Harum Scarum (CD - FTD, 2003/2025)

Title:

Harum Scarum

Label:

FTD [FTD 029] [82876 53369 2]

Format:

CD

Number of tracks:

25

Running time:

66:00

Type of album:

Soundtrack / Recording session

Linked to:

FTD discography; Harum Scarum, 1965

Year:

2003

Recording date:

February 24-26, 1965

Release date:

November 2003

Singles:

---

Harum Scarum is FTD's twenty-ninth CD. It contains the remastered original 1965 album and 14 alternate takes recorded between February 24 and 26, 1965, at RCA Studio B in Nashville. Originally, "Harum Scarum" was Elvis' nineteenth film and soundtrack album, as well as his 26th LP for RCA.

Although 1965 saw the release of "Elvis For Everyone!", a studio album spanning a ten-year period dating back to Presley's earliest recordings for Sun Studio, and a surprising worldwide success with the gospel single "Crying in the Chapel", recorded in 1960, the singer was back to the grueling work of scoring. In fact, due to 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".

For "Harum Scarum", eleven songs were recorded, and nine were used in the film. The remaining two were omitted from the plot but released on the LP nonetheless. As with "Roustabout", no singles were issued with the album, but standalone singles were sold during the same period, such as "Blue River", from the aborted May 1963 sessions, with "Tell Me Why", the last unreleased track from 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 one of the low points of Elvis' career. Because of this, 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.

Below is a review of the CD's contents.

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- TRACKS 1-11. ORIGINAL ALBUM: For more info, click here.

• Unlike what they had done with other releases, FTD unfortunately decided not to rework the album's mix to make it as stereo as possible and used the exact LP Masters, which sound muffled, bland and almost mono.

• "Go East, Young Man" and "Mirage" had Elvis' voice only added in an overdub session at the MGM Sound Stage in Hollywood on March 9, 1965, and there were no alternate takes for this reason.

- 12. My Desert Serenade (Takes 2FS, 7 & 8): Despite the quality of the material, Elvis is in good spirits. The FTD edit fails in some aspects here, such as leaving the take 2 announcement intact and eliminating the one that would inform us that the full take we hear is number 7, in addition to adding dialogue from take 8 at the end. Even more erroneous is that, in the track information, the record company states that it is only take 7. Aside from that, it closely resembles the Master (Take 12).

- 13. Hey, Little Girl (Takes 1 & 2): Elvis gets confused right from the first line and it's clear he continues to have trouble with the lyrics or timing of the song in take 2. Despite this, there's not much difference compared to the Master (Take 5).

- 14. Shake That Tambourine (Takes 7 & 8): Another mellow rock song, it also put Elvis in a good mood. So good that he wanted to perfect it, working on 38 takes. In fact, the session on the 24th was dedicated solely to it.

- 15. Golden Coins (Takes 3 & 4): A beautiful little song that benefits greatly from the absence of unnecessary echo added by RCA to the Master (a splicing of takes 11 and 16). Elvis misses the cut on take 3, but take 4 is a true gift for having a different ending than what we hear on the LP.

- 16. Kismet (Takes 1 & 2): Another beautiful song features Elvis making a mistake on take 1. Next, we have a full take that can't be used due to some flaws and a hoarseness in Elvis' voice. Since takes 3 and 4 were just false starts, the Master came in on take 5.

- 17. Animal Instinct (Takes 1, 3 & 4): Elvis seems to be enjoying the song, which surprisingly already bears traces of the music of the psychedelic movement that would emerge a few years later. Take 1 features Elvis fumbling with the lyrics and wondering if that was really what he was supposed to sing. In take 3, he struggles again, but this time with the tempo. Take 4 is finally complete and sounds almost entirely like the Master (Take 6).

- 18. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (Take 1): It's great to be able to hear what's going on before the recordings, and here we even hear part of the orchestra tuning their instruments while Elvis chats and yawns (the session had started at 10:15 p.m.). The arrangement is more spaced out and pleasant to listen to than the Master's (a splice of takes 3 and 4).

- 19. Shake That Tambourine (Takes 10 & 16): The work continues, and Elvis is on the tenth of 38 takes of the song. Early on, a pronunciation error (Elvis says "teeny feet" instead of "tiny feet") causes him to lose his beat and burst out laughing. "Man, I can't believe I said that!" Take 16 is almost perfect, but falls apart at the end.

- 20. Hey, Little Girl (Take 3): Elvis is cheerful, and we can hear his feet dancing to the beat and some finger snaps during the take. The lyrics aren't particularly compelling, but the rhythm certainly put Elvis in a state of pure joy, as it's more his signature rock style. Again, very similar to the Master.

- 21. My Desert Serenade (Takes 2 & 3): Elvis begins take 2 by singing a line from Bobby Darin's "More". While the lyrics are a bit silly, the song is still quite well-crafted by the standards of Elvis' soundtracks at the time.

- 22. Golden Coins (Takes 7 & 8): Closer to the Master, take 8 still enchants by bringing Elvis' voice higher in the mix and a more suitable arrangement than that of the LP.

- 23. Harem Holiday (Takes 1 & 2): "If Romeu had a harem holiday, you can bet that Juliet would have never been his girl forever." Who needs enemies with lyrics like that? The positives here are hearing Elvis truly in tune with the band and Floyd Cramer's piano playing prominently. The singer is reticent and comes in wrong on both takes, but everything would be resolved by the production Master (a splice of takes 6 and 7) in the overdub session on March 9, 1965.

- 24. Wisdom of the Ages (Take 3): Perhaps one of the soundtrack's best songs, it's crafted in fast takes. Elvis requests a slightly faster tempo and delivers a clean take. Despite this, the Master (Take 5) was performed at the original tempo.

- 25. Shake That Tambourine (Takes 21, 22, 23 & 24): The work continues with Elvis in a good mood and striving for perfection. In the process, he misses the entry on takes 21 and 22 and aborts take 23. After asking the band to play a little faster, Elvis gets take 24 right but laughs at the end. Despite all the work, there was no consensus on a perfect Master, and the solution was to release a splice of takes 24 and 38.

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Title:

The Harum Scarum Sessions

Label:

FTD [FTD 244] [506020 975191]

Format:

3x CD

Number of tracks:

71

Running time:

185:00

Type of album:

Soundtrack / Recording session

Linked to:

FTD discography

Year:

2025

Recording date:

February 24-26, 1965

Release date:

July 2025

Singles:

---

Almost 22 years after the disappointing CD, FTD brings the complete recording sessions together with the original album remixed and the stereo version of the LP.

The album features the following tracks:

CD 1

REMIXED MASTERS

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

11. Wisdom of the Ages

RECORDING SESSIONS

12. Shake That Tambourine (takes 2001-2008)

13. Shake That Tambourine (takes 2009-2011)

14. Shake That Tambourine (takes 2012-2017)

15. Shake That Tambourine (takes 2018-2019)

16. Shake That Tambourine (takes 2020-2024)

17. Shake That Tambourine (take 2025)

18. Shake That Tambourine (takes 2026-2027)

CD 2

RECORDING SESSIONS

1. Shake That Tambourine (takes 2028-2032)

2. Shake That Tambourine (take 2033)

3. Shake That Tambourine (takes 2034-2040)

4. Shake That Tambourine (take 2041)

5. Shake That Tambourine (splice of takes 2041 and 2027/M)

6. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (take 2042)

7. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (takes 2043-2044)

8. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (take 2045)

9. So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (splice of takes 2044 and 2045/M)

10. My Desert Serenade (takes 2046-2048)

11. My Desert Serenade (takes 2049-2051)

12. My Desert Serenade (take 2052)

13. My Desert Serenade (take 2053)

14. My Desert Serenade (takes 2054-2055)

15. My Desert Serenade (takes 2056-2057/M)

16. Wisdom Of The Ages (takes 2058-2059)

17. Wisdom Of The Ages (take 2060)

18. Wisdom Of The Ages (take 2061)

19. Wisdom Of The Ages (take 2062/M)

20. Kismet (takes 2063-64)

21. Kismet (takes 2065-2067/M)

22. Hey Little Girl (takes 2068-2069)

23. Hey Little Girl (take 2070)

24. Hey Little Girl (takes 2071-2072/M)

25. Golden Coins (takes 2073-2076)

26. Golden Coins (takes 2077-2078)

27. Golden Coins (takes 2079-2080)

CD 3

RECORDING SESSIONS

1. Golden Coins (takes 2081-2082)

2. Golden Coins (take 2083)

3. Golden Coins (takes 2084-2088)

4. Golden Coins (splice of takes 2088 and 2083/M)

5. Animal Instinct (takes 2089-2091)

6. Animal Instinct (take 2092)

7. Animal Instinct (take 2093)

8. Animal Instinct (take 2094/M)

9. Harem Holiday (takes 2095-2096)

10. Harem Holiday (vocal replacement of 2096/unedited master)

11. Go East - Young Man (track: takes 2097-2098)

12. Go East - Young Man (track: take 2099)

13. Go East - Young Man (vocal overdub to take 2099/M)

14. Mirage (track: takes 2100-2104)

15. Mirage (vocal overdub to 2104/M)

ORIGINAL 1965 ALBUM IN STEREO

16. Harem Holiday

17. My Desert Serenade

18. Go East - Young Man

19. Mirage

20. Kismet

21. Shake That Tambourine

22. Hey Little Girl

23. Golden Coins

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

25. Animal Instinct

26. Wisdom of the Ages