Elvis Presley Such A Night: Essential Elvis Vol. 6 CD

Since Elvis Presley reissue specialists Roger Semon and Ernst Mikael Jorgensen began their Essential Elvis series in 1986 (long before they were given overall responsibility for the Presley catalog), the joke has been that "essential" is exactly what the releases are not, at least in the common meaning of "indispensable," because they consist largely of alternate takes of songs that are almost invariably better performed in their better known versions. In the sense of distilling the essence of Presley's work, the series actually does live up to its name, giving a glimpse into the studio while the singer is working, and presenting his music as it comes together. The first three volumes contained material from '50s recording sessions leading up to Presley's departure for his stint in the army, then the fourth and fifth volumes jumped ahead to the early '70s. Such a Night, the sixth volume, returns to chronological order, picking up where the third volume, Hits Like Never Before, left off by starting with Presley's first session back from the army in 1960 and continuing to select tracks from the non-soundtrack work he did in RCA's Studio B in Nashville through 1964. As annotators Colin Escott and Jorgensen point out, these sessions resulted in 81 masters, of which only 20 get alternate treatment here. (The album leads off with the standard version of the title song, but it is preceded by several false starts.) The choice of what to include seems to have been predicated more on finding good, interesting takes than on using the best songs, since hits like "It's Now or Never" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?," as well as great rockers like "(Marie's the Name Of) His Latest Flame" and "Return to Sender," all of which were recorded at these sessions, are not featured. Still, one gets to hear well-performed outtakes of such favorites as "Stuck on You," "Fever," "Surrender," "Little Sister," "Suspicion," and "Memphis Tennessee." Sometimes the take compares very favorably with the originally released one, although at other times there are obvious mistakes or breakdowns. Clearly, though he was never credited as producer, Presley is in charge of the sessions, stopping takes and changing tempos here and there. Such a Night is not an album for anyone other than Presley fanatics who already know the conventional versions of these songs by heart, but for them it will be a welcome addition to their collections. (Incidentally, the annotations notwithstanding, "Little Sister" was recorded on June, not May, 25, 1961.) ~ William Ruhlmann

Import pressing of this out-of-print in the US collection. Such a Night is the sixth title in the Essential Elvis series. Between 1960 (when he left the army) and '64, Presley spent 11 nights cutting 81 masters in Nashville. Those tracks were later spread out across albums, singles, and compilations. The original masters of 50 of those tunes (some of which are heard here in alternate takes) ended up on the Top 100 charts. For Such a Night, producers Ernst Michael Jorgensen and Roger Semon assembled 19 alternate takes and the master take of the title cut into what could have been a Presley album from the period. The result is an astonishing glimpse into one of the artist's legendary all-night recording marathons. While Presley fans will swoon, this is no collectors-only disc. He literally nails every tune here. Snatches of studio patter add atmosphere. And while some of the material is dated, the rockin' 'Little Sister' and a killer version of the Little Willie John hit 'Fever' are as fresh today as when they were recorded. BMG.

This is a collection of unreleased alternate takes.

Recorded at RCA Nashville Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee, between 1960 and 1964. Includes liner notes by Colin Escott and Ernst-Mikael Jorgensen.

Personnel: Elvis Presley (vocals, guitar); The Jordanaires (background vocals).

Compilation producers: Roger Semon, Ernst-Mikael Jorgensen

Personnel: The Jordanaires (vocals).Q (5/00, pp.130-1) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Previously unreleased and, at times, faultless outtakes....another indispensable purchase for the aficionado."