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Elvis Presley 1980 | 'Guitar Man' Sessions | Nashville 1980

Guitar Man LPIn 1980 Elvis' long-time producer and friend, Felton Jarvis went back into the studio with a bunch of Elvis vocal tracks to produce a 'new' Elvis album. No one else would have had better insight into what kind of music Elvis might have recorded had he been alive in 1980.

The end result was the 'Guitar Man' album released early in 1981 (which is included in this collection, songs 3 through 12).

The album was a moderate success reaching number 49 on the album chart and number 6 on the country album chart in the US. (In Australia the album made #39) The single 'Guitar Man' did better, reaching 28 on the Pop Chart, 16 on the Adult Contemporary Chart, and number 1 on the Country Chart in the US (this turned out to be Elvis' last appearance in the US Top 40 and his last US number 1 single until 2002 when the 'A Little Less Conversation' remix topped the US singles sales chart). The album and the song were also modest hits in the UK. 'Loving Arms' was released as the second single from the album and was a Top Ten Country hit. Unfortunately Jarvis died just before the album was released and did not see the fruits of his labor.

RCA asked Waylon Jennings to sing along on his finished track. I couldn't handle that. 'Call Elvis', I told them. 'If it's okay with Elvis, it's okay with me'. The Too Much Monkey Business collection released by Follow That Dream Records, includes 10 other Jarvis remixes that were not included on the 'Guitar Man' album. It is possible that Jarvis had planned to use them on a second album of remixes. While the remixes are pretty good and most have more punch to them, in general I prefer the originals. It takes a few listens to get used to the differences. Some of the songs sound like they just wanted to make them sound different and not necessarily better. One of the exceptions is 'Guitar Man'; the remix sounds much better than the original too me. It features the song's composer, Jerry Reed on guitar. He played guitar on the original too, only this time he plays an electric guitar instead of acoustic and it sounds great. 'Burning Love' rocks (but so did the original) and I also really like 'I'll Hold You In My Heart', 'Too Much Monkey Business' and 'Clean Up Your Own Backyard'.

Guitar Man CD DiscThe package does not include any liner notes, which is disappointing. It would have been interesting to see who was playing what or get additional background on the project since some of the vocals sound like they may be from alternate takes. The 'Blue Suede Shoes' vocal is from a live recording. For completeness sake, I wish they had included the 1985 remix of 'Always On My Mind', which was released as a single after Willie Nelson's version of the song hit the charts, and has been out of print since then. Released by Follow That Dream Records. Features 20 historic recordings from The Young'un Sessions with Felton Jarvis and Chip Young. Many unreleased tracks.

Track Listing:

1. Burning Love* 2:57 (Dennis Linde)
2. I'll Be There* 3:04 (Bobby Darin)
3. Guitar Man 2:50 (Jerry Reed)
4. After Loving You 3:20 (Miller/Lantz)
5. Too Much Monkey Business 2:50 (Chuck Berry)
6. Just Call Me Lonesome 2:04 (Rex Griffin)
7. Lovin' Arms 2:53 (Tom Jans)
8. You Asked Me To 2:58 (Waylon Jennings/Billy Joe Shaver)
9. Clean Up Your Own Backyard 3:08 (Billy Strange/Mac Davis)
10. She Thinks I Still Care 3:36 (Dickey Lee)
11. Faded Love 2:52 (B.Wills/J.Wills)
12. I'm Movin' On 2:47 (Hank Snow)
13. I'll Hold You In My Heart* 3:39 (Dilback/Horton/Arnold)
14. In The Ghetto* 2:48 (Mac Davis)
15. Long Black Limousine* 3:45 (Stovall/George)
16. Only The Strong Survive* 3:12 (Gamble/Huff/Butler)
17. Hey Jude* 4:06 (Lennon/ McCartney)
18. Kentucky Rain* 3:19 (Eddie Rabbitt)
19. If You Talk In Your Sleep* 2:32 (West/Christopher)
20. Blue Suede Shoes* 3:07 (Carl Perkins)

Too Much Monkey Business CDElvis Presley Re-Recording Session Details - Nashville 1980

Nashville 'Young 'Un Sound' studio overdub sessions organised by Elvis' associate producer Felton Jarvis in early 1980. Released on CD by FTD as 'Too Much Monkey Business' in 2000 as a 'special extra' release.

January 15 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

Guitar Man (Re-Recording) KWA5 8235

January 24 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

Blue Suede Shoes (Re-Recording) KWA5 8242
In The Ghetto (Re-Recording) KWA5 8243
And I Love You So (Re-Recording) KWA5 8244
Only The Strong Survive (Re-Recording) KWA5 8240

January 25 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

For Loving Me (Re-Recording) KWA5 8250
Funny How Time Slips Away (Re-Recording) KWA5 8251
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain (Re-Recording) KWA5 8252
Bitter They Are Harder They Fall (Re-Recording) KWA5 8253
I'm Movin' On (Re-Recording) KWA5 8246
Lovin' Arms (Re-Recording) KWA5 8247
Shake A Hand (Re-Recording) KWA5 8248
You Asked Me To (Re-Recording) KWA5 8249

January 28 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

Too Much Monkey Business (Re-Recording) KWA5 8236
For Ol' Times Sake (Re-Recording) KWA5 8238
Susan When She Tried (Re-Recording) KWA5 8245
Help Me (Re-Recording) KWA5 8239
Hey Jude (Re-Recording) KWA5 8237

February 1 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

Only The Strong Survive (Re-Recording) KWA5 8240
She Thinks I Still Care (Re-Recording) KWA5 8259
Guitar Man (Overdub) KWA5 8235
In The Ghetto (Overdub) KWA5 8243
Blue Suede Shoes (Overdub) KWA5 8242

February 5 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

Blue Suede Shoes (Overdub) KWA5 8242

February 14 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

Blue Suede Shoes (Overdub) KWA5 8242
For Ol' Times Sake (Overdub) KWA5 8238

October 14 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

Just Call Me Lonesome (Re-Recording) KWA5 8553
I'll Hold You In My Heart (Re-Recording) KWA5 8554
Help Me (Re-Recording) KWA5 8555
Too Much Monkey Business (Re-Recording) KWA5 8556
I'm Movin' On (Re-Recording) KWA5 8557
You Asked Me To (Re-Recording) KWA5 8558

October 15 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

I'll Be There (Re-Recording) KWA5 8559
The Fool (Re-Recording) KWA5 8560
Susan When She Tried (Re-Recording) KWA5 8561
Faded Love (Re-Recording) KWA5 8562
Burning Love (Re-Recording) KWA5 8563
She Thinks I Still Care (Re-Recording) KWA5 8564

October 16 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

If You Talk In Your Sleep (Re-Recording) KWA5 8565
Guitar Man (Re-Recording) KWA5 8566
Kentucky Rain (Re-Recording) KWA5 8567

October 17 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

After Loving You (Re-Recording) KWA5 8571
Clean Up Your Own Backyard (Re-Recording) KWA5 8572
Long Black Limousine (Re-Recording) KWA5 8573

October 20 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

Faded Love (Overdub) KWA5 8562
Clean Up Your Own Backyard (Overdub) KWA5 8572
You Asked Me To (Overdub) KWA5 8558
I'm Movin' On (Overdub) KWA5 8557
If You Talk In Your Sleep (Overdub) KWA5 8565
I'll Be There (Overdub) KWA5 8559
Just Call Me Lonesome (Overdub) KWA5 8553

November 10 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

Guitar Man (Overdub) KWA5 8566
Long Black Limousine (Overdub) KWA5 8573
After Loving You (Overdub) KWA5 8571
She Thinks I Still Care (Overdub) KWA5 8564

November 11 1980 Young'un Sound - Nashville, Tennessee

I'll Hold You In My Heart (Overdub) KWA5 8554
The Fool (Overdub) KWA5 8560
Shake A Hand (Re-Recording) KWA5 8590
Lovin' Arms (Re-Recording) KWA5 8591
I'll Be There (Overdub) KWA5 8559

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CD Too Much Monkey Business

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