ElvisMusic

A1 Love Me Tender Written-By – E. Presley*, V. Matson*2:45
A2 Let Me Written-By – E. Presley*, V. Matson*2:04
A3 Poor Boy Written-By – E. Presley*, V. Matson*2:10
A4 We’re Gonna Move Written-By – E. Presley*, V. Matson*2:24
A5 Loving You (Unreleased Slow Version – Take 10)Written-By – J. Leiber-M. Stoller*1:57
A6 Party (Unreleased Version)Written-By – Robinson*1:05
A7 Hot Dog Written-By – J. Leiber-M. Stoller*1:09
A8 Teddy Bear Written-By – B. Lowe*, K. Mann*1:43
Ab Loving You (Unreleased Fast Version – Takes 20-21)Written-By – J. Leiber-M. Stoller*1:57
A10 Mean Woman Blues (Alternate Film Version)Written-By – Demetrius*2:26
A11 Got O’ Lot Of Livin’ To Do (Unreleased Version)Written-By – Schroeder*, Weisman*1:15
B1 Loving You (Unreleased Fast Version- Take 1)Written-By – J. Leiber-M. Stoller*1:35
B2 Party Written-By – Robinson*1:30
B3 Lonesome Cowboy Written-By – S. Tepper-R.C. Bennett*2:57
B4 Jailhouse Rock (Unreleased With Vocal Overdub – Take 6)Written-By – J. Leiber-M. Stoller*2:29
B5 Treat Me Nice (Unreleased Version – Take 10)Written-By – J. Leiber-M. Stoller*1:53
B6 Young And Beautiful (Unreleased Version – Take 12)Written-By – A. Schroeder*, A. Silver*1:54
B7 Don’t Leave Me Now (Unreleased Version – Take 12)Written-By – A. Schroeder*, B. Weisman*1:46
B8 I Want To Be Free (Unreleased Version – Take 11)Written-By – J. Leiber-M. Stoller*2:05
B9 Baby I Don’t Care (Unreleased Version – Take 16, Vocal Overdub – Take 6)Written-By – J. Leiber-M. Stoller*1:55
B10 Jailhouse Rock (Unreleased Version -Take 5)Written-By – J. Leiber-M. Stoller*1:51
B11 Got A Lot O’ Livin’ To Do Written-By – A. Schroeder*, B. Weisman*2:25
B12 Love Me Tender (Unreleased Version)Written-By – E. Presley*, V. Matson*1:11

 

 

Loving You (Unreleased Slow Version – Take 1)
Mean Woman Blues
Loving You (Unreleased Fast Version – Take 8)
Treat Me Nice

 

 

Essential Elvis: The First Movies” is a hugely significant title in terms of not just the Presley catalog, but I would wager it is one of the first officially released quasi-bootlegs (for want of a better word–now they’re generally called “vault releases”). In fact, it might have been the first, simply in terms of the fact that the powers that be resisted the temptation to “improve” the session tapes with modern overdubs, choosing simply to focus on a specific set of sessions. (I guess Dylan’s “The Basement Tapes” is the first quasi-bootleg, yet it has proven less-than-authentic.) What other such releases by other artists date from this era? The biggest one that pops into my head is the 1991 “Layla” box, and the Monkees’ “Missing Links” and the Beatles “Past Masters” compiled released and unreleased music from a bootlegger/collector/fan perspective, rather than a marketing/artistic perspective.

In retrospect, as there wasn’t yet an established template for such releases, this comes off as a very weird release. For starters, my CD version is simply titled “Essential”–no mention anywhere (even on the disc) of the “First Movies” subtitle. Although in my collection database I call it “Essential Elvis Vol. 1”, it would not become Vol. 1 until Vol. 2 was released. And as the word “essential” has become synonymous with greatest hits compilations, even that seems misleading.

Also, the track/session information is undated and confusing, especially as multiple versions of “Young And Beautiful” and “Don’t Leave Me Now” (among others) were recorded. It didn’t help that this info was printed (in the CD booklet, at least) in microscopically tiny print.

Of course, now that I am able to listen to every known recording used by RCA in to create this 1988 release, I suppose it is possible to nitpick some of their choices. On the disc itself, the album is credited to “Elvis Presley with the Jordaniares”, yet the unused first version of “Treat Me Nice” with the Jordaniares wouldn’t be released until (I believe) “Flashback”. I’ve always wondered why that version was apparently kept under wraps for so long, unless there was a release somewhere I’m not aware of.

For all those nitpicks, EETFM was indeed absolutely essential–back in the early 90’s, the first three volumes all complimented the 50’s box nicely. The 1999 expanded reissue of “Jailhouse Rock” would focus on binaural material from JR and “Love Me Tender,” keeping EETFM a relevant title, and if we are projecting forward into the FTD era, this initial release would not become truly obsolete until November of 2010, when the second volume of “Jailhouse Rock” sessions was released on FTD. Twenty-two years is a pretty good run.

 
 

 

The Complete Sun Sessions

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The Alternate Aloha

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