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From Elvis In Nashville (Sony Legacy)

August 06, 2020 | Music

Late October Release From Sony a 2xLP set containing recordings from Elvis’ Nashville sessions in June 1970. There will also be a beautiful 4xCD package on the same date. (with the promise of after session over dubbing removed).

Here is the press-release (unfortunately without tracklisting):

RCA/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of From Elvis In Nashville, a 4CD collection presenting the long-awaited definitive chronicle of Elvis Presley's mythic 1970 marathon sessions with the »Nashville Cats«. 

Recorded live in RCA's Studio B in Nashville over the course of an epic five day/night run in June 1970 (with an additional session on September 22), Elvis' performances from those sessions formed the core of three of his most successful studio album releases from the 1970s: Elvis: That's the Way It Is, Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old) and Love Letters from Elvis. 

Now, for the first time, the master recordings from the 1970 Studio B sessions may be enjoyed together as a single official Elvis album. On From Elvis In Nashville, Presley's studio tracks from the 1970 marathon sessions are presented in pristine audio, newly mixed by acclaimed engineer Matt Ross-Spring (John Prine, Jason Isbell) without the added overdubs or orchestration appearing on earlier releases. 

From Elvis In Nashville will be available in a 4CD boxed edition including two bonus discs of rare and/or unreleased outtakes from the 1970 sessions. A highlights package will be available in a 2LP 12" vinyl pressing. 

At the close of the 1960s, Elvis Presley, the atomic-powered singer of the 1950s, put his stamp on the rock revolution decade, reestablishing himself as a musical and cultural force to be reckoned with. His electrifying Elvis '68 Comeback special made television history and his long-awaited return to non-soundtrack recordings – captured at Chip Moman's American Sound Studio in Memphis, January-February 1969 – yielded major chart hits including 'In The Ghetto', 'Don't Cry Daddy', 'Kentucky Rain', and 'Suspicious Minds' (Elvis' final #1 single) and well as a pair of acclaimed 1969 album releases, From Elvis In Memphis and the studio/concert hybrid From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis. From Elvis In Nashville serves as a mirror and companion to his earlier Memphis recordings, bringing fresh fire, exuberance, humor and emotional resonance to the Studio B sessions. 

For his first recordings of the 1970s, Elvis revisited the blueprint that made his American Sound sessions so successful. Because he hated doing overdubs, he wanted to cut loose live in the studio with a band in sync with his sensibility. Freed from obligations to music publishers, Elvis was able to pick and record songs that were contemporary, relevant and meaningful to him, from covers – including his transcendent interpretation of 'Bridge Over Trouble Water' – to the epic material then powering his Las Vegas residencies and return to live performing. (In 1970 alone, Elvis performed two-month-long engagements at the International, playing two shows a night.) 

If the American Sound recordings in Memphis opened the door for Elvis' return to the stage and top of the charts, his next recordings – the fabled 1970 Marathon Sessions – would lay the groundwork for another revolution in pop music. Under the direction of producer Felton Jarvis, Elvis joined forces with one of the most potent studio ensembles ever assembled to create an often underrated chapter in Presley's rich legacy. Working with the fabled »Nashville Cats« for his first album of 1970, Elvis Presley connected to a circle of contemporary musicians that included Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, George Harrison and others. 

In June 1970, Elvis – who'd upended country music radio in the 1950s when he introduced rock 'n' roll music to the mainstream--returned to RCA Studio B to create a new sound for a new decade. From 1958-1971, Elvis recorded more than 200 tracks at Studio B, beginning with five songs – including 'A Fool Such As I' – before shipping off to Germany with the US Army in September 1958; he recorded Elvis Is Back!, his first post-army album, at Studio B in March-April 1960. For his 1970 Nashville sessions, Elvis was able to handpick his own repertoire and, delve into the rich variety of American music in his marrow, combining elements of bluegrass, honky tonk, Western swing and the rockabilly he'd virtually invented with contemporary pop, ballads and epic showstoppers. Bringing a fresh and vital new approach to pop and country music, Elvis' performances on From Elvis In Nashville presaged and encompassed emerging trends from countrypolitan and Americana to outlaw country. 

These sessions are widely recognized as among Elvis' best because of the undeniable chemistry between Elvis and his astonishing studio band comprised of multi-instrumentalist Charlie McCoy (whose resume includes Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde, John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline as well as work with Paul Simon, Tanya Tucker, Bob Seger, Willie Nelson and many more); bassist Norbert Putnam (Roy Orbison, Al Hirt, Henry Mancini, Dan Fogelberg, Linda Ronstadt, J. J. Cale, Tony Joe White, more); and pianist David Briggs (who's worked with Dean Martin, Joan Baez, Nancy Sinatra, B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Tony Joe White, George Harrison, Todd Rundgren, Roy Orbison, The Monkees, J. J. Cale, Kris Kristofferson, Alice Cooper, among others). Known colloquially as the »Nashville Cats«, this finely-honed studio ensemble, like Elvis himself, connected the worlds of pop, rock and country music. For the June sessions, Elvis brought in his longtime on-stage guitarist James Burton; Eddie Hinton – who, like Putnam ad Briggs, was part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section – played lead guitar on Elvis' September 22 session. Elvis plays acoustic guitar throughout the June sessions. 

The five-day »marathon« sessions—with work starting in the early evening and continuing until dawn – yielded a wide variety of material including a spirited rendition of Willie Nelson's 'Funny How Time Slips Away', the heartrending 'I've Lost You', a powerful take on Simon & Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', and a new version of 'Love Letters', which Presley first cut in 1966. A wild, single-take version of 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' was one of the highlights of the September 22 single day session. 

The music Elvis created in his 1970 'Marathon Sessions' – presented here without layers of overdubbing heard on the original releases – stands among Presley's best and has proven immensely influential. It established musical directions he pursued the rest of his career, predicted his late-in-life pop- and-country radio successes, and modeled sounds for countless country stars to come. From Elvis In Nashville provides an intimate glimpse into the world of Elvis and the way he made music that lasts forever. 

From Elvis In Nashville

Source:The OEPFC of Great Britain

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Bob Finkel wrote on August 07, 2020
From what I read here very interesting. Sounds really good. Really looking forward.
Pieter wrote on August 07, 2020
This one looks great!
Gladyslove wrote on August 07, 2020
Sounds promising.
JerryNodak wrote on August 07, 2020
Generally speaking I don't care for undubbed masters. Also, not a huge fan of outtakes, rehearsals etc. If I were to buy this release I would play it through once or twice and then it would sit on a shelf. I saw a track list of this release somewhere on the internet. If that list is correct I'm pretty sure I've already got almost all of "rarities" on the FTD classic album releases that cover these Nashville sessions.
Milky White Way wrote on August 07, 2020
I’m a little disappointed, not complaining before I get attacked but just hoping for something different. I don’t see the point of undubbed masters. I’ve heard them all before and really enjoy the outtakes but to me the overdubs (not in all cases) complete the rhythm tracks. How can Mary in the morning or When I’m over you be better without the beautiful orchestration? I was hoping for remixed masters and outtakes. I will listen on Apple Music but won’t buy.
Gladyslove wrote on August 08, 2020
I did get a mail from legacy recordings and the release date is the 20th of November, not October.
TheMemphisFan wrote on August 08, 2020
DISC 1 - Masters 01. Opening Jam (Mystery Train) 02. Twenty Days And Twenty Nights 03. I’ve Lost You 04. I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago 05. The Sound Of Your Cry 06. The Fool 07. A Hundred Years From Now 08. Little Cabin On The Hill 09. Cindy, Cindy 10. Bridge Over Troubled Water 11. How The Web Was Woven 12. Got My Mojo Working/ Keep Your Hands Off Of It 13. It’s Your Baby, You Rock It 14. Stranger In The Crowd 15. I’ll Never Know 16. Mary In The Morning 17. It Ain’t No Big Thing (But It’s Growing) 18. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me 19. Just Pretend 20. This Is Our Dance 21. Life 22. Heart Of Rome DISC 2 - Masters 01. When I’m Over You 02. I Really Don’t Want To Know 03. Faded Love 04. Tomorrow Never Comes 05. The Next Step Is Love 06. Make The World Go Away 07. Funny How Time Slips Away 08. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water 09. Love Letters 10. There Goes My Everything 11. If I Were You 12. Only Believe 13. Sylvia 14. Patch It Up 15. Snowbird 16. Where Did They Go, Lord 17. Whole Lot-ta Shakin’ Goin’ On 18. Rags To Riches DISC 3 - Outtakes 01. Jam 2 (Tiger Man) 02. I’ve Lost You – take 1 03. The Next Step Is Love – takes 3-6 04. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me – rehearsal 05. Patch It Up – take 1 06. Twenty Days And Twenty Nights – takes 5,6 & 8 07. How The Web Was Woven – take 1 08. Mary In The Morning – takes 3-4 09. Just Pretend – takes 1-2 10. Stranger In The Crowd – takes 1-5 11. Bridge Over Troubled Water – rehearsal, take 1 12. Patch It Up – take 9 13. The Sound Of Your Cry – take 3 14. Where Did They Go, Lord – takes 2-3 15. Rags To Riches – take 2 DISC 4 - Outtakes 01. Jam 3 (I Didn’t Make It On Playing Guitar) 02. Faded Love – rehearsal (country version) 03. The Fool – take 1 04. A Hundred Years From Now – take 1 05. Little Cabin On The Hill – take 1 06. Tomorrow Never Comes – takes 10-11 07. Snowbird – take 1 08. Faded Love – take 3 09. It’s Your Baby, You Rock It – take 3 10. There Goes My Everything – take 1 11. Love Letters – take 1 12. If I Were You– take 5 13. Heart Of Rome – take 1 14. Cindy, Cindy – take 1 15. I’ll Never Know – take 3 16. Sylvia – take 9 17. It Ain’t No Big Thing (But It’s Growing) – takes 1-2 18. Only Believe – take 3 19. Life – take 2
Pinkie wrote on August 09, 2020
Milky White Way, I think it depends on what constitutes ‘without layers of overdubbing’ as there were many of these - overdubs by the studio band (only half a dozen or so from the June sessions), back-up singers, strings and brass (brass consisted mainly of trumpets and saxophones), and then oddments like fiddle and banjo on Little Cabin On The Hill, organ on Patch it Up etc., in quite a few instances even more back-up singers, Elvis doing so-called ‘work parts’, harmony vocals, and in the case of Bridge Over Troubled Water, replacing his entire vocal. Would be sad to lose Millie Kirkham, Temple Riser, Jeannie Greene, and Mary and Ginger Holladay but gladly get rid of the Imperials and The Jordanaires from their extra back-up overdubs (God, I wish Elvis had stuck with girls singing back-up through the 70’s rather than the Imperials, Voice etc). Nor will it be sad to lose the strings and brass as these were inept e.g. destroying the fragile melody of Mary In the Morning, often swamping the efforts of not just Elvis but the brilliant live studio band and destroying the imaging and soundstage of the original studio recordings. Plus, I think Elvis’s vocals should be as he wanted them e.g. Make The World Go Away where he recorded a separate ending which was then overdubbed (or edited depending on definitions and terminology) on to the master. But whatever the situation re overdubbing, really looking forward to this.
claunath82 wrote on August 09, 2020
I'm really interested in this set, I don't need the full sessions with all the false starts etc but all the masters and the best outtakes put together is really what I prefer I didn't buy the 69 sessions except vinyl but now I buy without hesitation!
marty wrote on August 09, 2020
I would like to make an observation on the issue of overdubs. I much prefer in most cases the undubbed studio version to the overdubbed master, especially on the 70's ballads. However judging by the instrumentation Elvis used and the sound he created on stage, I think he probably liked the fuller sound of the finished masters. In any case I am looking forward to this release, let's hope the mastering is worthy of our man.
TheMemphisFan wrote on August 09, 2020
$44.98 at Amazon.com in the U.S.
TheMemphisFan wrote on August 09, 2020
~ For those that prefer the originally-released overdubbed masters, there are plenty of remastered CDs already available on the market to choose from containing those tracks. Let's enjoy this set for what it is... a new product.
Walter wrote on August 10, 2020
Gladyslove, Somehow I'm not surprised. Even though this set is for release to the regular public, they need to space out the time of release because of the massive FTD set with regards to the TTWII 50th anniversary. Too bad that both sets contain mostly released material.
Milky White Way wrote on August 17, 2020
Just listened to “Funny how time...” on Apple Music. They are previewing this track along with “Washed my hands.” I have to accept, it sounds amazing with headphones. you can here every nuance like Elvis is in your living room. I just may be a new convert to undubbed masters!