How That's The Way It Is Was Woven

The last two weeks I've been traveling a lot, and thanks to the company of the That's The Way It Is FTD classic album on my iPod, it's been a pleasant journey. So now, being home for the weekend before I hit the road again, here are my thoughts on the latest FTD release.

First of all, it's not an easy task to transfer an album such as That's The Way It Is to the FTD two CD format. Unlike the other classics so far TTWII is the first one to include both studio och live material. Therefore you have to decide where the focus should be: on the studio songs, the live performances, or both.

I think Ernst Jorgensen and Roger Semon did the right thing when they concentrated on the studio tracks. After all, the majority of the songs originate from the first "Nashville Marathon," while only four are from Las Vegas.

I've always thought TTWII is a fantastic album with a lot of strong songs. I love Elvis version of "I Just Can’t Help Believin'" as well as the frantic rocker "Patch It Up" and the beautiful ballad "Twenty Days And Twenty Nights." "Stranger In The Crowd" is another personal favourite. Come to think of it, there isn't one track of the bunch you could call weak, is there?

Therefore, it's interesting listening to Elvis working with the songs, although it seems he's pretty sure where he wants to go even on the first takes. There are few surprises, and early takes of songs such as "Twenty Days And Twenty Night," "Mary In The Morning" and "How The Web Was Woven" are delivered very much like the masters.

But there are always exceptions to the rule. "The Next Step Is Love" is causing Elvis some trouble: he isn't sure when to start and has problemes with a few lines later on. An interesting detail is you can hear the demo with Paul Evans singing at the beginning of the track (This one was released on the second CD included with the FTD book Writing For The King.)

As I've stated in an earlier posting, I think the idea to include studio versions of the live songs where such exists ("I've Lost You" and "Patch It Up") is a good one (after all, these studio tracks were released as singles in 1970). The highlight here, and on the whole set, is hearing Elvis working himself and the band through nine takes of "Patch It Up" before he gets what he's looking for.

At one time he practically explodes when he messes up the phrasing: "God damn, that motherfucker, god damn!" he exclaims. You can hear Elvis use some more profanities on other tracks, and although I'm not a big fan of bad language I'm glad there's no censorship. After all, this is how it sounded at the time and Elvis was after all, only human.

All in all, I think Jorgensen och Semon have done a very good job. I guess one could argue that "Something", "Little Sister/Get Back" and the "Tiger Man" jam don't belong, as they weren't on the original album. Indeed, it would be interesting hearing the reason for them being included. ("Something" was also one of the bonus songs on the 3 CD Special Edition of TTWII released in 2000.)

If it were up to me, I would've included the live versions of "Stranger In The Crowd" and "The Next Step Is Love" instead. Or maybe "Just Pretend," "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" or "Twenty Days And Twenty Nights." But these are minor points. I highly recommend the That’s The Way It Is set from FTD, it's one of their best so far!

PS: I've never understood why RCA chose to overdub applause on "Bridge Over Troubled Water." If they wanted a "live" feeling, why didn't they simply release the live version instead?