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- Artist:
Elvis Presley - Rating:
- Release Date: June 25, 2002
- Type: Compilation (best of), Box set
- Genre: Rock
Review
A surprising perfectionist, Elvis was known to record dozens of takes for many of his records, often loosening up at the beginning of a session by playing around with different readings of the songs he'd decided to record; and while he got the feel of how he wanted his performances to go, the tape rolled. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of his death, RCA's four-disc Today, Tomorrow, & Forever presented fans with 100 tracks of previously unreleased Presley, a parade of alternate takes -- both very welcome and curiously not so -- and scattered live recordings from throughout his career. (Although not a career record, the version of 1958's "Doncha' Think It's Time" used here was the 48th, and final take.) Among the highlights: seven songs from an incendiary set recorded in Arkansas on May 16, 1956, a 1959 version of "The Fool" recorded with Elvis alone at the piano while serving in Germany, and a few songs each of previously unreleased material from his first two seasons at Las Vegas' International Hotel, in 1969 and 1970. It's not clear, however, why the compilers deemed it necessary to include almost two dozen selections from the notoriously weak material used on Presley's '60s soundtracks, including "The Love Machine" (which the liners admit is "a ghastly song") and "My Desert Serenade" (with the added apology/defense, "he had every reason to sound desperately uncomfortable"). RCA certainly deserves credit for refusing to pad this collection with hits or old material unnecessary for collectors, but that's really the only audience left interested by this exhaustive display. ~ John Bush, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Harbor Lights [Alternate Take 3] | (2:29) | ||
| I Got a Woman [Alternate Take] | Ray Charles, |
(1:31) | |
| Shake, Rattle and Roll [Alternate Take 2] | (3:09) | ||
| I Want You, I Need You, I Love You [Alternate Take 13] | (2:43) | ||
| Heartbreak Hotel | (2:33) | ||
| Long Tall Sally | Little Richard, Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson | (2:09) | |
| I Was the One | (3:13) | ||
| Money Honey | Jesse Stone | (2:20) | |
| I Got a Woman | Ray Charles, |
(3:28) | |
| Blue Suede Shoes | Carl Perkins | (4:00) | |
| Hound Dog | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | (2:45) | |
| Rip It Up [Alternate Take 14] | Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, John Marascalco | (2:01) | |
| Don't Forbid Me/You Belong to My Heart | Agustín Lara, Ray Gilbert, Charlie Singleton | (1:52) | |
| I Beg of You [Alternate Take 5] | (1:54) | ||
| Peace in the Valley | Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey | (3:23) | |
| Is It So Strange [Alternate Take 10] | Faron Young | (2:32) | |
| Got a Lot O' Livin' to Do [Movie Master Take 17] | Aaron Schroeder, Ben Weisman | (1:55) | |
| Loving You [Alternate Take 6][Version] | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | (1:47) | |
| Treat Me Nice [Alternate Take 6] | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | (2:06) | |
| Young and Beautiful [Alternate Take 4 & 5] | Aaron Schroeder, |
(2:52) | |
| I Want to Be Free [Alternate Take 3 & 4] | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | (2:01) | |
| Steadfast, Loyal and True [Undubbed Master] | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | (1:15) | |
| Doncha' Think It's Time [Alternate Take 48] | Clyde Otis, Luther Dixon | (1:57) | |
| I Need Your Love Tonight [Alternate Take 4] | (2:00) | ||
| I Got Stung [Alternate Take 16] | Aaron Schroeder, |
(1:48) | |
| The Fool [Alternate Take 1] | (1:54) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Make Me Know It [Alternate Take 17 & 18] | Otis Blackwell | (2:42) | |
| Are You Lonesome Tonight? [Alternate Take 1 & 2] | Roy Turk, Lou Handman | (3:39) | |
| G.I. Blues [Alternate Take 5] | (2:49) | ||
| Pocketful of Rainbows [Alternate Take 3] | Ben Weisman, |
(2:59) | |
| Flaming Star [Alternate Take 4 & 1][Version] | (3:27) | ||
| Swing Down Sweet Chariot [Alternate Take 2 & 3] | Traditional | (3:15) | |
| Lonely Man [Alternate Take 1] | Bennie Benjamin, |
(2:04) | |
| There's Always Me [Alternate Take 2] | Don Robertson | (2:34) | |
| Can't Help Falling in Love [Alternate Take 26] | Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss | (1:51) | |
| I'm Yours [Alternate Take 5] | Don Robertson, |
(2:16) | |
| Follow That Dream [Alternate Take 3] | Ben Weisman, |
(1:41) | |
| Anything That's Part of You [Alternate Take 08] | Don Robertson | (2:09) | |
| King of the Whole Wide World [Alternate Take 3] | Don Robertson, |
(3:42) | |
| Gonna Get Back Home Somehow [Alternate Take 2] | Mort Shuman, Doc Pomus | (2:43) | |
| A Boy Like Me, A Girl Like You [Alternate Take 4] | (2:27) | ||
| They Remind Me Too Much of You [Alternate Take 4] | Leith Stevens, Don Robertson | (2:31) | |
| Mexico [Alternate Take 2] | (2:00) | ||
| Witchcraft [Alternate Take 2] | Dave Bartholomew, |
(2:23) | |
| Today, Tomorrow & Forever [Duet Version Take 2] | Buddy Kaye, |
(4:11) | |
| Ask Me [Alternate Take 2] | Domenico Modugno, Buddy Kaye, |
(2:15) | |
| Roustabout [Alternate Take 8] | (2:04) | ||
| Puppet on a String [Alternate Take 10] | (2:40) | ||
| My Desert Serenade | (2:08) | ||
| Please Don't Stop Loving Me [Alternate Take 10] | (2:06) | ||
| This Is My Heaven | Buddy Kaye, |
(2:40) | |
| Never Say Yes [Alternate Take 1 & 2] | Mort Shuman, Doc Pomus | (2:37) | |
| Hide Thou Me | (5:01) |
CD 3
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Love Letters [Alternate Take 2] | Edward Heyman, Victor Young | (2:51) | |
| If the Lord Wasn't Walking by My Side [Alternate Take 4] | (1:52) | ||
| Come What May [Alternate Take 3 & 4] | (2:20) | ||
| Indescribably Blue [Alternate Take 1] | (2:47) | ||
| Long Legged Girl [Alternate Master] | (1:38) | ||
| The Love Machine [Alternate Take 3] | (2:42) | ||
| You Don't Know Me [Movie Version Take 3] | Eddy Arnold, Cindy Walker | (2:14) | |
| Big Boss Man [Alternate Take 9] | (2:53) | ||
| We Call on Him [Alternate Take 8] | Ben Weisman, |
(2:33) | |
| Stay Away [Alternate Take 14] | (2:26) | ||
| U.S. Male | (2:58) | ||
| Wonderful World [Alternate Take 15] | (2:26) | ||
| Guitar Man [Alternate Take 1] | Jerry Reed | (3:43) | |
| Where Could I Go But to the Lord? [Alternate Take 4] | (1:58) | ||
| Memories [Stereo Masters] | Mac Davis, Billy Strange | (3:07) | |
| Almost [Alternate Take 6] | Buddy Kaye, Ben Weisman | (1:52) | |
| In the Ghetto [Alternate Take 20] | Mac Davis | (3:07) | |
| True Love Travels on a Gravel Road [Alternate Take 2] | Dallas Frazier, |
(2:27) | |
| Let Us Pray [Alternate Master] | Buddy Kaye, Ben Weisman | (3:08) | |
| Baby, What You Want Me to Do [Midnight Show][Live] | Jimmy Reed | (2:27) | |
| Funny How Time Slips Away [Midnight Show][Live] | Willie Nelson | (2:41) | |
| Runaway [Midnight Show][Live] | Del Shannon, |
(2:07) | |
| My Babe [Midnight Show][Live] | Willie Dixon | (2:00) | |
| What'd I Say [Midnight Show][Live] | Ray Charles | (3:17) |
CD 4
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| See See Rider [Dinner Show][Live] | Traditional | (2:38) | |
| Polk Salad Annie [Midnight Show][Live] | Tony Joe White | (4:30) | |
| Walk a Mile in My Shoes [Midnight Show][Live] | Joe South | (2:49) | |
| The Next Step Is Love [Alternate Take 6] | Paul Evans, |
(3:39) | |
| Life [Alternate Take 2] | (3:15) | ||
| Snowbird [Alternate Take 2] | (2:08) | ||
| (That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me [Alternate Take 9 & 10] | Gordon Lightfoot | (2:52) | |
| Until It's Time for You to Go [Alternate Take 5] | Buffy Sainte-Marie | (4:21) | |
| Fools Rush In [Alternate Take 9] | Rube Bloom, Johnny Mercer | (2:42) | |
| A Thing Called Love [Rehearsal] | Jerry Reed | (2:56) | |
| I'll Be Home on Christmas Day [Alternate Take 9] | (4:21) | ||
| Where Do I Go From Here? [Alternate Take 5] | Paul Williams | (1:55) | |
| No More [Alternate Take 1] | Don Robertson, |
(2:32) | |
| Take Good Care of Her [Alternate Take 3] | Arthur Kent, |
(3:33) | |
| I Miss You [Alternate Take 1] | (2:14) | ||
| I Got a Feeling in My Body [Alternate Take 4] | Dennis Linde | (3:34) | |
| If You Talk in Your Sleep [Alternate Take 5] | (2:26) | ||
| Promised Land [Alternate Take 2] | Chuck Berry | (2:33) | |
| Your Love's Been a Long Time Coming [Alternate Take 10] | Carmol Taylor, Rory Michael Bourke, |
(3:52) | |
| Pieces of My Life [Alternate Take 1] | Troy Seals | (3:44) | |
| For the Heart [Alternate Take 4] | Dennis Linde | (4:02) | |
| She Thinks I Still Care [Alternate Take 10] | (4:17) | ||
| Hurt [Alternate Take 5] | (2:07) |
