Just a few days after I received the Studio 1 LP, the postman brought another MRS package. This time Memphis Recording Service pointed their arrows at Elvis’ fifties movies.
Design
Stunning is the only word I can come up with describing the whole thing. The format is the same as the recent MRS releases. A firm book with the CDs attached to the front and back.
The book consists of mainly pictures, but when text is used it is very readable with enough contrast with the background.
Content
Again I saw many questions by people asking “do we really need this?”. Many of us won’t, since we have the material elsewhere (on FTD to name the most obvious source). On the other hand, people who skipped the FTD releases containing this material for whatever reason, have a chance now to get it all together, bundled in one package.
The package itself is worth of it in my eyes. A superb combination of publicity shots, movie stills, memorabilia and other photos is a real treat for the eye. Some are a bit on the dark side, but overall the quality is fine. The combination of black and white and full colour is good too, a bit more black and white, but one might expect that with 50s photography. There were quite some pictures that gave me the feeling I saw them for the first time. I am not a real photo junk, but overall my memory serves me well.
Backed with some text about the movies and of course the session information and track listings, the book part of this release deserves the description stunning alone.
I will mostly stick to the first CD when playing this set again. This one holds the masters and movie versions of the songs. Highlight to me on this disc is the unedited version of Crawfish, with a lot more Kitty White than we were used to so far. The second CD starts okay to with alternate versions (the end version of Loving You stands out!), but the 30+ takes of Loving You is, ah well, a bit too much? I thought it was boring on the FTD release of this soundtrack and I still do.
The session material is too much for me to play regularly. Even the songs I really love (Treat Me Nice, Young and Beautiful) get boring at a certain moment (at least to me). Still it is nice to have it all gathered this way and it might get the occasional spin in the future.
Conclusion
A very well presented set with all available movie material – record wise – of the 1950s bundled. Who could have thought of that some 25 years ago? We might not really need it, but it is oh so nice to have!
Tracklisting
CD1 – MASTER SOUNDTRACKS AND MOVIE VERSIONS
01. Love Me Tender
02. Let Me
03. Poor Boy
04. We're Gonna Move
05. Mean Woman Blues
06. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
07. Loving You
08. Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do
09. Lonesome Cowboy
10. Hot Dog
11. Party
12. Jailhouse Rock
13. Young And Beautiful
14. I Want To Be Free
15. Don't Leave Me Now
16. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don't Care
17. Treat Me Nice
18. King Creole
19. As Long As I Have You
20. Hard Headed Woman
21. Trouble
22. Dixieland Rock
23. Don't Ask Me Why
24. Lover Doll
25. Crawfish (Unedited Master)
26. Young Dreams
27. Steadfast, Loyal and True
28. New Orleans
29. Danny
30. Love Me Tender (Movie End Title)
31. Mean Woman Blues (Movie Take 7 Second Version)
32. Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Movie Finale)
33. Jailhouse Rock (Movie Version)
34. Treat Me Nice (Movie No Overdub Version)
35. Young And Beautiful (Movie End Title)
36. (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care (Movie Edit)
37. Don't Leave Me Now (Movie Set Version]
38. Crawfish (Movie Version)
39. Steadfast, Loyal & True (Movie version)
CD2 – ALTERNATE SOUNDTRACKS AND SESSIONS
01. Let Me (Take 3)
02. Let Me (Take 4)
03. Poor Boy (Take 3 - 2 Verse Master)
04. Poor Boy (Take 1 Remake)
05. Poor Boy (3 Verse Overdub - Take 6)
06. We're Gonna Move (Take 4)
07. We're Gonna Move (Take 9)
08. Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Alternate Movie Master)
09. Party (Alternate Master)
10. Loving You (Main Version Take 3)
11. Loving You (End Version Take 16)
12. King Creole (Original Alternate Version Take 3)
13. King Creole (Original Alternate Version Take 18)
14. Lover Doll (Unedited Undubbed Master)
15. As Long As I Have You (Short Version Take 4)
16. As Long As I Have You (Short Version Take 18)
17. Steadfast, Loyal And True (Original Alternate Version Take 6)
18. Steadfast, Loyal And True (Undubbed Record Master)
19. Loving You (Second Farm Version Take 14)
LOVING YOU (Second Main Fast Movie Version) SESSION
20. Loving You (Take 1)
21. Loving You (Take 2-3)
22. Loving You (Take 4-5)
23. Loving You (Take 6)
24. Loving You (Take 7)
25. Loving You (Take 8)
26. Loving You (Take 9-10)
27. Loving You (Take 11)
28. Loving You (Take 12)
29. Loving You (Take 13)
30. Loving You (Take 14)
31. Loving You (Take 15)
32. Loving You (Take 16)
33. Loving You (Take 17-18)
34. Loving You (Take 19)
35. Loving You (Take 20-21)
36. Loving You (Take 22 Binaural)
LOVING YOU (Third Farm Version) SESSION
37. Loving You (Take 1)
38. Loving You (Take 2-3)
39. Loving You (Take 4-5)
40. Loving You (Take 6)
41. Loving You (Take 7-9)
42. Loving You (Take 10-12)
CD3
JAILHOUSE ROCK SESSION
Jailhouse Rock (Takes 1-4)
Jailhouse Rock (Take 5)
Jailhouse Rock (Take 6)
Jailhouse Rock (Take 7)
Jailhouse Rock (Instr Pick Up C Up Chorus On) Takes 1-2
(You're So Square) BABY I DON’T CARE SESSION
(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care (Take 1)
(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care (Takes 2-4)
TREAT ME NICE (First Movie Version) SESSION
Treat Me Nice (Takes 1-2)
Treat Me Nice (Take 3)
Treat Me Nice (Takes 4-5)
Treat Me Nice (Takes 6-7)
Treat Me Nice (Takes 8-9)
Treat Me Nice (Takes 10-12)
Treat Me Nice (Take 13)
Treat Me Nice (Takes 14-15)
Treat Me Nice (Take 16)
Treat Me Nice (Take 17)
Treat Me Nice (Take 18)
Treat Me Nice (Take 19)
TREAT ME NICE (Second Movie Version) SESSION
Treat Me Nice (Takes 1-2)
Treat Me Nice (Takes 3-5)
Treat Me Nice (Take 6)
Treat Me Nice (Take 7)
Treat Me Nice (Take 8)
Treat Me Nice (Takes 9-10)
Treat Me Nice (Take 11)
Treat Me Nice (Takes 12-13)
CD4
YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL (Solo Prison TV Version) SESSION
Young And Beautiful (Take 1)
Young And Beautiful (Take 2)
Young And Beautiful (Take 3)
YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL (Florita Version) SESSION
Young And Beautiful (Take 1)
Young And Beautiful (Take 2)
Young And Beautiful (Takes 3-4)
Young And Beautiful (Takes 5-6)
Young And Beautiful (Take 7)
YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL (Record Version) SESSION
Young And Beautiful (Take 1)
Young And Beautiful (Takes 4-5)
Young And Beautiful (Take 6)
Young And Beautiful (Takes 7-8)
Young And Beautiful (Take 9-11)
Young And Beautiful (Take 12)
Young And Beautiful (Take 13-18)
Young And Beautiful (Take 19)
Young And Beautiful (Takes 20-22)
I WANT TO BE FREE (Record Version) SESSION
I Want To Be Free (Takes 1-4)
I Want To Be Free (Takes 5-8)
I Want To Be Free (Take 9)
I Want To Be Free (Takes 10-11)
I Want To Be Free (Pick up First ending Takes 1-2)
I Want To Be Free (Pick up second ending Takes 1-5)
CD5
I WANT TO BE FREE (Jail Version) SESSION
I Want To Be Free (Takes 1-4)
I Want To Be Free (Takes 5-6)
I Want To Be Free (Takes 7-10)
I Want To Be Free (Take 11)
I Want To Be Free (Take 12)
I Want To Be Free (Take 13)
DON’T LEAVE ME NOW (First Version Piano) SESSION
Don't Leave Me Now (Take 1)
Don't Leave Me Now (Take 2)
DON’T LEAVE ME NOW (Second Version) SESSION
Don't Leave Me Now (Takes 1-6)
Don't Leave Me Now (Takes 7-8)
Don't Leave Me Now (Takes 9-10)
Don't Leave Me Now (Takes 11-12)
Don't Leave Me Now (Takes 14-15)
Don't Leave Me Now (Takes 16-18)
Don't Leave Me Now (Take 19)
Don't Leave Me Now (Takes 20-21)
DON’T LEAVE ME NOW (Recording Studio Version) SESSION
17. Don't Leave Me Now (Take 2)
18. Don’t Leave Me Now (Take 12)
