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I agree with all the positive reviews. In fact these stripped down versions with Elvis and band are so good that when I listen back on the original RCA releases of many I find them waaaaaaaaaaaaaay over produced and unlistenable;Notably Suspicious Minds, In The Ghetto to name but two.
A five star collection but 4 stars for the digi pak packaging and microscopic liner notes.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This is the first FTD issue that I have bought largely on the strength of other reviews. It did not disappoint. I am a long standing Elvis fan but I have been dismayed at how his fascinating singing voice so often gets submerged amid a welter of extraneous vocal and instrumental sounds. If you want to hear what Elvis himself sounds like without the production effects, then this CD fits the bill. The recordings capture something of the raw excitement, spontaneity and the artistic intergrity of the earliest recordings made at Sun and RCA. The accompaniements are great and perfectly compliment Elvis vocal efforts without rendering them inaudible. The lyrics of songs like 'Only the Strong Survive', for example, are immediately intelligible in the slimmed down version featured here.

In summary what you have for your money is a recording of out takes of some of his best '70s material in which Elvis comes over 'loud and clear'!

Rating: 5 out of 5

This is a selection of alternative and stripped down takes from the Chip Moman session, from early 1969.I think it's a widely held belief that the January/February '69 sessions with Chips Moman in Memphis was the highlight of Elvis' career. While the "Elvis In Memphis" album is must for everyone with ears, anything from those sessions is a must have for Elvis fans.This format of mixing alterative takes and stripped down masters has served Follow That Dream well, but the format serves this material less well in places, merely because the arrangements are so strong that any tinkering feels sacrilegious somehow. For example, how can anyone air "In The Ghetto" without the choir or "Stranger In My Own Home Town" without those funky horns. It feels wrong. Sure, you can hear that beautiful funky piano and some of the finer points of Elvis' wailing, but it doesn't make up for it. There are however a whole raft a highlights.For starters, "Do you Know Who I Am" and to a lesser extent "If I'm A Fool", two less than brilliant songs from session, both come across as somehow more moving and honest for the simpler arrangement. Then there's the alternative takes of truly great songs like "After Loving You", "You'll Think Of Me" (how could this not have been a single), "Kentucky Rain", "Long Black Limousine" and "Only The Strong Survive" is always a rush, it's the closest we have to new Elvis tracks after all. And I assure you of this, you'll have forgotten just how dangerous the fabulous "Power Of My Love" is... it's like hearing it again for the first time!There's some funny moments, like the opening of "Wearin' That Loved On Look" where Elvis' totally loses and note, and it is hysterical! Its hard to say any of these alternative takes are better than the released versions, the released versions are so damn good it's hard to say that, but maybe "Long Black Limousine" (swear word in all) possibly has more fire?But there is one real stand out. There is no question it's listening to Elvis, with different members of the band chipping in a different points, finding their way with the fantastic "Suspicious Minds" . Maybe even the highlight of the Follow That Dream releases.

Rating: 5 out of 5

I have to agree wholeheartedly with other reviewers and say this is magnificent. Although a great fan of From Elvis in Memphis, this is the man raw and enthused. From the off, this CD captures your imagination and never lets go. It shows Elvis at the very top of his game, enthused, funny, his talent shining through.Although any self-resepcting music fan should own From Elvis in Memphis and the Suspicious Minds compilation, this is in a different league. It's Elvis, the bare minimum of instruments and songs that any singer would kill for. Suspicious Minds, In the Ghetto, Wearing that Loved on Look (hear Elvis lose his voice!). Hearing him sing Without Love, he should have heeded the words for they were his own life story towards the end. A version of this is on Suspicious Minds, strings and all, but this lets the artist shine. Although you come away with a new respect for the man, you also come away with "if onlys". As one of the musicians said at the time "it was only Elvis, not like playing for Neil Diamond" whose session was cancelled for this. However, he soon changed his mind. Elvis or Neil Diamond, give me a break!It is magnificent. The best FTD release to date. As with the Jungle Room Sessions, this lets you hear the man and not all the production stuff added on later. Ernst at BMG has, yet again, done a brilliant job.I cannot recommend this highly enough. You could not get a body of work like this for any of today's artists, they just ain't good enough.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Recorded at Chips Moman's American Studios, Elvis obviously embraced the brilliance of Moman the "perfectionist". The result : an outstanding session which produced briliant masters of some of Elvis' greatest hits. The outtakes of "Suspicious Minds" and "In the Ghetto" are especially superb. Great sound quality throughout and standout tracks include the above two as well as "Stranger in my own Hometown"; "Kentucky Rain"; "Power of My Love"; and great favourite, "After Loving You" An absolute gem which must be in any fan's collection as truly Elvis at his very best.

Rating: 5 out of 5