Elvis Presley - Memphis Revisited (1969)

In 1968, Elvis Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker arranged a deal with NBC for a Christmas television special starring Presley in front of a live audience. Parker originally planned to have Presley sing Christmas carols only, but the producer, Steve Binder, convinced him to perform songs from his original repertoire, and the high ratings received by the special, plus the success of its attendant LP, re-established Presley's popularity with his fans. For the previous half-decade, Parker had decided that Presley should only record soundtrack albums, as he viewed films and their soundtracks as complementary, with each helping to promote the other. However, the commercial success of these had steadily diminished throughout the 60's, and following the success of the TV special, he was persuaded to leave the RCA studios and record a new, non-soundtrack album at a different location. During a January 1969 meeting at Graceland, Presley told his producer, Felton Jarvis, that he did not want to record his next album at RCA, and American Sound Studio in Memphis, which was at the peak of a hit-producing streak, was suggested as an alternative. RCA contacted the studio's producer Chips Moman, and he was so keen to work with Presley that he postponed a session with Neil Diamond in order to put aside ten days to record with him. He was to be backed by the studio's house band, the 827 Thomas Street Band (informally known as the Memphis Boys), which consisted of Reggie Young on guitar, Tommy Cogbill and Mike Leech on bass, Gene Chrisman on drums, Bobby Wood on piano, and Bobby Emmons on organ. 

Recording began on 13 January 1969, when Presley arrived at the studio nursing a cold, but he worked through the next two days before his cold worsened, and on 15 and 16 January the house band recorded backing tracks for subsequent sessions without him. Presley returned on 20 January, recording 'In The Ghetto' in 23 takes and finishing the vocal track for 'Gentle On My Mind', and on 22 January he recorded Eddy Arnold's 'I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)' and the non-album single 'Suspicious Minds'. He then took a break from recording for a vacation trip to Aspen, Colorado to celebrate his daughter Lisa Marie's first birthday, and recording re-commenced on 17 February, completing about a dozen songs before the sessions ended on 22 February. Moman moved away from the usual Presley pop recordings aimed at an established audience, and he incorporated a Memphis sound integrating soul, country, gospel and rural and electric blues. Many arrangements lean heavily on the rhythm section, with lesser contributions from strings, brass and woodwinds, and arrangers Glenn Spreen and Mike Leech changed Presley's image on the tracks with the addition of violas, cellos and French horns. The single 'In the Ghetto' was released on 14 April 1969, with 300,000 copies shipped by RCA, and in its second week of release it entered the US charts, where it remained for thirteen weeks, eventually reaching number three, and it also reached number two on the British Singles chart. 

'From Elvis In Memphis' was released on 2 June 1969, topping the UK Albums Chart, and reaching number thirteen on Billboard's Top Albums. Although it received mixed reviews at the time, with The Los Angeles Times' Pete Johnson criticizing the music arrangements that he considered inconsistent with Presley's original Sun Records style, or the contemporary Memphis Sound produced by Stax Records, 'From Elvis In Memphis' has continued to receive praise in retrospective reviews. Following the release of the album, some of the songs which were left off the track listing were released as singles, with 'Don't Cry Daddy' reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and 'Kentucky Rain' becoming a moderate hit in 1970. That same year ten unused track from the 1969 sessions were issued under the title 'Back In Memphis', and while it pales in comparison to 'From Elvis In Memphis', it's still a fine collection of songs, with his rendition of Mort Shuman's 'You'll Think Of Me' being a soaring, passionate recording. Even after extracting these ten tracks from the studio leftovers, there were still a few completed tracks which were left behind, and so for this mopping up exercise I've taken all the non-albums singles which were recorded in Memphis, added an alternate take of 'Suspicious Minds', plus a couple of outtakes and b-sides, and in a controversial move I've included a version of the aborted vocal take of 'Poor Man's Gold' which has been completed using AI. It might rankle with the purists, but it is exceptionally well-done, and perfectly rounds off this one final Memphis album from The King. 

Track listing

01 Rubberneckin'
02 Mama Liked The Roses

03 I'll Be There

04 Kentucky Rain
05 Suspicious Minds
06 Don't Cry Daddy
07 Poor Man's Gold
08 My Little Friend

09 If I'm A Fool (For Loving You)
10 Medley: It's My Way/This Time/I Can't Stop Loving You
11 Who Am I?
12 Hey Jude