complete take, Elvis must have been really tired of it, and it showed. We get a few seconds of ‘When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano' and a couple of improvised lines of 'Adam And Evil' by Elvis at the beginning of the take. Even though this take is complete, Elvis did another four takes until he gets the song the way he wanted it. The master is Take 20.
'Lonely Man' (Take 4 of the record version) is next, and is released for the first time here. It is a lot slower than the released version (Take 13) and in my opinion, a lot better. We even get the engineer at the end of the take saying "God damn, that's pretty", and Elvis saying "Thank you". It's a shame they didn't put take 1 or 3 of 'Lonely Man' (solo) on this CD, especially as it was the solo version that was supposed to be used in Wild In The Country. I say that because the movie trailer for Wild In The Country shows a clip of Elvis (with guitar in hand) singing the solo version of ‘Lonely Man’.
On 'Thanks To The Rolling Sea' (Take 3) from Girls! Girls! Girls! Elvis almost stumbles on the lyrics "Abalone steaks and tuna fish cakes" at the end of the take, but manages to keep the song going to the end. It's not too different to the master (Take 5).
'Where Do You Come From?' (Take 13) also from Girls! Girls! Girls! is next. This too only differs slightly from the released version, where Elvis almost stumbles on the line "...or from some di-stant star", and again at the end with the line "and tell me what you'll say".
Next we have Take 3 of 'King Of The Whole Wide World', and the only difference here to the released version (Take 4) seems to be the longer saxophone ending.
Now we come to Take 21 of 'Little Egypt' which was recorded the day after the released version was recorded. Elvis seems a lot more relaxed, singing this song now, and he sings it a lot slower - and in my opinion - a lot better, than the final master. Elvis also fools around at the end of this take.
‘Wonderful World’ (Take 7) is next, and it’s this movie version of the song that was sung over the opening credits of Live A Little, Love A Little as opposed to the actual master (Take 17). This is not much different to the released version, apart from maybe a longer ending.
‘This Is My Heaven’ (Take 4 vocal overdub) is quite different to the master, as Elvis can't seem to get those high notes needed for this song. Elvis must have had trouble with the other takes too, as the master is a splice between takes 6 and 8. We also get the last few seconds of Take 3 here, also.
‘Spinout’ (Take 2) is not much different to the released version (Take 5), apart from the ending. On this take we don't get Elvis finishing the song with "Well let me tell you spinout".
‘All That I Am’ (Take 2) also from Spinout, differs a lot due to the fact that there are no strings on this take, only piano, guitar etc... The vocals are much the same as the master (Take 5), which makes me think that the piano was overdubbed onto the master.
'We'll Be Together’ (Take 10), yet another song from Girls! Girls! Girls! is next, and it's not much different to the released version (Take 11). You can hear Elvis himself say “almost” at the end of the take - knowing that he would have to do another one.
'Frankie And Johnny' (Take 1 of the record version) is next up. This is the only other complete take of this song, apart from the released version (Take 6), and Elvis is just trying this song out here. He doesn't even sing the last part of the song "Well Frankie told Johnny, well this is the end of the song" etc... but never the less, this is another alternate version and is welcomed on this
CD.
Take 8 of 'I Need Somebody To Lean On' from Viva Las Vegas doesn't sound much different from the master (Take 20), apart from the backing, less piano etc... This is the only other take of this song to be released, apart from the master take (Take 20) so it is also welcomed here. Note - Another alternate take (Take 8) was released later on the extended soundtrack album of Viva Las Vegas in 2003.
‘The Meanest Girl In Town' (Take 9) another song from Girl Happy is next. It is a little slower than the released version (take 13), and Elvis doesn't "Whoop" it up as much here, not as many “Ha, Ha, Ha”s as the master has.
‘Night Life’ (Take 3) from Viva Las Vegas is next, and Elvis doesn't seem at ease with this song yet, and you can tell. He even sings the wrong lyrics after the instrumental break, but manages to keep the song going to the end. The released version (Take 14) has a much more bouncy feeling, but hey, he had to do another eleven takes of the song to get it that way! But as this is the only other take of this song to be released, apart from the master, this is a welcome addition to this CD too.
‘Puppet On A String’ (Take 7) from Girl Happy is next; it's a little bit different to the released version (Take 11). About ¾'s of the way through Take 11 the tempo rises slightly, and Elvis gives the song that extra kick, but on the take we get here, this doesn't happen, and the song is sung at the same pace. A nice song nevertheless!
Another new complete take here is ‘Hey Little Girl’ from Harum Scarum (takes 1 and 2), actually we get two takes (Take 2 is complete). This is a little different to the released version (Take 5) as Elvis sings his "Huh”s and “Ha”s differently in the instrumental break.
‘Edge Of Reality’ (Take 6) is next, and this seems a little slower, with a longer fade out at the end, compared to the master (Take 8).
Finally we get ‘(You’re So Square) Baby I Don't Care’ (vocal overdub #2 Take 6) from Jailhouse Rock. This was first released by RCA in 1986, on Essential Elvis, but what we get here is the vocal overdub only, without the backing track. It's really strange hearing a song like this, and it made me think that there must have been a lot more songs done like this, the backing track recorded first, then Elvis adds his vocals a few days later.
Well this was Volume 2 in the FTD series, and if you like Elvis in the movies, or just like alternate takes, I think you'll enjoy this CD.
