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This new ‘From Elvis at Sun’ “Mono II Stereo” cd release is from the Danish Memphis Mansion label with Henrik Knudsen and Anthony Stuchbury noted as producers. The compliation includes the five classic SUN SINGLES plus the other nine alternate cuts that RCA would purchase from Sam Phillips. The artwork is by Søren Karstensen. You obviously can’t remix Elvis' recording sessions properly unless you understand and comprehend your Elvis sessions but fortunately the ‘From Elvis at Sun’ audio-producer Anthony Stuchbury is not only a super-collector of original vinyl but also a man who really knows his Elvis recordings.
The Packaging The various RCA releases of Elvis' SUN sessions over the years is also discussed. And I do like the featured Elvis 1970 quote..
It would have been lovely had they been able to use the genuine but copyrighted SUN logo but instead the design nicely uses a similar colour scheme. The one thing the CD sleeve omits are the dates of the SUN recording sessions which I would have really liked included. Having given the CD a spin I wanted to know the various session dates, such as when the drums kick in on ‘I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone’. The photos include Elvis with Sam Phillips when visiting SUN studios on December 1956 (The Million Dollar Quartet session) while the back cover rather oddly uses a photo of Elvis holding his guitar from August 1956. Surely an image of Elvis early 1955 would have been more suitable.
The Music The mid-song break of Scotty Moore’s solo and Bill Black’s bass @01.05 now has a real studio ambience that you miss on the mono version. Elvis’ acoustic guitar is far more distinctive in this “stereo” version and his vocal lovely and clear. The final play-off “all right now Mama, any way you doo-hoo” also brings up Elvis’ slight vibrato more than I’ve noticed before. Even the final strum of the chords has you holding on hoping they won’t mess up, knowing what magic they were about to get on tape. This is a very exciting version and in Stereo nicely replicates the MONO version without taking any of the original power away. Maybe I seem overexcited by this, and perhaps it’s because I don’t previously own any “stereo” version of this life-changing song, but being able to look even deeper into this all-important recording is surely what any Elvis aficionado would want. ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ continues the exploration. Again Elvis’ rhythm guitar is nice emphasised, Bill Black drives the beat while Scotty Moore’s two solos (left channel) are delightful for only just making it. But it is Elvis’ sublime vocal, nicely showcased here, that made this the Master and the all-important B-Side. Noting that ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ was included on the 2020 ‘Elvis Reborn’ compilation but this stereo version blows that one away. DES programs have come a long way in the past 5 years and now the old ‘Elvis Reborn’ versions seem more like listening to the musicians in an echo-chamber rather than each instrument being separated and then re-built into a true stereo mix. Producer Anthony Stuchbury noted in our interview that he uses up to four separate DES programs to complete each track. ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight’ kicks off with Elvis’ “wellll, I heard the news...” standing dead centre in the studio before Scotty Moore starts playing left channel and Bill Black starts plucking right channel. When Elvis sings the middle-eight, “Well, we’re gonna’ rock, we’re gonna’ rock… let’s rock” @01:00 on headphones listen out for Scotty’s tight one-string plucking, Elvis’ acoustic keeping the melody while Bill Black’s hammers the beat. There are moments where Bill Black is working so damn hard that he misses a few notes and with Elvis strumming hard away, I got an emotional feeling of pushing them along - “Cmon’ Boys you can make it, there’s a classic in here if you just get to the end!” It’s a brilliant cut and in just over two minutes another life-changing record was down on tape. Without going through every track in detail these new stereo versions mean that you can explore deeper into every track of these all-important sessions. Elvis’ acoustic guitar has never been clearer to listen to, Scotty Moore’s guitar solos even more fascinating and you begin to further understand how Bill Black really drove the beat while also adding that clever percussive sound. There are also times where this CD now highlights a missed beat or a bum-note and so truly demonstrates how Sam Phillips (and Elvis too) always went for the overall feel and excitement of the take rather than looking for musical perfection. Other “stereo” highlights for me are.. ‘I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone’ when Jimmie Lott was brought in to add drums to the trio. These have never been so noticeable on the mono release and placed on the right channel you can hear the neat simplicity that added such a nice drive to the song. This leaves Bill Black to pluck a delightful bass-line rather than work so hard to add percussion. With Scotty and Elvis’ guitar on the left channel and Elvis’ vocal placed dead centre this sounds oh so sweet. ‘Mystery Train’- crank it up loud to hear Elvis working hard on his acoustic guitar. Once again it was back to Bill Black alone to provide the drive and percussion. Listening to Scotty Moore’s solo going from the chugging train rhythm to a cutting solo @01:30 is sublime and check how easily he slips back into the train rhythm at the end. The stereo separation helps emphasise the individual creativity and you can appreciate what makes Elvis whoop and giggle at the very end. Such a classic song and this is a stunning version. ‘I Love You Because’ (rejected by Sam Phillips) - here sounds like a true stereo recording with Elvis’ strumming his acoustic and Scotty running through the melody. While Bill Black’s bass is a simple walking-bass line, overall it does all sound rather messy and you can understand that this was not what Sam was searching for. However it is superb in stereo and remember that this was before that magic moment of ‘That’s All Right’ . ‘Tomorrow Night’ separates Scotty Moore’s guitar and leaving Elvis’ vocal clean centre so you can now notice Elvis’ intake of breath just before the start @00.04, as well as his heavy breath into the microphone. Like so much of these sessions it was always there on the mono master but never so noticeable. Again a song rejected by Sam Phillips but here all the more enjoyable for the simplicity of Scotty Moore’s guitar and the clarity of Elvis’ vocal plus his very gentle acoustic guitar strumming. Elvis’ “tell me darling will it last? tomorrow ni-i-ightttt” @02:33 is so cool. Four of my favourites happen to end the CD. ‘Just Because’ features lots of Bill Black percussion, this was another rocking track recorded at the ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight’ September 1954 session and in stereo you can hear far more of each individual. This showcases Scotty’s great guitar and how incredibly hard Bill Black had to work. Elvis’ vocal is brilliantly prominent driving the group along and has a notable new confidence. It is a real surprise that Sam Phillips left this one in the can. Check out when Elvis sings, “Well, I’m telling you, Baby I was through with you, a long, long, long time ago..” @01:25 and you can hear just how hard The Blue Moon Boys are working behind him - and then it cuts to Scotty’s guitar solos and they both have to work even harder! Bill Black’s fingers must have been bleeding by the end of it. Luckily it was the last track of the session. ‘My Baby’s Gone’ is again beautifully rendered in stereo with Scotty picking a slow guitar on the left, Elvis strumming a lazy acoustic guitar and with Bill Black noodling away on his bass. This slow version of ‘I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone’ sounds as if you’re sitting in that SUN studio waiting for something dramatic to eventuate. There’s nothing really happening here, just a few cools friends jamming the blues on the Stan Kesler supplied composition. Of course Sam Phillips’ suggestion of the addition of drummer Jimmie Lott and the boys ramping up the beat was all that was needed to then create the 4 th SUN single B-side. ‘Trying To Get To You’ was recorded at the same session as ‘Mystery Train’ so it’s a shame that Sam Phillips never put this out as the sixth SUN single. This was the debut of Elvis playing piano on a session and Phillips pulled it way down in the mix. You can hear the piano here but one wonders why Elvis didn’t chose to play guitar. The real key is the adding of some beautifully tight percussion from SUN drummer Johnny Bernero which is nicely separated on the right channel. Scotty Moore’s cutting guitar solo is one of his most distinctive and the stereo neatly showcases Elvis hungry vocal. A true stereo gem. ‘When It Rains It Really Pours’ was another unfinished studio jam and more of a rough rehearsal. Again the stereo places you in that little SUN studio with Johnny Bernero banging on the percussion as Scotty Moore picks out some wild guitar runs. Elvis’ lazy acoustic strums help drive the song while his vocal is loud and bluesy. He’s got “troubles, troubles, troubles..” but he seems a little unsure on this run-through. Again the stereo emphasises the vibrato of his desperate pleas. A great final track.
One thing bothered me on this compilation. It’s always good to keep a similar musician placement on recordings (ie on Elvis’ TCB concerts James Burton should be to Elvis’ right) so I am not sure why the musician placement changes here at times. On ‘I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine’ Bill Black swaps to the left channel and Scotty Moore right - yet this was the same session as ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight’ so it makes no sense. ‘Harbor Lights’, ‘I Love You Because’ and ‘I’ll Never Let You Go’ are similarly this opposite mix and I can’t work out why. Note 1: ‘From Elvis At SUN” uses the RCA “echo” versions of the original SUN recordings which I do agree with. The SUN “dry” mixes are fascinating but sound so much less Rock’n’Roll looking back from 2023 and after all the RCA mixes – especially ‘That’s All Right’ - are what we all know. Note 2: I have played this CD on LOUD SPEAKERS (sorry neighbours) and quality headphones as well as blasting it on the car stereo. They have all sounded fine and more intriguingly I have picked up different minor observations listening via each system. Note 3: As revealed in the EIN interview, Beatles producer George Martin’s son is using ‘DES’ to remaster poorly mixed stereo old Beatles recordings back to a contemporary high-quality Stereo mix. This proves that ‘DES’ is more than a gimmick. There are plenty of early Elvis recordings that could also benefit in this way.
Overall Verdict: One could say that “aural beauty is in the ear of the beholder” and for me this compilation of Elvis Presley SUN tracks is an absolute joy to listen to. Properly assembled 'DES' mixes can truly add something special to old recordings. Having all the SUN tracks together in this new “stereo” creates a fascinating journey of re-discovery of Elvis’ original sessions and how The Blue Moon Boys managed to achieve what they did.
Review by Piers Beagley. Click here to comment on this review
See EIN review of 'Young Man With The Big Beat'. See EIN review of 'Elvis Is Back!' Legacy Edition review: See EIN review of 'On Stage' 40th Anniversary LEGACY in-depth review: See EIN review of From Elvis In Memphis (40th Anniversary Legacy Edition) EIN Website content © Copyright the Elvis Information Network.
Elvis Presley, Elvis and Graceland are trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises. The Elvis Information Network has been running since 1986 and is an EPE officially recognised Elvis fan club.
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