In A Private Moment

CD

ElvisNews review

The third release on BMG’s collectors’ label, Follow That Dream Records, gives us more homerecordings. Over the years we got some of the better (regarding sound quality) on several albums, like A Legendary Performer, A Golden Celebration and Platinum – A Life in Music. Earlier this year BMG released a CD, Homerecordings, completely filled with these private recordings from the late fifties and the sixties. With A Private Moment we have a nice addition on that CD.As we all know the recordings are in poor quality. Sometimes the words are hardly audible. On this CD there are a couple of tracks that break this rule. Especially a beautiful slow rendition of Fools Rush In is one of the highlights on the album; with only minus that it is about 10 minutes too short. On this song, and a couple of others, Elvis sings to an album or a backing-track, and he really tries to deliver something. Although most of the tracks are in the known poor quality, this kind of music is enjoyable, because you hear Elvis having fun with the songs he liked, doing what he was good at: improvising and tackling all kinds of music.
Strangest thing about this CD is the order in which the songs are placed: going from 1959, through 1960 to 1966 and finishing again with some tracks from 1959. Most of the songs were unreleased before, with different versions of Blowing in the Wind and What Now My Love. Of course the CD is not fit for a general public, but we had it in our player for a couple of times now and it is really a pleasure to listen to. Unfortunately the package of the CD lacks, like the previous FtD-releases, decent information on the tracks but probably that’s something we’ll have to live with. The waiting is now for "The Complete Homerecordings"-boxset, with all available material uncut and in the right order.

Tracklisting

• Loving You (1959 (homerecording))
• Danny Boy (1959 (homerecording))
• I'm Beginning to Forget You (1959 (homerecording))
• Beyond the Reef (1960 (homerecording))
• Sweet Leilani (1960 (homerecording))
• If I Loved You (1960 (homerecording))
• Lawdy Miss Clawdy (1960 (homerecording))
• I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder (1960 (homerecording))
• He (1960 (homerecording))
• When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano (1960 (homerecording))
• She Wears My Ring (1960 (homerecording))
• Sweet Leilani (1960 (homerecording), alt. take)
• Moonlight Sonata (1966 homerecording)
• Blue Hawaii (1966 homerecording)
• Hide Thou Me (1966 homerecording)
• Oh How I Love Jesus (1966 homerecording)
• Fools Rush In (1966 homerecording)
• It's a Sin to Tell a Lie (1966 homerecording)
• What Now My Love (1966 homerecording)
• Blowin' in the Wind (1966 homerecording)
• 500 Miles (1966 homerecording)
• I, John (1966 homerecording)
• I'll Take You Home again Kathleen (1959 (homerecording))
• I Will Be True (1959 (homerecording))
• Apron Strings (1959 (homerecording))
• It's Been So Long Darling (1959 (homerecording))
• I'll Take You Home again Kathleen (1959 (homerecording) slow)
• There's No Tomorrow (1959 (homerecording))
• The Titles Will Tell (1959 (homerecording))