Elvis Doc 'The Searcher' Doc. Soundtrack: Upcoming Release - April 6

(From Rolling Stone) Elvis Doc 'The Searcher' Pulls Hits, Rarities for Soundtrack

An expansive soundtrack to accompany HBO's upcoming documentary, Elvis Presley: The Searcher, will be released April 6th via RCA/Legacy Recordings. The soundtrack will feature a mix of Presley hits and alternate mixes, while a deluxe edition will feature selections from the documentary's score composed by Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready.


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The Searcher soundtrack will be available digitally and on CD and double vinyl LP, while the deluxe edition will packaged as a three-CD set. All versions are available to pre-order now.

Along with the original soundtrack and parts of McCready's score, the deluxe edition of The Searcher soundtrack will include a plethora of bonus material including additional rarities, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' rendition of "Wooden Heart" and classic R&B, country and gospel songs that inspired Elvis. The set will also come with a 40-page hardcover book packed with rare photographs, liner notes from Warren Zanes and a note from The Searcher director Thom Zimny.

"From day one I had a soundtrack in mind; one that would cover Elvis in a new way and go deep into the vault,"Zimny tells Rolling Stone of The Searchersoundtrack. "Thanks to the help of Sony Legacy and the efforts of Ernst Jorgensen, I was able to pore over thousands of recordings and Elvis Presley outtakes. I also wanted the film's soundtrack to pay tribute to the many artists who influenced Elvis, and to incorporate their music to create a sonic landscape that I hoped would give the viewer the experiences Elvis had absorbing the many genres he was exposed to and influenced by – from gospel, to R&B, to country."

He added that McCready's score "brought additional sonic textures and emotional overtones that helped to capture this artist's journey."

The Searcher will premiere on HBO April 14th. The two-part, three-hour documentary will chronicle Presley's life from childhood to his final Jungle Room recording sessions in 1976. The film was made with the cooperation of the Presley estate, and Zimny was reportedly allowed unprecedented access to the Graceland archives.


Elvis Presley: The Searcher Soundtrack Track List

Standard Edition
1. "Trouble / Guitar Man"
2. "My Baby Left Me"
3. "That's All Right"
4. "Baby Let's Play House"
5. "Heartbreak Hotel"
6. "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy"
7. "Hound Dog"
8. "Crawfish"
9. "Mona Lisa"
10. "Milky White Way"
11. "Like A Baby"
12. "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
13. "It's Now Or Never"
14. "Tomorrow Is A Long Time"
15. "Suspicious Minds" (take 6)
16. "Separate Ways" (rehearsal version)
17. "Hurt" (take 5)
18. "If I Can Dream"

Deluxe Edition - Disc One
1. "Trouble / Guitar Man"
2. "My Baby Left Me"
3. "Baby, What You Want Me To Do"
4. "Old Shep"
5. "That's When Your Heartaches Begin"
6. "That's All Right"
7. "Blue Moon Of Kentucky"
8. "Fool, Fool, Fool"
9. "Tweedlee Dee"
10. Baby Let's Play House"
11. "Good Rockin' Tonight"
12. "Trying To Get To You"
13. "Blue Moon"
14. "When It Rains It Pours"
15. "Blue Christmas"
16. "Heartbreak Hotel"
17. "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy"
18. "Money Honey"
19. "Hound Dog"
20. "(There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me)"
21. "Crawfish"
22. "Trouble"
23. "Farther Along"
24. "Mona Lisa"
25. "Hide Thou Me"
26. "Loving You" (end title take 16)
27. "Lonely Man" (solo version)
28. "Power Of My Love"

Disc Two
1. "Milky White Way"
2. "A Mess Of Blues"
3. "Fame And Fortune"
4. "Love Me Tender" / "Witchcraft" (duet with Frank Sinatra)
5. "Like A Baby"
6. "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
7. "It's Now Or Never"
8. "Wooden Heart"
9. "Swing Down Sweet Chariot"
10. "Reconsider Baby"
11. "Bossa Nova Baby"
12. "C'mon Everybody"
13. "Tomorrow Is A Long Time"
14. "Take My Hand, Precious Lord"
15. "Run On"
16. "Baby What You Want Me To Do"
17. "Suspicious Minds" (take 6)
18. "Baby Let's Play House" (rehearsal)
19. "Words" (rehearsal)
20. "That's All Right"
21. "Never Been To Spain"
22. "An American Trilogy"
23. "You Gave Me A Mountain"
24. "Burning Love" (rehearsal version)
25. "Separate Ways" (rehearsal version)
26. "Hurt" (take 5)
27. "If I Can Dream"

Disc Three
1. "Dissolution 2" – Mike McCready
2. "Satisfied" – The Blackwood Brothers
3. "That's All Right" – Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
4. "She May Be Yours But She Comes To See Me Sometimes" – Joe Hill Louis
5. "Mystery Train" – Little Junior's Blue Flames
6. "Smokestack Lightning" – Howlin' Wolf
7. "Rock-A-My Soul" – The Blackwood Brothers
8. "Just Walkin' In The Rain" – The Prisonaires
9. "Rocket 88" – Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats
10. "Write Me A Letter" – The Ravens
11. "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" – Bill Monroe
12. "Ain't That Right" – Eddie Snow
13. "Just Walkin' In The Rain" – Johnnie Ray
14. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" – Lloyd Price
15. "Home Sweet Home" – Gladys Presley
16. "Blowin' In The Wind" – Odetta
17. "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" – Odetta
18. "The Weight" – The Staple Singers
19. "Heartbreak Hotel" – The Orlons
20. "Wooden Heart" – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
21. "Rebound" – Mike McCready

1CD: https://www.amazon.com/Elvis-Presle...s2&ascsubtag=ca586034b605aca5e074f6a0dde4cdd8
3 CD Deluxe: Elvis Presley: The Searcher (The Original Soundtrack) [Deluxe] by Elvis Presley
Vinyl: Elvis Presley: The Searcher (The Original Soundtrack) 2LP by Elvis Presley

 

The 3 disc set presents a nice overview of his career. For an artist who recorded several hundred songs, it is always a bit of a challenge to pare it down to a couple of discs worth of music, particularly if the premise is to deviate from the obvious hits.

 

Are we finally getting the definitive Elvis Presley documentary done with class, compassion and an emphasis on the music and not the tabloid Elvis? Of course, we did not want it to completely gloss over Elvis's flaws and challenges, both artistically and personally, but with the quality of people involved with this project, one's hopes are high that Elvis's major impact on popular music will be at the forefront of this project. Lets hope it's also able to give us a glimpse behind the curtain of how this man managed to create such a powerful and long-lasting body of work that would have such a socially powerful impact on the world. I agree with PacificOceanBlue that the soundtrack is a nice overview of his amazing catalogue given the dauting task of narrowing down that huge body of work to some of his most important songs. Not to nitpick what looks like some pretty good choices that try to go outside the expected iconic choices like Suspicious Minds or Heartbreak Hotel, I nevertheless would have included In The Ghetto as well as both its quality and social impact could not be overstated in his comeback period launch in the late 1960's. I do hope the documentary includes a reference to that song, because if it does not that indeed would be a major omission.

 

I cannot see anything on this release that makes it a worthwhile purchase for a hardcore fan so I guess it’s aimed at the casual buyer. We have it all in fact I could more or less recreate this as a playlist. It looks like a real mix starting with recordings from the '68 Special, and then moving backwards and forwards in elements of Elvis' career. Maybe a casual fan or record buyer would not be able to differentiate between the changes in Elvis voice, but placing Power of my Love from 69 as a follow up to Lonely Man nine years earlier seems strange. I realise it is probably following the documentary, but that would not matter when just listening to the music. This will probably be the first time I pass on a new Elvis release in 50 + years.

 

I just sampled the 3 disc version on Spotify. Nothing new apart from the new mixes of the Burning Love and Separate Ways rehearsals from the Elvis On Tour sessions which do sound very good. Hopefully the sessions and shows from Elvis On Tour have been mixed and will be released in the near future by either FTD or Sony.

 

Played the first disc and have the other 2 it in the queue for Sunday. Great selection and nice box/book. Glad I bought it, can’t wait to see the documentary.

 

Does anyone know if the HBO documentary is slated to be realeased on Blu-ray at some point?

 

I understand the theme of this doc is to focus on Elvis' music so it stops with the Jungle Room Sessions but I always want these kind of examinations to go to the end of the artist's life. Yes, I know the Jungle sessions were the end of the line musically, but I'm greedy.

 

Not sure if there has been an official announcement, but one suspects this documentary will undoubtedly receive a Blu-ray/DVD release.

 

I cannot imagine this documentary not getting a release on Blu-ray/DVD given the early rave critical reviews and the fact that HBO's very well received Frank Sinatra doc. All Or Nothing At All got the full Blu-ray/DVD release after it was shown as well. It was a similar two part doc. that was equally well received by both critics and fans.

 

I picked this up the other day and I am pleasantly surprised with it. At first glance I thought it was going to be another run-of-the-mill Greatest Hits package but when I sat down with the music it was clear that it was put together for a specific purpose. The songs jump a little in the timeline which allows you to focus on the performances and less on the timeline of events in Elvis's career. It is very effective and put Elvis's talents in fantastic light.

The booklet points out how much Ernst Jorgensen had to do with expanding Zimny's view on Elvis's catalog. One wonders if this set mirrors very closely to Ernst's personal favorite playlist of his favorite songs?

Also the Elvis on tour rehearsal tracks sound really nice. I can only hope there is more where that came from.

 

The producers decided they wanted to go a bit deeper than the usual "greatest hits" set but I read somewhere when one of them was interviewed that they did not see it being a really big seller.

Personally, the deluxe set does not work for me - I do not like songs jumping around across various times of his career - it jars the flow and in some respects makes me think of this release as being "Presley By The Presley’s" meets "This Is Elvis" meets "Elvis A Legendary Performer Series". And whilst I have been a big fan for over 57, and realise that the very early version of "That’s When Your Heartaches Begin" has historical context, his singing really does hurt my ears on this track. There is nothing really new in it for fans apart from a few remixed songs and I am not convinced that the general record buying public will go for it, preferring to concentrate on the standard CD set if they go for anything. I think this is definitely a case of the audio working better with the visuals of the documentary and not a soundtrack as such.

What is strange is that at the moment, I am aware that only the US will be broadcasting this show - there are no immediate plans to screen it in the U.K., in fact it is uncertain if any U.K. TV company has bought the rights to do so and I have not heard of any other countries in Europe or down under screening it, which I am sure will have an impact on reduced sales.

 

I respect your opinion but do we not have countless greatest hits packages that already demonstrate the chronology of Presley's music? It's apparent that this collection sets out to do something else which brings your attention away from a typical biographical account of the musical story.

 

Indeed we do have greatest hits packages, but this deluxe CD release simply mirrors the songs chosen to reflect what is happening within the documentary and in that same order, so for me, that play order works fine when combined with the visual aspect of the programme. Of course, you cannot tell the Elvis story without including a few of the big hits, especially from the 50s.

The standard CD is a cut down version which still encompasses a slightly wider body of work outside of just the hits, but is at least in a chronological order which allows the listener to not only appreciate the change in Elvis' voice as it progresses through the years, but also the style in music through the period. It also excludes most of the little rarities - early "live" recordings, "home" recordings and bits from the 68 TV Special, and would appear to be clearly aimed at the general record buyer who I suspect would find it difficult to sit down and listen to some of sub standard recordings found on the deluxe set.

Which then begs the question as to who the deluxe set as aimed at, as most fans will already have this material, and probably countless times too, which only leaves those who might want to be adventurous and dip their toe in the water to check out a wider aspect of Elvis' music, but I think there are better sets available that can do that and for a better price.

I read that the total number of copies sold (CD and Vinyl) in the U.K. this week was 2500, and I would suspect that 99.9% of those sales were from the diehard fans who must buy everything, and some of whom also bought the vinyl too. That's down from around 4700 copies sold of Way Down In The Jungle Room in its first week of release. It will be interesting to see how it sells in the US, especially after the documentary is screened tonight.

 

Don't they realize that none of these tracks can be called "rarities" anymore? Frank Sinatra duet, Mona Lisa etc, NOT RARE! They recycle the same "rarities" every time they get a chance. There are very few recordings that are "rare" in the fact they have not been released in a number of formats and collections. One that IS rare is the wire recording of I Forgot To Remember To Forget. As far as I know it as only been released on ONE CD collection, A Boy From Tupelo. But I am sure it will be included in many anthologies to come. And once it is, it can no longer be called "rare".

I am tired of the home recordings, the Hayride (and the like) recordings and the TTWII rehearsals showing up everywhere for the last 20 years or so. And there are two songs that NEVER need to be on anthology type collections anymore: Old Shep and Peace In The Valley. Oh, and how many times do we need any of the 4 amateur Sun sides to be included? I'd rather listen to Song Of The Shrimp. What I am trying to say is serious Elvis collectors already have all the Follow That Dream CDs, The Complete Masters, the 60 CD box set the 3 decade boxes, on and on into the night.

But I AM looking forward to seeing the documentary. I have yet to see one that I really like.

 

I read the “breaking news” today about Elvis and a possible suicide claimed by Priscilla.Is there more news about this?

 

A). I doubt she'd claim that.
B). Elvis was not suicidal and that would go against his beliefs and his very nature.
C). The actual cause of his death has been known for some time now.

 

Maybe Priscilla is getting low on cash?

 

Elvis' handwritten 'suicide letter' discovered after 40 years – last line breaks my heart

Priscilla Presley’s shocking claim: ‘Elvis committed suicide’

 

If it is true, can't say I blame him.

 

Fake news is an understatement here.

 

^^^ Indeed. Disgusting. This was a rumor peddled by the Stanley's some time ago. No one in Elvis' inner circle with any credibility lent any credence to this story and in fact - flat out denied it. Nowhere in that article does it offer a direct quote from Priscilla, that she believes Elvis took his own life. Tabloid crap-ola.

 

I have watched the first part of the documentary and the sequencing makes much more sense now. It's a pretty pointless release on it's own.

 

Can anyone comment on how Smokestack Lightning and Rocket 88 sound on here? I’ve been trying to find the best sounding of Rocket 88 for forever and I have a feeling the mastering of it on this set will be the definitive version, especially if Vic Anesini mastered this set.

 

Ouch. I'd have to disagree. I'm not a completist, because funds are limited. I like the track combination here. That's just me. Plus the third disc looks intriguing.

I have a question about the vinyl version of this release. This chap is pretty scathing about the vinyl quality, given it's from Sony Legacy. Has anyone else had this experience? Thanks.

@9:27