JOHNNY CASH - AMERICAN RECORDINGS

Thirty years ago, on 26 April 1994, Johnny Cash released his album American Recordings, his first on his new label and with a new producer, Rick Rubin. In this latest blog, an expanded and updated article that originally appeared in Issue #40 of Johnny Cash-The Man in Black in September 2004, we look back at how his career took on a new direction, the release of the album and its commercial and critical success.

Photographer: Andy Earl

CBS’s decision to drop Johnny Cash after an unparalleled twenty-eight year partnership angered many people. Dwight Yoakam, an up and coming country star back in 1986 that Cash rated highly, didn’t hold back when he said, “The man’s been there thirty fuckin’ years making them money.” And talking about the Columbia executives offices he raged, “He built the building.”

Even in 1986 Cash still had a loyal following playing sell-out concerts throughout the world and shifting over 40,000 copies of every album but this was not enough to justify a record companies investment and many other country stars would suffer the same fate in the years that followed. 

Not one to even consider retirement Cash started looking for a new label and eventually Dick Asher, President at Mercury/Polygram, offered him a deal that would find Cash teaming up once again with producer Jack Clement. Unfortunately things didn’t work out any better. Despite recording some fine albums his five releases only shifted around 200,000 copies in total and once again he found himself without a label. One wonders if he knew what was coming when he recorded the song I’ll Go Somewhere And Sing My Songs Again on his last album for the label.

Photographer: Andy Earl

It was all down to demographics, statistical studies etc. “Demographics! They were always ramming that stuff down my throat,” Cash would often comment.

To his credit he was never angry or resentful towards the people at CBS or Mercury/Polygram and remained friends with many of the company executives. It was beginning to look like he would never find another label but during a show in California in early 1993 he was introduced to a man who would bring about the most dramatic turnaround in country music history.

On the 27th February Cash was playing a show at the Rhythm Cafe in Santa Ana, California and at the end of the show as Cash left the stage his manager, Lou Robin, said, “There’s a man here named Rick Rubin that would like to meet you and would like to record you.” Apparently Cash just laughed and enquired “Record me? What for?”

Photographer: Unknown

Co-founder of the legendary Def Jam label, Rubin was one of the key figures behind the commercial and artistic rise of hip-hop. He was born Frederick Jay Rubin on Long Island, NY, in 1963, and while attending New York University he met Russell Simmons.

Together they founded Def Jam in 1984 and the following year they entered into a distribution deal with Columbia Records. Rubin’s interests extended beyond hip-hop and he produced Slayer’s Hell Awaits the same year. In 1986 both the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill and Run-D.M.C’s Raising Hell, both Rubin productions, made Rap a worldwide phenomenon. Rubin and Simmons’ partnership finally ended in acrimony, and Rubin founded his own label, Def American (American Recordings).

Early signings included the aforementioned Slayer and the controversial gangsta rappers the Geto Boys. Def American scored one of its biggest hits in 1991 with Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Mack Daddy. That same year, Rubin also produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ breakthrough effort, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Altogether an unlikely producer for Johnny Cash.

On 1st June a press release was issued that read: “The legendary ‘Man in Black,’ Johnny Cash, has signed a worldwide exclusive recording contract with American Recordings, it was announced today by label owner Rick Rubin. Rubin will not only be Johnny’s new label boss, but will also serve as Cash’s producer.” Ironically it was Polygram, Cash’s previous label, that would be distributing his new material in the UK, Europe and other foreign markets with WEA taking care of the US distribution.

Rubin was looking forward to working with Cash. "To work with Johnny Cash will be an honour," he said . "I have respected him for years, both as a performer and a writer, and it’s going to be a pleasure having him with American." He went on to say, "The dark side was the side of Johnny Cash that really interested me, and I just tried to do whatever I could to get that point across in the song selection, and just trying to explain that this is really what people wanna hear from you."

The feeling was mutual. "I’ll be expanding my scope of activity while experiencing the excitement of today’s contemporary music,” said Cash. “I look forward to exploring the kind of artistic freedom, creativity and open-mindedness that I knew with the Memphis rockabilly sound."

Cash had always wanted to record an album called 'Johnny Cash Late and Alone', just him and his guitar, and with Rubin he was at last able to do it. Sessions began in May 1993 and would continue, on and off, at various locations, including Rubin’s living room, up to the end of the year. They recorded a lot of songs, well over 100, many more than once. An entire album of acoustic gospel material was also taped that would remain unheard until they worked on a tenth anniversary set in 2003. 

Photographer: Robert Sebree

Many of the early sessions were experiments. Cash would revisit some of his old songs, pick a few favourites and then Rubin would also suggest material. Many of Rubin’s suggestions at first appeared strange to Cash although after they recorded them they felt right. These demo sessions, held in Rubin’s living room and Cash’s Cabin in Hendersonville, in most cases featured just Cash and his guitar. At these early sessions there was no plan to record and release an acoustic album and for some numbers Rubin brought in various musicians, from rock and blues bands, not the country pickers Cash was used to recording with.

Both Flea and Chad from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mike Campbell from the Heartbreakers and members of The Red Devils played on some sessions. Talking about the making of the album Rubin said “We recorded a lot of songs with different musicians and tried a lot of things to decide what would be the best record for us to make.” Although unissued at the time the Dolly Parton song I’m A Drifter is a good example of this experimentation. A version was recorded that featured Michael Campbell while a second version featured Flea and Chad. Both would eventually find a release on the tenth anniversary set in 2003. This diversity is further demonstrated on the outtake I Witnessed A Crime which was written by Billy Gibbons of the group ZZ Top. In fact Gibbons also played on this track and another unissued title, Black Boots And A Sack Of Silver Dollars. Cash also delved into his own catalogue re-recording several songs like Understand Your Man, New Cut Road, I’m Ragged But I’m Right and Go On Blues. 

Photographer: Robert Sebree

Photographer Robert Sebree captured images of Cash before and during the sessions as he told me in an interview I did with him for the Fanzine. "This was an interesting job for me because usually when I shoot it's really all about the shoot but in this situation there were times where I was asking Johnny to engage with me and their were other times where I tried to 'disappear' and just be that fly on the wall." He went on to say, "By the time we got to Rick's house Johnny had enough trust in me that I could move around and go about my business without him taking too much notice. There are a lot of outtakes from the shoot that make me laugh! When Johnny did realise I was shooting he would make a silly face for the camera which is something that you would never imagine him doing."

None of his images appeared on the album, but he wasn't disappointed, "I was aware that we weren't capturing anything that would work for packaging. It was intended to be a publicity shoot and it worked perfectly tor those needs." 

In December 1993 during the final weeks of recording Rubin thought it would be interesting to get up in a club and perform some of the songs they had been working on. The place he chose for Cash to play was the Viper Room owned by actor Johnny Depp and infamously remembered as the club where, outside, River Phoenix died.

That was on a Monday and the show was scheduled for Thursday night. Cash had never done a show all alone and Tom Petty recalled that Cash was, “Nervous, very nervous.”

Talking about his appearance after, Cash commented, "I said no at first, then I thought about it. I've played every kind of venue there is, so why not? I felt so free and easy and relaxed. Nobody yelled at me or threw things."

Cash opened the show with Delia’s Gone and followed with several tracks that they had been working on including No Earthly Good, Bad News, Tennessee Stud and The Man Who Couldn’t Cry. After running out of new material he turned to early hits like Folsom Prison Blues and I Walk The Line.

Although the show was filmed only a couple of songs have ever been broadcast although two did make it to the final track listing on the album. “It was an incredible night,” remembered Rubin. While Cash felt , “It turned out really well.” For those who were there, and it was a specially invited crowd, it was an incredible experience and for those who weren’t, they can only wish they had been invited!

On 17 March 1994 Johnny Cash delivered the keynote speech at the South by Southwest conference held at the Austin Convention Center. At 10.30am he was introduced by co-directors Roland Swenson and Louis Meyers and opened with Delia’s Gone a track from his forthcoming album American Recordings. “I’ve always known that when I had to make a speech it would be good if I had my guitar handy to fall back on” he joked. During his speech he also performed Tennessee Stud, Drive On and The Man Who Couldn’t Cry. Before he left the stage, Austin City mayor Max Nofziger proclaimed the day ‘Johnny Cash Day’ and presented him with the key to the city.

In the evening he played a show at EMO’s, a grungy, partly open-air club holding approximately 500 people. Outside several hundred were turned away. Both the keynote speech and his evening show were filmed and broadcast.

Photographer: Unknown

Following his successful shows at the Viper Room and EMO’s Cash also played a show at the New York club The Fez. An invitation-only show and among the audience were Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, and Rachel Williams. However, Cash’s new younger following was not just in America.

During a promotional tour to Europe, after the albums release, he was a surprise triumph at the Glastonbury Festival in England where he gave a performance before an enthusiastic crowd that covered past glories and material from his new album. Edited parts of the show was broadcast on radio and television.

Over two days in late-April a video for Delia’s Gone, the first single lifted from the forthcoming album, was filmed. Location scouts had chosen Hendersonville as the perfect spot and scenes were filmed off Galatin Road, just across from the House of Cash with additional footage shot at a cabin in Monthaven.

Photographer: Kal Roberts

Supermodel Kate Moss appeared on the video as Delia. The video included scenes of Moss tied to a chair and shot through the head while Cash is shown shovelling dirt on her face. In between takes they signed autographs and talked to local residents and members of the crew.

Anton Corbijn, director of the video, said Cash was "very straightforward and nice" and "a delight to work with."

It is hard to believe that Moss was condemned by TV bosses for the video while MTV took it one stage further by ordering certain scenes to be axed before they would broadcast it. They insisted that the scene where Cash is seen shovelling dirt into an open grave and onto Delia's fresh, white-clad body be replaced with her lying motionless with soil already on top of her!

Photographer: Candace Webb

A spokeswoman for Cash’s label was quoted as saying "I guess they have a thing about dead women. We don’t quite understand their reaction." Cash also responded, saying, "It ain't an anti-women song, it is an anti-Delia song!"

Hendersonville Star News reporter Candace Webb covered the shoot and I had the opportunity to interview her a few years ago. She told me how she ended up covering the shoot, "Johnny's friend and assistant, Hugh Waddell, called me first thing in the morning and told me they were shooting and there was going to be almost no media allowed, but he would allow me to cover the shoot and I accepted immediately." Webb has fond memories of the day and in particular how friendly and gracious both Cash and Moss were, "Johnny made a point of coming over to me early on, introducing himself, letting me know that Hugh had spoken highly of me and that he (Johnny) looked forward to reading my story. The basis for the story wasn't actually going to be about Johnny Cash as much as it was about what a crew does to put together a successful video. He was pleased that it was going to focus on the many workers who seldom get recognition and as he said, 'deserve the majority of it'. Several times throughout the day he would stop by me, between filming takes, and ask if I needed anything, talk about life in general etc."

Although she didn't interact with Kate Moss as much as she did with Cash she did notice that both Kate and Johnny were clearly professional and were taking the whole shoot seriously, adding, "there were no diva attitudes from either one of them."

On it's release Chris Willman, in the Los Angeles Times, had this to say about the video, "The Man in Black goes really noir with Delia's Gone. He looks uncharacteristically frightening, coming at the camera with a piece of rope, re-creating the way his murder ballad's doomed narrator went after his cheatin' fiancee, tying her to a chair before unloading two shells into her."

Talking about MTVs reaction and demands, Willman said, "In our lifetime, there will be but one man who gets his music video rejected by MTV because of violence and purported bad taste and can lay claim to being a regularly featured speaker at Billy Graham crusades. Ladies and gentlemen... Johnny Cash."

A promotional video was also produced for Drive On and The Man Who Couldn't Cry featuring black and white footage of Cash on stage at the Viper Room and various candid footage. Unlike Delia's Gone, these video did not create such a negative reaction from MTV or TV bosses.

Released in April 1994 American Recordings featured thirteen tracks. Cash wrote five of the songs, four within the previous year. There was a love song, Like A Soldier, his Vietnam veterans song Drive On, the gospel song Redemption, Let The Train Blow The Whistle and the last of his own compositions was a new version, with slight lyric changes, of Delia’s Gone, which he originally recorded back in the early sixties opens the album.

Photographer: Andy Earl

He also arranged and adapted Cowboy’s Prayer which leads into Oh Bury Me Not, another song he had recorded earlier in his career. The remaining eight tracks came from a variety of sources. Ex-son-in-law, Nick Lowe, wrote The Beast In Me and had offered it to Cash back in 1979, although it took several years before he finally recorded it. The Kris Kristofferson track Why Me Lord, also recorded by Elvis Presley, is covered on the album.

Other tracks came from Leonard Cohen (Bird On A Wire) which had originally been recorded by Cohen and issued on his 1969 album Songs From A Room, Tom Waits (Down There By The Train) a song he gave to Cash who considered Waits, "a very special writer, my kind of writer",  and Glenn Danzig (Thirteen). Danzig was a young punk artist that Rubin had previously worked with and he wrote the song specially for Cash. He would eventually record his own version which appeared on his 1999 album 6:66 Satan's Child.

Two tracks, Tennessee Stud and The Man Who Couldn’t Cry, recorded at the Viper Room back in December 1993 also feature. The former was written by Jimmy Driftwood and originally recorded back in 1959 and first covered by Eddy Arnold who had a top five hit in the same year. The latter was a song composed by Loudon Wainwright III, singer/songwriter who specialised on novelty songs and whose version appeared in 1973 on his Attempted Mustache album.

In 2003 alternate versions of some of the material would appear on the ten-year retrospective, Unearthed, including Down There By The Train, Like A Soldier, Drive On with alternate lyrics and a live version of Bird On A Wire with an orchestra.

Delia's Gone was issued as a CD single in Europe with two previously unreleased tracks from the sessions, Billy Joe Shaver's Old Chunk Of Coal and Cash's own Go On Blues. In the USA two promo CDs were produced. A one-track CD featuring Drive On and a second CD with five tracks, Thirteen, Go On Blues, The Man Who Couldn't Cry, Thirteen (Live) and Old Chunk Of Coal. The live version of Thirteen was recorded in 1995 at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles.

The cover artwork featured Cash with two dogs, one white and one black, which summed up the theme of the album – sin and redemption. The photo was taken by Sussex born photographer Andy Earl during Cash’s Australian/New Zealand tour in February. 

Photographer: Andy Earl

Earl was not the only photographer involved in the project. Martyn Atkins, who had first met Rick Rubin in 1990 and would take photos for future albums produced by Rubin, was also in Australia during the photoshoot. In my interview with him he recalled how he got the job of working with Cash and Andy Earl, "For the first record release I wanted to feature John looking strong, looking real, no make up, no hairstyles, like a man that should be carved on Mount Rushmore, a flawed but true American. Unfortunately John was on a tour of Australia and New Zealand when we needed to photograph him and I wanted an American landscape. I called a photographer friend in England, Andy Earl, and asked him if he would fly down to Oz with me to shoot John. Of course he was thrilled." He continued, "John's aura was so powerful the dogs just came to him, with just a simple beckon they came from 200 feet away. We lucked out finding corn fields reminiscent of a Depeche Mode album cover I'd done ten years earlier and lonely railway tracks. We shot the photos within a forty-minute session."

Atkins also told me about how, with Rubin, they decided they needed to re-launch Johnny Cash. "The first thing that we decided with re-launching John was that we had to create the perception that he had always stayed true to this outsider 'man in black' image. I wanted people to forget anything about John's career after his prison shows. This to me would give the impression that he had never sold out or commercialized himself. We decided that any visuals relating to John or his image were to be always shot or filmed in black and white. I also suggested that we rename him on his album covers as simply CASH. This would leave people in no doubt that this was powerful new music."

Although it was Earl's image that made the front cover Atkins does get a credit on the album. One of his images, of John's hands, taken during the Viper Room concert is included.

Many of the photos, several previously unseen, taken by Andy Earl for the first album can be found in his coffee-table book, Johnny Cash - Photographs by Andy Earl.

American Recordings was a stark, serious collection and one which Cash was proud of. On it’s release Cash had this to say about the album. “I think I’m more proud of it than anything I’ve ever done done in my life. This is me. Whatever I’ve got to offer as an artist, it’s here.” Talking about the working relationship with Rubin he went on, “I don’t think I ever worked so well with a producer in my entire career. Rick came up with some songs that I thought were so far out of left field and such weird ideas for me to do… Now that we’ve done them, they feel so right.”

The album received rave reviews from the press. Rolling Stone in their 19 May 1994 edition, wrote, "Rick Rubin knew exactly the sort of album Johnny Cash needed to make. American Recordings is that album in spades: Cash, alone with an acoustic guitar, confronting traditional folk songs by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Glenn Danzig and Tom Waits with biblical intensity." They went on to say, "American Recordings is at once monumental and viscerally intimate, fiercely true to the legend of Johnny Cash and entirely contemporary. Not a feeling is flaunted, not a jot of sentimentality is permitted, but every quaver, every hesitation, every shift in volume, every catch in a line resonates like a private apocalypse."

In the UK, Q Magazine reviewed the album saying that, "Pairing Johnny Cash with Rick Rubin sounds like somebody's idea of a joke or nightmare. Instead it turns out to have been a move of pure inspiration. Rubin's involvement didn't go much beyond inviting one of the great and grizzled American voices around to his home, making sure he brought his guitar with him, and letting the tapes roll while Cash sang whatever he fancied. Shorn of all vanity and support, the results are, at times, almost too painfully intimate, like witnessing first-hand somebody putting their affairs in order before going to meet their maker. There simply won't be a braver or more honest record all year."

The album was the July 1994 'Spotlight' album in Country Music People and in their review they said, "You will never hear John more basic than here. The recordings sound little more than demos, but frankly, to have cut them any other way would have destroyed the brutal honesty that hallmarks the recordings. Don't expect to be entertained by American Recordings. It is a serious, often dark and menacing collection, frightfully stark, awesomely commanding and, in a sense, like scrutinising another man's soul, staring fascinated at his battle scars and almost eavesdropping on his confessions and prayers to himself and his maker,"

There were many more positive reviews... "A milestone work for this legendary singer." (Los Angeles Times), "…the alternative rock community has been buzzing about it for months." (Newsweek) and  "Never has the man in black produced a work of such brilliance as this one." (Billboard).

The album won a Grammy Award in the category ‘Best Contemporary Folk Album.’ “It was a very special Grammy, the one I got for that first Rick Rubin production,” said John.

It wasn’t long after the release of the album in April 1994 that ‘bootleg’ tapes and CDs appeared that included several outtakes from the sessions held in May. Tracks included Banks Of The Ohio, The Caretaker, One More Ride, Bad News and All God’s Children Ain’t Free.

The quality of this material meant that any of the tracks would have fitted comfortably on the album and one wonders how they managed to whittle down the hours worth of material to just seventeen tracks.

Photographer: Andy Earl

I am surprised, and to be honest very disappointed, that a thirtieth-anniversary edition has not been released with additional tracks along with comprehensive liner notes, photos and other memorabilia, all of which exists.

Today, albums receive deluxe editions, often with extra discs of material and hardbacked books. American Recordings could have received a similar treatment with extra CDs featuring outtakes, previously unreleased material and even the Viper Room concert on CD and Blu-Ray. I have a thirty-minute video of the concert so it does exist.

However, we do have this classic album which stands as one of Cash's greatest albums.

ELVIS UK EXTENDED

Just published is a new book on the various Elvis Presley Extended Play albums released in the UK. In this article I will be reviewing the book but first a look back at the authors previous work. 

As far back as 1980 friends and co-writers John Townson and Gordon Minto had been writing about Elvis Presley, although it would be a few years before they would publish their first book in, what would become, the ELVIS UK series.

Published by Blandford Press in 1987, ELVIS UK - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Record Releases 1956-1986 was greeted with critical acclaim by not only Elvis fans but also music journalists and rightly deserved being referred to as 'the Bible' when it came to Elvis releases. Despite its retail price of £45 it soon became highly collectable and sought after.

Within its 570-pages the book covered, in detail, every UK record release (singles, extended play albums and long players) issued on the HMV, RCA Victor and third-party labels between the years 1956 and 1986. Listed in chronological order each release was covered with detailed track information, composers names, release dates and chart positions, with every release cross-referenced.

Additional sections looked in detail at label and sleeve variations, including dates, a various artist listing where Elvis was featured on one or more tracks, details of promotional records and introductory sections looking at the companies who issued the records, details that appeared on the labels and a look at how records were made/pressed.

The book was illustrated, in black and white, with hundreds of record labels, album covers, photos and much more.

A list of every song was included which showed where each appeared and referenced to the relevant page numbers of the book.

The pair were often asked when it would be made available again, but realising this would not be a financially viable option for either themselves or the publisher they chose a different route by making the original book available as a digital downloadable flipbook.

For those who don't know, a flipbook is an interactive digital publication that features a realistic page-flip effect. It looks just like a traditional printed book with pages that can be turned over but allows added interactive elements like page navigation and links. It is much easier to read and navigate than a basic pdf and is becoming a popular option for writers who are looking for a way to offer their books digitally.

Issued in 2021 the digital flipbook included an extra 60-pages which covered re-issues of LPs, a discussion about mastering, a section on the RCA 'Golden Grooves' label and a fascinating essay on the Making of ELVIS UK.

Once again, these additional pages were illustrated throughout with labels, sleeves and other images, mostly in colour.

Priced at just £20 the flipbook is available from their website www.elvisukbooks.co.uk

Meanwhile, back in 2002 they published their second book, ELVIS UK2 - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Record Releases 1986-2002, which overlapped and picked up the story from where the first book ended. 

Running to just over 370 pages  the book covers all the UK vinyl releases from 1985 through to 2002 with every single, extended play and LP album examined in detail. Like the previous book there are sections on promotional issues, rarities, releases that featured one or more Elvis tracks, a full song title index and interesting facts on industry background.

A welcome inclusion is an interview with Roger Semon who co-produces many of the Elvis releases throughout the world. 

Once again it was well received by fans and music historians alike. Originally only available in printed format, the book originally retailed at £35 though there are a very small number of copies available selling for just £11, once again from their website www.elvisukbooks.co.uk

It was several years before a third volume in the series was released, but in 2021 they announced the publication of ELVIS UK 3 - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British CD Releases 1983-2005 which had taken almost six years to research and write. The book far exceeded the scope of the previous books and featured over 1,400 pages with more than one million words and 4,000 illustrations, mostly in full-colour.

Moving on from the vinyl releases covered in the first two books, this volume turns the attention to the compact discs released on the RCA, BMG and FTD labels in the UK between 1983 and 2005 while also being cross-referenced to other territories.

Like the previous books there are full track details and composers for every release along with relevant or interesting facts and images of front and back covers and the discs themselves. Live releases also include recording locations, dates and times.

Those interested in CD singles, promotional releases and in-house promos will find a wealth of information about these particular releases.

An extensive song title index lists every version of every song allowing the reader to search for their favourite track and all the relevant information.

Priced at £50, the downloadable flipbook is available from www.elvisukbooks.co.uk and when you order you can request a complimentary copy of a CD, ELVIS UK presents Beyond The Legend. This 23-track CD includes songs which charted in the UK and were not included on the first ever Elvis CD, The Legend and included extensive liner notes. Among the tracks are, Mystery Train, Paralyzed, Young And Beautiful, Hard Headed Woman, I Feel So Bad and many more great tracks. Also included is a 10-minute interview from 1956. 

A change of direction came in 2022 with the publication, in flipbook format only, of ELVIS UK - Cover Story - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's EP & LP Sleeves 1956-1977.

Within the 286-pages of this book the authors take a comprehensive look at the covers of the extended play and albums released between 1956 and 1977 in the UK. It makes the perfect companion to ELVIS UK, complementing and extending the information included in their first book.

Illustrated in full colour, it not only features the original front and back covers but also the photos used on the covers along with many alternate images. There are also loads of original adverts to study.

The wealth of information includes printing companies, sleeve notes, details of sleeve designs unique to the UK and a list of all the releases with details of who took the photos, the date and where it was taken.

Other sections cover inserts, record shops, sleeve manufacture and stickers. Everything you need to know about the sleeves, their design and production is covered here.

Once again it was welcomed by fans and music historians. Currently only available in flipbook format, the book retails at £15 and can be ordered from www.elvisukbooks.co.uk

It was only a year before the authors published their fifth book, at the time another digital flip book, in the series, ELVIS UK - Beyond RCA - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Non-RCA LPs 1974-1997. However, that is now available as a soft-backed print copy priced at £45 which includes post and packing in the UK.

As the title suggests this 377-page volume takes a detailed look at those Elvis albums released in the UK on labels other than RCA, including Arcade, K-Tel, Readers Digest, Charly and many others.

The book deals with the albums individually in a detailed way with illustrations of covers, labels, adverts and newspaper articles/reviews. The accompanying text provides extensive background information and previously unpublished information from the various record company files.

Each entry starts with a header detailing information about the material featured including the songs and/or spoken word content and composers.

Like previous books there is a detailed index of the songs with recording dates listed along with which album the songs appear on and details of outtakes where applicable. A nice addition is the index of the spoken word entries showing where and when they were recorded.

Unlike the previous books this one, another only available in print form, is available exclusively through the excellent Now Dig This and Elvis The Man And His Music magazine and website www.nowdigthis.co.uk priced at £45 including postage in the UK, with additional postage for overseas customers.

This bring us to the latest book in the series.

I always loved the extended play format and had several in my collection including Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock, In A Tender Mood and Elvis Sails. The latest book brings back many memories of owning these releases.

ELVIS UK - Extended - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British EP Releases 1957-2001 has just been made available and, unlike earlier titles, this book is only available in printed form.

Running to 502-pages it is the ultimate guide to the extended play albums released in the UK between 1957 and 2001 and complements the earlier books. The amount of work that has gone into this volume can be judged when you realise that the section covering extended players in the 1987 book ELVIS UK covered just 46-pages.

Every release is covered in great details and follows the style and layout of earlier books with a header giving information on the songs or spoken word included on the release, composer credits and release dates.

Front and back covers are shown along with the labels. There is an incredible amount of detail about the various label differences that occurred over the years when they were re-issued.

There is a wealth of other illustrative material with newspaper articles, reviews and record company ads.

The book not only covers the extended plays released between 1957 (Love Me Tender) and 1967 (Easy Come, Easy Go) but also the 1982 release of The E.P. Collection which included ten EPs with the original artwork. These included Elvis Presley, Heartbreak Hotel, Such A Night, Kid Galahad and a special bonus... G. I. Blues The Alternate Takes which featured four previously unreleased alternate versions of songs from the original film soundtrack album. The booklet that accompanied the set only had four-pages but contained more information than many other collections.

A few months later a second set was issued with, among other originals, Peace In The Valley, A Touch Of Gold (three volumes), Flaming Star and Love In Las Vegas. Like the first set there was another disc of G. I. Blues Outtakes and Collectors Gold, with four 1961 studio outtakes.

Besides the detailed look at each release there are sections on the history of the format, their popularity and decline along with unpublished record company information, technical details about manufacture, tax code and pricing details, significant events of the period, demo extended plays and how to spot fakes.

This book contains contributions by Roger Semon, Bob Jones and Mike Walker whose work included the two EP Collections and which make for interesting reading.

As with previous books in the series this one includes a song index giving the reader all the information they would need about recording dates, where each song appeared and when it was recorded.

As with ELVIS UK - Beyond RCA - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Non-RCA LPs 1974-1997, this volume is only available from www.nowdigthis.co.uk priced at £58 including post and packing.

These books are the last words on their subjects and every Elvis fan should have them in their collection. They are a great and invaluable reference source for Elvis releases and I refer to them regularly when working on any Elvis articles for my blog.

I'm not sure what plans John and Gordon have for future projects but I am sure there will be more volumes and essential purchases for the Elvis collector... I can't wait.

MEMPHIS HOMECOMING

On 1st March 1974 Elvis Presley hit the road for his longest concert tour since the mid-1950s. The tour, which ran from the 1st to the 20th of March, would see Elvis play twenty-one concerts across the southern states with sold-out shows in Tulsa (Oklahoma), Houston (Texas), Monroe (Louisiana), Auburn (Alabama), Montgomery (Alabama), Charlotte (North Carolina), Roanoke (Virginia), Hampton Roads (Virginia), Richmond (Virginia), Greensboro (North Carolina), Murfreesboro (Tennessee), Knoxville (Tennessee) and Memphis (Tennessee).

At Houston, Charlotte and Knoxville, Elvis would play afternoon and evening shows while in Tulsa, at the opening of the tour, he played shows on two consecutive days. The first concert in Monroe sold out so fast that two additional shows, a few days later, were added. It was a similar story in Richmond and Murfreesboro where a second date was scheduled.

This brings us to Memphis and Elvis' first appearances in his hometown since the charity show held at the Ellis Auditorium back in 1961.

Originally only four shows were scheduled, on the 16th and 17th March, at the Mid-South Coliseum with performances at 2.30 and 8.30 each day. Due to the demand for tickets an extra show was added at the end of the tour.

It is the concerts in Memphis, and in particular the final show that was recorded by RCA, that we concentrate on in this article.

It is reported that the attendance at each of the five Memphis concerts was 12,300 and that the total concert gross was around $555,000 with the Mid-South Coliseum receiving $50,000.

Although it would have made more sense for Elvis to have stayed at Graceland during the run of Memphis concerts he actually booked rooms at both the Holiday Inn and Howard Johnson Motel.

In her review of one of the concerts on the 16th Jane Sanderson, of the Memphis Press-Scimitar, wrote, "Like a streak of white lightning, Presley darts on stage. He is dramatically clad in all-white which sparkles with jewels and nail-heads with a jacket slit to the waist and a diamond cross hanging from his neck. He nods his approval to the hometown reception, and he begins to sing." She went on to say, "He laughs in the middle of a song, at himself and at the audience, but he drops his head to gain repose. He rolls his eyes, jerks his head, thrusts his shoulder forward, points to pretty girls, slaps his guitar, and, of course, shakes his hips." Talking about the reaction of the fans she noted, "They scream, yell, cry, clap and do their best to drown out what they came to hear."

Before looking at the various album and CD releases we take a look at the actual 20th March concert at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis.

Following the 2001 theme, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Elvis opened the show with See See Rider and I Got A Woman/Amen, with the awful J. D. Sumner dive-bomber routine which, unfortunately, Elvis made him do twice.

Strong versions of Love Me and Trying To Get To You followed then a rushed All Shook Up before one of the highlights of the show, James Taylor's Steamroller Blues, a far superior version than that which appeared on the Aloha From Hawaii concert and album. James Burton's guitar playing on the track is outstanding and the reason he was always in demand for studio and live work.

Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel is rushed but far better than later performances of the songs while Love Me Tender is treated with more respect.

A medley of Long Tall Sally/Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On/Your Mama Don't Dance/Flip Flop And Fly/Jailhouse Rock/Hound Dog follows and has received mixed opinions over the years. However, it does show Elvis putting a bit more effort into his hits and the hits of other artists than he would in the years that followed. The few lines of the Loggins & Messina hit Your Mama Don't Dance showed that Elvis had not lost touch with the current music scene. Jim Messina recalled how he felt about Elvis' performance, "I was thrilled Elvis covered one of our songs. I could tell he had the passion for it and the audience really reacted well when he sang that part of the song. For me, the ultimate compliment that an artist can pay another artist is to record one of their songs."

Elvis' live versions of Fever never matched his 1960 studio cut that appeared on Elvis Is Back and you can tell Elvis is just having fun during his performance in Memphis.

As always Elvis puts a lot of energy into Polk Salad Annie, a concert favourite for the past few years. The only slight disappointment here is that bass player Duke Bardwell doesn't manage the excellent bass lines that Jerry Scheff could do. It is still a great performance though.

Two gospel songs follow, Why Me Lord, which is mainly J. D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet, with Elvis just joining in on the chorus, and a rousing version of How Great Thou Art, another highlight from the show and one that received recognition as we shall see later.

Soon to be dropped as a regular in his set list, Suspicious Minds is as good as ever and then introduces those on stage with him... James Burton (guitar), John Wilkinson (guitar), Duke Bardwell (bass), Ronnie Tutt (drums), Glen D. Hardin (piano), Charlie Hodge (guitar and vocals), The Joe Guercio Orchestra, The Sweet Inspirations (vocals), J. D. Sumner & The Stamps (vocals) and a new group, Voice (vocals). He also gives name-checks to his sound engineers Bruce Jackson and Bill Porter, the tour promoters Jerry Weintraub and Tom Hulett, Ed Bonja, Tom Diskin, record producer Felton Jarvis and last but not least, the audience.

Introducing I Can't Stop Loving You with, "You know what I can't do", he throws the band off by then launching into the Fats Domino hit Blueberry Hill instead. Just a few throw-away lines before returning to an energetic version of I Can't Stop Loving You. He even throws in a small change of lyric for the occasion, "I've made up my mind, to live in Tennessee/memory for such a long lonely time."

He introduced Help Me as his new single and following a brief false start he performed a version that was as good as the recently recorded studio version.

An American Trilogy receives a thunderous reception and is as good, if not better than any of his earlier live performances on record. The song would have meant more to a southern audience than those in Hawaii and this is evident in the crowds reaction when Elvis sings lines including, 'For Dixieland where I was born'.

Let Me Be There is a John Rostill song that had been a hit for Olivia Newton-John and is another great performance by Elvis.

The show draws to a close with My Baby Left Me, a song seldom performed by Elvis in his concerts, Lawdy Miss Clawdy and Funny How Time Slips Away. During My Baby Left Me it seems like the band are not sure which song they are doing as, at times, there are close similarities to That's All Right, prompting Elvis to sing, "The band I knew is gone."

Before ending the show with Can't Help Falling In Love, Elvis told the audience, "It's always been said that a person cannot return to their home town, but you have disproven that theory completely and really made it worth while."

The usual announcement, "Elvis has left the building" was changed to "Elvis has left for Graceland."

Throughout the show there is a lot of interaction between Elvis and the audience and also Elvis and the band. At the start of I Got A Woman Elvis jokes with the audience, commenting, "Honey you have got bad laryngitis" and "She's louder than I am, but I've got the microphone." Before singing Love Me he says, "Those binoculars look like a bunch of frogs up there." During the introductions he jokes with John Wilkinson and Glen D. Hardin. It is obvious Elvis is having a good time on stage.

RCA were at the show to record it for future release. They rented recording equipment, apparently at a cost of around $100,000, to capture the event and with microphones placed around the auditorium, they captured the crazy reaction of the crowd who were seeing him perform in their hometown.

The day after the final concert James Kingsley, writing about the live recording in The Commercial Appeal, said, "Elvis Presley ended his 15-city tour with a hometown performance recorded before 12,300 fans at The Mid-South Coliseum last night. The recording is to be used for an album to be distributed by RCA Victor." Apparently Elvis had turned down requests from other cities on the tour to record a show in order to wait to record for his hometown fans. Kingsley then went on to say, "The album, which will be released in early June, will have the songs, screams, and cheers that were hallmarks at each of Presley's five Memphis concerts."

Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis (RCA CPL1/APL1 0606) was released in July 1974. The album, which had a running time of approximately 42 minutes, featured fifteen tracks and nine of the songs performed at the show were omitted. 

For those interested in details the album title on the cover was Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis whereas the label copy read As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis. There were other differences on song titles, the songwriters and there are too many to include here so I'd point you in the direction of the excellent series of ELVIS UK books written/compiled by John Towson and Gordon Minto. The album was re-released on vinyl in 1977 and 1981.

The songs left off the album were All Shook Up, Steamroller Blues, Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel, Love Me Tender, Fever, Polk Salad Annie, Suspicious Minds, Funny How Time Slips Away and the band introductions.

As all of these had appeared within the past couple of years on the previous live albums, Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden (released in 1972) and Aloha From Hawaii (released in 1973) this decision did make sense.

Although nobody realised at the time, the album had been subjected to some overdubbing, with extra crowd noise added to the original recordings made on the evening of the show. This was to add more excitement to the album, but was unnecessary.

The album cover featured a photo of Graceland, taken on 27 March 1974 by photographer Ed Bonja, while the back showed the gates of Graceland with the song titles, credits and other information printed over the image.

After all the studio albums released over the past few years, and in the years that followed, all featuring a live photo, totally irrelevant to the material on the albums, it seemed strange that an image of Graceland was used instead of a live photo from the actual show. We are, of course, talking about RCA and The Colonel so this is no real surprise!

It could have been different though, as photographer Ed Bonja recalled in the liner notes to the Legacy Edition of the album, "The Colonel was friends with the editor of one of the Memphis newspapers. His son was taking photography at the University and asked if he could take some photos of Elvis. The Colonel said 'Yes, and if I like them I'll put them on the cover of the live album.' A few days later after the tour ended, I'm at our office in L.A. when The Colonel receives the package with the photos. All of a sudden he screams out in a loud voice, 'Eddie, come in here! I can't use any of these pictures, they're terrible. I want you to get on a plane tonight to Memphis and get some shots of the front of Graceland, we need them for the album cover.' I took a few photos of the front gates, took photos of the front of the house and also took additional photos of the grounds. The exterior photo of Graceland made the cover and my image of the gates landed on the back cover."

Elvis is listed as Executive Producer on the back cover along with Mike Moran, Gus Mossler, Ronnie Olson and Larry Schnapf all credited as Recording Engineers.

The album reached #33 on the Billboard Album Charts, #2 on the Billboard Country Album Charts and #1 on the Cashbox Country Album Chart. In the UK it only managed one week on the charts peaking at a disappointing #44. It would be twenty-five years after the albums original release that the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) would award it a gold disc for sales of 500,000 copies.

Although Elvis received several Grammy nominations throughout his career he only ever won three and they were all in the gospel categories. His first win was for 'Best Sacred Performance' with the title track from his 1967 album How Great Thou Art. In 1972 He Touched Me won the 'Best Inspirational Performance' and his 1974 powerful live version of How Great Thou Art gave Elvis his third Grammy Award in the same category.

Billboard reviewing the album in their 'Spotlight' section had nothing but good things to say, "The last time Elvis cut a live set, it sold more than a million units. With this collection, Presley again demonstrates the charismatic performance and magnetism that have made him the all time King of Rock. Perhaps more than any other LP, we see a more personal side of Elvis as he banters back and forth with the audience, particularly his conversations with one girl who has a different request between every song." Going on to talk about the music he wrote, "As for the music, his voice sounds much stronger than it has on recent studio product as he puts together a mix of country, religious, current rock, blues and his own vintage hits. Back-up vocals of J. D. Sumner & The Stamps, The Sweet Inspirations and Kathy Westmoreland is excellent." He summed up how great he thought the album was in his final sentence, "Best Presley we've heard in a long time."

Robert Matthew-Walker, author of the book Elvis Presley - A Study In Music published in 1979, was particularly harsh in his opinion of the album. He wrote, "This album is the most superfluous of Presley's career. Every title had been recorded by him at least once before, in performances which are invariably better. These here are often below Presley's best, the band is not 'tight', many words are slurred, with scant regard for sense or atmosphere, and the audience constantly interrupts. The performances say nothing new." He did, however, make one valid point, "... the record is packaged with the most inept sleeve in a succession of generally mediocre packaging's."

The album made its first appearance on CD in Europe and the USA in February 1994, although it had been available since 1986 in Japan. The track listing was identical to the vinyl release although there had been discussions with co-producers Roger Semon and Ernst Jorgensen about adding the missing songs. This plan was scrapped when those higher up at RCA decided that to include the extra tracks would not only involve extra payments for copyright but also additional payments to all the musicians and vocalists.

The accompanying eight-page booklet featured liner notes about the 1974 Memphis concert and earlier appearances in the city, musician and other credits, track listing, a complete list of his 1974 concerts and a black & white image from the show that hadn't been included on the original vinyl issue.

The CD, identical to the 1994 release, was included as part of The Original Elvis Presley Collection, a 60-CD set released in June 1997 with each CD housed in a card sleeve featuring the original artwork.

The vinyl album was deleted from the catalogue in 1986 and the CD was available until 2003.

With the introduction of the Follow That Dream label and the 'Classic Albums' series it wasn't long before they turned their attention to Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis. Released in April 2004 to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the concert it would be the first time the whole concert would be released. However, as we will see, everything was not perfect.

As mentioned above the nine missing tracks were added, although Steamroller Blues had already found a release back in 1997 on the 4-CD Platinum set, released to commemorate twenty years since Elvis died.

In their pre-release press announcement they said, "It will include the songs that were left out of the original album and consequently the whole show has to be remixed. The package will be in the 7" format including a booklet with pictures and information about the show." Unfortunately the resulting CD was not as perfect as the press release made it sound.

Unfortunately they omitted the false start to Help Me and also left off some of the dialogue. Only a small matter but when you advertise the set as the complete concert then why leave out certain bits. The running time was expanded from 42 minutes to 69 minutes so there was still room for the minute or two that would have been required to make the show complete.

Now sound is very subjective and what works for one listener may not appeal to another. When released by FTD the tracks were mixed by Chris Theis and mastered by Lene Reidel. The overdubbed audience was removed and extra reverb added. It wasn't long before the comments about too much reverb started to appear and I must admit I do agree.

The CD was packaged in a three-panel sleeve which featured the original album cover, the original back cover, two photos from the show and the album title/track listing.

The 12-page booklet featured a live photo from the show and looked really good. Inside were eight photos of Elvis on stage along with the track listing, credits, a review from The Commercial Appeal and a list of the March 1974 tour dates. 

It followed the style of other FTD 'Classic Album' releases but one is left feeling it could have been so much better. Many of the photos are blurred and there is little information about the show. It would have benefited from comprehensive liner-notes and more images, memorabilia, paperwork etc. Fortunately this would be forthcoming on the albums next appearance on CD.

The Follow That Dream label started re-releasing their previous releases on 180gram vinyl and in September 2013 they added the Memphis live album to their list with the 2-LP set Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis.

The albums were housed in an attractive gatefold sleeve with some great live shots and brief liner notes. The cover would have made a better choice had RCA put more thought back in 1974.

In 2014, in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the concert, Sony Music re-issued the album as part of their Legacy Edition series in what can be considered the definitive version.

This time it would contain the complete concert, including the false start and dialogue that was omitted from the FTD version. Remixed by Steve Rosenthal and Rob Santos and mastered by Vic Anesini in New York, the sound is superior to any previous release with more emphasis on the band and Elvis' vocals standing out.

The set also featured a second disc, the Richmond show from 18th March, that was recorded as a test recording or back-up and released a few years earlier on the FTD label as Forty Eight Hours From Memphis, albeit only in mono. There were also five songs from an August 1974 rehearsal which are unrelated to the rest of the set.

Packaging on the Legacy Edition was superb with the two CDs housed in a 5" three-panel sleeve with original front and back cover, a list of all his 1974 concerts including those in Las Vegas, a map of the USA with cities played marked on it and a photo of Elvis on stage in Amarillo on 19th June. The back listed all the tracks, a brief text about what was included in the set and a photo from the Memphis show.

There were comprehensive and informative liner notes written by Ken Sharp that detailed the March tour and the Memphis show in particular. There are photos from various shows on the tour and a two-page spread of memorabilia, company paperwork and reviews which make interesting reading. This is how the FTD booklet should have looked. Furthermore, for those that shelled out for both the Memphis and Richmond shows on FTD, they had every right to feel cheated when both shows were available on Legacy for a fraction of the price.

I'll end this article with my own thoughts on the album and the various reissues. I bought this album the week it was released here in the UK and over the following few weeks it was seldom off the turntable. Despite my earlier comments about some of the material it remains one of my favourite live albums released by Elvis Presley during his lifetime, far superior to the Aloha From Hawaii set.  Yes, some of his early hits are not given the treatment they deserved, although a lot better than in the years that followed, and I know I might be in the minority but I do enjoy the medley. Yes the songs in the medley are rushed but at least a bit of thought and effort was taken with the choice of material that included both Flip, Flop And Fly and Your Mama Don't Dance.

I enjoyed the FTD release in 2004 because of the extra tracks and improvements over the original sound, however, my go to copy of the album has to be the Legacy Edition which, to my ears, has the best sound and is also the first time the complete show made it onto CD. It also has a much better booklet than the FTD version.

I am surprised Sony or FTD haven't released a fiftieth anniversary set, remixed by Matt-Ross Spang and featuring a more comprehensive booklet, but then again, how many more copies do we really need. Of course, with FTDs recent track record they could be planning a fiftieth anniversary edition to be released next year on the fifty-first anniversary!

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During the research and writing of this article I referenced several books and sources including: Elvis The Man And His Music (Now Dig This), Did Elvis Sing In Your Hometown, Too (Lee Cotton), Elvis UK and Elvis UK 3 (John Townson & Gordon Minto) and the booklets that accompanied the FTD and Legacy Editions of As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis.