Title: I Sing All Kinds (released in 2007)

Label: FTD

Date: Studio Sessions for RCA March, May & June 1971

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

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

Tracks: 1.Bossom Of Abraham (take 4) 2.I’ve Got Confidence (take 1) 3.An Evening Prayer (take 5) 4.(That’s What You Get) For Loving Me 5.Early Morning Rain (take 11) 6.Fools Rush In (take 14) 7.Help Me Make It Through The Night (takes 6 & 7) 8.It’s Still Here (takes 2, 3 & 1) 9.I Will Be True (take 1) 10.Until It’s Time For You To Go (June version) (takes 5 & 6) 11.It’s Only Love (take 7 – slated 6) 12.I’m Leaving (take 3) 13.Love Me, Love The Life I Lead (take 4) 14.Padre (take 2) 15.Seeing Is Believing (take 7) 16.A Thing Called Love (take 1) 17.Put Your Hand In The Hand (take 1) 18.Johny B. Goode (incomplete jam) 19.I’ll Be Home On Christmas Day (take 3) 20.Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees (take 4) 21.If I Get Home On Christmas Day (take 1) 22.It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You) (take 3) 23.I'll Be Home On Christmas Day (remake) (take 2) (Duration: 69 min. 26 sec.)

Elvis: Although not in top voice form at times – maybe because of having sung while being ill during his recent Vegas engagement – Elvis is clearly in high spirits even if every witness of the session claimed him being in a bad state of mind.

Songs: Seems like they have been hand-picked for the release, even if the Christmas songs are very boring, Elvis is not interested at all... Early Morning Rain is simply great. Same goes for Help Me Make It Through The Night and Until It's Time For You To Go.

Review: Ernst and his team made a right decision by holding this material for a long time. After some rather boring even if fine releases by the collector’s label – An American Trilogy and Live In L. A. for example – they brought us something we have expected for many years – a bunch of outtakes from the Nashville 1971’ sessions. And, boy, this set is terrific! The sound is absolutely great, the absence of some of the vocalists reminds of the Essential Elvis Volume 5, since they have been deleted from some of the tracks there as well, but this doesn’t spoil the release or a concrete song – to our ears, Early Morning Rain for example is simply better this way.

The CD starts with take 4 of Bosom Of Abraham – not a masterpiece yet, but a fine rendition yet to be polished. I’ve Got Confidence – take 1 – has a few mistakes here and there, but Elvis sounds especially inspired during the first verse of the song. An Evening prayer – take 5 – is a very good rendition, easily could have been a master had Elvis hit the high note on the very end just as on the master take. “Feels good there,” Felton remarks as Elvis replies “Almost threw up on the second line,” before take 10 of That’s What You Get For Loving Me. This version – including the false start – has already been previously available on Today, Tomorrow and Forever set. Take 11 of Early Morning Rain – with a different drum work from Jerry Carrigan – is very intimate – you can hear the back vocalists deep in the mix, but you may even get a feeling it’s just your imagination. This song is great!

Next is a very master-a-like version of Fools Rush In. A very deep-sounding intro of take 6 of Help Me Make It Through The Night doesn’t satisfy Elvis, as he remarks “That may be a little to heavy on the intro,” but the following take 7 is simply terrific: the phrasing and emotion is there, some little musician’s mistake don’t spoil the song. Nice renditions of It’s Still Here and I Will Be True sound like professionally recorded home recordings – very intimate and non-commercial. “Oh, happy day,” Elvis sings before throwing himself into take 6 of Until It’s Time For You To Go. This June version always seemed to be more dramatic and Elvis’ voice at least as good as on the May version, but somehow it was not the one to make it on the release. This take is spoiled by Elvis in the very end as he sings “You could have stayed outside but in you came, sonofabitch”. You can hear James learning the licks of It’s Only Love prior take 7 of the song, the version is more accurate than on Essential Elvis Volume 4, but still not a masterpiece. At the end Elvis changes the lyrics to “It’s only sex”.

Take 3 of I’m Leaving doesn’t sound too much altogether but however this challenge makes Elvis confess at the end of the song “Phew, man it’s tough…. This thing is worth working on”. Love Me, Love The Life I Lead take 4 lacks accurate voice control from Elvis but the song has something appealing and it’s great to have it in good sound quality with no orchestration. Take 2 of Padre is next – an almost flawless rendition – Elvis clearly inspired and his singing style reminds of December 1973 – simply wonderful rendition. Seeing Is Believing take 7 is closer to the version from Easter Special rather than it’s original. Take 1 of A Thing Called Love is next – very close to it’s original version. Take 1 of Put Your Hand In The Hand is a little messed up – Elvis struggles in the search of the right phrasing and finally ends the song stating that “We forgot the ending”. Johnny B. Goode has been released on the recent strange CD from Madison label , but we get to hear it from the master tapes now along with a few lines of O Holy Night.

The last part of the CD features the Christmas songs. Take 3 of I'll Be Home On Christmas day is very long and boring, on the other hand Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees is better, Elvis imitates inspiration but doesn't sound too inspired. If I Get Home On Christmas Day take 1 is the best song of this part of the CD - the melody has something haunting in it. It Won't Seem Like Christmas take 3 sounds master-a-like, whereas I'll Be Home On Christmas Day remake is better than the very boring original, but still too long.

Could this release have been better? Well, excluding one song could let Ernst and Co add the complete version of Don't Think Twice It's All Right and this song would perfectly fit the CD instead of one of the Christmas songs. So we are still waiting for it. The reason for this complaint lies in the fact that there can be no other complaints for this release - it is a great sounding collection of great outtakes some of which are simply outstanding. Rush to get this release!

July 2007

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