On August 5, Elvis Presley will be heading Way Down in the Jungle Room thanks to the new release from RCA Records and Legacy Recordings.  This new 2-CD collection brings together The King’s final studio recordings made in the famous Jungle Room at Graceland.

Way Down in the Jungle Room is the first anthology dedicated to the master recordings and outtakes recorded at Graceland by Elvis and longtime producer Felton Jarvis during two now-legendary periods: February 2-8, 1976 and October 28-30, 1976.  The outtakes have been newly mixed by Grammy Award-winning engineer Matt Ross-Spang at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, Tennessee.  For these intimate sessions, Elvis was backed by many members of his longtime touring band including James Burton (guitar), Ronnie Tutt (drums), David Briggs (keyboards), Glenn D. Hardin (keyboards), Jerry Scheff (bass), Norbert Putnam (bass) and J.D. Sumner and The Stamps (vocals).

Aided by Jarvis and engineer Mike Moran, Elvis tackled a wide range of country and pop material (“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” “(It Looks Like) I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “Danny Boy,” “Solitaire”) and soon-to-be-classics, such as “Moody Blue” and “Way Down.”  Ten of the “Jungle Room” master takes first appeared on From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee in the spring of 1976, including the Top 10 hit “Hurt.”  More recordings from The Jungle Room later emerged in July 1977 (one month before Elvis’ untimely passing on August 16) on the Moody Blue LP.  “Moody Blue” topped the Country chart that month, with “Way Down” to follow.  Tragically, these were the last studio albums issued during Presley’s lifetime.

The sixteen original master takes as heard on From Elvis Presley Boulevard and Moody Blue comprise Disc One of this set.  Disc Two features both rare outtakes (previously issued only as part of the mail-order Follow That Dream series) and fly-on-the-wall chatter captured during The Jungle Room sessions.  With the exception of track 13 (“She Thinks I Still Care”), the performances on Disc 2 have been sequenced in the order they were recorded.

Way Down in The Jungle Room, capturing some of the finest and most informal recordings of Presley’s later years, arrives from RCA and Legacy on August 5.  You can pre-order the CD at the links below!  The collection will also be available as a digital download, and in highlights form as a 2-LP vinyl set.

Elvis Presley, Way Down in the Jungle Room (RCA/Legacy 88985 31810-2, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada TBD)

CD 1: Original masters

1. Way Down
2. She Thinks I Still Care
3. Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall
4. Pledging My Love
5. For the Heart
6. Love Coming Down
7. He’ll Have to Go
8. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
9. Hurt
10. Never Again
11. Danny Boy
12. Solitaire
13. Moody Blue
14. It’s Easy for You
15. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again
16. The Last Farewell

Tracks 1-2, 4, 7 and 13-14 from Moody Blue (RCA AFL1-2428, 1977)
Tracks 3, 5-6, 8-12 and 15-16 from From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (RCA APL1-1506, 1976)

CD 2: Outtakes (newly remixed)

1. Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall (Take 1)
2. She Thinks I Still Care (Take 10)
3. The Last Farewell (Take 2)
4. Solitaire (Take 7)
5. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again (Take 5)
6. Moody Blue (Take 1)
7. For the Heart (Take 1)
8. Hurt (Take 3)
9. Danny Boy (Take 9)
10. Never Again (Take 9)
11. Love Coming Down (Take 3)
12. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (Take 4)
13. She Thinks I Still Care (Take 2)
14. It’s Easy for You (Take 1)
15. Way Down (Take 2)
16. Pledging My Love (Take 3)
17. For the Heart (Take 4)

Tracks 1, 4, 7, 9, 11-12 and 17 from From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (Follow That Dream Records 506020-975046, 2012)
Tracks 2, 6 and 16 from Moody Blue (Follow That Dream Records 506020-975052, 2013)
Tracks 3, 5, 8, and 13-15 from The Jungle Room Sessions (Follow That Dream Records 74321 74931-2, 2000)