Blown away by From Elvis in Memphis

I always go for the 3 FTD releases of the American Sound recordings. For me, the undubbed masters and the various takes are essential. I love all my FTD CDs but these ones are really special.

 

As others have answered, there aren't. But if you want to hear mature Elvis with contemporary backing, you might find Elvis at Stax worth your time. Of course it can't compare with the '69 Memphis sessions and the song quality is far, far more erratic, but the best of the music is worth the price of admission.

 

Any Day Now should have been so much bigger than it was, one of my favourites.

Anyways thanks to everyone pointing out this album to me. I didn’t realize that my favourite songs from the red box CD set, Essential Elvis we’re all on this album. Any Day Now, Only the Strong Survive, Long Black Limousine...Now I know what to look for on vinyl.

 

Righteously stated.

 

A couple of people have mentioned Charlie Rich's Smash material. I love pretty much all Charlie Rich, from his Sun recordings to his magnificent finale, Pictures and Paintings. I think the Charlie Rich material that is most similar to "From Elvis in Memphis" are his first three, pre-"Behind Closed Doors" Epic albums: Set Me Free (1968), The Fabulous Charlie Rich (1969) and Boss Man (1970). You will really enjoy these.



PS- Set Me Free and Fabulous were available as a two-fer cd from Edsel, but I don't think it's in print anymore.

 

The King reclaimed his throne in December 68 with his Christmas Special Comeback show.

From Elvis in Memphis solidified it.

 

Thanks to this thread I've just returned to this album for the first time in many years and enjoyed it more than ever. Every track. My favourites are Power Of My Love and I'll Hold You In My Heart (that intro!).

Sadly my copy is a UK mono pressing and a fold down. It sounds OK but I know this music should sound so much better.

 

I agree with the Charlie Rich stuff but would add the few on The Many Sides of Charlie Rich(1965) that pre-date Elvis' Memphis sound by some 3 yrs.

Many New Sides has remained a top 10 favorite since first being issued.

 

The FTD is the best sounding edition of From Elvis In Memphis by far.

Every home should have at least one copy of the FTD.

 

Agreed. It is one of Elvis' supreme vocal performances.

 

I cannot go a day without hearing at least part of this album.

 

What are the names of the titles you are referring to.
Thx!

 

From Elvis In Memphis [FTD edition]
Back In Memphis [FTD edition]
From Elvis At American Sound Studio [FTD]

 

the bass on "gentle on my mind" is insane. that guy is playing his ass off

 

It will. It'll come to you. I used to not think much of Dusty In Memphis and then one day a friend wanted to trade me something for it, so I gave it another spin and I'm really glad I did. It won't be leaving the house anytime soon.

 

Just recently i aquired Ace's release of the complete Smash sessions. Unfortunatly, it doesn't sound that good. Very loud and all that jazz. Never heard the original LPs though, so i don't know if the originals are better or not.

PS: Have you ever heard Don Gibson's album "Look Who's Blue"? He manages to sound just like Charlie Rich, or vice versa. Here's the second track from the album, "Big Hearted Me":

 

The "From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters" release includes all of the Memphis sessions in chronological recording order, right? I'm thinking about ripping my FTDs and mounting an album with all of the Memphis masters using the chronological order. The only track that i'll change the order is "Suspicious Minds", since i believe it should come right after "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'", it fits better. All of the other songs will follow the '60s Masters boxset order. Also, i believe that if you combine "From Elvis in Memphis" with "Back in Memphis", the latter release becomes better, since as a single release is not as powerful as "From Elvis in Memphis". The only problem is that the album may become too long, so you'd have to be in the right mood to listen to the whole thing. I'm going to try it and see how it works out.

 

I do all my Elvis listening in chronological order by session. Elvis had no role in selecting the songs or sequence of his albums, and they are often haphazardly done. By contrast, each of his sessions tends to have a specific feel and flow to it, and they work well as artistic statements. The American sessions definitely sound great in chronological order, and the weaker sounds don't seem as weak when they're sequenced with the stronger ones in the order recorded. Listening in chronological order has a much better flow than listening to two albums where one has most of the best songs and the other has the leftovers.

The 60's Masters box does follow the chronological order, except that the outtake "It's My Way/This Time/I Can't Stop Loving You" should not be at the end, it should be after "Stranger in My Own Home Town."

 

Ah, too bad. The 1992 Polygram is not loud at all and sounds very good, so I guess that is the version to get.

 

Yet another endorsement for these 3.
.

 

Is there a place where i can find Elvis' sesssions listed, organized, etc? And i forgot, i already have that "The Complete Elvis Presley Masters" boxset, which already is in chronological order! So maybe i can rip the CDs and mount single albums devided by sessions. How do you separate the sessions into albums, by the way, since the sessions were never released that way, and many of them are too short to mount a whole album? Do you rip the CDs and combine more than one session, for example?

 

The Keith Flynn website is the gold standard for this information.

I have the Complete Masters box ripped and organized by year. These days, I do my listening mostly via flacs rather than CDs, so if I want to hear the Memphis stuff I just pull the 1969 folder and it's all there (along with the soundtrack stuff he did shortly afterward, which fits in reasonably well).

 

I'm with you

 

All this talk about the songs on From Elvis In Memphis having the best songs over the Back In Memphis tracks.
To me there is not one song any better on From Elvis In Memphis than

Inherit The Wind
Without Love (There Is Nothing
At All)
The Grass Won't Pay No Mind
The Fair Is Moving On
Do You Know Who I Am
From A Jack To A King
A Little Bit Of Green
You'll Think Of Me
This Is The Story

 

I don't necessarily agree with you on the totality of your statement, but I do agree with you that there are some fantastic performances on Back In Memphis, including all the great songs you have listed as well as perhaps one of the greatest blues song Elvis ever recorded, Stranger In My Hometown!