Pages

Sunday, October 10, 2021

Elvis Sings For Children And Grownups Too! Volume 2

In an alternative universe: Elvis Sings For Children And Grownups Too! Volume 2

FTD has announced three new releases for next month: The Pot Luck Sessions 5 CD set, a 2 CD soundboard titled South Bound Tampa/Atlanta '75 and the double vinyl Raised On Rock: I've Got Rhythm In My Soul

In an alternative universe a fourth album was added for a December release with the following announcement:

43 years after its original release FTD is pleased to announce the Classic Album version of Elvis Sings For Children And Grownups Too! Packaged in 7" format with a full color 16-page memorabilia booklet, this 1-CD set also includes a previously unknown master tape featuring the second volume in the series. 

Newly found documentation (included in the booklet) reveals that a planned Elvis Sings For Children And Grownups Too! Volume 2 was scrapped due to the first volume's poor sales figures and weak #130 on Billboard's Top LPs chart during its 11 weeks on the chart (although it fared much better on the Country LPs chart with #5 and 16 weeks). 

Of special interest is the inclusion of an alternate take of "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet, Baby," which suggests that producer Joan Deary had access to the Speedway session tapes which has never been found since. 

Elvis Sings For Children And Grownups Too!

The Original Album
01. Teddy Bear 02. Wooden Heart 03. Five Sleepyheads 04. Puppet On A String 05. Angel 06. Old MacDonald 07. How Would You Like To Be 08. Cotton Candy Land 09. Old Shep 10. Big Boots (MO-04, alternate take) 11. Have A Happy

Volume 2
12. Lover Doll 13. Datin´14. Queenie Wahine's Papaya 15. Mexico 16. Earth Boy 17. Confidence 18. Your Time Hasn't Come Yet, Baby (take 4, previously unreleased) 19. Take Me To The Fair 20. It's Carnival Time 21. Don't Cry Daddy 22. House Of Sand 23. Sing You Children

Bonus Songs (considered for Volume 2 but dropped in favor of "Don't Cry Daddy" and "House Of Sand")
24. Carny Town 25. A Dog's Life 

Duet versions
26. Datin' (duet with Donna Butterworth) 27. Queenie Wahine's Papaya (duet with  Donna Butterworth) 28. Mexico (duet with Larry Domasin)

Back in this reality, of course no second volume of Elvis Sings For Children And Grownups Too! was ever planned by Colonel Tom Parker who schemed to put out the original album as early as 1975. Or who could really tell? One thing is for sure though: there were certainly enough songs for a sequel. 

PS: I originally thought of posting this on April 1 next year but couldn't wait that long. 

Additional reading:

Saturday, October 2, 2021

Amazing Grace: Elvis Back In Nashville

The bluesy take 2 of "Amazing Grace" is the third digital single promoting the Elvis: Back in Nashville set due for release on November 12.
Barely had I written about the second promo/preview/digital single from the upcoming 4 CD set Elvis: Back In Nashville when the third one was released yesterday. This time the spotlight is put on the first (incomplete) and second take of "Amazing Grace." Take 2 was first made available on the Walk A Mile In My Shoes – The Essential 70's Masters back in 1995, while the whole sequence containing both takes found its way onto the FTD version of He Touched Me (2011).  

I actually reviewed the latter in a post here on my blog back in November 2011 (was it really that long time ago?!), so I revisited that and read what I had written about the two first takes of "Amazing Grace." Apparently I focused a lot on the studio banter: 

Another example is the banter before the second take of "Amazing Grace" (following the first abandoned one) which has Elvis saying "I hit the wrong words, I was singing 'Love Me Tender'," and one of the musicians answering, "You was singing the hell out of it, whatever it was." I think he's right. I actually prefer the bluesy take 2 over the more conservative master.

Listening to the audio promo today made me realize this still holds true. Ernst Jorgensen puts it well in his excellent book Elvis Presley: A Life In Music (1998):

For this voice piece the rhythm section set a slow, solid, unobtrusive beat, while Chip Young added some bluesy acoustic slide guitar and David Briggs contributed flashy piano runs straight out of the showy gospel music tradition. 

But for some reason, after the second take producer Felton Jarvis told Chip Young to run a straighter course, resulting in a more traditional master of the song (take 5). For the first time this can now be heard on the promo (it wasn't included on FTD's version of He Touched Me). The dialogue runs something like this:

Felton Jarvis: Chip, don't play that funky stuff there man, really just straight.

Chip Young:  Alright.

Felton Jarvis: Simplicity you know.

Then another person says: Jerry, you're not gonna play on your kick drum, are you?

Jerry Carrigan: Ah, not much, no.

The other person: OK. 

So there went the bluesy version out of the window in favor of the master that we know from the He Touched Me album. I like that one too, but take 2 has the edge. In my book, yet another excellent choice to help promote Elvis: Back In Nashville.

Additional reading: