'Elvis At Home In Germany'

In a recent interview with producer Anthony Stuchbury about his work on the FTD 'Soldier Boy' deluxe set I asked him whether he might be able to release a stereo compilation of the best home-recordings, - and My Wish Came True! 

While most dedicated fans are fascinated with Elvis' personal home-recordings and his very varied choice of favourite songs, listening to the tapes in full can feel like a lengthy chore. 

At times there is a lot of peak tape-distortion as well as multiple repetitions of Elvis trying out one single song, for instance five attempts at 'Her Hand In Mine'. I am sure that I am not the only collector to create my own best-of compilation.

Using DES technology producer Anthony Stuchbury has now gone one better, creating a delightful 14 track 'Best Of' compilation - and in stereo. 

While of course the recordings are basically Elvis playing the piano or guitar, with friends harmonising, the stereo mix helps not only separate out Elvis' vocal but also adds some ambience placing you more ‘in the room’ with Elvis and the guys.

This sounds a real treat being played on loud-speakers in a room rather than on headphones. You can imagine yourself in that Bad Nauheim lounge-room.

The front cover features Elvis playing acoustic guitar with his tape recorder in the background. The insert features Elvis playing piano with his Alden electric guitar sitting on top.

The CD itself is in the mid-price “RCA International” green – a neat idea for this JAS International mid-price release.

The cd kicks off with Elvis' take on The Penguins 1955 hit 'Earth Angel' and it is a gem. The piano placed left, Elvis' clean vocal centre, with the guys - Red West with possibly Rex Mansfield and Lamar Fike - harmonising right channel.

It is pure delight listening to Elvis taking such care with his lead vocal phrasing. There's no joking around here. 

On the original tape Elvis' vocal was rather dominated by the too-loud piano but here Stuchbury has neatly balanced the audio levels in the mix. He has also included some piano reverb across the left-right spectrum so the track has some real room-ambience to it.

I immediately wondered what Col Parker would have done had he got to hear this improved version. Surely his suggested "Elvis While Off Duty" EP would have actually been released.

'I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen' is the cute second track – all done in 70 seconds – and now in superb quality.

‘Soldier Boy’ was one of several songs Elvis would try at home before recording it for RCA after his homecoming. When originally released on 1998’s ‘A Golden Celebration’ the piano dominated the mix, but here Elvis’ pleading vocal shines through.

‘Danny Boy’, with Elvis now playing guitar, is similarly charming. An interesting comparison is contrasting the ease of Elvis’ sweeping vocal here to the struggle 20 years later at his Jungle Room sessions.

‘There’s No Tomorrow’ always featured awful peak distortion on the piano. I am stunned how using DES Stuchbury has now revealed such a clean Elvis vocal. Super impressive.

Stuchbury would have used the same technique to improve the distortion on his ‘Soldier Boy’ FTD remasters but then wrapped them back down to mono. Here we get Elvis’ vocal in the centre separate from the piano.

‘Titles Tell’ was similarly previously ruined by the badly distorted piano. Once again Elvis’ vocal is so much better quality here. His falsetto and giggle at the end is delightful.

‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ is tremendous in this quality with the delightful guitar intro. Red West provides the Jordanaires backing-vocals (right channel) during the soliloquy. It’s fascinating that Elvis was taking the song so seriously over a year before he recorded it for RCA. You can hear Elvis’ guys sitting around in the background but luckily they don’t interrupt.

What if Col Parker had released this track on Elvis’ ‘While Off Duty’ EP? That could have changed Elvis' musical legacy. Would it been a fifties huge #1 while Elvis was in the army and if so, what song would then have followed as Elvis’ next single after ‘It’s Now Or Never’?

With ‘I’m Beginning To Forget You’ it was always fascinating to compare Elvis’ version to Jim Reeves smooth-as-silk 1959 hit single. Jim Reeves sounded like he was selling soap-power where Elvis adds far more emotion to the clever lyric. On this version you can even hear Elvis tapping out the beat with his foot. Nice.

‘It’s Been So Long Darling’ is an interesting selection as the piano was always so badly distorted on the original tape. Of course the distortion is still here but lowered enough not to be as annoying.

‘I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)’ is a delight, even if the guitar is a little distorted, especially as Elvis’ vocal is a real treat. Stuchbury combines the two damaged home-recordings to create a complete version. Elvis’ spur-of-the-moment “As I brushed your arm and walked so close to you - yeah” at 1:08 is a delight.

Little Richard’s ‘Send Me Some Lovin'’ captures Elvis jamming on the piano sounding perhaps more Fats Domino than Little Richard. This could have sounded very fine indeed recorded by Elvis and The Blue Moon Boys.

Three of the best tracks end the album.

‘Her Hand in Mine’ is Elvis’ suggested secular version of ‘His Hand In Mine’ that would later become the title track for his first gospel album. What a shame he never recorded this alternate version for RCA.

‘The Fool’ surprisingly Stuchbury leaves Elvis and Red West’s vocal-duet centred for this gem of a track. Recorded for RCA over a decade later, it’s incredible to think that Elvis could have recorded this for ‘Elvis Is Back’. Close to studio audio-quality, this is fabulous.

‘Mona Lisa’ a lovely finale, Elvis sings this Nat King Cole classic with a delightful yearning, sounding rather different and more emotional than the very-smooth 1950 original.

As surprising as Elvis’ take on Cole Porter’s ‘True Love’ recorded for ‘Loving You’ this is another insight to Elvis’ musical influences and surely a track that Parker would have added to that suggested EP!

It’s all over too soon, fourteen tracks in only 32 minutes!

My only complaint is that I wanted more! I would have loved to have ‘I Will Be True’, ‘He Knows Just What I Need’ and ‘Apron Strings’ also included plus the whole ‘The Fool’ session, but I guess Stuchbury had his reasons.

When I first played this compilation I had a thought of how it would make a very neat 10” Vinyl release, and lo-and-behold a few days ago Memphis Mansion have already announced exactly that. (look here)

Overall Verdict: What a treat, the best of Elvis’ army Home-Recordings released in stereo, helping place the listener even more ‘in the room’ eavesdropping on Elvis’ personal musical journey. Make sure you play it on loud-speakers for best effect. Congratulations to Anthony Stuchbury for creating a compilation that surely a lot of Elvis music collectors have always hoped for. 
A good game to play is trying to decide which four tracks Col Parker would have chosen for his suggested ‘Elvis While Off Duty’ EP. 

This set is a real delight and even better being released on the JAS mid-price label. 
With only 300 hundred copies pressed, and no-second edition planned, track down your copy today!

If you want a copy try Elvis Shop London or European dealers as it's nearly Sold Out.

CD Review by Piers Beagley.
-Copyright EIN October 2026
EIN Website content ©
Copyright the Elvis Information Network.

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