Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | July 18, 1995 | |||
Recorded | April 1960 – March 1969 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | RCA Records | |||
Producer | Ernst Jorgensen Roger Semon | |||
Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
MusicHound | [2] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II is a two-disc compilation of studio master recordings by American singer and musician Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1960s, released in 1995 on RCA Records, catalogue number 66601-2. It also includes a booklet with session details and an essay by Susan M. Doll.
The set comprises a selection of recordings made by Presley during the decade specifically at a session for the soundtrack of a feature film, of which Presley made 27 during the 1960s. Excluded are all other studio recordings from the decade, as well as those for his 1968 television special and the 1969 live recordings. These soundtrack songs, of which 211 were released in Presley's lifetime, originally appeared in a variety of formats: on 15 full-length long-playing albums, five EPs, and numerous singles. [4] Of the 211, 23 were released on later compilations, both standard and budget, while two tracks were used to bring up the running times respectively of Something for Everybody and Pot Luck . [5] All of Elvis' 1960s movies are represented by at least one song in this set with the exception of Tickle Me , its EP soundtrack consisting of five previously issued studio recordings, all of which were included on the box set first volume of the Essential '60s Masters .
The two discs present the studio masters in rough chronological session order. Two previously unreleased masters appear: a version of the Eddy Arnold song "You Don't Know Me" recorded during the sessions for the movie Clambake ; and an alternate take of the song "Follow That Dream" as the stereo master for the original has been lost, and the compilers opted not to use the surviving mono master. The songs "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Rock-A-Hula Baby" were released as, respectively, the A-side and b-side of a single following the release of the Blue Hawaii album, and went to #2 and #23 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. "Puppet on a String" appeared as a single seven months after the release of the Girl Happy soundtrack, backed with "Wooden Heart" from G.I. Blues , and peaked at #14 on the singles chart. "Wooden Heart" had also been released as the flipside to a reissue of "Blue Christmas" eleven months earlier.
RCA issued a box set for the complete non-gospel songs that were not recorded at soundtrack sessions during the decade, From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential 60s Masters, and released a similar two-disc set for the gospel recordings in 1994, Amazing Grace: His Greatest Sacred Performances .
Generally, Presley's 1960s soundtrack recordings command the least regard among the singer's recorded work. The most successful commercially, such as G.I. Blues and Blue Hawaii, fell in the tradition of the film musical as it had developed through the 1950s, that of the integrated musical where the songs are integral to the story line. Hence, songs such as "Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce" from Girl Happy or "There's No Room to Rhumba in A Sports Car" from Fun in Acapulco made no sense outside of their movies and hardly found a place in Presley's stage act, or could ever be considered classics along the lines of "Jailhouse Rock" or "Love Me Tender", whose films were not integrated musicals. As stated by Susan Doll in the liner notes, the songs from the soundtracks are often judged by inappropriate criteria:
This package, collecting 62 of the songs released on record in association with the films, selects in many cases those numbers that can stand outside of their film vehicles, concentrating on title tracks and songs that had been also released as singles immediately prior to the release of the soundtrack.
All selections recorded at Radio Recorders, Western Recorders, Paramount Recording Stage, MGM Studios, Samuel Goldwyn Studio, United Artist Recorders, Decca Universal Studio, and RCA Studios in Hollywood, RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. Original recordings produced by Joseph Lilley, Urban Thielmann, Hans Salter, Jeff Alexander, George Stoll, Gene Nelson, Fred Karger, Felton Jarvis, Billy Strange, Hugo Montenegro, Billy Goldenberg, and Leith Stevens. Discographical information below taken from Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions, by Ernst Jorgensen, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1998.
Chart positions for LPs from Billboard Top Pop Albums chart; positions for singles and EPs from Billboard Pop Singles chart. By late 1968, Billboard discontinued charting B-sides. Titles listed without corresponding LP/EP designation were initially released as singles only.
From Elvis in Memphis is the ninth studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Records on June 2, 1969. It was recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis in January and February 1969 under the direction of producer Chips Moman and backed by its house band, informally known as the Memphis Boys. Following the success of Presley's TV special Elvis and its soundtrack, the album marked Presley's return to non-soundtrack albums after the completion of his film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3 is a greatest hits album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor as LPM/LSP-2765 on August 12, 1963. The album was the third volume of an eventual five volume collection, and his eighteenth altogether. It is a compilation of hit singles released in 1960, 1961, and 1962.
Elvis for Everyone! is a compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3450, on August 10, 1965. Recording sessions took place over a ten-year span at Sun Studio in Memphis, RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. It peaked at number 10 on the Top Pop Albums chart.
Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4 is a greatest hits album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3921, in January 1968, with recording sessions taking place over an eight-year span at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and at RCA Studios and Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It is a compilation of hit singles released between 1961 and 1967, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold on March 27, 1992, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters is a five-disc box set compilation of the complete known studio master recordings by American singer and musician Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1950s. Issued in 1992 by RCA Records, catalog number 66050-2, it was soon followed by similar box sets covering Presley's musical output in the 1960s and 1970s. This set's initial long-box release included a set of collectible stamps duplicating the record jackets from every Presley LP on RCA Victor, every single that had a picture sleeve, and most of his EP releases. The set includes a booklet with an extensive session list and discography, and a lengthy essay by Peter Guralnick. It peaked at #159 on the album chart and was certified a gold record on August 7, 1992, by the RIAA. Further certifications were for platinum on November 20, 1992, and for double platinum on July 30, 2002.
Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters is a five-disc box set compilation of the recorded work of Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1970s. It was released in 1995 by RCA Records, catalog number 66670-2, following similar box sets that covered his musical output in the 1950s and 1960s. This set's initial long-box release included a set of collectable stamps duplicating the record jackets of the LP albums on which the tracks in the box set were originally released by RCA. It also includes a booklet with an extensive session list and discography, as well as a lengthy essay by Dave Marsh, some of it excerpted from his 1982 book on Presley. The box set was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 15, 1999.
From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters is a five-disc box set compilation of studio master recordings by American singer and musician Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1960s; it was released in 1993 on RCA Records, catalogue number 66160-2. In its initial long-box release, it included a set of collectable stamps duplicating the record jackets of every Presley LP on RCA Victor, and those of the singles pertinent to this box set. The set also includes a booklet with an extensive session list and discography, as well as a lengthy essay by Peter Guralnick. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 30, 1993, and Platinum on January 6, 2004. This set followed an exhaustive box set of Presley's 1950s output and was followed by a more selective box set of his work in the 1970s.
Loving You is the first soundtrack album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Victor in mono, LPM 1515, in June 1957 to accompany his first starring film, Loving You (1957). Recording sessions took place on January 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1957, at the Paramount Pictures Scoring Stage, and on January 12, 13, 19, and February 23 and 24, 1957, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. These are the first sessions where Steve Sholes is officially listed as producer. It spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It was certified Gold on April 9, 1968 by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Blue Hawaii is the fourth soundtrack album by the American singer Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2426, on October 20, 1961. It is the soundtrack to the 1961 film of the same name starring Presley. In the United States, the album spent 20 weeks at the number one slot and 39 weeks in the Top 10 on Billboard's Top Pop LPs chart. It was certified Gold on December 21, 1961, Platinum and 2× Platinum on March 27, 1992, and 3× Platinum on July 30, 2002, by the Recording Industry Association of America. On the US Top Pop Albums chart, Blue Hawaii is second only to the soundtrack of West Side Story as the most successful soundtrack album of the 1960s.
Double Trouble is the fifteenth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3787, in June 1967. It is the soundtrack to the 1967 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders and at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in Hollywood, California, on June 28, 29, and 30, 1966. It peaked at number 47 on the Billboard 200.
Suspicious Minds: The Memphis 1969 Anthology is a two-disc compilation of Elvis Presley's studio recordings at American Sound Studio during the winter of 1969, released in 1999, RCA 67677-2. This set features all of the master recordings made by Presley that would eventually feature on multiple singles as well as the albums From Elvis in Memphis and the studio disk of From Memphis to Vegas/From Vegas to Memphis. Original recordings produced by Chips Moman and Felton Jarvis.
Roustabout is the ninth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2999, in October 1964. It is the soundtrack to the 1964 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, on March 2 and 3, and April 29, 1964. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Top LPs chart. It was certified Gold on May 20, 1988 by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album would be Presley's final soundtrack to reach number one and his last number one album until 1973's Aloha From Hawaii: Via Satellite.
"You'll Be Gone" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music and released in 1965 on the Girl Happy soundtrack album and as a 45 single. The song was recorded in 1962 and was one of very few which Presley was involved in writing; his co-writers were his bodyguard Red West and Charlie Hodge. The other song that Elvis Presley composed was "That's Someone You Never Forget" in 1961 with Red West, which was on the Pot Luck LP released in 1962. The song was recorded on Sunday, March 18, 1962, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee.
Amazing Grace: His Greatest Sacred Performances is a two-disc compilation of studio master recordings by Elvis Presley, released in 1994 on RCA Records and certified double platinum by the RIAA on July 15, 1999. The release also includes a booklet with session details and an essay by Charles Wolfe.
Girls! Girls! Girls! is the fifth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2426, in November 1962. It accompanied the 1962 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on March 26, 27, and 28, and May 23, 1962. It peaked at number three on the Top LPs chart. It was certified Gold on August 13, 1963, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
It Happened at the World's Fair is the sixth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2697, in April 1963. It is the soundtrack to the 1963 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on August 30 and September 22, 1962. It peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.
Fun in Acapulco is the seventh soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2756, in November 1963. It is the soundtrack to the 1963 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on January 22 and 23 and February 27, 1963; and at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 26 and 28, 1963. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.
Kissin' Cousins is the eighth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2894, in April 1964. It is the soundtrack to the 1964 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 26 and 27, and September 29 and 30, 1963. It peaked at number six on the Billboard Top LPs chart. The album was certified Gold on March 27, 1992 by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Spinout is the 14th soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3702, on October 31, 1966. It is the soundtrack to the 1966 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions for the film songs took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, on February 16 and 17, 1966. The album was augmented with three non-film songs recorded earlier in the year. It peaked at number 18 on the Top Pop Albums chart.
Clambake is the sixteenth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3893, in October 1967. It is the soundtrack to the 1967 film of the same name starring Presley. He entered RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee on February 21, 1967, for recording sessions for his twenty-fifth film. Supplemental material sessions took place on September 10 and 11, 1967. It peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200.