Elvis Disco

Before I start with the actual review of this new CD on the FTD-label, I better give you some background information. In my research for information I had to fall back on a lengthy article in a fellow-magazine Elvis - The Man And His Music, issue 16 (sept.1992), by Gordon Minto called Too Much Monkey Business (isn’t that coincidental or what?). It supplied me with some interesting facts.

In 1981 RCA released an album called ‘Guitar Man’. It contained 10 songs with updated instrumental backings. The idea and realization for this project was done by Elvis’ former producer Felton Jarvis. The re-recording and re-mixing was done by Chips Young at the Young’um Sound studio in Nashville Tennessee. The sessions took place in January, February, October and November of 1980.

During that period there was a rumour circulating that the album was intended as a duet-album, with Elvis being joined by other artists, and in some cases the writers of the song. In the end this did not happen, but that does not alter the fact that a few renowned artists visited the Young’um Sound Studio for their part in the sessions. Tony Joe White is reported to have played on For Ol’ Times Sake, and Carl Perkins on Blue Suede Shoes but more about that later.

The recording sheets tell us that Felton selected and worked on 30 songs. Only 10 made it to the album. On this release we get to hear - besides these 10 - another 10. The calculators among you will have worked out that there are still 10 songs in the can. I have to mention that they worked on following tracks, but no-one knows how many of these were actually completed. Still, they had come to a stage where Felton had given them a matrix number. These songs remain shelved:
And I Love You So/Shake A Hand/The Fool/For Lovin’ Me/Funny How Time Slips Away/Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain/Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall/For Ol’ Times Sake/Help Me/Susan When She Tried.

The Guitar Man album was released in February of 1981 and targeted at the Country and Western market. It became a controversial album dividing the fans into two camps. Those who hated it or loved it. Yet, the single Guitar Man b/w Faded Love (with Jerry Reed playing the new solo) peaked at the top position of the C&W singles list. It remains Elvis’s last number one till today. The album itself was a commercial success because it reached the sixth position on the C&W album chart.

I liked the album a lot because it sounded fresh. Felton’s approach did not affect the Elvis ‘feel’, since he used a lot of familiar names (Larry Londin, David Briggs, Chips Young). But also a guitar player like Dale Sellers contributed to the sound that Felton was looking for. According to D.J. Fontana Dale Sellers is “the closest thing to Scotty Moore in town”. And he is right on the spot! Just listen to “She Thinks I Still Care”, and you know what he is talking about.

I will not go into detailing every new song, but I like to pick out a few things that struck me. One of those things are that all male vocals, strings and horns are erased. They are replaced by instruments that you would not normally hear at an Elvis session. Things like a banjo, steel guitar, flute, alto-sax and percussion. Felton took the time to experiment with the arrangements and this is probably why we get to hear this wide range of instruments.

One of the new songs that stands out is Burning Love. It sounds as tight as the version of Travis Tritt on Honeymoon In Vegas. At last Larry Londin gives this song a more powerful beat. Now it is finally possible to go cruising with Burning Love blasting out of your speakers of your car. The editor of this magazine and yours truly would like to see this song being released as a single. Who else is in favour?

My personal favourite of this CD is Hey Jude, as it benefited the most from the ‘restauration’. It actually was an incomplete take when it was recorded in 1969. There had been no lyric-sheets in the studio and something was wrong with the key in which they recorded the song. Elvis rejected this take and never attempted the song again. But because of a lack of material the song was used to flesh out ELVIS NOW. Finally Felton had had the time to repair the song. And I like it a lot. But to be fair not every new approach is succesful. I don’t know for instance why they even considered re-doing In The Ghetto. The original version stands out on its own.

Another thing that struck me are the different styles and sounds in guitar playing. It gave different people (other than James Burton) a possibility to show their skills. You will hear a Robert Cray Band-guitar on If You Talk In Your Sleep. The guitar sounds very much the same like on their hitrecording of Right Next Door.

The only one to do this project had to be Felton Jarvis, because he had access to the master takes. He had the right connections within the Nashville music industry, and put a lot of effort in erasing the ‘old’ backing tracks. He succeeded very well in this painstaking job. The only track that suffers a bit from leakage is Blue Suede Shoes. It had been impossible to get rid off the screaming audience coming through Elvis’s mike. It is the only live recording that was used. But NOT (as Ernst Jorgensen told us in our previous magazine) the 1972 Madison Square Garden version, but the 1969 track from ELVIS IN PERSON. A powerful and artificially extended version of more than 3 minutes. But the biggest surprise to me is that Carl Perkins is playing the lead-guitar! It is a mystery why Ernst denied this piece of information in our previous magazine. The paperwork tell us that at least two dates of a visit are registered to the Young’Um Sound . And - with all respect for the other guitarists present - why should Felton record a second solo, when he has The King of Rockabilly on tape? But it is his guitar that gives it away. That clean sound and style is HIS trademark. There is no doubt about that!

This is a nice FTD-product. Attractively packaged in fresh colours with Elvis looking more Country and Western than ever. And for his final piece of work Felton Jarvis deserves a big pat on shoulders. He was ahead of his time and went away from the well-troden paths. He was the one who did not want another Greatest Hits LP, but dared to experiment with Elvis’s material. A thing that was considered as a sacrilege. It worked and after his death other recordings followed in the Guitar Man’s steps. Remixing was done on THIS IS ELVIS, I WAS THE ONE and THE ELVIS-MEDLEY. Maybe the time has come to start thinking about the release of ELVIS THE CONCERT with the new backing. If you agree, raise your hand!

Emiel Maier

Follow That Dream Records
74321-81233-2
Playing time: 61:58
Review Published: Elvis Unlimited
Issue 10 – 2001 Page 15 -17