Sunday, October 14, 2018

October 14 - Avventura In Oriente

The Victrola import-label announced the release of "Avventura In Oriente", the "ultimate release" of Elvis’ ''Harum Scarum" movie soundtrack material.

From the press-release:
What makes this new release so special? Most of it has been released before, but never before in such pristine quality! The outtakes come from a direct copy of a DAT cassette that was made on November 1989 in New York City. 

It was a surprise to discover masters that we had not heard in the way before. On this DAT copy there were also other outtakes from other studio sessions. Most of these outtakes have been released before but never before have they been heard in stereo. The special feature of the Harum Scarum sessions is that the songs were recorded with two drummers that can also be heard simultaneously, this is clearly audible in the sessions.

The mono masters come from the first English pressing of the UK LP Harem Holiday. What you hear is the authentic sound that was on the LP. As this release deals with the year 1965, some other songs are included on this release as a bonus features; 
- Crying In the Chapel: was issued on April 6, 1965, in RCA's 'Gold Standard Series'. It became Elvis' first million seller (!) since 'Return To Sender' in 1962 and his greatest chart success over a six-year span.
- (Such An) Easy Question: was released as a single on June 8, 1965. It was the follow-up release to 'Crying In The Chapel' and peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single reached the top of the Billboard Easy Listening Chart, spending two weeks at number one in July 1965. The song was also included on the soundtrack for the movie 'Tickle Me', released on June 3, 1965. 

Tracks Disc 1: 
01. Go East, Young Man (Master)
02. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (Master)
03. Shake That Tambourine (Master)
04. Mirage (Master)
05. Kismet (Master)
06. Hey, Little Girl (Master)
07. Golden Coins (Master)
08. My Desert Serenade (Master)
09. Harem Holiday (Master)
10. Animal Instinct (Master)
11. Wisdom Of The Ages (Master)
12. Shake That Tambourine (Takes 7, 8, 10)
13. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (Take 1)
14. My Desert Serenade (Takes 1-3)
15. Wisdom Of The Ages (Takes 1, 2)
16. Kismet (Takes 1, 2)
17. Hey, Little Girl (Takes 1, 2)
18. Animal Instinct (Take 1)
19. Golden Coins (Takes 1-4)
20. Harem Holiday (Takes 1, 2)

Tracks Disc 2:
01. Animal Instinct (Takes 3, 4)
02. Shake That Tambourine (Takes 14, 16)
03. Wisdom Of The Ages (Take 3)
04. My Desert Serenade (Take 7)
05. Kismet (Takes 3-5)
06. Golden Coins (Takes 7, 8)
07. Hey, Little Girl (Take 3)
08. Shake That Tambourine (Takes 18-21)
09. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (Take 3)
10. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (Take 4)
11. My Desert Serenade (Take 8)
12. My Desert Serenade (Take 10)
13. Wisdom Of The Ages (Take 4)
14. Harem Holiday (Movie Version)
15. My Desert Serenade (Movie Version)
16. Go East, Young Man (Movie Version)
17. Mirage (Movie Version)
18. Kismet (Movie Version)
19. Shake That Tambourine (Movie Version)
20. Hey, Little Girl (Movie Version)
21. Golden Coins (Movie Version)
22. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (Movie Version)

Tracks Disc 3:
01. Harem Holiday (Mono Master)
02. My Desert Serenade (Mono Master)
03. Go East, Young Man (Mono Master)
04. Mirage (Mono Master)
05. Kismet (Mono Master)
06. Shake That Tambourine (Mono Master)
07. Hey, Little Girl (Mono Master)
08. Golden Coins (Mono Master)
09. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (Mono Master)
10. Animal Instinct (Mono Master)
11. Wisdom Of The Ages (Mono Master)
12. A Slave To Your Kiss (Unused Demo)
13. Wisdom Of The Ages (An Alternate Song - Unused Demo)
14. Harum Scarum Movie Trailer
15. Crying In The Chapel (Takes 1-3)
16. I Believe In The Man In The Sky (Take 1)
17. I Believe In The Man In The Sky (Takes 2-4)
18. Such An Easy Question (Movie Version)
19. I Feel That I've Known You Forever (Movie Version)
20. Do The Clam (Movie Version)
21. Do The Clam (Instrumental Track - Take 5, Acetate)
22. Interview With Herman's Hermits (August 18, 1965, Honolulu, Hawaii) 

Important note: label Victrola is planning double CD called "Elvis April 10, 1972 Richmond"(Victrola 2018-03-2). This is follow up to their summer  success with "Elvis April 14, 1972 Greensboro" double CD.

You can expect same great quality! The recording that we obtained was again mixed down from the original 8- and 16-track masters fairly recently and stored back in the vaults. We know you will be thrilled when you hear this recording, which has the signature of the best Elvis live mixes released officially thus far. The wide, dynamic stereo sound is just friggin' unbelievable and puts you right in that Richmond audience.

The "Elvis April 10, 1972 Richmond" release will be presented in a deluxe double digi-pack, accompanied with a 16-page booklet. More details and track listing will be published by the label soon.

(Source: FECC)