Review: Elvis Presley: 'A Boy From Tupelo': The Complete 1953-55 Recordings
Source: David Adams / Various
August 6, 2017
Of special interest is the inclusion of 'I Forgot To Remember To Forget', a newly discovered track from The Louisiana Hayride on October 29, 1955. It was released in 2012 (Possible via 'public domain' law in Europe) however the difference in sound quality we now hear is massive, a HUGE improvement can be heard in Elvis' vocal. Perhaps this should not surprise as that issue was recorded off you tube! Thankfully Ernst Jorgensen acquired the recording from the owner so Sony were able to make a digitally copy from the original 'wire-recorder' for this release.
View the preview promo (01:07)
Latest Audio (and video) updates : Video courtesy of Elvis Presley Video Central.
Delightful in a way most catalog projects are not, 'A Boy From Tupelo' presents the well-known biographical details from the Elvis Presley trajectory as they unfolded, week by week, with galvanic musical accidents followed by unremarkable contract signings and radio station visits. The timeline begins on July 4, 1954, with Elvis visiting guitarist Scotty Moore's house to go over songs for a tryout session at Sun. The next day's session began with the torch songs they'd rehearsed but soon detoured when Elvis, between takes, sang a jittery reworking of Arthur Crudup's 'That's All Right'. Scotty Moore recalls that he and bassist Bill Black got swept up in Elvis' 'acting the fool', and eventually caught the attention of Sam Phillips in the control room, who told them 'Back up, try to find a place to start, and do it again'. Just savor this twist of fate. Elvis shows up for his first big recording session expecting to sing tender romantic songs. On a whim, he starts 'acting the fool', and the band follows, chasing a twitchy mix of rockabilly, R&B and country that was utterly new. Suddenly that became the art.
Disc one covers the masters recorded for Sun Records, some variations, and the four sides he paid for himself.
Disc two covers all known outtakes, even just the smallest surviving fragments. In all, 26 outtakes along with some studio chatter that shed light on the development of the songs and of Elvis Presley while preserving old-school recording -- live in the studio with no chance to overdub or go back and 'fix it in the mix'.
Particularly delightful are the five takes of 'I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone' recorded over five months at a far slower tempo than the final, faster take from April 1955 -- a demonstration of how Phillips, Presley, Moore and Black worked and tinkered until they hit the right version of a song.
Disc three compiles every Elvis live performance and radio recording known to exist from the period. Many of the performances come from the 'Louisiana Hayride', the country music show broadcast from Shreveport, Louisiana, that Elvis first played in October 1954. There's also a handful of songs at Eagles' Hall in Houston in March 1955.
A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings.
The big drawcard of this set is the 120-page book. It is not a booklet like you'll find with many box sets, but an actual book. It covers the period from July 1954-December 1955 in calendar/journal style, going from one week to the next. There are many, many never-before-seen pictures, too. The book is called, appropriately, an 'illustrated travelogue' -- a day by day accounting from July 4, 1954, to Dec. 31, 1955, with a narrative describing highlights of each week or two, noting every live performance and recording session. The book is crammed full of many, many never-before-seen photos of Elvis, some of which this Elvis aficionado had never seen, beginning in his childhood and running through the end of 1955, when he was all of 20, and on the brink of changing the world. The information included keeps you reading. If you are an Elvis fan, you know the basics of his Sun years, maybe more. This book has a wealth of information, and inside you'll find little known facts, i.e., Elvis once opened for Andy Griffith. The book provides this kind of specific context for most of the highlight reel moments of Elvis' time at Sun. It suggests that what can seem, in the biopic version, like an overnight success, is often something more routine: There's day-in and day-out work involved in developing a musical trademark. The blazing neon meteor of sound we associate with Elvis at Sun was also the story of a Crown Electric deliveryman making the transition to full-time musician, and figuring out how to present himself on stage.
Conclusion
The Sun recordings have never sounded so clear, you'd swear these were newly discovered masters, with virtually no tape noise and a richer, fuller sound that surpasses any prior release. That combination of great sounding remastered tracks, comprehensive outtakes, live performances, photos and a daily dairy makes 'A Boy From Tupelo' indispensable, even for Elvis fans who already have most of the tracks on other recordings.
The bottom line is you need to get this set.
Buy Elvis Presley: 'A Boy From Tupelo - The Complete 1953-55 Recordings' 3 CD/Book Set
Buy Elvis Presley: 'A Boy From Tupelo - The Sun Masters', a single disc 12' vinyl LP
Disc 1
Memphis Recording Service Acetates
My Happiness 2:33
That's When Your Heartaches Begin 2:52
I'll Never Stand in Your Way 2:06
It Wouldn't Be the Same (Without You) 2:09
Sun Masters
Harbor Lights 2:38
I Love You Because (unprocessed master edit) 2:43
That's All Right (45 rpm master) 2:00
Blue Moon of Kentucky (45 rpm master) 2:07
Blue Moon 2:44
Tomorrow Night 3:01
I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin') 2:27
I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine 2:32
Just Because 2:34
Good Rockin' Tonight 2:15
Milkcow Blues Boogie 2:39
You're a Heartbreaker 2:13
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (slow version) 2:43
Baby Let's Play House 2:19
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone 2:38
I Forgot to Remember to Forget 2:31
Mystery Train 2:30
Tryin' to Get To You 2:36
When It Rains It Pours 2:06
RCA Masters
That's All Right (RCA single version) 1:59
Blue Moon of Kentucky (RCA single version) 2:05
I Love You Because (RCA LP version) 2:45
Tomorrow Night (RCA LP version) 2:53
Disc 2
Sun Studio Sessions
Harbor Lights (takes 1 - 2, 3/M) 3:27
Harbor Lights (take 4) 2:38
Harbor Lights (takes 5 - 8) 4:14
I Love You Because (takes 1 - 2) 3:52
I Love You Because (take 3) 3:36
I Love You Because (takes 4 - 5) 4:08
That's All Right (takes 1 - 3) 2:18
Blue Moon of Kentucky (slow tempo outtake) 1:08
Blue Moon (takes 1 - 4) 3:36
Blue Moon (take 5) 3:25
Blue Moon (takes 6 - 8) 3:53
Blue Moon (take 9/M) 2:44
Dialogue (fragment before 'Tomorrow Night') 0:11
I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin') 0:49
Good Rockin' Tonight (fragment from vocal slapback tape) 0:10
I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine (takes 1 - 3/M) 3:47
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (slow version, take 1) 3:00
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (slow version, take 2) 2:51
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (slow version, take 3) 2:51
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (slow version, take 4 - 5) 2:50
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (slow version, takes 6 - 7) 4:16
How Do You Think I Feel (guitar slapback tape, rehearsals + take 1) 4:30
When It Rains It Pours (vocal slapback tape, take 1) 1:37
When It Rains It Pours (vocal slapback tape, take 2 - rehearsal 1 - takes 3 - 4) 4:26
When It Rains It Pours (vocal slapback tape, take 5/M) 2:02
When It Rains It Pours (vocal slapback tape, take 6 - 8) 3:20
Disc 3
Live And Radio Performances
That's All Right 2:52
Blue Moon of Kentucky 2:23
Shake, Rattle and Roll 2:24
Fool, Fool, Fool 1:59
Hearts of Stone 2:02
That's All Right 1:52
Tweedlee Dee 2:51
Shake, Rattle and Roll 2:23
KSIJ Radio commercial with DJ Tom Perryman 0:16
Money Honey 2:43
Blue Moon of Kentucky 2:04
I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine 2:33
That's All Right 1:54
Tweedlee Dee 2:15
Money Honey 2:17
Hearts of Stone 1:37
Shake, Rattle and Roll 1:39
Little Mama 2:03
You're a Heartbreaker 2:06
Good Rockin' Tonight 2:36
Baby Let's Play House 2:22
Blue Moon of Kentucky 1:47
I Got a Woman 3:03
That's All Right 2:17
Tweedlee Dee 2:47
That's All Right 2:37
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone 3:16
Baby Let's Play House 3:19
Maybellene 3:09
That's All Right 2:49
Interview with Bob Neal 5:31
I Forgot To Remember To Forget
Elvis Presley: 'A Boy From Tupelo: The Sun Masters' 12" Vinyl LP Record.
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Number of Discs: 1
Label: Legacy
Number of Tracks: 17
Studio Recording
Genre: Rock
Release date: July 28, 2017
That's All Right
Blue Moon of Kentucky
Good Rockin' Tonight
I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine
Milkcow Blues Boogie
You're a Heartbreaker
Baby Let's Play House
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
I Forgot to Remember to Forget
Mystery Train
I Love You Because (RCA LP version)
Blue Moon
I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
Just Because
Tryin' to Get To You
Tomorrow Night
Harbor Lights
Buy Elvis Presley: 'A Boy From Tupelo - The Complete 1953-55 Recordings' 3 CD/Book Set
Buy Elvis Presley: 'A Boy From Tupelo - The Sun Masters', a single disc 12' vinyl LP
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Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD
Never before have we seen an Elvis Presley concert from the 1950's with sound. Until Now! The DVD Contains recently discovered unreleased film of Elvis performing 6 songs, including Heartbreak Hotel and Don't Be Cruel, live in Tupelo Mississippi 1956. Included we see a live performance of the elusive Long Tall Sally seen here for the first time ever. + Plus Bonus DVD Audio.
This is an excellent release no fan should be without it.
The 'parade' footage is good to see as it puts you in the right context with color and b&w footage. The interviews of Elvis' Parents are well worth hearing too. The afternoon show footage is wonderful and electrifying : Here is Elvis in his prime rocking and rolling in front of 11.000 people. Highly recommended.
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD Video with Sound.
