‘Elvis: Back In Nashville’ Captures His Final Music Row Sessions
82 tracks over four discs capture his last Nashville recordings.
Elvis Presley was known as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, but he had a strong connection to Nashville, recording some of his most enduring material on Music Row. And now with a new box set, his final sessions in country’s capitol city are all in one place.
With Elvis: Back In Nashville, fans can enjoy a “definitive presentation” of Presley’s week-long 1971 Nashville studio sessions, the springtime recording block that would end up being his last in Nashville.
A 4 CD/digital collection that features 82 songs in their original format, the project finds Presley feeling rejuvenated after returning to the stage, and working with a tight group of Nashville studio musicians. With his sound evolving, these sessions were intended to fuel a whole year or more of releases as Presley planned his comeback, so he went to Nashville and recorded as much as possible. Elvis: Back In Nashville is the end result.
What fans will hear is Presley and his studio band laying down each track live and in the moment. Some of those songs were later overdubbed with orchestral strings and released as part of projects like Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas (1971), the Grammy-winning gospel album He Touched Me (1972), Elvis Now (1972) and 1973’s Elvis, but this new collection presents it all in raw, unfiltered style. And much of it has never been heard before.
Disc one feature a group of country and folk-influenced songs, including ones written by Kris Kristofferson, Gordon Lightfoot and Bob Dylan. Disc two features religious and Christmas songs. Disc three mixes country pop with rock and includes tracks like “Johnny B. Goode,” “Help Me Make It Through The Night” and more. And the fourth disc features 20 more tracks, with outtakes from the previous three.
Elvis: Back In Nashville comes out November 12. The project follows a 2020 set with a similar theme, capturing another marathon recording session with From Elvis In Nashville.
