To my knowledge it's not released anywhere. Keith Flynn does not mention any release of this version.
I did some searching and Shane Brown (EIN The Last Movies in depth review) seems to say the version with an alternate Carol Kaye bass line is on the original Let's be Friends LP. It's not 100% clear though (or perhaps I am reading it wrong) so tonight I am going to a/b compare and report back.
It's not on the Let's Be Friends album. The only alternate version available on a Camden album is the movie version of Stay Away, Joe, which was released on the original pressings of Almost In Love.
I ordered the "Perfect Soundtrack collection". Always skipped the movie soundtracks (except Viva Las Vegas), but 20 CDs (Anesini mastering) for 20,-€ is too good to be true.
I think it is a pretty good set and you get Viva Las Vegas as well. I will keep my 20 Movie Soundtracks box even though I probably have most of this material and the albums elsewhere. Playing the new FTD Kissin' Cousins now and using Keith Flynn's excellent site to check on the details. It is up to date - that is pretty good really! Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages
The only time I can remember that it wasn't was when he understandably took time off for the sessions book he was working on. Otherwise, it is continuously kept up to date, of which I am truly grateful.
Yes, the monos have the same problem. You would think the band would be more upfront since it is mono, but it is not. Because of the way these were recorded, a new mono balanced remix would be a viable option.
Re the single of Kissin' Cousins (in the UK and USA) was this a different mix/take (I know it was mono) than the album version? I do not have the single.
Well I thought it was very good. I am no expert on these sessions and had completely forgotten that for the most part Elvis dubbed his vocals on to the previously recorded master takes. On a few tracks I certainly heard a fair bit of what I assume is tape hiss but that is ok in my world. The songs though are in my opinion fair to very poor - ok I will leap off the fence if anyone else recorded this bunch of ham-fisted tunes I would be appalled. Somehow as usual Mr Presley manages to pull it off and I enjoyed the album and bonus tracks. If you like the middle period soundtracks and want extra material this is for me a good release. Oh I should mention the musicians and backing singers - as usual they are uniformly excellent. Always love the playing of these folk.
I don't know if it is still up or not, but someone had synched that CD with 8mm video footage from the show including some really good close ups. It was on YouTube for a long time. Fun to watch.
Good to hear. With little extras to include, I was curious if it made for an interesting FTD. Not that I'm not going to get it anyway... lol. I do enjoy the soundtrack. While much of it (and the movie) is full-corn, it's still somewhat acceptable for 1963. Like you said, Elvis and the quality backup musicians -- as well as the arrangements and production -- make it work enough for me. I think he and the entire crew were still largely committed to quality in '63. And even into '64 -- regardless of the material. So it would have been nice if Elvis was in the studio with the band.
I think some of ye guys are deluded about Kissin Cousins, the title song is a good song but the rest is muck of the highest order. Obviously we can't rewrite history but I just wish Elvis would have put his foot down on this one and sent the tapes back to them in a puke bag and that goes for the movie as well !
This is one of the soundtracks that I do think has any redeemable qualities. That said, I will begrudgingly acquire the FTD reissue and give it a fresh assessment, but I do not suspect I will find much to like about it.
Me too, I always liked Tender Feeling. Never understood the total dismissal of this album, but I may be alone on this one! Here's my quick rundown... SIDE 1 1. Kissin’ Cousins (Number 2) -- nice track, too short. 2. Smokey Mountain Boy -- love the army intro! not a bad track, well produced and performed. 3. There’s Gold In The Mountains -- again, nice backup band. not a bad track. 4. One Boy Two Little Girls -- had potential. Elvis needed to be in the studio. 5. Catchin’ On Fast -- again, had some potential. the last two tracks would have really benefited from Elvis in the studio. 6. Tender Feeling -- nice potential... shame Elvis wasn't in the room. It was 1963. Could have been a classic. SIDE 2 7. Anyone (Could Fall in Love with You) -- similar to Tender Feeling. Had nice potential. 8. Barefoot Ballad -- okay, this is a soundtrack song. But compare this to the Stay Away, Joe material, where Elvis was in the studio. They could have made this fun. 9. Once Is Enough -- again... potential here! 10. Kissin’ Cousins -- fun track. 11. Echoes Of Love -- great example of what I mean. Elvis in the studio made all the difference -- and this track might actually be lesser than a few of the other tracks above. 12. (It’s a) Long Lonely Highway -- same as above.
For what it is, I do enjoy the "Kissin' Cousins" soundtrack. A couple of decent songs, still-superb vocals from Elvis. One thing I'm wondering though, is, if the masters were remixed and/or resynched from source elements. It is not mentioned, but they sound a little clearer and there is slightly less tape hiss. I would think that if noise reduction were applied, the life would be sucked out of the recordings. That doesn't seem to be the case here. What is interesting is there were some issues going on with the tracking session in Nashville. This was Bill Porter's final RCA Elvis session. The story goes that Porter left RCA over an in-studio dispute with singer Jim Reeves (possibly documented on one of the Bear Family box sets). Was the Elvis session before or after the Reeves incident? As mentioned in earlier posts, even the backing tapes had a lot more hiss and noise than the normally clean RCA Studio B quality that Porter was known for. I'm not sure if it is tape hiss per se, or just too many amps buzzing at once, or too-low recording levels. Another thing I noticed, is that Bill Porter seems annoyed when calling the take numbers. Maybe he just couldn't take the nonsense that was going on at RCA, and some of that frustration was showing here. As far the content of the FTD goes, they have done a great job with what little they have as far as bonus tracks are concerned. There were some complaints on a couple of the Elvis forums about why the inclusion of backing tracks with no Elvis. This is how the sessions went, and including instrumental highlights make perfect sense to include and puts everything into a better context. The FTD team of Sebastian and Vic obviously put quite a bit of effort to make these tapes sound as clean and clear as possible, so kudos to them for making the most of the limitations. Final thought: If you're an Elvis fan who collects the FTD series, you should get this. It has plenty of merits, and who knows, you just may end up having some appreciation for this soundtrack. These aren't the greatest songs in the world, but there are far many worse Elvis tracks in the cannon.
I still have yet to get the "Kissin' Cousins" FTD, but I will way in on the sound when I do. In regards to why Bill Porter left RCA, there is more to the story. Bill discussed it in his 1987 interview with Michael Fremer and although thanks to moving sites most of Fremer's original posts of the interview (excepting Part 1 and a listening session between the two) are not easily available (and I'm too lazy to check the Internet Archive) the relevant Elvis portions have been preserved by Elvis Australia here: Interview with Elvis Presley's Sound Engineer, Bill Porter by Michael Fremer | Elvis Interviews However, with some grammatical corrections here is the part where Bill Porter discusses his side on why he left:
I agree completely. While I have been using his site for years, I really wanted to get his "Ultimate Elvis" books but really couldn't afford them. But then he came out with the "Electronic Edition" (in html), but I wanted it to be up to date through 2017. He told me it would be. After some direct e-mail correspondence with Keith, I got the E-Edition earlier this week, and I'm blown away with it. For a little over $80.00 US, it's the most complete session analysis there has ever been, and will be. I'm in my late 60's, and being able to zoom each page makes reading them perfect if your eye sight isn't what it once was (mine isn't). And per this current discussion regarding "Kissin' Cousins", yes the new FTD info is included in the current e-edition (I just checked). I don't know how he did it so quickly, but the current edition is current through December 2017.
On a side-note regarding FTDs.....a friend of mine was on his way home today and planned on stopping at Graceland and picking up some titles in the shops for himself and me. The new Graceland "experience" evidently doesn't allow access to any of the shops anymore as before without paying for parking and $17 dollars admission. Thank you very much indeed.
