'Kentucky Rain' is listed twice in the session
logs. It's also listed as a "Remake"
(10.00pm listing probably meaning 11.00pm), but
I think this is a simple issue of just paperwork
explanation for a recording that took longer to
record than just one session. The most likely
reason is that Elvis went out, arrived late, or
studio time was spent just talking. At least with
this explanation, the musicians got paid for two
sessions, as is listed in the session logs!
The long false start of Take 5 of 'Kentucky Rain' is incorrectly listed as Take 7 on the
bootleg Finding The Way Home. The
false start from Take 8 along with the three false
starts and complete take of Take 9 were also incorrectly
listed as being Take 10 on the bootleg Finding
The Way Home. Take 7 is incorrectly listed
as being Take 8 on the bootleg American
Crown Jewels. All are presented in their
correct order on The American Way Volume
1.
Take 8 of 'Kentucky Rain' on the 60s Box has left and right channels swapped.
The original mono version of 'Kentucky Rain'
is 3:20 and the same mix and length of the song
in stereo was released on Elvis' Gold Records
Volume 5 in 1985. This would be the definitive
stereo version.
The original Mono version of 'Kentucky Rain'
can be found on the Legacy edition of From
Elvis In Memphis.
When the 60s Box set came out, Ernst insisted
it was the stereo mix that Chips Moman had made,
even though it was instantly obvious it was a
different mix to the original master.
From then on, in constantly varying lengths, the
song bounced around on various dubious compilations.
Different remixed stereo versions of 'Kentucky
Rain' can be found on Suspicious Minds - The
Memphis 1969 Anthology, The Memphis Record, Second To None and Elvis' Gold Records Volume
5, among others.
'Kentucky Rain' is very "cinematic". If
ever a song needed a long fade, this is it. In
the original version he sings "...in the
cold Kentucky rain" nine times (the last
time being the absolute end of the song), but
on some compilations it's over by the sixth. Plus,
starting with the above-mentioned 60s Box,
they discovered a counter-melody in the background
and turned it way up to add to the confusion!
The 1999 Suspicious Minds - The Memphis 1969 Anthology 2-CD set had one of
the worst versions of all. First, it was much
too short (another 3:14 version), and second,
Elvis' voice was way out in front in what I understand
he used to call "The New York mix".
The version on Second To None was very good
and virtually as long as the original. Now with
the new remaster as heard on Elvis 75 - Good
Rockin' Tonight, the 30 disc Complete Elvis
Presley Masters collection and the Franklin Mint set it sounds tampered with again!
The re-recording of 'Kentucky Rain' can found on the 2016 album The Wonder Of You, which contained Elvis' original vocals but with new backings by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and which actually went to number one in the UK album charts.
A remixed version of of 'Only The Strong Survive'
can be found on The Memphis Record.
Although the Madison bootleg A Legendary Performer Volume 9 lists Take 6 of 'Only The Strong Survive' as being in stereo, it isn't in fact true stereo. It seems to be just Take 6 in mono but it has been manipulated to try and create a stereo effect, much in the same way Memphis Recording Service (MRS) are creating stereo concerts from mono recordings!
By taking out two of the four channels from the
rare Japanese Quadraphonic LP of From Elvis In
Memphis is how the "previously unreleased
versions" were created on the bootleg The
Other Side Of Memphis (Bilko).
In March of 2007, Sony decided to go through all of Elvis' masters. They retransferred everything and remastered all tracks including repairing as many clicks, pops, bad edits and dropouts as they could. They have used these newly mastered recordings on their new releases since 2007 including budget soundtracks, Legacy releases, the 30 disc Complete Elvis Presley Masters collection and the Franklin Mint package.
Thanks to Glen Johnson for comparisons on different
releases of the song 'Kentucky Rain'.