Elvis Presley Stereo '57 Essential Vol. 2

Elvis Presley Stereo '57: Essential Elvis Volume 2 on 200g 45RPM 2LP from Analogue Productions: Mastered at Sterling Sound, Pressed at QRP 

RCA's Essential Elvis series was a vehicle for the release of Presley's alternate takes. On this double-LP set, listeners hear Presley at work, refining band arrangements and working through the nuances of his vocal performance. It  reveals the Jordanaires' voices sparkling with a natural lifelike sound that's both sonically rich and detailed.

There are a number of first and second takes, during which Presley and his backing musicians make tentative passes at the material. As the record progresses, arrangements take shape and Presley, growing more confident that a keeper take is imminent, sings with more enthusiasm. Throughout, Presley is heard directing the proceedings and demonstrating a lot of "aw shucks" charm in the process, goofing with band members and laughing through his and others', flubs.

From the moment Elvis began working with a new song, sound engineer Thorne Norgar had the 15 ips mono tape machine rolling simultaneously with a 2-track protection copy. The machines weren't switched to pause until Elvis was satisfied with the take.

A couple of years before the advent of the stereo LP in mid-1958, major record companies were experimenting with stereophonic recordings, often refered to then as binaural. Studios were using the new Ampex 2-track tape recorders for other purposes, such as for recording session back-ups. But few Elvis fans know how close history came to permanently losing these precious audio glimpses of a young Elvis engrossed in the creative process.

Founded in 1933, Radio Recorders of Los Angeles was the preeminent recording studio of its day, and its director of recording, long-time engineer Thorne Nogar, engineered all of the Elvis sessions from 1955 to 1961. Some of popular music's greatest hits: "Jailhouse Rock," "All Shook Up," "Loving You," and "Teddy Bear," are just a few of the blockbusters that Nogar oversaw Elvis record at the studios, located at 7000 Santa Monica Blvd.

Elvis would be right in the center of everything, at every recording session, Nogar would later recall. "Like with the Jordanaires when he sang, we would set it up with a unidirectional mike, so he would be standing right in front of them, facing them, and they would have their own directional microphone and they would be singing to one another."

Yet one day years later when Thorne was "cleaning out" his tapes closet, remarkably, he set these 2-track backup tapes aside, intending to dispose of them. Noted producer Bones Howe had worked for Nogar as a tape operator at Radio Recorders, and thanks to him the tapes were saved from a final resting place in the trash can. Bones took the tapes home with him. He'd put them safely away in a bank vault.

These 2-tracks have "erase" clearly written on the master log sheets. They're from January 1957 sessions at which Presley produced material for two EPs and the film "Loving You" soundtrack. They're the only known ones surviving from the pre-stereo era.

Features: 
- 200g 45RPM 2LP set from Analogue Productions
- Mastered at Sterling Sound
- Pressed at Quality Record Pressings
- Gatefold Jacket