Title: The How Great Thou Art Sessions, Volume 2

Label: 2001

Date: May 25-27, 1966, Nashville's Studio B

Sound Quality: from * * * + to * * * * + / * * * * * +

Content Rating: * * * * * - / * * * * * +

Tracks: 1.So High (take 1) 2.So High (takes 2, 3) 3.By And By (takes 1,2) 4.By And By (take 3) 5.By And By (take 4) 6.By And By (takes 5-8) 7.By And By (take 9) 8.Without Him (take 1) 9.Without Him (take 2-7) 10.Without Him (take 8) 11.Without Him (takes 9-11, 13) 12.Without Him (take 14) 13.If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side (take 1) 14.If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side (takes 2,3) 15.If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side (take 4) 16.If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side (take 6) 17.Where Could I Go But To The Lord (take 1) 18.Love Letters (takes 1,2) 19.Love Letters (takes 3-5) 20.Love Letters (take 7) 21.Love Letters (take 8) 22.Down In The Alley (take 1) 23.Down In The Alley (takes 2-4) 24.Down In The Alley (take 6) 25.Down In The Alley (takes 7, 8)

Package: The cover art of this release is absolutely outstanding (just like in case with volume 1), I would give it a 6 out of 5!!! Very good liner notes, fantastic photos, great color choices. Something that even BMG can't match. If the official releases were "decorated" in the same way I would be the happiest human being on earth!

Elvis: He is at full blast! He is recording non-soundtrack material for the first time in almost two and a half years and you feel how dedicated he is on this sessions.

Highlights: Among the highlights I would mention the By And By, If the Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side and Down In The Alley segments.

Review: Elvis was very happy when he received the RCA order to record a gospel album in early 1966. It would be the first time he would enter the studio to record non-soundtrack material in two years. He begun preparing for the recording, making home records of songs that he consider as candidates for the album. The dedication that he put into this home rehearsals and studio sessions is evident on both How Great Thou Art album and (even more) on this release.

The How Great Thou Art Sessions, Volume 2 CD features outstanding material, showing Elvis as a very dedicated singer. No fooling around (as we are used to by other studio sessions of Mr. Presley), just straight work.

The sound quality on this release differs from song to song. Mostly it is a bit worse than on the first volume. There is some annoying hiss on some of the songs, but taking in account that these are not the master tapes, it's possible to live with it.

When Elvis entered the studio in the evening of May 27-th, he was greeted by a new producer - Charles Felton Jarvis, who would act that role till the end of Elvis' life. Along with newcomers Chip Young on rhythm guitar, Pete Drake on steel-guitar, sax player Rufus Long, session singers June Page and Dolores Edgin plus the great Imperials with Jake Hess the team was ready to pass any mountains.

This second volume of the great contents CD collection starts with Felton Jarvis announcing "OK, we're rolling, this is So High, take 1. Swang on!" The song is an up-tempo Harmozing Four's number and it was a great choice to begin the gospel part of the night of May 26-th. Having already recorded the wonderful Love Letters, the group was very enthusiastic to go on. Take 1 of So High is already a masterpiece, and I really can't find the reason it hadn't been chosen to move for the next song having this take. Take 2 is just a false start, while in the very beginning of take 3 Bob More misses a note or two on his bass, which already predicts that it can't become the master. Take 4 was the master, so we only get to hear a few laughs before it.

Next song is By and By and somehow the sound quality improves much on this number. Takes 1 and 2 are just false starts, while before the 3-rd, Felton says "Try that fuzz again, Pete" to the steel player Pete Drake, noticing the lack of some power in the very beginning of the song. "Fuzz?" Elvis asks. "Fuzz tone that he has on his steel", Felton explains. "Oh... I thought that was something on Buddy!!!" Elvis adds to the laughter of the musicians. Elvis messes up the words on take 3, take 4 is without Pete's fuzz again, which somehow makes the song sound quiter and less enegetic. Takes 5 & 6 are just false starts, while on the 7-th te Pete's fuzz is back. Still, takes 7 and 8 are just a few seconds long, containing little mistakes by the musicians and ending soon after. Take 9 is very close to the master, containing just a few mistakes by Elvis in the phrazing.

With the recording of Without Him the sound quality becomes much worse, it seems as if it is being made in a botle. Take 1 is a very nice version, but it sounds just as a try-out - Bob More messes up his notes at the end, Elvis changes the phrazing. The group understood, that they still had to put a lot of effort to get the result right. Takes 2&3 are just short false starts. In the middle of take 4 a strange noise comes through on the tape, and having noticed it, Elvis says: "That's my shoe sole!" with (probably) Jim Malloy, the sound engineer for the evening answering: "I don't know what it was..." with Elvis continuing: "That's the wrong soul, man". Takes 5 and 6 are just more false starts, while in the middle of take 7 Elvis misses the lines. The group finally brings it to an end by take 8, with a few mistakes here and there. Takes 9,10,11 & 13 are all incoplete. Take 12 would later be chosen as the master, but one more was called and even finished (the close to master and great take 14).

Next song on the CD is If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side. Take 1 is well known by it's release on the Today, Tomorrow and Forever box set. Take 2 ends very soon with Elvis jumpin' a line. For whatever reason, take 3 stops soon after beginning. Take 4 looses all it's chances of becoming after Elvis messes letters all the way through the song. "This is five, lucky five!" Felton Jarvis predicts. Still, having a great take 5 in the can, they went on to record an even better (in my opinion) take 6, with Elvis "O-o-o"-ing all the way through the song and making the phrazing much more interesting.

Where Could I Go But To The Lord take 1 is just a false start, while the master was take 2, so we only have a few seconds of it here.

Next we get to hear all the outtakes of Love Letters - not very interesting, since many of this takes have been previously released even officialy (and in much better sound quality), not mentioning their appereances on several bootleg releases. However, it's nice to have them in one place with all the available in-between chatter.

Save the best for the last - the already partly released Down In The Alley segment is here complete for the first time and it is a real joy (in stereo !!!). take 1 is pretty different from the master, with a different arrangement for the organ and harp and it is great! The takes 2-5 segment has been previously released on the fourth volume of the great Bilko's release There's Alway Me, but it's always a joy to listen.

As a conclusion I'd like to say that somehow the first volume of the series was a bit more interesting (for me at least). Still, this is a great addition to your collection, since it contains the complete How Great Thou Art sessions which are a very important time in Elvis' career and it is always interesting to take a glimpse into Elvis - The Recording Arist. Be aware, however, that the sound quality on most of the tracks is not very good

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