Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Harbor Lights (Alt. Take 3)
2. I Got A Woman (Alt. Take)
3. Shake, Rattle And Roll (Alt. Take 2)
4. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You (Alt. Take 13)
5. Heartbreak Hotel (Live '56)
6. Long Tall Sally (Live '56)
7. I Was The One (Live '56)
8. Money Honey (Live '56)
9. I Got A Woman (Live '56)
10. Blue Suede Shoes (Live '56)
11. Hound Dog (Live '56)
12. Rip It Up (Alt. Take 14)
13. Don't Forbid Me/You Belong To My Heart
14. I Beg Of You (Alt. Take 5)
15. There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me) (Alt. Take 1)
16. Is It So Strange (Alt. Take 10)
17. Got A Lot O' Livin' To Do (Movie Master Take 17)
18. Loving You (Farm Version) (Alt. Take 6)
19. Treat Me Nice (Alt. Take 6)
20. Young And Beautiful (Alt. Takes 4&5)
21. I Want To Be Free (Alt. Takes 3&4)
22. Steadfast, Loyal And True (Undubbed Master)
23. Doncha' Think It's Time (Alt. Take 48)
24. I Need Your Love Tonight (Alt. Take 4)
25. I Got Stung (Alt. Take 16)
26. The Fool (Alt. Take 1)

Disc 2:

1. Make Me Know It (Alt. Takes 17&18)
2. Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Alt. Takes 1&2)
3. G.I. Blues (Alt. Take 5)
4. Pocketful Of Rainbows (Alt. Take 3)
5. Flaming Star ("Main" And "End" Title Versions) (Alt. Takes 4&1)
6. Swing Down Sweet Chariot (Alt. Takes 2&3)
7. Lonely Man (Solo) (Alt. Take 1)
8. There's Always Me (Alt. Take 2)
9. Can't Help Falling In Love (Alt. Take 26)
10. I'm Yours (Alt. Take 5)
11. Follow That Dream (Alt. Take 3)
12. Anything That's Part Of You (Alt. Take 8)
13. King Of The Whole Wide World (Alt. Take 3)
14. Gonna Get Back Home Somehow (Alt. Take 2)
15. A Boy Like Me, A Girl Like You (Alt. Take 4)
16. They Remind Me Too Much Of You (Alt. Take 4)
17. Mexico (Alt. Take 2)
18. Witchcraft (Alt. Take 3)
19. Today, Tomorrow And Forever. Duet (Version Take 2)
20. Ask Me (Alt. Take 2)
21. Roustabout (Alt. Take 8)
22. Puppet On A String (Alt. Take 10)
23. My Desert Serenade (Alt. Take 7)
24. Please Don't Stop Loving Me (Alt. Take 10)
25. This Is My Heaven (Alt. Take 7)
26. Never Say Yes (Alt. Takes 1&2)

Disc 3:

1. Love Letters (Alt. Take 2)
2. If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side (Alt. Take 4)
3. Come What May (Alt. Take 3&4)
4. Indescribably Blue (Alt. Take 1)
5. Long Legged Girl (Alt. Master)
6. The Love Machine (Alt. Take 3)
7. You Don't Know Me (Movie Version Take 3)
8. Big Boss Man (Alt. Take 9)
9. We Call On Him (Alt. Take 8)
10. Stay Away (Alt. Take 14
11. U.S. Male (Alt. Take 7)
12. Wonderful World (Alt. Take 15)
13. Guitar Man (Opening Version) (Alt. Take 1)
14. Where Could I Go But To The Lord (Alt Take 4)
15. Memories (Stereo Master)
16. Almost (Alt. Take 6)
17. In The Ghetto (Alt. Take 20)
18. True Love Travels On A Gravel Road (Alt. Take)
19. Let Us Pray (Alt. Master)
20. Baby What You Want Me To Do (Live '69)
21. Funny How Time Slips Away (Live '69)
22. Runaway (Live '69)
23. My Babe (Live '69)
24. What'd I Say (Live '69)

Disc 4:

1. See See Rider (Live '70)
2. Polk Salad Annie (Live '70)
3. Walk A Mile In My Shoes (Live '70)
4. The Next Step Is Love (Alt. Take 6)
5. Life (Alt. Take 2)
6. Snowbird (Alt. Take 2)
7. (That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me (Alt. Takes 9&10)
8. Until It's Time For You To Go (Alt. Take 5)
9. Fools Rush In (Alt. Take 9)
10. A Thing Called Love (Rehearsal)
11. I'll Be Home On Christmas Day (Alt. Take 9)
12. Where Do I Go From Here (Alt. Take 5)
13. No More (Alt. Take 1)
14. Take Good Care Of Her (Alt. Take 3)
15. I Miss You (Alt. Take 1)
16. I Got A Feeling In My Body (Alt. Take 4)
17. If You Talk In Your Sleep (Alt. Take 5)
18. Promised Land (Alt. Take 2)
19. Your Love's Been A Long Time Coming (Alt. Take 10)
20. Pieces Of Life (Alt. Take 1)
21. For The Heart (Alt. Take 4
22. She Thinks I Still Care (Alt. Take 10)
23. Hurt (Alt. Take 5)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45671 in Music
• Released on: 2002-07-22
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .91 pounds

CD Description
The posthumous scouring of the vaults since Elvis Presley'sdeath has produced results varying from the sublime to the execrable. This four-disc boxed set is one of the former. Containing outtakes from every stage of Presley's career both studio-recorded and live, TODAY, TOMORROW & FOREVER is an indispensable background document to the story of a seminal 20th century figure. It's fascinating to hear him in the '50s singing the kind of schlocky ballads he was soon to be instrumental in demolishing and that he would turn to again in the Las Vegas-oriented '70s. There's studio chat (notably between Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis), jamming, and lots of false starts, all of which serve to put a human face on this rock &roll legend.
A beautiful version of "Love Letters" ushers in a stirring "If the Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side". It's arguably '60s tunes like these that form the most interesting segment of this compilation; the sound is better, and Elvis's performances are obviously more confident. What seldomvaries here is the singer's commitment to his music, made all the more poignant when one considers his ultimate descentinto self-parody at the end of his career.

Customer Reviews

A Fitting Tribute
This BMG's official collection for the 25th anniversary of Elvis' death, and whilst I have seen mixed reviews in both music magazines and on the Internet, in my opinion it's a good set. This compilation spans Elvis recording career from 1954 - 1976 and the majority of it consists of previously unreleased material. There are a couple of acetates and home recordings included, but for the most part the sound quality is excellent.

The 1956 Little Rock recordings have been issued before on both bootleg and budget releases, but I think the sound quality on the new set is slightly better, and would guess that BMG have used a different source tape. The 50's out takes are for the most part good in terms of both performance and sound quality. Some of these are quite close to the masters, but this is probably an indication of the young Elvis striving for perfection in the studio, and they are no less interesting to listen to because of this.

The farm version of "Loving You" features a different arrangement to the master take, and I particularly like the alternate version of "Is It So Strange". Take 2 of "Shake Rattle And Roll" would probably have been my own personal favourite on this disc, had I not already heard a similar arrangement on take 8, (from the '50's box) but I still love that extra verse and piano solo. Disc two is split between Nashville out takes and songs from the soundtrack sessions, and whilst the quality of these songs is a little more varied than the material Elvis cut in the '50's, there are certainly some gems amongst them.

"Are You Lonesome Tonight" is a great performance, particularly when you consider this version consists of takes 1 & 2, and the likes of "Follow That Dream", "King Of The Whole Wide World", and "They Remind Me Too Much Of You" are a timely reminder that some of the songs recorded for Elvis' 1960's movies were equally as good as the material he was cutting in Nashville.

The duet with Ann Margaret is an obvious highlight, as is the under rated "Ask Me" from 1964. This track was cut at the last non soundtrack session until May, 1966, but the home recording of "Hide Though Me" featured at the end of this disc does give the listener an insight into Elvis' intentions for his next studio album.

On to disc three and we hear Elvis during a transitional period. His movie career is coming to an end and the first seeds of his comeback are being sown. Many would cite the Burbank recordings as the turning point in Elvis' career, but I think Elvis' 1967 versions of "Big Boss Man" and "We Call On Him", which are both represented by good alternate versions on this set, prove that he had already renewed his interest in recording quality material again, some months before work actually started on the Special. "US Male" from early 1968 is further proof of Elvis' artistic intentions, and at the risk of contradicting myself, if you listen to 1966's "Indescribably Blue" you will find yourself wondering whether Elvis ever actually went away.

The special is also represented by a couple of out takes and the stereo master of "Memories", and after a couple of out takes from the legendary Memphis sessions, and a couple from Elvis' final movies this disc ends with five excellent performances from Elvis' opening Las Vegas season in 1969. I particularly like Elvis' introduction before his performance of Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" which he describes as "the world's oldest blues man".

Disc four starts with three excellent performances from Elvis' February 1970 Las Vegas season, and these are so close to the masters that I couldn't really say which versions are better. "Walk A Mile in My Shoes" is my own personal favourite. We then get three out takes from the productive June 1970 Nashville sessions, and this theme continues with further out takes from the same studios recorded in 1971. I particularly liked the folk tinged "For Lovin' Me" and the studio rehearsal of "A Thing Called Love". Both Elvis' 1972 Hollywood session and the Aloha broadcast are represented, and then we are given a number of out takes from the July & December Stax sessions.

Whilst in some cases the vocals on these out takes are not quite as polished as the released master takes, hearing Elvis' and the band as they were in the studio without the overdubs makes them worthy inclusions on the set. James Burton is excellent on "Promised Land", and Elvis' vocal on "You're Loves Been A Long Time Coming" is awesome. A strong "Pieces Of My Life" follows, and the disc closes with three tracks from the 1976 Graceland sessions. My own personal favourite being "For The Heart".

In summing up a fitting tribute to Elvis on the 25th anniversary of his death. Personally, I would have saved the acetates and home recordings for the collectors FTD label in order to present the songs in the best possible sound, but this is only a minor point, and it only applies to a handful of tracks. As the set includes live performances from both 1969 and 1970, I think it would have been nice to end the set with one of the better live performances from 1977, to show that Elvis was still capable of great performances right up until the end, but again this is only a minor point.

Just another Elvis release???
Yes, but this is tremendous. Starts at the very beginning of his career and brings you through to the very end. There are so many gems in this you must sit down and savour this at your leisure.

Track Today, Tomorrow and Forever shows just how short sighted the Colonel and RCA were - this should have been one of his biggest hits (the sigh at the end says it all - he's loving it).

This CD collection shows how Elvis grew as a singer, just getting better and better from Harbour Lights, King of the Whole Wide World through to A Thing Called Love. You can listen again and again and hear something new.

A lot of people don't like these releases containing outtakes but I love them. They can show the true man, a man with a sense of humour, a man when recording the soundtrack pap just gets on with the job.

This is cracking. Invest in it today, but if you are a true Elvis fan you'll already own it.

Rare and unusual Elvis
4 Cds containing almost 100 tracks. These are mainly unreleased takes of well known tracks from throughout the career of Elvis. There are some live performances that have not been released before and soundtrack versions form some of the films. The accompanying booklet gives dates and details of all tracks. Some of the versions are somewhat less polished performances than were finally released, but many are at least as good as the previous released versions. The recordings cover his whole carfeer from the 50's up to 1977, and the earliest tracks are in mono.