The five-disc Sunset Boulevard is an unessential yet enjoyable deep dive into Elvis Presley’s 1970s-era recordings at RCA Studio C in Hollywood. It collects several sessions that resulted in various singles and album tracks, and pairs them with July 1970 and August 1974 rehearsals in L.A. for his Las Vegas residencies.
The first two discs embrace the same formula as last year’s Memphis box set, which was also overseen by Grammy Award-winning producer-engineer Matt Ross-Spang: Stripping away all overdubs in order to present Presley’s performances in unfettered form. As a result, as with Memphis, a strange dissonance occurs on the first few listens when song elements the ears expect to hear never appear.
Disc 1, titled “The Masters,” showcases such songs as “And I Love You So,” “Always on My Mind,” “Burning Love,” “For the Good Times,” “Separate Ways” and “T-R-O-U-B-L-E”—tracks that formed the backbone of his early and mid-1970s recorded oeuvre, when he was easing on down the middle of the road. “Separate Ways,” released as a single in late 1972, was written by Richard Mainegra and Presley’s longtime pal Red West, who’d later reflect on his experiences with Presley in the sensational (some might say tawdry) Elvis: What Happened? book by Steve Dunleavy; it’s a moving account of a couple’s parting—not with bitterness, but sorrow and love. Its original b-side, “Always on My Mind,” maintains the same vibe. I’m not so sure that the “underdubbed” approach matters all that much, if I’m being honest; the emotional heft remains the same. That’s true, too, for Kris Kristofferson’s “For the Good Times”—originally included on Presley’s 1973 “Fool” album. It’s now shorn of strings, but it’s not better or worse than the version we’ve known for all these years, just different.
Disc 2, titled “Outtakes Highlights,” shares an array of alternate takes and studio outtakes from the same sessions. It’s not a play-by-play of how the songs came to be, but more of a peek at the process.
Discs 3, 4 and 5 present two rehearsals with his famed TCB Band for his Las Vegas residencies. The first, from July 24, 1970, features rough but enjoyable renditions of the songs that formed his stage show at the time, including “That’s All Right,” “Suspicious Minds,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” along with some goofing around. It’s a rehearsal, not a recording session, so is a tad rough in spots, with false starts and stops—yet his rendition of Ernest Tubb’s “Tomorrow Never Comes,” which he’d recently recorded for his 1971 Elvis Country album, is simply tremendous.
The August 16, 1974, rehearsal is notable for including two songs that Presley never officially recorded, including “Softly, as I Leave You” and Johnny Mathis’ “The Twelfth of Never”; a live rendition of the former was released after his passing. The set also includes his spin on “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” the Roberta Flack hit. Freed from the syrupy over-production of the recorded version found on the 1972 Elvis Now album, it positively shimmers.
As with Memphis, Sunset Boulevard is not for casual fans, but folks who enjoy digging deep into the weeds. The five-CD set comes with a booklet that includes an introduction from Jerry Schilling, archival photographs, and liner notes from music historian Colin Escott. A double-LP “highlights” version features 24 of the Ross-Spang redos.
The Old Grey Cat 
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