Love Letters From Elvis RCA LSP 4530 Orange Label

Side 1. Love Letters When I'm Over You If I Were You Got My Mojo Working Heart Of Rome

Side 2. Only Believe This Is Our Dance Cindy, Cindy I'll Never Know It Ain't No Big Thing (But it's Growing) Life

Recording June 4th – June 8th 1970

Location: RCA Studio B, Nashville, TN

Musicians:

Elvis Presley (acoustic guitar) / James Burton (guitar) / Chip Young (guitar) / Norbert Putnam (bass) / Jerry Carrigan (drums) / David Briggs (piano) / Charlie McCoy (organ, harmonica) / Charlie Hodge (vocals)

(Guitar, percussion, vibes, orchestra and backing vocals were overdubbed at a later date)

Release Date:

US: June 1971

UK July 1971

Chart Position:

US: 33

UK: 7

Love Letters was the last Elvis LP to feature The Jordanaires, they had been backing Elvis since 1956.

Elvis entered RCA’s Studio B in Nashville for his first recording session in over a year.

The TV Special had aired in the December of 1968 and gave him new found credibility and his popularity was enhanced by the fruits of the “Memphis Sessions” at the start of 1969, from those recordings came chart topping tracks, such as “Suspicious Minds” and “In The Ghetto”, from these sessions also came the critically hailed album “From Elvis In Memphis”. He also had sell-out shows at the International Hotel in Las Vegas and six massive sell-out shows at the Houston Astrodome.

Elvis and the band put down an incredible amount of tracks over a period of five nights, covering a good many genres, pop, country, rock, gospel and R&B, over 30 songs in total.

This would be a new studio band playing under the guidance of Felton Jarvis, who had left his job at RCA to work full time for Elvis. James Burton had played lead guitar on stage for Elvis for almost a year before, Chip Young, Charlie McCoy and David Briggs had also played for him previously in the studio, however for Norbert Putnam, and Jerry Carrigan this was their first time working for Elvis Presley.

This would be the first time Elvis had worked in the studio in Nashville since his last one back in January 1968.

Among the songs recorded during these June sessions were such tracks as “I’ve Lost You”, “The Fool”, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “Mary In The Morning” and “I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water”, however none of these would make onto the Love Letters LP, they were put out as singles and on the album Elvis: That’s The Way It Is (November 1970) and Elvis Country (January 1971)

Love Letters was the last track to be laid down on the fourth night of these sessions, this would be four years after Elvis’ first attempt at cutting the song during the recording session for the album How Great Thou Art in 1966. At these sessions in 1966 there was a young David Briggs, with the usual pianist Floyd Cramer expected to be there, Briggs hoped to do some organ work for the session, but found himself at the piano with Elvis standing next to him, this would be his introduction to working with Elvis.

Four years later, Briggs confessed that he’d never been happy with his part on that version, to be honest the second version isn’t much better, Elvis sounds bored and maybe thought that he couldn’t do a better version of the song.

When I’m Over You, written by Shirl Milete, this was taped earlier that same night, it’s not one of the best songs written for Elvis but he does a great job on the track, i suppose if it wasn’t written by one of his publishing companies he probably would never had recorded it.

Next up on the album is If I Were You, this was recorded near the end of the sessions, with its unusual lyrics (“If I were you, I know that i’d love me) and simple arrangement, i would say the song is just run of the mill, but Elvis’ vocal is reserved and a fine example of just how natural a singer he was.

One of the highlights of the album must be the jam Got My Mojo Working/Keep Your Hands Of It a melody of two old favourites that began before anyone had time to start the tape, Elvis can be heard on these sessions as saying about the track “We grew up on the mediocre shit, man... it’s the type of material that’s not good or bad – it’s just mediocre shit, you know”.

Mediocre or not, Elvis is obviously caught up in the moment, repeating the same lines over and over great enthusiasm and intent even though i don't think he didn’t know the tape was running.

If you look at some of his early 1960’s songs, Elvis developed a completely new approach It’s Now Or Never is an example, and Heart Of Rome is another of those Italian-flavoured, semi operatic songs that Elvis drew some of his most dramatic singing. Composed by British trio of Stephens, Blaikley and Howard, they were shocked to find out that Elvis had recorded it, such is the strength of Elvis’ performance, it is easy to miss that the material is below par, later that summer he would try out Heart Of Rome during rehearsals for his upcoming Las Vegas engagement, but decided against putting it in the show.

The sessions seemed to be running out of steam on the last night, but they recorded a track by Paul Rader’s, Only Believe, normally this would bring out the best in Elvis as gospel was his first love in music, although he does a good job on the track it still seems Elvis couldn’t get in to the song, maybe the fact that it was late on the last night of recording, or maybe yet again it’s because it’s a mediocre song.

Another song that Elvis does a good job on is Our Dance, he does the best he can with the song but for some reason i have always thought it is a song for another artist.

The next track on the LP is Cindy, Cindy, this is an improvement on the previous two tracks, this song was in the public domain to which Ben Weisman had added some lyrics of his own and now included a guitar solo and some excellent harmonica playing from Charlie McCoy.

It would take seven takes to get the master of I’ll Never Know, a nice ballad that was recorded towards the end of the second night.

After warming up with another jam, a mid-tempo country song It Ain’t No Big Thing (But It’s Growing), this is an early cut from the third night, it seems Elvis caught everyone by surprise when he started to play the introduction himself on acoustic guitar, Felton Jarvis got the band to fall in behind Elvis, but he was distracted, but with a little persuasion, Jarvis got Elvis back on course, but Elvis would veer of once more to the amusement of the other musician, they eventually returned to the track and take nine (only the second complete take) became the master.

The LP concluded with Life, another Paul Milete. Of all the tracks recorded on these June sessions, these seem to be the most problematic to get right and required twenty takes to get it right, the song was released as an Easter single in 1971, backed with Only Believe, it flopped, failing to break into the top 50, it would peak at number 55.

If Elvis’ March 1971 Nashville sessions hadn’t been cancelled due to Elvis having an eye infection, it is possible some of these tracks would have been shelved or used as B-sides. As it was, a lack of new material and a pencilled in release date of June 1971 for a new album forced RCA’s hand and the label decided to issue the disorganized Love Letters From Elvis.

Unwisely they released Elvis: That’s The Way It Is and Elvis Country within two months of each other, this meant that the label had to put together a new album with mostly scraps and rejected masters. Another two tracks from the same sessions were taken for potential singles, The Sound Of Your Cry and Sylvia.

Colonel Parker in his wisdom suggested including a live recording of Something from August 1970, but Felton Jarvis thought a studio recording of Hey Jude (a left over from the 1969 sessions) would be more suitable.

In the end neither made it on to the LP, although “Hey Jude” would make it on to another LP later on the similarly rushed Elvis Now.

It is obvious no one bothered to consult Elvis on this, most likely because he had rejected each of these track when compiling his last two albums. It’s not surprising that reviews were pretty unkind, with several critics noting a return to the pre-Comeback levels of control.

Love Letters From Elvis would only climb to the number 33 on the US charts and number 7 on the UK charts.