RCA Records & Legacy Recordings Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Elvis Presley's Monumental Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite Worldwide Broadcast & Top-Selling Double Album with Release of Definitive Deluxe Edition on Friday, August 11
50th Anniversary Edition of Elvis Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite includes 3 Newly Remixed and Remastered Discs (Full Original Concert, "Dress Rehearsal" Concert, US Broadcast Bonus Tracks) + First-Ever Release of Elvis' Groundbreaking 1973 Global Satellite Concert on Blu-ray
June 9, 2023-New York-RCA Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release the definitive 50th anniversary edition of Elvis Presley's monumental Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite record-setting global concert telecast/double live album on Friday, August 11.
The 50th anniversary edition of Elvis Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite -- newly remixed and remastered for the occasion -- will be available in a 3CD + Blu-ray combined package as well as in 2LP and digital configurations.
Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis will present "Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii 50th Anniversary Concert" on August 16, 2023 as part of Elvis Week 2023. In addition, earlier that day, Sony will present a free Aloha from Hawaii Q&A and Listening Event at the Guest House Theater at 1:00 pm. Tickets for the concert and free listening event are available at ElvisWeek.com.
Recorded live on January 12 and 14, 1973 at the Honolulu International Center Arena (capacity approximately 6000) and beamed into an estimated billion-plus television sets around the world, Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite made a new kind of broadcast history as Elvis and emerging global satellite technology instantaneously connected a major artist with his audience in previously unprecedented numbers. Initially, Elvis' January 14th concert was telecast live via satellite to viewers in Asia and Oceania and presented with a delay in January in Europe. Needing to avoid a programming conflict with Super Bowl VII while also acknowledging that the film "Elvis on Tour" was enjoying an actively successful run in US movie theaters, NBC decided to air their ninety-minute version of Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite (featuring bonus performances recorded for the stateside broadcast) on April 4, 1973. Aloha from Hawaii became NBC's highest-rated program of the year.
Feeling the heat from the Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite global telecast, RCA Records fast-tracked a companion double album soundtrack into production with first pressings hitting US stores on February 4, 1973. The album was Elvis' first #1 in years, peaking at #1 on the Billboard pop and country charts, becoming the fastest-selling chart-topping album of Elvis' career.
The 50th anniversary edition of Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite is produced by Ernst Jørgensen and newly mixed by Grammy® Award-winning recording engineer Matt-Ross Spang. The set includes the original concert, rehearsal show and unique after-show recordings and rehearsals including "Blue Hawaii," "Hawaiian Wedding Song," "No More" and "Early Morning Rain." The deluxe set includes a 28-page booklet featuring in-depth liner notes penned by lifelong Elvis fan/respected music critic Randy Lewis, rare photos and memorabilia from the event, and the first-ever visual release of Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite on Blu-ray.
Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite is the apogee of an astounding career trajectory that began with Elvis' return to live performance in 1968 with an electrifying "comeback" television special that restored him to pop dominance after a seven year hiatus from the concert stage. By 1973, Elvis was a living legend whose status as the world's first atomic-powered singer in the 1950s had evolved into movie stardom before his return to live performance generated a new iconography of Elvis. His watershed global telecast was the first full-length concert by any musician to be beamed around the world over communications satellites newly orbiting the earth in ever increasing numbers. A half century later, the live album and concert film from that performance are perhaps the most revelatory documents of the live shows that Elvis poured so much of his heart and soul into during the 1970s.
The 50th anniversary edition of Elvis Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite presents, for the first time in one authorized package, the entirety of the original January 14, 1973 performance, the previous night's dress rehearsal with a live audience (recorded in case of technical mishaps during the satellite transmission), several bonus tracks inserted into the US broadcast of the event and a Blu-ray transfer of the concert film.
Archival producer Ernst Mikael Jørgensen and Memphis-based recording engineer Matt Ross-Spang have fully remixed the album from the original 16-track live recordings—first captured on tape by esteemed mobile engineer Wally Heider and newly digitized for this release with audiophile 24-bit, 192 KHz transfers--to bring fans a fresh listen to what, for many, is the most treasured performance of Elvis' latter-day years on the road. "To me," Jørgensen said, "that is the biggest thing: [this album] never sounded this good and Elvis never sounded this good."
In the four and a half years between the '68 special and Aloha from Hawaii, Elvis woodshedded his act with a rigorous series of live performances—over 500--in which he re-asserted the role he'd established in the '50s as one of the most electrifying performers of his generation.
Both in Las Vegas and on tour to various parts of the United States, Presley refined and expanded his mastery of musical interpretation of songs long associated with him, while also putting his distinctive stamp on classic and more recent material first popularized by artists as beloved as The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, James Taylor, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Jim Reeves and Hawaii's own Kuiokalani "Kui" Lee.
The Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite program was produced and directed by television veteran Marty Pasetta, who'd done specials for Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Glen Campbell and had experience in Hawaii with Don Ho. Pasetta employed split screen techniques and quick cuts to mirror the energy Elvis & Co. put out on stage. The telecast also regularly offered extreme close-ups bringing viewers into contact with Elvis with an intimacy that even those in the audience didn't have.
Elvis Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite - 50th Anniversary Edition (3 discs + Blu-ray)
Disc 1: Recorded live at the Honolulu International Center Arena January 14, 1973, 12:30 AM.
1. Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme From 2001: A Space Odyssey)
2. See See Rider
3. Burning Love
4. Something
5. You Gave Me A Mountain
6. Steamroller Blues
7. My Way
8. Love Me
9. Johnny B. Goode
10. It's Over
11. Blue Suede Shoes
12. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
13. I Can't Stop Loving You
14. Hound Dog
15. What Now My Love
16. Fever
17. Welcome To My World
18. Suspicious Minds
19. Introductions by Elvis
20. I'll Remember You
21. Medley: Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
22. An American Trilogy
23. A Big Hunk O' Love
24. Can't Help Falling In Love
25. Closing Vamp
Disc 2: Recorded live at the Honolulu International Center Arena, January 12, 1973, 9:00 PM.
1. Introduction: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme From 2001: A Space Odyssey)
2. See See Rider
3. Burning Love
4. Something
5. You Gave Me A Mountain
6. Steamroller Blues
7. My Way
8. Love Me
9. It's Over
10. Blue Suede Shoes
11. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
12. Hound Dog
13. What Now My Love
14. Fever
15. Welcome To My World
16. Suspicious Minds
17. Introductions by Elvis
18. I'll Remember You
19. An American Trilogy
20. A Big Hunk O' Love
21. Can't Help Falling In Love
22. Closing Vamp
Disc 3: Recorded without an audience at the Honolulu International Center Arena, January 14, 1973, 3:00 AM, as special bonus songs for the U.S. version of ALOHA FROM HAWAII.
1. Blue Hawaii -rehearsal, takes 1-2
2. Ku-U-I-Po – rehearsal
3. Ku-U-I-Po – take 1
4. Ku-U-I-Po - take 2 (incomplete)
5. Ku-U-I-Po - take 3 (incomplete)
6. Ku-U-I-Po – take 4
7. No More – take 1
8. No More – take 2
9. No More - take 3
10. No More – take 4
11. Hawaiian Wedding Song – take 1
12. Hawaiian Wedding Song – rehearsal
13. Hawaiian Wedding Song - take 2
14. Hawaiian Wedding Song – take 3
15. Early Morning Rain – take 1
16. Early Morning Rain – take 2
MUSICIANS:
Guitar: James Burton
Guitar: John Wilkinson
Guitar & Vocals: Charlie Hodge
Bass: Jerry Scheff
Drums: Ronnie Tutt
Piano: Glen D. Hardin
Vocals: J.D. Sumner & The Stamps
Vocals: The Sweet Inspirations
Vocals: Kathy Westmoreland
The Joe Guercio Orchestra
RCA/Legacy Recordings Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Elvis Presley’s monumental 1972 concert trek with Release of Comprehensive Elvis On Tour Box Set on Friday, December 2
Seven-Disc Set Includes Unreleased Recordings from Three Elvis Concerts plus San Antonio Concert Remixed, Pre-Tour Rehearsals and Complete Golden Globe Winning MGM Film on Blu-ray
August 12, 2022-New York, NY--RCA/Legacy Recordings, the catalogue division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release the Elvis On Tour box set, a newly-compiled 50th anniversary celebration of Presley's monumental 1972 concert trek (premiering unreleased live and studio material), on Friday, December 2.
A seven-disc set, with the audio selections available in digital and physical configurations, the Elvis On Tour box set includes six audio discs (premiering previously unreleased Elvis concert performances and studio rehearsals) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Blu-ray edition of the MGM Film, "Elvis On Tour," winner of Best Documentary Film at the 30th Golden Globes Awards in 1973 and the last feature film starring Elvis Presley to be released during the artist's lifetime.
RCA/Legacy's Elvis On Tour box set is produced by Ernst Mikael Jørgensen and mixed by Grammy Award®-winning Memphis-based producer Matt Ross-Spang. The original recordings were made by Felton Jarvis and Al Pachucki.
Disc 1 was recorded live on April 9, 1972, at Hampton Roads Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia, and contains all previously unreleased material.
Disc 2 was recorded live on April 10, 1972, at Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia, and contains all previously unreleased material.
Disc 3 was recorded live on April 14, 1972, at Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina, and contains all previously unreleased material.
Disc 4 was recorded live on April 18, 1972, at Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, Texas, and includes previously released material (from 2003's Elvis: Close-Up box set), remixed for this release.
Disc 5 features the tour rehearsals, recorded live at RCA Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, on March 30 and 31, 1972. The disc is comprised primarily of previously unreleased tracks in addition to performances previously available on the official Elvis Presley collector's releases Elvis On Tour - The Rehearsals (Follow That Dream CD 2004) and 6363 Sunset Boulevard (Follow That Dream CD 2001) as well as The Great Performances (RCA 1990).
Disc 6 completes Elvis' rehearsals with his band at RCA Recordings Studios with performances recorded March 31, 1972. The disc includes previously unreleased takes on Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times" as well as performances previously available only on 6363 Sunset Boulevard, Elvis On Tour - The Rehearsals and Amazing Grace (RCA 2CD 1994).
As Elvis Presley’s national tour played to sold-out secondary markets across the country in 1972, Elvis was enjoying himself on-stage and finding electrifying new ways of connecting to audiences at every show. Working with a band and set lists of his choosing, Elvis was channeling the music he loved most--from pop and gospel and traditional country to blues and rock and contemporary hits--while transforming his own greatest hits with fresh arrangements, turning nostalgia into an unforgettable concert experience packed with immediacy.
Award-winning filmmakers Pierre Adidge and Robert Abel (Mad Dogs & Englishmen) went on the road with Elvis Presley and his band with all-access passes, cameras and crew to chronicle the King of Rock & Roll at his on-stage peak in MGM’s Elvis On Tour documentary film. The film captures Elvis, the human being driving the myth, behind-the-scenes backstage with his eyes open and his defenses down. According to MGM's original press release, the Elvis On Tour film "offers the first intimate look at the enigmatic country boy who became the world's most celebrated musician." Both documentary and concert film, Elvis On Tour features montage sequences supervised by Martin Scorsese. The film was released on November 1, 1972.
The Elvis On Tour box set includes fascinating behind-the-scenes liner notes by Jerry Schilling, a longtime personal friend and member of Elvis' inner circle.
The set also features an illuminating essay by rock historian/musician Warren Zanes, founding member of The Del Fuegos and Professor at New York University. According to Zanes: "The set lists and the performances of the Elvis On Tour period bring a rare thing: a fifties legend working in the early seventies who was still taking his audiences to new places....The core band, including Ronnie Tutt, James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Jerry Scheff, John Wilkinson, Charlie Hodge, the Sweet Inspirations, J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, and an orchestra led by Joe Guercio, had gotten to a place at which Elvis could inject spontaneity, allowing the arena shows to have a measure of the unexpected.... 1972 was a year of one-hundred-sixty-five performances. In Jorgensen's words, it was a 'climax of his career.' While the '68 Comeback Special marked the significant point at which Presley returned to live performance, 1972 was the year in which the artist revealed most completely what he wanted to do with the creative energy such a return kicked off."
A definitive portrait of the artist in 1972, the Elvis On Tour box set arrives in the wake of the release of Warner Bros. Pictures’ epic big-screen drama, ELVIS, from filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, starring Austin Butler in the title role and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis' longtime manager and technical advisor.
The RCA/Legacy Elvis On Tour box set includes the songs:
See See Rider • I Got A Woman / Amen • Never Been To Spain •You Gave Me A Mountain • Until It's Time For You To Go • Polk Salad Annie •Love Me • All Shook Up • (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel •Are You Lonesome Tonight? • I Can't Stop Loving You • Hound Dog •Bridge Over Troubled Water • Suspicious Minds • For The Good Times • An American Trilogy • Love Me Tender • A Big Hunk O' Love • How Great Thou Art • Sweet, Sweet Spirit (Performed by The Stamps) •Lawdy, Miss Clawdy • Can't Help Falling In Love • Proud Mary •Heartbreak Hotel • It's Over • Funny How Time Slips Away • Burning Love •Release Me (And Let Me Love Again) • Johnny B. Goode • Always On My Mind • Separate Ways • The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face •Help Me Make It Through The Night • Young And Beautiful •I, John • Bosom Of Abraham • You Better Run • Lead Me, Guide Me • Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus / Nearer My God To Thee
Seven-Disc Set Includes Unreleased Recordings from Three Elvis Concerts plus San Antonio Concert Remixed, Pre-Tour Rehearsals and Complete Golden Globe Winning MGM Film on Blu-ray
August 12, 2022-New York, NY--RCA/Legacy Recordings, the catalogue division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release the Elvis On Tour box set, a newly-compiled 50th anniversary celebration of Presley's monumental 1972 concert trek (premiering unreleased live and studio material), on Friday, December 2.
A seven-disc set, with the audio selections available in digital and physical configurations, the Elvis On Tour box set includes six audio discs (premiering previously unreleased Elvis concert performances and studio rehearsals) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Blu-ray edition of the MGM Film, "Elvis On Tour," winner of Best Documentary Film at the 30th Golden Globes Awards in 1973 and the last feature film starring Elvis Presley to be released during the artist's lifetime.
RCA/Legacy's Elvis On Tour box set is produced by Ernst Mikael Jørgensen and mixed by Grammy Award®-winning Memphis-based producer Matt Ross-Spang. The original recordings were made by Felton Jarvis and Al Pachucki.
Disc 1 was recorded live on April 9, 1972, at Hampton Roads Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia, and contains all previously unreleased material.
Disc 2 was recorded live on April 10, 1972, at Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia, and contains all previously unreleased material.
Disc 3 was recorded live on April 14, 1972, at Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina, and contains all previously unreleased material.
Disc 4 was recorded live on April 18, 1972, at Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, Texas, and includes previously released material (from 2003's Elvis: Close-Up box set), remixed for this release.
Disc 5 features the tour rehearsals, recorded live at RCA Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, on March 30 and 31, 1972. The disc is comprised primarily of previously unreleased tracks in addition to performances previously available on the official Elvis Presley collector's releases Elvis On Tour - The Rehearsals (Follow That Dream CD 2004) and 6363 Sunset Boulevard (Follow That Dream CD 2001) as well as The Great Performances (RCA 1990).
Disc 6 completes Elvis' rehearsals with his band at RCA Recordings Studios with performances recorded March 31, 1972. The disc includes previously unreleased takes on Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times" as well as performances previously available only on 6363 Sunset Boulevard, Elvis On Tour - The Rehearsals and Amazing Grace (RCA 2CD 1994).
As Elvis Presley’s national tour played to sold-out secondary markets across the country in 1972, Elvis was enjoying himself on-stage and finding electrifying new ways of connecting to audiences at every show. Working with a band and set lists of his choosing, Elvis was channeling the music he loved most--from pop and gospel and traditional country to blues and rock and contemporary hits--while transforming his own greatest hits with fresh arrangements, turning nostalgia into an unforgettable concert experience packed with immediacy.
Award-winning filmmakers Pierre Adidge and Robert Abel (Mad Dogs & Englishmen) went on the road with Elvis Presley and his band with all-access passes, cameras and crew to chronicle the King of Rock & Roll at his on-stage peak in MGM’s Elvis On Tour documentary film. The film captures Elvis, the human being driving the myth, behind-the-scenes backstage with his eyes open and his defenses down. According to MGM's original press release, the Elvis On Tour film "offers the first intimate look at the enigmatic country boy who became the world's most celebrated musician." Both documentary and concert film, Elvis On Tour features montage sequences supervised by Martin Scorsese. The film was released on November 1, 1972.
The Elvis On Tour box set includes fascinating behind-the-scenes liner notes by Jerry Schilling, a longtime personal friend and member of Elvis' inner circle.
The set also features an illuminating essay by rock historian/musician Warren Zanes, founding member of The Del Fuegos and Professor at New York University. According to Zanes: "The set lists and the performances of the Elvis On Tour period bring a rare thing: a fifties legend working in the early seventies who was still taking his audiences to new places....The core band, including Ronnie Tutt, James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Jerry Scheff, John Wilkinson, Charlie Hodge, the Sweet Inspirations, J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, and an orchestra led by Joe Guercio, had gotten to a place at which Elvis could inject spontaneity, allowing the arena shows to have a measure of the unexpected.... 1972 was a year of one-hundred-sixty-five performances. In Jorgensen's words, it was a 'climax of his career.' While the '68 Comeback Special marked the significant point at which Presley returned to live performance, 1972 was the year in which the artist revealed most completely what he wanted to do with the creative energy such a return kicked off."
A definitive portrait of the artist in 1972, the Elvis On Tour box set arrives in the wake of the release of Warner Bros. Pictures’ epic big-screen drama, ELVIS, from filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, starring Austin Butler in the title role and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis' longtime manager and technical advisor.
The RCA/Legacy Elvis On Tour box set includes the songs:
See See Rider • I Got A Woman / Amen • Never Been To Spain •You Gave Me A Mountain • Until It's Time For You To Go • Polk Salad Annie •Love Me • All Shook Up • (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear / Don't Be Cruel •Are You Lonesome Tonight? • I Can't Stop Loving You • Hound Dog •Bridge Over Troubled Water • Suspicious Minds • For The Good Times • An American Trilogy • Love Me Tender • A Big Hunk O' Love • How Great Thou Art • Sweet, Sweet Spirit (Performed by The Stamps) •Lawdy, Miss Clawdy • Can't Help Falling In Love • Proud Mary •Heartbreak Hotel • It's Over • Funny How Time Slips Away • Burning Love •Release Me (And Let Me Love Again) • Johnny B. Goode • Always On My Mind • Separate Ways • The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face •Help Me Make It Through The Night • Young And Beautiful •I, John • Bosom Of Abraham • You Better Run • Lead Me, Guide Me • Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus / Nearer My God To Thee
August 12, 2021-New York, NY-RCA/Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release Elvis: Back In Nashville, the definitive presentation of Presley's May-June 1971 Nashville studio sessions (his last in Nashville), on Friday, November 12.
"I'm Leavin'," the first track from Elvis: Back In Nashville, is out now. Listen HERE
Elvis: Back In Nashville will be available as a 4CD/digital collection featuring 82 pristine original recordings capturing Elvis and his musicians live-in-the-studio laying down central tracks and performances intended for later release. These revelatory sessions chronicle the last time Elvis would record in Nashville. Some of Elvis' 1971 Nashville studio recordings appeared, with subsequent orchestral and vocal overdubs, on the seasonal collection Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas (1971), the Grammy-winning gospel album He Touched Me (1972), Elvis Now (1972) and 1973's Elvis.
Graceland will be offering their exclusive 2LP 12" colour vinyl collectors pressing of Elvis: Back In Nashville. A 2LP 12" vinyl version of the album will also be available.
Elvis: Back In Nashville, and the Graceland 2LP 12" vinyl edition are available for pre-order.
Like its predecessor, From Elvis In Nashville (released November 2020), Elvis: Back In Nashville is designed to showcase Elvis Presley and his core band as they sounded during the actual sessions without orchestral overdubs and vocal accompaniment. A key difference between Elvis' 1970 and 1971 Nashville sessions is that many of the 1971 recordings included backing singers; therefore, Elvis: Back In Nashville offers a variety of song performances both with and without vocal augmentation.
Given the prolific output of great recordings created by Elvis and his musicians during the fabled 1970 marathon sessions that may be heard on From Elvis In Nashville, RCA and the Elvis camp decided to stick with the winning combination of tight band, seasoned studio, well-chosen repertoire and relaxed spontaneous Elvis behind the microphone and, once again, record as much material as possible over a short period of time. With Elvis' upcoming concert activities increasing, future studio time would be limited and so the goal of these sessions was to generate perhaps a year's worth of new songs. RCA and the Colonel let Elvis know they'd like a new Christmas album, a gospel album, a pop album, and "several new singles for summer and fall releases" and so, Elvis' music coordinator/producer Felton Jarvis booked a whole week of all-night sessions starting March 15, 1971 and brought on the same band he'd used the year before.
Elvis Presley's return in 1970 to recording in Nashville had been revelatory. Those sessions, on the heels of his Memphis recordings and a return to the stage, had done more than simply sustain a comeback. They also introduced Elvis to a great new rhythm section and gifted Elvis with a great new sound. Bassist Norbert Putnam, drummer Jerry Carrigan, and pianist David Briggs had helped transform country music rhythms in the sixties after they transplanted their R&B-indebted style from F. A. M. E. studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Nashville session work. When producer Felton Jarvis teamed Elvis with the Muscle Shoals boys, along with session guitarist Chip Young, jack of all musical trades Charlie McCoy, and Presley's bandleader James Burton, they together created the belatedly acclaimed Elvis Country—in the process providing Elvis with a country-soul template he'd trace often in the last years of his life.
Music critic Dave Marsh once wrote that, even with his acclaim, "Elvis Presley was probably the most underrated singer of all." Overdubs removed, what's revealed on Elvis: Back In Nashville is some of the most compelling singing of Presley's career.
Disc One of Elvis: Back In Nashville features 18 tracks and includes The Country/Folk Sides (an unrealized Elvis project featuring songs by Ewan McColl, Gordon Lightfoot, Kris Kristofferson, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Bob Dylan), The Piano Recordings (raw Elvis singing Ivory Joe Hunter with piano accompaniment) and The Pop Sides (classic pop compositions including "Padre," "Fools Rush In Where Angels Fear To Tread," "My Way," "I'm Leavin'" and more).
Disc Two of Elvis: Back In Nashville features 25 tracks divided between The Religious Sides (classic and contemporary gospel) and The Christmas Sides (sacred and secular seasonal holiday music).
Disc Three of Elvis: Back In Nashville features 19 tracks and picks up on the country pop repertoire of Disc One and adds some rock 'n' roll with a variety of cuts including impromptu performances of "Johnny B. Goode" and "Lady Madonna," an epic take on Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, (It's Alright)", fresh interpretations of "Help Me Make It Through The Night," "Early Morning Rain" and more.
Disc Four of Elvis: Back In Nashville features 20 tracks and includes The Religious Outtakes and The Christmas Outtakes.
"I'm Leavin'," the first track from Elvis: Back In Nashville, is out now. Listen HERE
Elvis: Back In Nashville will be available as a 4CD/digital collection featuring 82 pristine original recordings capturing Elvis and his musicians live-in-the-studio laying down central tracks and performances intended for later release. These revelatory sessions chronicle the last time Elvis would record in Nashville. Some of Elvis' 1971 Nashville studio recordings appeared, with subsequent orchestral and vocal overdubs, on the seasonal collection Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas (1971), the Grammy-winning gospel album He Touched Me (1972), Elvis Now (1972) and 1973's Elvis.
Graceland will be offering their exclusive 2LP 12" colour vinyl collectors pressing of Elvis: Back In Nashville. A 2LP 12" vinyl version of the album will also be available.
Elvis: Back In Nashville, and the Graceland 2LP 12" vinyl edition are available for pre-order.
Like its predecessor, From Elvis In Nashville (released November 2020), Elvis: Back In Nashville is designed to showcase Elvis Presley and his core band as they sounded during the actual sessions without orchestral overdubs and vocal accompaniment. A key difference between Elvis' 1970 and 1971 Nashville sessions is that many of the 1971 recordings included backing singers; therefore, Elvis: Back In Nashville offers a variety of song performances both with and without vocal augmentation.
Given the prolific output of great recordings created by Elvis and his musicians during the fabled 1970 marathon sessions that may be heard on From Elvis In Nashville, RCA and the Elvis camp decided to stick with the winning combination of tight band, seasoned studio, well-chosen repertoire and relaxed spontaneous Elvis behind the microphone and, once again, record as much material as possible over a short period of time. With Elvis' upcoming concert activities increasing, future studio time would be limited and so the goal of these sessions was to generate perhaps a year's worth of new songs. RCA and the Colonel let Elvis know they'd like a new Christmas album, a gospel album, a pop album, and "several new singles for summer and fall releases" and so, Elvis' music coordinator/producer Felton Jarvis booked a whole week of all-night sessions starting March 15, 1971 and brought on the same band he'd used the year before.
Elvis Presley's return in 1970 to recording in Nashville had been revelatory. Those sessions, on the heels of his Memphis recordings and a return to the stage, had done more than simply sustain a comeback. They also introduced Elvis to a great new rhythm section and gifted Elvis with a great new sound. Bassist Norbert Putnam, drummer Jerry Carrigan, and pianist David Briggs had helped transform country music rhythms in the sixties after they transplanted their R&B-indebted style from F. A. M. E. studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Nashville session work. When producer Felton Jarvis teamed Elvis with the Muscle Shoals boys, along with session guitarist Chip Young, jack of all musical trades Charlie McCoy, and Presley's bandleader James Burton, they together created the belatedly acclaimed Elvis Country—in the process providing Elvis with a country-soul template he'd trace often in the last years of his life.
Music critic Dave Marsh once wrote that, even with his acclaim, "Elvis Presley was probably the most underrated singer of all." Overdubs removed, what's revealed on Elvis: Back In Nashville is some of the most compelling singing of Presley's career.
Disc One of Elvis: Back In Nashville features 18 tracks and includes The Country/Folk Sides (an unrealized Elvis project featuring songs by Ewan McColl, Gordon Lightfoot, Kris Kristofferson, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Bob Dylan), The Piano Recordings (raw Elvis singing Ivory Joe Hunter with piano accompaniment) and The Pop Sides (classic pop compositions including "Padre," "Fools Rush In Where Angels Fear To Tread," "My Way," "I'm Leavin'" and more).
Disc Two of Elvis: Back In Nashville features 25 tracks divided between The Religious Sides (classic and contemporary gospel) and The Christmas Sides (sacred and secular seasonal holiday music).
Disc Three of Elvis: Back In Nashville features 19 tracks and picks up on the country pop repertoire of Disc One and adds some rock 'n' roll with a variety of cuts including impromptu performances of "Johnny B. Goode" and "Lady Madonna," an epic take on Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, (It's Alright)", fresh interpretations of "Help Me Make It Through The Night," "Early Morning Rain" and more.
Disc Four of Elvis: Back In Nashville features 20 tracks and includes The Religious Outtakes and The Christmas Outtakes.