Such an easy session

While eagerly awaiting the arrival of the next FTD-release Pot Luck I've been playing its predecessor Something For Everybody quite a lot lately, to kind of get in the mood. The album was recorded during only one day (or rather, night) and listening to the outtakes it's obvious the session was a smooth ride.

Elvis nails the arrangements real quick and the result is twelve masters in under twelve hours. His voice on the ballads is soft and unforced and the fast numbers work well, too. But the album is not as strong as Elvis Is Back, despite highlights such as "There's Always Me", "Gently" and "Put The Blame On Me".

The singles recorded a couple of months later, which are included on the FTD-release, are more classic Presley recordings. I especially enjoy listening to the different ways Elvis and the band approaches "(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame".

Something For Everybody makes for easy listening and I enjoy it. But I've always liked Pot Luck better. Maybe this is because, unlike Something For Everybody, it's not a kind of inferior version of Elvis Is Back, but rather something different, as my brother so wisely put it the other day.

By the way, yesterday I suddenly realised I had four versions of Something For Everybody (the first CD release, the one with bonus tracks, the FTD-release and the one on vinyl). I showed them all to my wife who just shook her head. Need I point out she's not an Elvis fan?