The two newest FTD releases are just out, but a new of set of three titles and some re-issues have been announced for late October. Besides the titles 'Rockin Across Texas'  (CD) and 'The Jungle Room Sessions' (vinyl), fans can expect the soundboard "New Haven '76".

Both the "Blue Hawaii" and "Standing Room Only" vinyl releases will be back in stock by October 1st.  for a limited period only. Both will be officially deleted once this stock is depleted.

The "Girl Happy" CD should now be in reprint and will soon be available with improved remastered audio with improved and updated graphics according to an update from EU.

New Haven '76:

Following on from his appearance in Fort Worth, Elvis rocked New Haven, Connecticut on July 30 at the Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum. Featuring photos from Steve Barile’s archives, New Haven ’76 is a 1-CD 5” digipack. A credible live version of Return To Sender is featured as a bonus track from Hampton Roads Coliseum on August 1, 1976.

Rockin' Across Texas

The CD-only re-issue of "Rockin'Acccros Texas" got a new cover:

The Jungle Room Sessions

FTD Vinyl next release is a limited edition 2-Disc vinyl set of The Jungle Room Sessions. It contains all of the tracks featured on the CD edition and several added outtakes from other releases. Supplied in a new gatefold sleeve featuring additional Graceland images, it will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl and DMM Copper mastered at Abbey Road Studios, London.

Tracklisting "The Jungle Room Sessions"

Side 1

1) Moody Blue (Takes 7,5) (Mark James)
2) Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall (Takes 3, 4, 5)(Larry Gatlin)
3) She Thinks I Still Care (Takes 1, 2)Dickie Lee)
4) Pledging My Love (Take 3)(F. Washington/D. Robery
5) The Last Farewell (Take 2)(Roger Whittaker/R.A. Webster)

Side 2

6) Hurt(Take 3) (Crane/Jacobs)
7) Danny Boy (Take 8) (Frederic Weatherly)
8) Love Coming Down (Take 3) (Jerry Chesnut)
9) Never Again (Take 11) (Billy Edd Wheeler/Jerry Chesnut
10) For The Heart (Take 3) (Dennis Linde)
11) Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain (Take 2) (Fred Rose)
12) I’ll Never Fall In Love Again (Take 5) (Lonnie Donegan)

Side 3

13) Way Down (Take 2) (Layng Martine Jr.)
14) It’s Easy For You (Take 1) (Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice)
15) Pledging My Love (Unedited Master) (F. Washington/D. Robery
16) He’ll Have To Go (Rough-Mix Master) (Joe And Audrey Allison)
17) Moody Blue (Take 6) (Mark James)
18) Solitaire (Take 3) 4:47 (Neil Sedaka/Phil Cody)

Side 4

19) Love Coming Down (Take 4) (Jerry Chesnut)
20) For The Heart (Take 1) (Dennis Linde)
21) She Thinks I Still Care (Takes 3, 4) (Dickie Lee)
22) Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall (Take 1) (Larry Gatlin)
23) Hurt (Take 5) ( Crane/Jacobs)
24) Danny Boy (Take 9) (Frederic Weatherly)
25) Fire Down Below (Instrumental) 3.44 (Jerry Scheff)
26) America (Closing Part Only) 0.21 (Tradiitonal)

Tracklisting "New Haven '76"

1) Also Sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)
2) See See Rider (Arr. by Elvis Presley)
3) I Got A Woman / Amen (Ray Charles) / (Jester Hairston)
4) Love Me (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller)
5) If You Love Me (Let Me Know)(John Rostill)
6) You Gave Me A Mountain (Marty Robbins)
7) Help Me (Larry Gatlin)
8) All Shook Up (Otis Blackwell/Elvis Presley)
9) (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear / Don’t Be Cruel (Kal Mann/Bernie Lowe) / (Otis Blackwell/Elvis Presley)
10) And I Love You So (Don McLean)
11) America (Arr. by Elvis Presley)
12) Jailhouse Rock (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller)
13) Funny How Time Slips Away (Willie Nelson)
14) Introductions – incomplete
15) Early Mornin’ Rain (Gordon Lightfoot)
16) What’d I Say / Johnny B. Goode (Ray Charles) / (Chuck Berry)
17) Love Letters (Edward Heyman/Victor Young)
18) School Days (Chuck Berry)
19) Hurt (Jimmie Crane/Al Jacobs)
20) Hound Dog (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller)
21) Hawaiian Wedding Song (Charles King/Al Hoffman/Dick Manning)
22) Can’t Help Falling In Love (Hugo Peretti/Luigi Creatore/George Weiss)
23) Closing vamp

Bonus song

24) Return To Sender Otis Blackwell/Winfield Scott)
 

Design

As we have become to expect from this label the design looks top-notch; modern with a touch of the seventies, and strangely a lot of the fifties too. The disc comes in a three panel digipack with a 20 pages booklet. Part of the design concept for the “That’s The Way It Is” movie was Elvis Presley looking back at the fifties. The designer took that as a theme for his design of the booklet. Although understandable I would have preferred a seventies theme all the way throughout the package as the movie is significant for Elvis in the early seventies. A picture of a 1970 Elvis over a screaming 1956 audience does not really work.

Content

The CD offers a “fly on the wall” view to follow the progress of the filming for the informal electric guitar segment for “That’s The Way It Is”. Large parts have previously been released on various releases (e.g "The Cream Of Culver City" and "Electrifying") in mono or altered stereo but never uncut and in stereo as on this disc; according to the press-release straight from the original tapes.

Playing this CD with your eyes closed you can easily imagine Elvis sitting a little to the right of you. The audio sounds very clear and full and because Elvis’ voice was recorded mainly on the right channel you get the very spatial impression. You really are the proverbial fly on the wall in this session.

You hear Elvis practice the songs for the upcoming shows; you recognize the arrangements for the orchestral versions we know so well. Only now they are performed informally by just Elvis and his band. Due to the fact that it is a filmed rehearsal Elvis acts that way and does not go all the way on the songs, he mainly practices them. But "Havana Gila" nicely shows how the singer and the band try to figure out how to do a certain new song that comes by as I can't imagine this one was planned for the movie. Highlights are from this rehearsal are "Little Sister/Get Back", "My Baby Left Me" and the great "Stranger In The Crowd". 

I enjoyed the CD very much but I do understand that Ernst Jorgensen and co. cut out a lot of the dialogue or change the set-list for the main-label releases as all the breaks, chatter, fooling around don’t make this a CD suitable to play for fiends.

Although the audio is very good, and due to the left / right recording of the people present giving a real spatial effect, there is a lot of hiss on the tape. Especially when the producers turn up the sound so you don’t miss anything the hiss from the original tape is more audible; but I consider that part of the “full and uncut” release of these tapes.

Conclusion

A great release in great audio quality for the fans who want to “join” Elvis at the MGM studio in Culver City, rehearsing for “That’s The Way It Is” and concerts to come. You feel "plugged in", but Elvis is not "geared up".
 

Tracklisting

1. Don't It Make You Wanna Go Home
2. Something
3. Words
4. I Just Can't Help Believin'
5. Little Sister/Get Back
6. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water
7. I Was The One
8. Cattle Call
9. Baby Let's Play House
10. Don't
11. Money Honey / Hard Headed Woman
12. A Fool Such As I
13. Froggy Went A Courting / Viva Las Vegas
14. Such A Night
15. It's Now Or Never / Are You Horny Tonight?
16. What'd I Say
17. The Lords Prayer
18. My Country 'Tis Of Thee
19. Nagila Hava
20. My Baby Left Me
21. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
22. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me #2
23. Stranger In The Crowd
    
    Zooroo tells you that;
    
    I just hear this cd and i can tell you that it's a perfect Elvis in rare doings and a very much good working in a very good mood, who listen to this cd can feel how the making for a  'That's the Way it Is'  show in rehearsel was.