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.