July 31, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of Elvis’ triumphant return to live performance at the International Hotel in Las Vegas (now the Las Vegas Hilton). The event will be commemorated during this year’s Elvis Week, Aug. 8-16, with a special concert Aug. 14 at the Cannon Center in Memphis, Tenn., featuring many of the performers who shared the stage with Elvis back in 1969, including Millie Kirkham, The Sweet Inspirations, The Imperials and James Burton and Glen D. Hardin from the TCB Band, among others. Terry Mike Jeffrey and Andy Childs will provide additional vocals, and other participants will be announced; check elvis.com for updates.

Whether or not you attend, you’ll certainly want to pick up Follow That Dream’s new revamping of Elvis In Person At The International Hotel. The album was first released in the two-album set From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis in November 1969; a year later, the set was split into separate albums, Elvis In Person … and Back In Memphis (which featured studio recordings from Elvis’ legendary sessions at American Sound Studio in January and February 1969). Elvis In Person … is one of the best of Elvis’ live recordings; it positively crackles with energy. This latest version is a two-disc set, featuring the original album, a handful of interesting rare live performances of songs like “This Is The Story,” “Inherit The Wind” and “Reconsider Baby,” and, on the second disc, the entire dinner show from Aug. 22 (previously unreleased). It’s a wonderful set that truly conveys the excitement of that inaugural engagement.

The mood is quite different on another recent Follow That Dream release, I’ll Remember You, largely drawn from the Feb. 3, 1973, midnight show in Vegas (two more tracks are from the Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 dinner shows). Despite the presence of uptempo tracks like “See See Rider” and “Blue Suede Shoes,” the overall feel is very laid-back — no doubt due at least in part to the fact that Elvis was ill during much of this particular engagement, which resulted in a number of shows being canceled. Still, his delivery of the title track (from the Feb. 3 dinner show) is beautifully delicate, and it’s always nice to have another live show.

Finally, the soundtrack from Elvis’ most successful film and soundtrack during his lifetime, Blue Hawaii, has been given the full FTD treatment. The 1997 reissue of the album on CD had eight bonus tracks; this edition has an amazing 42. In addition to the original album, the two-CD set has movie versions of four songs, and first takes of nearly every song on the original album. The album’s best known song is “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” and you can hear the track evolve over 12 takes. While working on the “music box” version, Elvis can’t keep from laughing on a few takes.

Other highlights are Elvis’ versions of the standards “Aloha Oe” (three takes), and the film’s title track (six takes), a number that always gets me in the mood for a Mai Tai whenever I hear it, as well as three takes of the soundtrack’s liveliest song, “Rock-A-Hula Baby.” A great collection if you’re a fan of this film. Info: shopelvis.com, (877) 687-4277.

Jerry Hopkins wrote the first serious biography of Elvis, simply titled “Elvis” and first published in 1971. He went on to write “Elvis: The Final Years” and “Elvis In Hawaii” (Hopkins was lucky enough to live in Hawaii for a time), and he now has two more books out with Elvis/Hawaiian connections. “The Showman Of The Pacific” is the memoir of H

In the interest of research, I kick-started my holidays by sampling the latest in Elvis beverages, All Shook Up California Champagne, vinted and bottled by Graceland Cellars in Woodbridge, Calif. Though categorized as a “brut,” it’s actually very sweet, closer to Asti Spumante than a sparkling wine. It’s got a nice label too — important if you’re going to display the bottle on your shelf — black with gold lettering and a silhouette of Elvis in a pose from “Jailhouse Rock.”

And though the holidays will be past by the time you read this, it’s never too early to start planning for next year. So it’s appropriate to get in a plug for Christmas Duets (RCA Nashville/Sony BMG), which fell between deadline cracks. This release has Elvis singing with various female vocalists, such as Wynonna Judd, Gretchen Wilson and Olivia Newton-John, to mention a few. I personally prefer my Elvis solo, but as his Christmas songs already have been reissued in a variety of interesting packages (my favorite is the 1994 edition that came with a pop-up replica of Graceland), it was a good way to introduce the music to a new audience, and the packaging was nice. The songs also featured new instrumentation and vocal contributions from folks who worked with Elvis when he was still with us — The Jordanaires and Millie Kirkham.

Two great Follow That Dream releases are now available. Nevada Nights presents two shows from Elvis’ summer 1974 season in Las Vegas. The shows present an interesting contrast. The opening night show, Aug. 19, 1974, had Elvis introducing a number of changes. Gone was the “Also Sprach Zarathustra” opening that had been in place for the last two years (more commonly recognized as the theme from “2001: A Space Odyssey”); instead, the set begins with “Big Boss Man” and goes on to include a number of unexpected songs, such as “Down in the Alley,” “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues,” “My Baby Left Me” and no greatest hits medley. But though the show got a good review (The Hollywood Reporter called it Elvis’ best in three years), on the next evening the program reverted to type, with “Zarathustra” back (segueing as usual into “See See Rider”), as was the greatest-hits medley. The second show offered here, Aug. 21, 1974, features those along with some other interesting selections, “Hawaiian Wedding Song” (from Elvis’ biggest film, “Blue Hawaii”) and the recitation “Softly As I Leave You,” one of Elvis’ favorite numbers.

The second FTD release is an expanded edition of Elvis Country, originally released in 1971, and Elvis’ last Top 20 studio album in his lifetime (it peaked at #12); the accompanying single “I Really Don’t Want to Know” reached #21. The album was recorded in June 1970, about a year and a half after Elvis’ last studio session, the landmark sessions at American Recordings in Memphis, Tenn. Whereas the Memphis sessions produced especially soulful material, the June ’70 sessions had an unmistakable countrified flavor, hence the album’s title (tracks from the sessions also appeared on the albums Love Letters From Elvis, Elvis Now and even the ostensible live soundtrack album, Elvis: That’s The Way It Is).

As usual with the expanded releases, Elvis Country pulls together rarities that have appeared on other collections, along with a good percentage of previously unreleased material, in this case including early takes of “Snowbird” and “Where Did They Go, Lord,” and several previously unreleased takes of “Tomorrow Never Comes.”

What I find especially enjoyable are the undubbed masters of

By Gillian Gaar

Fans who attended the “Last Man Standing” show at the Peabody Hotel during 2007’s Elvis Week in Memphis were the first to get the opportunity to purchase The Mighty Handful Volume 1.

The collection features classics like “I’ve Got My Mojo Working,” “You Can’t Judge A Book,” and “I Put A Spell On You,” performed by an equally classic lineup: Billy Swan (vocals), Bucky Barrett (guitar), Bob Moore (bass), Steve Shepherd (keyboards), Boots Randolph (sax), Buddy Spicher (fiddle), and Fred Satterfield (drums). All of it was produced by Elvis’ first guitarist and a legend in his own right: Scotty Moore.

Moore is typically modest about his hand in the proceedings.

“I guess you could call me the producer — I’d say ‘Rolling!’” he chuckles. “That’d be about it. I just put the guys in there and turned ’em loose! Billy picked a song, and then everybody would do their own thing.”

The sessions came about when Pete Pritchard, a British bass player who’s played in Scotty’s band when he’s toured England, happened to be visiting, and the two friends got the idea to do a little recording. Billy and Boots were asked to join in. Two tracks from the session appear on The Mighty Handful as bonus cuts: “There’s Always Me,” an instrumental with a strong sax solo by Boots, and “Reconsider Baby,” which features Scotty on guitar (though the album credits mistakenly say Scotty appears on “There’s Always Me”).

“It wasn’t intended for release or anything,” says Moore. “It was just a get-together thing while Pete was over here. But everything went off so good, we got to talking about it, and I said, ‘Let’s just call the other guys and do an album!’”

So other friends were duly rounded up.

“These are all guys that, I won’t say retired musicians, but everybody’s over 50!” says Moore. “They’re no spring chickens! Ain’t nobody hired for money or anything; they just enjoy playing. That’s the whole idea to begin with.”

The song selection was done by Swan.

“We just had the idea of doing the old blues stuff and maybe do it a little up tempo. And they just nailed it just together so great. It was just so good I thought other people might like it. And after we’d done that one, I said, ‘Shoot, we’ll do another one!’ So we all got together and did another one. I believe the second one might be better than the first one, really!”

So a Volume 2 is awaiting release; it also happens to be the last recording featuring the work of Boots Randolph, who died July 3, 2007.

There’s a relaxed feel to the recording that has as much to do with the “lo-fi” setting as it does with the musicians’ skills; it was recorded in Moore’s home studio.

“Ohh… technology is ruining music,” he declares. “I hate to say it, but it’s true. I mean, I can set up all the recording equipment that you can buy today, the new technology, and fit it all right here on the dinner table, and stick somebody in another room singing or whatever and do the record. And that’s just not the way they do them anymore. You lose all the camaraderie between guys — they play off each other, and you don’t get that now [when everyone records separately]. I think technology has done more harm than anything else. I really do. It’s gone too fast. I mean, I’m all for improving, everything can be improved, but it’s happening so fast.”

And technological developments have affected music distribution, too, of course. Moore shopped Volume 1 around.

“One company we went to said, ‘Oh, we love it; we’d like to have it, but if you take your group and get on the road, we’ll take it and put it out,’” Moore says. “So, in other words you get paid from your personals [personal appearances] more now than any place else.”

In the end, the group put out the release themselves. You can find it at CDbaby.com and iTunes, as well as Moore’s own site, scottymoore.net. When the CD was sold at the Elvis Week shows, it came in a limited edition of 1,000 with an insert featuring autographs of all the musicians; you can order remaining copies of this edition at Moore’s Web site.

Those of you who saw Scotty during Elvis Week may have seen him at the event for the last time, in part because the old Elvis tunes don’t come out like they used to.
“I wish I could play, but I can’t,” Scotty says. “I’m doin’ pretty good, I guess, except for my age and my hands — hangin’ on with the rest of ’em.”
Then, there’s the size of the crowds.

“I couldn’t even get out of my hotel room last time down there,” Moore says of the frenzy. “That’s what I would have liked to have done, be out in the lobby or something where we could just meet and greet people. That’s part of the whole thing, as far as I’m concerned.”

But this doesn’t mean you won’t see Moore out and about. He was a non-performing guest at this year’s Ponderosa Stomp event, for example. And there’s sure to be other recording projects in the future — such as the release of The Mighty Handful Volume 2. Both Moore and the group also have their own MySpace pages: myspace.com/scotmo and myspace.com/themightyhandful.

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The latest Follow That Dream releases focus on the “That’s The Way It Is” era. The Way It Was CD was first released as part of the FTD book package of the same name, which featured detailed information about the rehearsals and shows that were filmed and recorded in July and August 1970. The book is no longer available, but if you missed it, you can at least get the CD on its own.

And the original That’s The Way It Is album gets the deluxe FTD treatment, expanded to two discs. How does it differ from RCA’s TTWII: Special Edition three-CD box released in 2000? Both do have the 12 tracks that appeared on the original vinyl album. But as the producer of both sets, Ernst Jorgensen, points out, the Special Edition box was very much a celebration of the live recordings (featuring an entire concert and rehearsal).

Conversely, the FTD release focuses on the June 1970 recording sessions, which actually provided most of the tracks for the album. So you hear Elvis working through multiple takes of songs like “Twenty Days and Twenty Nights,” “Stranger in the Crowd,” and “Patch It Up,” among others. Ernst reveals that more material recorded at the June session is being scheduled for release via FTD, with Love Letters From Elvis due in July; Elvis Country will follow at a later date. Info: 888-358-4776; shopelvis.com.

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Elvis’ three albums of sacred recordings have been reissued by RCA/Sony BMG: His Hand In Mine, How Great Thou Art and He Touched Me. All albums have bonus tracks, but none that are previously unreleased.

There’s nothing here that didn’t appear on Peace In The Valley: The Complete Gospel Recordings, a three-CD set released in 2000, though the new releases present the songs in their original running order and feature the original artwork.