1968 live album by Elvis Presley
Elvis is the soundtrack album for American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley's 1968 television special of the same title, released by RCA Records.[7] It was recorded live at NBC Studios in Burbank, California, with additional studio work taking place at Western Recorders, in June 1968. The album peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200; along with the TV special, it revitalized Presley's career after years of diminishing commercial and critical success. It was certified Gold on July 22, 1969, and Platinum on July 15, 1999, by the RIAA.
Content
The live album from the Elvis special is the audio-only version of the special, and consists of a mixture of studio and live recordings, the live material itself a mixture of "sit-down" tracks with a small group and "stand-up" tracks with an orchestra.[8]
Unlike the drudgery of the feature film soundtrack recordings, Presley was genuinely excited by the project.[9] For the album, the musical format presented Presley in three different settings: production numbers featuring medleys of his material; an informal small band featuring full songs in front of a live audience; and the two original numbers with Presley backed by an orchestra in front of a live audience.[10] The two ballad tracks from this album were issued as singles. "If I Can Dream" being released earlier in the month, backed on the B-side with a song from his movie in theaters at the time, Live a Little, Love a Little, making it a double promotion on one record. It peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, his highest-charting single since 1965.[11] "Memories" was released over two months after the broadcast, backed with the title song to his next film, Charro!.[11] By making it to the top ten on the album chart after his previous album had charted at a dismal No. 82, this LP resuscitated his recording career at a time when it seemed practically moribund.[12] Presley insisted the mono mixes for these songs were retained for the album.[13]
Reissues
Several hours of music were recorded for the special, and the unused material has been reissued in many different formats over the years.
- On August 27, 1991, RCA released an expanded version for compact disc, NBC-TV Special, including unedited versions of the medleys in several cases.
- Two extensive compact disc releases appeared in 1998, Memories: The '68 Comeback Special featuring more comprehensive versions of the production and orchestral numbers, along with the complete first informal small band show of June 27, and Tiger Man featuring the complete evening show of the two informal small band concerts of June 27, 1968. (Both small band shows would be issued on vinyl as The King in the Ring for Record Store Day 2018.)
- In July 1999, a single-CD companion album, named Burbank '68: The NBC-TV 'Comeback Special' , was released as the debut release of Follow that Dream Records (FTD), Sony/RCA's Elvis Presley collectors' label dedicated to releasing archival material from RCA's vault of Elvis Presley studio, live, and rehearsal recordings. Burbank '68 included parts of the June 25th rehearsal, the second stand-up show on June 29, and some of the studio recordings made for the special.[14]
- On August 5, 2008, Legacy released The Complete '68 Comeback Special, a 4-CD compilation of recording sessions and complete live performances recorded for the special, to celebrate the TV special's 40th anniversary.
- In May 2016, an expanded version of Elvis (NBC-TV Special) was released by FTD (Follow that Dream Records).[15]
- On November 30, 2018, the 40th anniversary box (The Complete '68 Comeback Special) was expanded and re-issued as '68 Comeback Special – 50th Anniversary Edition, adding new stereo mixes of "Memories" and "If I Can Dream" as well as a bonus (fifth) disc of sessions and alternate takes (most of which had previously been released on the FTD edition of the album) and two Blu-ray discs of video. The 2018 box set removed a version of "A Little Less Conversation" which had included in the 2008 box set (and the 1998 album Memories: The 68 Comeback Special beforehand), as it had since been determined that, while this version and arrangement of the song had been considered for the special, it ultimately had been recorded as an alternate take (take 2) of the song for its original use (in Presley's film Live a Little, Love a Little).[16]
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