CD1:
01. Snowbird – 2:04 – 22nd Sept. – Elvis sings this pretty straight, neither adding nor deducting much from the Anne Murray original. A song perhaps not entirely suited to his style.
02. Tomorrow Never Comes – 3:53 – 7th June – A dramatic beat ballad, first done by Ernest Tubb in 1949, although Elvis may have been more familiar with the BJ Thomas 1966 cover. A fine performance from Elvis, who tackles this in a style reminiscent of Roy Orbison at full throttle.
03. Little Cabin On The Hill – 1:45 – 4th June – A country ‘standard’ from 1948, the original by Bill Monroe & The Moon Grass Boys. Elvis gives this an authentic country sound, ably backed by harmonica from Charlie McCoy.
04. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On – 3:00 – 22nd Sept. – The original was by James Faye ‘Roy’ Hall in 1954, rapidly covered by Big Maybelle. Elvis gives the Jerry Lee Lewis hit a thorough workout and loses none of the fire. This is pure rock ‘n’ roll. Great stuff!
05. Funny How Time Slips Away – 4:20 – 7th June – There were versions of this by Billy Walker & Jimmy Elledge in 1961, with the composer, Willie Nelson issuing his in 1962. Then there were covers by Johnny Tillotson [1963], Joe Hinton [1964] and [after Elvis] Dorothy Moore in 1976. Elvis does a fine job on this plaintive country song in which the clever lyric has a guy meeting his ‘ex’ and apparently wishing her well, but with a sting-in-the-tail. He makes this song his own.
06. I Really Don’t Want To Know – 2:45 – 7th June – An Eddy Arnold original from 1954, with covers from Tommy Edwards [1960], Solomon Burke [1961], Little Esther Phillips [1963] & Ronnie Dove [1966]. Elvis does another good job on this country favourite, with some solid but sensitive backing, and nice David Briggs piano.
07. There Goes My Everything – 2:55 – 8th June – Although the first chart appearance of this was by Jack Greene in 1966, in the UK, we were more familiar with the 1967 smash hit version from [the very non-country] Engelbert Humperdinck. Elvis does a workmanlike job on this smooth ballad, but no fireworks.
08. It’s Your Baby, You Rock It – 2:56 – 5th June – Unusual lyric – addressing the new man of his ‘ex’ and he is not sympathetic. Excellent vocal from Elvis and the backing girl singers on this lively country rocker.
09. The Fool – 2:26 – 4th June – A Sandford Clark original from 1955 [the 1956 re-issue went top 10 in the US] and Al Casey had an instrumental cover in ’56 also [Fool’s Blues]. Other covers were heard from The Gallahads [1956] & Jamie Coe [1963]. Elvis omits an important bit of the lyric here [he nails it on the outtake] but a good version, very close to the original.
10. Faded Love – 3:04 – 7th June – A Bob Willis & His Texas Playboys original from 1950 with covers from Leon McAuliff [1962] & Patsy Cline had a posthumous US hit with it in 1963. Pure country, but done by Elvis as country-rock. Fine backing with some excellent harmonica from Charlie McCoy and some horns have been added in post-production. The master is subject to an early fade.
11. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water – 3:41 – 7th June – A Stonewall Jackson original from 1965 with covers from Charlie Rich [1965] & Johnny Rivers [1966]. In what sounds like an impromptu jam, Elvis doesn’t want this to ever stop. The master is faded early.
12. Make The World Go Away – 3:34 – 7th June – Both Timi Yuro & Ray Price had hits with this in 1963, but the song is most associated with Eddy Arnold’s country version from 1965. Elvis does a fine job on it here, with the blend of lead vocal, support vocals & the backing captured perfectly. Great stuff!
Bonus songs:
13. I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago – 3:11 – 4th June – A traditional song. Heard in snippets as the between-track link on the original album, and then in full on the 1972 album: Elvis Now. Another one sounding like a studio jam and nailed in one take. Given a lively run through by Elvis, this master is faded early.
14. Where Did They Go, Lord – 2:27 – 22nd September – Not really a religious song, more a lament about lost love. Elvis gives a heart-felt performance on this. Used as the flip of the single: Rags To Riches in 1971.
The Country Jam
15. Faded Love [Country version] – 0:36 – 4th June – Really just a short, informal, incomplete try-out. We had this on Essential IV – A Hundred Years From Now in 1996. They did the song properly on the 7th.
16. The Fool Take 1 – 2:20 – 4th June – The point of the song is that the singer finally admits that ‘I’m that fool’ the one he’s been singing about. Elvis omits that confession on the master ! But he sings it here. First on Essential IV – A Hundred Years From Now in 1996.
17. A Hundred Years From Now Takes 1 [1:50] & 2 [1:24] – 4th June – The master that we heard on the 1995 70’s box set was a splice of the two takes. This enabled them to edit out some slightly naughty lyrics. We first got the two together [complete] on the 2002 FTD release: Nashville Marathon.
18. Little Cabin Home On The Hill Take 1 – 2:04 – 4th June – Slightly longer than the master take, we first got this on Essential IV – A Hundred Years From Now.
Alternate Masters
19. It’s Your Baby, You Rock It Take 3 – 3:09 – 5th June – First heard on the FTD release: Nashville Marathon in 2002. The sleeve here doesn’t say the take number, but the booklet does.
20. Faded Love Take 3 – 4:18 – 7th June – They finally settled on the shorter Take 1 as the master [Take 2 was a false start].
First Takes
21. Tomorrow Never Comes Take 1 – 3:20 – 7th June – Shorter than the master, heard here for the first time.
22. Tomorrow Never Comes – Take 2 – 3:53 – 7th June – First heard on Nashville Marathon in 2002.
23. Snowbird rehearsal [0:48] & Take 1 – 2:05 – First release for the rehearsal [it fades in after the start] but we got the Take 1 on Nashville Marathon in 2002.
24. Where Did They Go, Lord Take 1 – 2:20 – 22nd Sept – From Essential IV – A Hundred Years From Now.
CD2:
The undubbed June 7th Masters – Rough mixes made by Felton Jarvis immediately after the sessions, before any overdubs were recorded.
01. I Really Don’t Want To Know 2:46 First release of this here.
02. Faded Love Take 2 – 0:32 [False start – rehearsal ?] – Take 1 – 4:06 – Later fade than the official master.
03. Tomorrow Never Comes Take 12 – 0:31 [False start] – Take 13 – 3:53 – First official release here.
04. Make The World Go Away – Take 1 – 1:45 [False start] Take 3 – 3:33 – First released on the album Welcome To My World, although the sleeve claimed it was a live track The Take 1 false start makes its first appearance.
05. Funny How Time Slips Away – 4:20 – First appearance with this mix.
06. I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water – 4:23 – First appearance with this mix.
June Outtakes
07. I Didn’t Make It On Playing Guitar – 3:40 – 5th – From Essential IV – A Hundred Years From Now [1996] A studio instrumental jam with some delicious Elvis vocal interjections, luckily picked up by the mic on his acoustic guitar. A longer edit of this jam has been available unofficially.
08. Tomorrow Never Comes – 7th – Take 3 – 2:42 – Take 11 – 3:58 – Both here for the first time.
09. There Goes My Everything – Take 1 – 8th – 2:45 – From Great Country Songs in 1996.
September Outtakes All from 22nd.
10. September Warm Up – 1:50 – An instrumental jam – First time here.
11. Snowbird – Take 4 – 0:10 [False start] – Take 5 – Called but nothing gets underway – Take 2 – 2:03 – The take 4 false start is new here, but Take 2 was on the Today, Tomorrow & Forever box set in 2002.
12. Where Did They Go, Lord – Take 2 – Just a couple of extremely short [new] false starts – Take 3 – 2:20
13. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On – Rough mix with horns – 4:35 – The infamous ‘horn dub’ version. Although we got this long version on Essential IV – A Hundred Years From Now in 1996, this the first official release with those horns on. Elvis was right to ask for their removal in my view ! The late fade reveals some deliciously fascinating [and sometimes wordless] Elvis vocalising that is almost orgasmic !
Bonus Cuts – Undubbed Rough Mixes From 7th June.
14. When I’m Over You – 3:27 – Master, late fade makes for a longer track. First official release.
15. The Next Step Is Love – 3:40 – Master, late fade makes for a longer track. First official release.
16. Love Letters – 2:48 – Master, first official release with this mix.