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The annual Elvis Week kicked off at Graceland on Wednesday, August 11 with numerous events, activities, and presentations honoring the King of Rock and Roll. Yesterday, Legacy Recordings announced its major Elvis release for 2021, and it's one that picks up directly from last year's release. Elvis: Back in Nashville, due on November 12, is a sequel project to 2020's From Elvis in Nashville. Like that set, it features a host of new remixes by Matt Ross-Spang to place the focus squarely on Presley's voice.
Elvis: Back in Nashville boasts 82 recordings on 4 CDs (or digitally) from Elvis' final Nashville sessions in 1971. A 2-LP highlights release will also be available on black vinyl (at general retail) or colored vinyl (exclusively from the Graceland store). Many of these songs would be utilized by RCA - often with orchestral and vocal overdubs - on such albums as Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas (1971), the Grammy Award-winning He Touched Me (1972), Elvis Now (1972), and 1973's Elvis.
With country, folk, holiday and gospel songs, pop, and rock and roll, these seminal tracks represent some of the most richly diverse in Elvis' storied catalogue. Producer Felton Jarvis booked a week of evening sessions beginning on March 15, 1971, surrounding Elvis with the same personnel as the 1970 dates. These musicians, including bassist Norbert Putnam, drummer Jerry Carrigan, pianist David Briggs, guitarist Chip Young, multi-instrumentalist/harmonica great Charlie McCoy, and guitarist/bandleader James Burton, sparked The King's creativity and inspired some of his finest performances of the era.
As on From Elvis in Nashville, Matt Ross-Spang's new, stripped-down mixes on Back in Nashville present Elvis with the band/rhythm section, with no subsequent orchestral or vocal overdubs. One difference, however, is that the 1971 Nashville sessions often featured background singers. As a result, Back in Nashville has solo Elvis tracks as well as those with vocal accompaniment.
The discs are organized thematically. CD 1 boasts 18 tracks divided into The Country/Folk Sides (collecting songs from Gordon Lightfoot, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Ewan McColl, and Buffy Sainte-Marie intended for an album in that vein), The Piano Recordings, and The Pop Sides. The 25 tracks on CD 2 focus on The Religious Sides (both contemporary and classic gospel material) and The Christmas Sides (both secular and religious holiday classics).
CD 3 compiles 19 additional Takes of country-folk material ("Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Early Mornin' Rain," "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"), gospel ("Amazing Grace," "Put Your Hand in the Hand"), pop ("Fools Rush In"), and impromptu rock jams ("Johnny B. Goode," "Lady Madonna"). The final disc has a total of 20 tracks comprising both religious and Christmas alternate Takes.
Elvis: Back in Nashville is packaged in the same slipcased style as its predecessor and includes a booklet of liner notes by Ernst Mikael Jorgensen and David Cantwell, credits, and memorabilia from this period in The King's career. Both the 4-CD and 2-LP highlights versions are due from RCA/Legacy Recordings on November 12. You'll find pre-order links and the track listing below. Want a taste? Take 1 of "I'm Leavin'" is streaming now at YouTube and elsewhere!
Elvis Presley, Elvis: Back in Nashville (RCA/Legacy, 2021)
4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP Colored Vinyl: Graceland Official Store
CD 1
THE COUNTRY/FOLK SIDES
- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Takes 11-12
- Amazing Grace
- Early Mornin' Rain
- (That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me
- Help Me Make It Through The Night
- Until It's Time For You To Go
- Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Unedited Version)
THE PIANO RECORDINGS
- It's Still Here
- I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen
- I Will Be True
THE POP SIDES
- Padre
- Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)
- My Way (Takes 2-3) (Master)
- I'm Leavin'
- It's Only Love
- We Can Make The Morning
- Love Me, Love The Life I Lead
- Until It's Time For You To Go (Remake)
CD 2
THE RELIGIOUS SIDES
- He Touched Me
- I've Got Confidence
- Seeing Is Believing
- He Is My Everything
- Bosom Of Abraham
- An Evening Prayer
- Lead Me, Guide Me
- There Is No God But God
- A Thing Called Love
- I, John
- Reach Out To Jesus
- Put Your Hand In The Hand
- Miracle Of The Rosary
THE CHRISTMAS SIDES
- O Come, All Ye Faithful
- The First Noel
- On A Snowy Christmas Night
- Winter Wonderland
- The Wonderful World Of Christmas
- It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You)
- I'll Be Home On Christmas Day
- If I Get Home On Christmas Day
- Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees
- Merry Christmas Baby (Unedited)
- Silver Bells
- I'll Be Home On Christmas Day (Remake)
CD 3
- It's Only Love - Takes 8 & 9
- Love Me, Love The Life I Lead - Takes 5 & 6
- We Can Make The Morning - Master with backing vocals
- I'm Leavin' - Take 1
- Johnny B. Goode - impromptu performance
- Padre - Takes 1 & 11
- Lady Madonna - impromptu performance
- Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread) - Take 6
- Are You Lonesome Tonight (Fragment - impromptu performance)
- I Will Be True - Takes 1-2
- It's Still Here - Takes 1 & 3
- Help Me Make It Through The Night - Takes 1-3
- (That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me - Take 1
- Until It's Time For You To Go - Take 5
- Early Mornin' Rain - Takes 1 &11
- I Shall Be Released - impromptu performance
- Don't Think Twice, (It's All Right) - Remake
- Put Your Hand In The Hand (3:19) - Rehearsal and Take 1
- Amazing Grace - Takes 1-2
CD 4
THE RELIGIOUS OUTTAKES
- Miracle Of The Rosary - Take 1
- The Lord's Prayer (impromptu performance)
- He Touched Me - Takes 1-2
- I've Got Confidence - Take 1
- An Evening Prayer - Takes 1-2
- Seeing Is Believing - Takes 1,2 & 4
- A Thing Called Love - Take 3
- Reach Out To Jesus - Takes 1,2 & 9
- He Is My Everything - Take 1
- There Is No God But God - Takes 1-2
- Bosom Of Abraham - Takes 2-3
THE CHRISTMAS OUTTAKES
- I'll Be Home On Christmas Day - Take 3
- It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You) - Takes 1 & 6
- If I Get Home On Christmas Day - Take 3
- Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees - Take 4
- Silver Bells - Take 1
- I'll Be Home On Christmas Day - Take 4
- Winter Wonderland - Take 7
- O Come, All Ye Faithful - Take 2
- I'll Be Home On Christmas Day (remake) - Takes 1, 4, 5 & 10
Highlights LP Track Listing:
Elvis Back in Nashville Highlights
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elvis Presley, "Back in Nashville"
Release Round-Up: Week of November 12
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Legacy Looks Back at 1970 With Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix Archival Offerings
Scraping the bottom of the barrel. Elvis' state, like Bowie's and Hendrix', has no shame.
Any Elvis new stuff will do me.
You can never get enough of elvis, it's not scraping the barrel, it's keeping his memory alive!
Presley.. Enough said
I’m more impressed by the newer releases of Elvis material since 2005 and each new release brings incredible joy to this music lover. The newer producers have a better handle on how to re-master Elvis’ music and make it jump. My question has always been how many more times can you release the same tired masters under new themes? Well, I’m blown away by the last three sets so much so that I’m buying the LP records as well. And I’m an Elvis fan from away back when! I’m almost convinced that Tom Parker would be enjoying all of this, since he was always “sabotaging” Elvis’ original mixdowns to eliminate the background vocalists. Still, here’s a way to show just how incredible Elvis Presley was and why he truly was his own producer. So, let’s bring on the next chapter of the story, whatever it may contain. Never imagined this sound some 30 years ago, but it’s been well worth the wait for the right ears to bring it forth! Thanks!