Previously released in this series:

    

    

    

Tracklist information is not yet available for the new Legacy Edition of Today, but Elvis collectors should also make note of the limited version of this album which was released as a 2CD set ten years ago on Sony Europe's official "Follow That Dream" imprint:

Description
Digitally remastered deluxe edition from the Follow That Dream organization. Includes a plethora of bonus tracks and rarities plus many previously unreleased alternate takes for the ardent fan. Housed in a 7" X 7" cover with full colour booklet.

Tracklist
CD1:
1. T-R-O-U-B-L-E
2. And I Love You So
3. Susan When She Tried
4. Woman Without Love
5. Shake A Hand
6. Pieces Of My Life
7. Fairytale
8. I Can Help
9. Bringin’ It Back
10. Green, Green Grass Of Home
11. Tiger Man
12. And I Love You So (Take 2)
13. Pieces Of My Life (Take 1)
14. Fairytale (Takes 1, 2)
15. Bringin’ It Back (Take 1)
16. Green, Green Grass Of Home (Take 1)
17. Shake A Hand (Take 1)
18. Susan When She Tried (Take 3)
19. Pieces Of My Life (Takes 2, 3)
20. And I Love You So (Take 3)

CD2:
1. Fairytale
2. Green, Green Grass Of Home
3. I Can Help
4. And I Love You So
5. Susan When She Tried
6. T-R-O-U-B-L-E
7. Woman Without Love
8. Shake A Hand
9. Bringin’ It Back
10. Pieces Of My Life
11. Green, Green Grass Of Home (Takes 2, 3)
12. Susan When She Tried (Takes 1, 2)
13. And I Love You So (Take 1)
14. Bringin’ It Back (Takes 2,3)
15. T-R-O-U-B-L-E (Take 1)
16. Shake A Hand (Take 2)

Amazon USA
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009SOFTA/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0009SOFTA/?tag=imwan-21

Linda, the tracklist is available here: http://elvis-memories.de/memories/?p=64962

Thank you, Jason. Now added to the first post.

The FTD version of "Today" contained the "original session mixes" of all of the album songs. It's late, but IIRC, the original bass player on the basic tracks (recorded live in the studio) was new, and his playing was substandard; besides being overdubbed, all the bass was replaced, and the FTD title preserves the original mixes with the original bass.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that in this instance, calling the bonus tracks "undubbed versions" is technically correct, but kind of a mischaracterization (if the Legacy bonus tracks are indeed the same tracks included on the FTD title.)

I wonder why they have moved away from the "two albums" format they used for the early releases in this series? I'm not digging the second disc being a live concert as much as I did having a second studio album included.

In this instance, there really isn't a second album to pair with it. This album was recorded in March 1975, over a year after his previous studio sessions (covered in "Elvis At Stax", and yielding the original albums "Good Times" and "Promised Land") and nearly a year before the bulk of his final sessions occurred at his home at Gracelent, for the albums ("Moody Blue" and "From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis Tennessee", which have been released as a single title before and seem likely to be released that way again.)

There are (I think) five other Presley albums from the 1970's taken from studio sessions which I don't think have yet been covered: "Now!", "He Touched Me" and "The Wonderful World Of Christmas" all (mostly) came from tracks recorded in the summer of 1971; "Fool" combined live cuts and studio tracks from 1972, and "Raised On Rock" from summer 1973 sessions.

According to some accounts, the live 1975 material was originally released on the 8-LP "Elvis Aron Presley" boxed set released in 1980 (the "Silver" box) which was rereleased on four CDs back in the 1990's, but which has has now been out of print for well over a decade. As this material has never been released outside of that box, the inclusion with this set is welcome news for completists.

That said...I'm usually pretty charitable where Elvis is concerned, but that 1975 EAP live stuff is terrible. While he did have the audience (mostly mid-orgasmic women, from the sound of it) eating out of his hand, Elvis sounds mostly sluggish and fried, particularly during his between-song spoken banter. I seem to recall that this is also one of those shows with one of those interminable interludes in which Elvis is kissing random woman in the audience as his backing band plays "Love Me Tender" over and over again. Not a go-to Presley CD for me.

The bass player on the original recording (Duke Bardwell) was not really that new, he'd been in Elvis' touring band for several months at the time the album was recorded. And based on what's heard on the FTD, his playing wasn't substandard, at least not in the sense of being incompetent or containing errors. But for some reason Elvis decided he didn't like it, and demanded that all the bass work be re-recorded (which was done by Mike Leech and Norbert Putnam). One track on the original album still has Bardwell's work though (T-R-O-U-B-L-E) because it had already been released as a single before the final album mix was done. Some suspect there was an element of personal dislike from Elvis toward Bardwell and that influenced his decision, as Bardwell was a frequent target of onstage criticism by Elvis during his time in the band.

As far as I know, it's still unclear if these bonus tracks are the same as what appeared on the FTD. It's possible that these tracks could have the replaced bass but none of the other subsequent overdubs of backing vocals and string section.

I'm wondering why the Legacy series has focused so much on the 70s, which is to most fans not the pinnacle of Elvis' work. There's arguably several superior albums from the 50s and 60s more deserving of Legacy status. I wonder if this is based on sales, ie if the 70s-era releases have sold notably better than the Elvis Presley and Elvis is Back Legacy Editions?

I have to admit, I was writing that at bedtime, and didn't feel like getting up to look up the name of the bass player. I would agree--nothing about the bass playing on the original session mixes sounds overly terrible to me.

I kind of hope that this title includes the original session mixes, and not the undubbed masters (meaning the remixed session tapes without overdubs) for no better reason than...then I'd have to buy this title at some point.