Alternate Elvis
Scott T. Rivers | Los Angeles, CA USA | 03/15/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Elvis Presley never recorded the same song twice, as evidenced in the numerous alternate takes from his 1960-68 Nashville sessions. "Long Lonely Highway" reveals several hidden treasures, such as Presley's radically different approach to Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business" and an intriguing slow version of "Stay Away." Other highlights include previously unreleased takes of "It's Now or Never," "She's Not You" and "Fools Fall in Love." Though no longer in print, this CD remains among the best Elvis imports you're likely to find."
Keep on movin'
Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 07/27/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD features alternate takes of songs Elvis recorded in Nashville in the '60s. This is really great stuff. While the songs Elvis recorded for his movie soundtracks were often terrible, his Nashville recordings from the same period were of a much higher quality. There are no bad songs on this CD. My personal favorites here are "A Mess of Blues", "Devil in Disguise", "Long, Lonely Highway", "Come What May", "Guitar Man" and "Too Much Monkey Business". It should be noted that "Come What May" is not an alternate take, but is in fact the master take. It is featured here for the first time in stereo, because they finally found the long lost stereo tapes for that song. This CD is highly recommended for all Elvis fans."
Polished Nashville pearls
Phil S. | USA | 10/25/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"(***** for the deep EP fan / *** for the casual EP fan).
All originally unreleased alternates and outtakes (except for the CD title-tune), the best being It's Now Or Never, It Feels So Right, I'm Yours, Anything That's Part Of You, Just For Old Times Sake, You'll Be Gone, Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello, Never Ending, Slowly But Surely, Guitar Man, Too Much Monkey Business, and Stay Away, most of which, to my ears, were releasable at some point. It appears that "alternate takes", "outtakes", etc., made the scene pretty much by *accident* in the '60s.
Stereo mixes are brilliant; programming..ditto.
Guess I'm saying there aren't many to put on the bottom shelf; even those are pretty groovy tunes.
One which doesn't make my personal above-mentioned cut is Too Much Monkey Business, as it's just a little too loose. But maybe not for those who heard Elvis and friends enthuse over Chuick Berry's Brown-Eyed Handsome Man and it's flip-side 'round about December 4th, 1956. Obviously, the Big El recalled that song in 1968 (recalled that get-together?)."
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1