EAP Index World: Harum Scarum (LP

Title:

Harum Scarum

Label:

RCA Victor [LSP/LPM 3468]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

24:20

Type of album:

Soundtrack

Linked to:

Official discography; Harum Scarum, 1965

Year:

1965

Recording date:

February 24-26, 1965

Release date:

November 3, 1965

Singles:

---

Harum Scarum is Elvis' nineteenth soundtrack album, his 20th LP for RCA and 47th audiophonic work (including singles and EPs). Recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville on February 24, 25 and 26, 1965, it contains the soundtrack for the film of the same name and year and two extra songs, worked on for the production but not used.

Although 1965 saw the release of "Elvis For Everyone!", a studio album with recordings spanning a ten-year period dating back to Presley's earliest recordings for Sun Studio, and a surprise worldwide hit with the Gospel single "Crying in the Chapel", recorded in 1960, the singer was back to the grueling work of making soundtracks.

Elvis continually complained about the tasteless material and the excessive pressure placed on the songwriters by the Colonel and RCA's Freddy Bienstock to produce more and more material in less time - the Giant/Baum/Kaye team alone had provided 17 of the 47 songs on the last four soundtracks in an eighteen-month period, for example - but he handled it all with as much grace as possible.

In fact, because of the films' repetitive storylines and general lack of plot focus, almost any song could have been squeezed into them, including old classics, as had been done with "Tickle Me". But as long as sales continued, the formula required guaranteed publishing control and new songs by the same songwriters. Nevertheless, Elvis' sales were tanking at the stores, as were ticket sales at the box office, something that, in the name of profit, seemed to be completely ignored by the Colonel, RCA and the men at Hill & Range.

For "Harum Scarum", eleven songs were recorded and nine were used in the film. The remaining two were left out of the plot but released on the LP anyway. As with "Roustabout", no singles were issued with the album, but singles were sold during the same period, including "Blue River", from the aborted May 1963 sessions, with "Tell Me Why", the last unreleased track of 1957, on the B-side - dated December 14, 1965. In an ominous sign of things to come, this single only reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the lowest-charting single to date.

The film and its soundtrack are widely considered to be one of the low points of Elvis' career. As a result, the LP was not reissued for a long time. In 2003, "Harum Scarum" was finally reissued by the Follow That Dream label in a special edition that contained the tracks from the original album along with numerous alternate takes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RECORDING SESSIONS

Date:

February 24-26, 1965

Studio:

RCA Studio B

Location:

Nashville, Tennessee

Musicians:

Voice: Elvis Presley
Electric guitar: Scotty Moore, Grady Martin, Charlie McCoy
Bass: Henry Strezelki
Drums: DJ Fontana, Kenneth Buttery
Piano: Floyd Cramer
Tambourine: Hoyt Hawkins
Conga: Gene Nelson
Flute: Ruphus Long
Oboe: Ralph Strobel
Saxophone: Homer 'Boots' Randolph
Backing Vocals: The Jordanaires

Sound engineer / Recording engineer:

Bill Vandevort

FEBRUARY 24, 1965
Shake That Tambourine SPA3 6752-SP

FEBRUARY 25, 1965
So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) SPA3 6754-SP
My Desert Serenade SPA3 6761-12
Wisdom Of The Ages SPA3 6760-05
Kismet SPA3 6758-05
Hey Little Girl SPA3 6759-05

FEBRUARY 26, 1965
Golden Coins SPA3 6754-SP
Animal Instinct SPA3 6761-12
Harem Holiday
Harem Holiday (Dubdown to Track)
Go East - Young Man (Track)
Mirage (Track)
-------------------------------------------------------------------

SESSION LOGS

-------------------------------------------------------------------

LP TRACKS (RCA, 1965)

HARUM SCARUM (LP)

November 3, 1965

1. Harem Holyday

2. My Desert Serenade

3. Go East, Young Man

4. Mirage

5. Kismet

6. Shake That Tambourine

7. Hey, Little Girl

8. Golden Coin

9. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise)

10. Animal Instinct

11. Wisdom of the Ages

-------------------------------------------------------------------

FTD VERSION

Title:

Harum Scarum

Label:

FTD [FTD 029] [82876 533692 5]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

65:20

Type of album:

Soundtrack / Recording session

Linked to:

FTD discography

Year:

2003

Recording date:

February 24-26, 1965

Release date:

November 12, 2003

Singles:

---

Just like the film and its original soundtrack, this FTD reissue is the worst of all the label's work. The LP's audio was not improved or remastered in any way for the CD, sounding as monophonic as the original. There are some good moments in the outtakes showing that Elvis was having fun during the recordings despite the hardships, but nothing that redeems the terrible lyrics and the general feeling about the work. Although they didn't put much effort into the audio, FTD closes their CD with an 8-page booklet full of behind-the-scenes images and promotional stills never seen before.

The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL ALBUM

1. Harem Holiday

2. My Desert Serenade

3. Go East-Young Man

4. Mirage

5. Kismet

6. Shake That Tambourine

7. Hey, Little Girl

8. Golden Coins

9. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise)

10. Animal Instinct